An art journal is a journal where pictures do some of the talking. A page might be a wash of color with three words on it, a collage of this week’s receipts, or a doodle of your coffee cup with a note about the day underneath.
Nobody needs to see it, and nothing needs to be good. That’s what makes it easier to start than a sketchbook.
Art journaling means keeping a journal that mixes images, color and words on the same page. To start, get a notebook with thick paper, a pen, a glue stick and some paper scraps, then build each page in three layers: a background, one focal point and a few words about your day or how you feel.
Spin an art journal page
What do you have?
Pick what you have and every idea uses only that. Lock the cards you like and spin the rest. Nothing here is stored or sent.
Quick takeaways
- An art journal mixes pictures and words. It’s about expressing and recording, not making art to show anyone.
- You can start with a pen, a glue stick and scraps from your recycling. Paint is optional.
- Build pages in three layers: background, focal point, words.
- Thick paper helps if you use paint or glue. Glue two thin pages together if your notebook is thin.
- Unfinished, messy and ugly pages all count. Date them and move on.
What is art journaling?
Art journaling is keeping a journal where you express thoughts and record days with images as well as words: drawing, painting, collage, doodles and lettering. It sits between a diary and a sketchbook. The point is the process and what it helps you notice, not the finished page.
How it compares with similar practices:
| Art journal | Sketchbook | Junk journal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Expressing feelings and recording days | Practicing drawing | Keeping and displaying everyday paper |
| Words | Usually some | Rarely | Sometimes |
| Materials | Anything: pens, paint, collage | Mostly pencil and pen | Mostly found paper, often a handmade book |
| Skill needed | None | Helps | None |
If you’re more drawn to tickets, tea bags and receipts than to paint, junk journaling is the closer fit. For the full list of journaling styles and what each is good for, see the types of journaling.
What do you need to start an art journal?
You need a notebook, a pen, a glue stick, scissors and some scrap paper. Add watercolors or acrylic paint later if you want to. A notebook labeled “mixed media” has thicker paper that won’t buckle as much under glue and paint.
| Start with | Add later if you like |
|---|---|
| Any notebook, ideally with thick pages | A mixed-media journal |
| A black fine-liner pen and a pencil | Colored pencils or markers |
| A glue stick and scissors | Watercolors, gouache or acrylics |
| Magazines, junk mail, old book pages | Gesso to prime thin pages |
| An old gift card for spreading glue or paint | A white gel pen for highlights |
How do you start an art journal, step by step?
Prepare your pages, make a background, add one focal point, add a few words, then date the page and stop. Your first page can take fifteen minutes. The spinner at the top of this page gives you one idea for each layer.
Get past the blank first page
The first page is the hardest, so make it on purpose: scribble on it, paint a stripe, or write “this page is allowed to be bad.” Some people skip it and start on page two.
Prepare thin pages if you’re using wet media
If your notebook paper is thin, glue two pages together or brush on a coat of gesso so paint and glue don’t soak through. With pens and dry collage, skip this step.
Make a background
Cover most of the page with something that isn’t the main idea: a watercolor wash, torn newspaper strips, a pencil scribble or a pattern of tiny doodles. A background stops the page from feeling blank and gives the next layers something to sit on.
Add one focal point
Add one thing that draws the eye: a cut-out image, a drawing of an object near you, a traced hand, a ticket stub. One is enough. Put it slightly off center.
Add words
Write something about today or how you feel: one big word, a few lines around the edge, a question, a quote. Handwriting that looks messy is fine. It’s your record.
Date it and stop
Write the date in a corner and close the book. Stopping before it feels finished keeps you coming back. You can always add a layer another day.
What are some art journal ideas for beginners?
Good beginner art journal ideas are small and specific: draw what’s in your bag, paint the color of your mood, collage a page from one magazine, trace your hand and fill it with this week. Pick one and give it fifteen minutes.
- Draw everything in your bag or pockets, life-size.
- Paint a color swatch for how today felt, then name the color.
- Make a whole page from one magazine: images, colors and words.
- Trace your hand and fill each finger with something from this week.
- Draw your breakfast and write one line about the morning.
- Glue down a receipt and write the story of what you bought.
- Draw the view from your window in one continuous line.
- Make a weather page: draw today’s sky and how you felt under it.
- Paint three stripes for morning, afternoon and evening.
- Collage a “currently” page: reading, watching, eating, worrying about.
Art journal ideas for feelings
Art journaling about feelings works well when you give the feeling a shape or color before you put it into words. Draw it, paint it, then write one sentence about it.
- Draw today’s mood as weather.
- Scribble hard in one color until the page is full, then write what you were thinking about.
- Draw a container and fill it with things you’re carrying right now.
- Paint a messy background, then write one thing you’re proud of on top.
- Draw a door. Write what you want to leave behind on one side, and what’s next on the other.
- Make a page of the things that calmed you down this week.
- Draw yourself as an animal today. What would it be?
- Tear paper into pieces for everything you’re worried about, then glue them in a pile and write the size of each.
- Paint two colors side by side: how you feel and how you want to feel.
- Write a letter to yourself and paint over parts of it, leaving only the words that matter.
Art journal ideas for words and lettering
Word-based art journal pages use lettering, quotes and cut-out words as the main image. They’re a good place to start if you’re more comfortable with writing than drawing.
- Write your word for the month in big block letters and fill the letters with pattern.
- Cut words from a magazine to make a sentence about today.
- Write a quote from a book you’re reading, and draw the scene around it.
- Black out words on an old book page until a short poem is left.
- List ten small good things and turn each one into a tiny doodle.
- Write the same sentence ten times in ten different handwriting styles.
- Make a page of overheard phrases from this week.
- Write a question you can’t answer yet, large, in the middle of the page.
- Letter a to-do list, then cross things off with color.
- Write your name in the middle and surround it with words people have used to describe you.
What art journal techniques should beginners try?
Start with techniques that need only basic supplies: tearing and layering paper, washi or masking tape, a watercolor wash, stamping with household objects, blackout poetry and doodled patterns. Each takes minutes and works in any notebook.
- Tear, don’t cut. Torn edges look softer and hide wobbly lines.
- Layer paper. Overlap two or three scraps, then draw or write across the joins to tie them together.
- Watercolor wash. Wet the page slightly, drop in two colors and let them bleed.
- Household stamps. Cup rims, bottle caps, bubble wrap and the end of a pencil all print well with paint.
- Stencils from scraps. Cut a simple shape from card and color through it.
- Doodle patterns. Dots, stripes, scales and cross-hatching fill space fast.
- White pen highlights. A white gel pen on top of paint or dark paper adds contrast.
What if you think you can’t draw?
You don’t need to draw to art journal. Use collage, patterns, color and lettering instead. Traced shapes, cut-out images and simple doodles all make real art journal pages.
- Trace things: your hand, a mug, a leaf, a coin.
- Use collage for images and add words by hand.
- Stick to shapes: circles, stripes and squares.
- Draw the same small object every day for a week and notice the change.
If your pages end up more writing than art, that’s fine too. For writing-based ideas, see 50 journaling ideas beyond “dear diary”.
Art journaling questions
What kind of journal is best for art journaling?
A notebook with thick paper, often sold as mixed-media paper, handles glue and paint best. Any notebook works for pens and dry collage. You can also make pages thicker by gluing two together.
How often should you art journal?
As often as you’ll enjoy it. A page a week is a realistic start. Some people do a small daily page, others a bigger spread on weekends.
Do you have to write in an art journal?
No, but most art journals include some words, even just a date or a single word for the day. The words are what make it a journal rather than a sketchbook.
What do you put in an art journal?
Anything: drawings, paint, collage, photos, tickets, quotes, lists, feelings and notes about your day. Mix them however you like.
Is art journaling the same as art therapy?
No. Art therapy is a form of therapy led by a trained art therapist. Art journaling is a personal creative habit you do on your own.
Mike Arnold
Mike is a first-year counselling student who has journaled on and off for most of his life. He writes the how-to guides and the occasional bit of philosophy. About our writers
