Introducing... the Pouch #3 cover!
Pouch 3 is DONE and (hopefully) printing this weekend!!
Hello everyone!!
BEHOLD, THE POUCH 3 COVER!!! In Pouch Issue #3, we're sharing stories from first-time and long-time enthusiasts of analog journals and planners. On the cover, I wanted to convey how a first-timer might feel trying to navigate everything that's going on in the world of stationery! Chaotic but exciting 😆
In related news, Pouch 3 is FINALLY DONE! I’m just waiting for one last test print to arrive (Friday!). Assuming the test print comes back without any surprises, I’ll be ready to make the Big Print Order this weekend. If everything goes perfectly and there are no delays, Pouch 3 will ship in early June 2026! Preorders will get their copies first, and then it’ll be available for general sale ☺️
You can still preorder Pouch 3 here:
✨ https://shop.pouchmagazine.com/b/preorder-issue-3 ✨
(though preorders are US-only, sorry!!)
By preordering, you’ll get a free sticker and you’ll save a few dollars, too. 💖
If you preordered before 5/18: You should have gotten an email from me to confirm your mailing address. Send me an email at victoriakirst@gmail.com if you didn’t 📬
Today I’m going to give you a tour of the cover! There are a ton of little stationery cameos here and I want to highlight each of them today 🎈 Please enjoy and I can’t wait to share Pouch #3 with the world!!
♡ vrk
PS: I really wanted to share with you the story of how the cover came to be — I got mentorship from my friend Aaron Fernandez and I learned SO MUCH from him — HOWEVER I decided that’s a bit too big of a tale to wedge in here today. Saving it for a future newsletter!!
Quick plug:
Illustration as Design as Illustration 💖
Before I dive into the Pouch 3 cover, I wanted to let you know that the illustration course I took last quarter is now open for registration! In addition to getting mentorship from Aaron, I also recently completed Melanie Marder Parks’ Illustration as Design as Illustration course. I took this class in-person on SVA campus, but now it’s offered online so you can take it no matter where you live!
Melanie’s course had a profound impact on me and my relationship with drawing. I talk about this in-depth in my previous newsletter, so you can read my meditation on the experience or skip to the part about the assignments. I could not more highly recommend this class to anyone wanting to improve their illustration skills! The only caveats: 1) I think you’ll get more out of the class if you’re already at least a little comfortable with drawing, since it’s focused on how to plan and design your drawing rather than learning how to draw. 2) This course does take a significant time investment outside of class, probably minimum 5 hours / week on each homework, though I regularly spent 10-15+ hours. BUT if you’re looking for to really improve your skills and you have the time to invest, consider registering!
Also, if you’re an analog lover, Melanie does all of her artwork by hand, 100% analog! She has SO much practical advise and wisdom on how to specifically use analog tools throughout the illustration and design process. (You’re not required to use analog tools, though!)1
Anyway, I hope it’s obvious that this isn’t sponsored or anything LOL, and no one asked me to write this! I just wanted to share this class with you all because I LOVED IT and Melanie is such a kind, beautiful soul 😭💖 and I think so many people could get a lot out of it. Check it out!!
🎈 Pouch 3 cover stars
OKAY ON TO THE COVER!!!
Here it is EVEN BIGGER
Now let me give you a tour of what’s going on here….
In Pouch #3, I interviewed the award-winning illustrator and stationery creator, Riley of Riley’s Desk!! On the cover, I drew a little Riley in a stack of washi, teaching some Pouch bunnies how to draw a monthly layout, because guess what... in this issue, Riley teaches us How To Monthly!!!
Riley’s IG: rileys_desk
Hobonichi covers look really avian to me! Like, look at the Hobonichi cover above. Is it not a bird?? So I drew a Hobonichi bird creature: The pen loops are the beak and the strings are the legs. Decided to dress her up as Mr. Saturn too, another nod to the Hobonichi-verse!
Every year, Hobonichi makes a ONE PIECE cover. Naturally, I drew another Hobonichi bird creature but this one is dressed up as Luffy. Luffy-nichi is hungrily running toward something...
This is Megan Wang’s Onigiri character 😭 THE CUTEST!! I wanted to feature some indie artists on the Pouch 3 cover so here is Onigiri is just hanging out on a journal. Luffy-nichi sees Onigiri and wants to eat, but he will not succeed.
Megan’s IG: meganwangart
Here is Radhia Rahman’s Bat Kuni 🥹 THE BEST BOY!! Hanging out with his pal Onigiri!! He sees Luffy-nichi eyeing Onigiri but NOT ON KUNI’S WATCH
Radhia’s IG: knivesmeow
Lots of Hobonichi representation on the Pouch cover!! This little guy is based on Writori, one of the Hobotorodori’s created by Aki Kondo for Hobonichi. Hobotoridori is the mascot for Hobonichi’s Joys of Life shopping event. Aki Kondo is the creator of Rilakkuma sooo... obviously a genius. Anyway, I just needed something in that part of the cover, so I invited Writori to Onigiri and Bat Kuni’s picnic.
Aki Kondo’s IG: akikondo_insta
The uniball ONE P: A popular pen amongst Team Pouch as well as Riley’s go-to pen for inking his monthly layouts!!
The Tombow MONO eraser: Iconic eraser that I gave little feets so it could hop around like a bunny
Finally, these little trash can bunnies are a character that I made 😎
MORE TRASH CANS SOON
Front & back now!
The stars of the Pouch 3 cover are all explained on the back cover, too.
I hope you enjoyed the cover!! I spent sooo many hours on this hahaha and I’m really proud of how it turned out. Thanks to Aaron for all your detailed feedback on every iteration! Another huge thanks to Riley for speaking with Pouch for Issue 3, and to Megan and Radhia who kindly gave me permission to draw fanarts of their Onigiri and Kuni characters for the cover 💞
🐕 Bonus: Coggie
Random bonus thing: One of the last assignments in Melanie’s illustration class was to make a 4+ panel comic. Here was mine!
I drew this comic with brush pen, a micron, and a blue crayon, and edited it using the cut & paste techniques that Melanie showed us in the class. You can see how different elements are on different pieces of paper. I definitely want to try this technique when journaling, too!
I hope to one day continue my Coggie comic…!
That’s all I have for you today!! Don’t forget to preorder Pouch Issue 3 if you haven’t already and check out Melanie’s class if you’re looking for a place to grow as an illustrator.
POUCH 3 COMING TO YOU SOON
Non-analog tools meaning e.g. Procreate or Illustrator, and not AI obviously 💀
Love Luffynichi!!! And amazing cover ✨
COVER IS TRES EPIC!!