★ ART JOURNALING | Technique Tutorials, Inspiration and Prompts ★
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Keeping an Illustrated Journal
An art journal is where you combine some writing with illustrations, painted backgrounds, magazine collages or other art. The writing can be a day-to-day diary, a scrapbook for your travels or life, favourite quotes, poems, to-do lists or life goals, or absolutely anything else you'd like to keep a record of!
This page provides lots of inspiration, ideas, prompts and techniques to help you broaden the range of techniques you use for embellishing the journal pages, and to keep you going through the motivational and creative barriers.
Art journaling is a great creative outlet and a fun hobby, and I hope that this page inspires you to give it a go, or experiment more with your existing journal!
Photo and journal cover by LKG Photography.
This page provides lots of inspiration, ideas, prompts and techniques to help you broaden the range of techniques you use for embellishing the journal pages, and to keep you going through the motivational and creative barriers.
Art journaling is a great creative outlet and a fun hobby, and I hope that this page inspires you to give it a go, or experiment more with your existing journal!
Photo and journal cover by LKG Photography.
Sketchbook Project Entries
Photo and journals by LKG Photography.
If you want to enter your own journals into the 'Sketchbook Project' this year or next, check out this link.
Art Journaling Inspiration & Prompts
- Art Journaling 101
- Brilliant post to get you started.
- iHanna Blog
- Ideas, photos and how-tos.
- Doodlers Anonymous
- Fun doodle illustrations.
- How to Create an Art Journal
- Tips, prompts and ideas.
- Boost Your Creative Energy
- By doing a 15 minute activity.
- Thrifty Collage Artist
- Brilliant collage journal pages.
- Art Journal Prompts
- Pointers to get you started.
- 460 Journal Prompts
- Points to spark a writing idea.
- Travel Journals
- Example pages recording people's travels.
- Illustrated Diary
- Journal with sketches alongside.
- Pam Garrison
- A blog which includes journaling and art.
How To Make Your Own Journal
Mixed Media Art
Art journaling can use so many different media, from magazine cuttings to book pages, paints and inks - so experiment!
Click here for more paintings by Randi Antonsen.
Drawing Inspiration & Visual Examples
- Google Images
- Useful to browse lots of examples.
- Best Art Journal Images
- Pages and pages of inspiration.
- Flickr Journal Groups
- Search through the groups for lots of images.
- One Artist Journal
- A range of journal photos.
- Journal Girl
- One of the best blogs about art journaling.
- An Artist's Blog
- With lots of journal pages on show.
- Mixed Media Artist
- Loads of tutorials and inspiration.
- Comfortable Shoes Studio
- Home to many fantastic video tutorials.
- Danny Gregory
- My favourite journal illustrator.
- Altered Hardback Book
- A video flip-thru.
- A Man Who Crafts
- Fantastic blog with lots of photos of journal work.
Using Teabags for Texture
Try and stick different household items in your journal for texture - including bubble wrap, clingfilm, aluminium foil, yarn, threads, leaves off your house plants, scrunched up paper, fabric/swatches, old clothes, film tape/negatives, photos, candle wax etc.
Photo and journal by Finnabair - see more gorgeous journal pages here on the artist's blog.
Creative Background How-Tos
- Upcycled Art
- Using old book pages.
- Colourful Pastel Backgrounds
- Using water soluble oil pastel crayons.
- Marbled Paper
- Using shaving cream.
- Art Journaling Tutorials
- From iHanna.
- Video Tutorials
- Lots and lots of videos on art journaling.
- Journal Cover
- Pretty cover using paints and glue on letters.
- Techniques Galore!
- Many how-to's for fun and unusual techniques.
- Soul Journaling Series
- Step-by-step journal pages.
- Recycled Stamps
- Flower and oval shapes made using toilet rolls.
- Tie-Dye Tissue Paper
- I think this would make a wonderful background or stand-alone art.
- Inkblots
- How to make ink splotch patterns.
- Lino Printing
- Cut out simple patterns on lino to use for journal backgrounds.
- Dyed Paper Towels
- Dye paper for an interesting coloured background.
Watercolour Pencil Shavings
This pretty background is made by scattering watercolour pencil shavings over a water saturated page.
Photo and technique by Biffy Beans - check out the rest of the website too for great inspiration.
Painted Travel Journal
Photo and journal pages by Noriko.Stardust.
Journal Prompts & Ideas
- Choose a quote, poem or song lyric and write why you like it, or just embellish it appropriately.
- Draw or paint a rainbow and come up with an alternative to 'Richard Of York Gains Battle In Vain', using things you like; such as Redcurrants, Opals, Yetis etc.
- Write down some facts you have researched about your favourite artist, and then either recreate one of their works of art, but in your own style, or draw a household object in the artist's style.
- Do you have anything lucky? Create a design using illustrations of your personal lucky things - whether it's a number, object, underwear etc and say why you believe it's lucky.
- Draw an aerial view of your old schools or homes, and write any memories down next to the rooms they occurred in.
- If you could be an animal, what would you be and why?
- How do you imagine Aliens to look? Would they be friendly? What is their mode of transport?
- If you had the ability to do anything and go anywhere for 24 hours, what would you do and where would you visit?
- Are you the eldest, middle or youngest child, or are you an only child? What were the advantages and disadvantages of that?
- What is your favourite word? Write down all words that rhyme with it (even made up ones!), or words associated with it. Try and cover the page.
- What is your favourite book? Who are your favourite characters and why? How do you imagine them to look?
- Do you wish you'd said sorry to anyone in your life? Regret something you did to someone else? Write your apologies down, then paint over them.
- Think of someone dead who you wish you'd met, or wish you'd asked/told them something in particular. Write a letter to them.
- If you could pass on one tip, quote or piece of advice on to your children (or future children), what would it be?
- What would your favourite 3 course meal consist of?
- Do you have a talent or party trick? What is it and how did you learn it?
- Write down your bucket list. For more writing ideas click here for a list.
- What would you like to be remembered for?
- If you could throw a dinner party for any 10 people (living or dead), who would you invite? What would be the seating plan and why?
- Document a week in your life. Include photos, drawings, words, and/or paper momentoes like tickets, food packaging etc. Do this once every year or two to see how your week has changed.
- If you could go back in time, what era would you go back to and why? What is the general fashion and style of that time? What do you see?
Record What's Close At Hand
Can't think of what to write about? How about what is in your pockets, or bag?
Click here fo other similar journal pages.
Illustrated Travel Journal
Photo and journal by Sapphire252.
Illustrate Your Recipes
Photo and art by Anita Davies.
Arty Ideas
- Cut out photos (particularly people) from newspapers or magazines and doodle on them. Or cut the image in half, stick one half in your journal and then draw the missing half yourself.
- Write out your favourite quote by using letters you have cut out of a magazine - in the style of a ransom note.
- Pick your favourite colour and create a page spread with this theme - try and find paper and magazine cuttings in the chosen colour, and other things around your home that you can stick in; such as fabric scraps, gift tags, wrapping paper, tickets, old credit cards, stickers, balloons, letters, envelopes, stamps etc.
- Before you start painting or drawing on a page, cover it with scraps of white and cream papers - as many different types as possible such as lined, graph, tracing, watercolour, mulberry, embossed etc.
- Try painting with coffee.
- Print a pattern in paint using only naturally occurring items as the stamps e.g. leaves, grass, flowers, bark, potatoes etc.
- Draw something simple like a glass cup using just charcoal and your finger to create the light and shadow.
- Incorporate written words and sentences into a painting - like in this Black Bear painting (complete with a tutorial.)
- Why not try a mini journals? Smaller books are perfect for beginners because they're much less daunting to fill.
- Cut-out and sew a fantastic self-portrait.
Photographic Art
Sticking photographs in your journal are great for adding a personal touch, but you can also create art with your photos - for instance by 'painting with light' as shown in the photo above.
Click here to see how to 'paint with light'.
Photo source.
Collage Journal Pages
Photo and journal by Natalie Ratkovski.
Pastel Chaos
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Do You Have a Journal?
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Art Journaling Books
Please Comment on my Lens!
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Millionairemomma
May 23, 2012 @ 8:44 pm | delete
- I absolutely love the photos you used. Anything to our creative juices flowing is good.
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gressaaudrina
Apr 7, 2012 @ 1:47 am | delete
- Nice idea..love it..!
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ZodiacImmortal
Mar 30, 2012 @ 6:43 pm | delete
- I'm adding this to my favorite lenses lens (& will later probably add to my Epicbalad of poetry lens)
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NinaLouder
Mar 25, 2012 @ 12:04 pm | delete
- Wow, nice ideas.
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teddi
Mar 1, 2012 @ 10:37 pm | delete
- this post is wonderful! you have compiled quite the collection. i'm sure it took you a lot of hard work to put it together. i truly appreciate it. what does it say about me when i own 3 of the 5 art journaling books suggested? ;)
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