Art journaling is a therapeutic hobby and it can be whatever you make of it! Some use bullet journals to stay organized and on track towards a goal by documenting daily activities, while others pull out all the stops with beautiful pages of creative expression.
If you’re new to art journaling, the options can be very overwhelming because it seems like you need a ton of supplies to follow any of the basic art techniques used.
The good news is, you don’t! All you really need to get started is a quality journal and a good pen. Before you start experimenting with various background techniques, these are the most basic art techniques to learn:
Hand Lettering Techniques & Tutorials
Obviously you can just write whatever you want in your art journal, but the fun part is working on how you write it. Here are some resources for learning basic hand lettering techniques:
- Hand Lettering Tutorial for Beginners
- Hand Lettering for Beginners
- Hand Lettering for Beginners: Easy Accents
- Hand Lettering Step By Step
- Simple Hand Lettering: Step By Step
- DIY Modern Calligraphy
- Calligraphy Art Videos
Doodling Techniques & Tutorials
If you’re still working on finding your own unique style, here are some resources for exploring various art techniques for doodling.
- Zentangle is a very specific (and heavily branded) style of doodling, perfect for meditating and de-stressing. I recommend learning as much as you can about this technique, and practice many different “tangle patterns”. Then you can find more inspiration by also searching for the more generic phrase: zendoodle.
- Joanne Fink (Zenspirations) is a great resource for doodling very similar to zentangle, using small and simple patterns, and combining those designs with hand lettering.
- Here is a resource for free Doodle Patterns.
- Personally, whenever I have a long day but I’m not in the mood to write or draw anything specific… I de-stress by doodling a page full of paisley or a mandala.
- Robin Mead is also a very talented artist to be inspired by– she has a bright and colorful style with doodled landscapes.
Drawing Techniques & Tutorials
Drawing and painting is what really transforms your journal into an art journal. Painting and background techniques are where you’ll start going crazy on supplies, so let’s start with some resources for learning how to draw. All you really need is paper, pencil, and pen!
Art From The Start: How To Draw a Whimsical Face is a free video that teaches one style of drawing whimsical characters, and Facing Forward: Faces in the Journal is a valuable course that teaches another style. (Effy Wild also has some free videos.)
Tamara Laporte (Willowing Arts) is another great resource for both drawing and painting faces.
Honestly, there are so many free videos & tutorials and valuable courses available for learning how to draw anything you want… and that’s just too much information (and too general) to compile into this list. The beauty of the internet is that you can find drawing techniques on Youtube for anything and in styles ranging from realistic to whimsical.
Other Simple Techniques for Art Journaling
- Collage is a popular and simple art journaling technique, and all you really need are scissors and glue! (Plus magazines, junk mail, or other ephemera.)
- Stamps, if you have them, can also used directly on the page or as part of a collage.
- Creating pockets in your journal for storing tags, pages, pictures, or more.
- Embellished Edges. Essentially all you need is a pair of scissors! (But I do recommend the ‘Embellishing Edges and Text’ e-course by Valerie Sjodin for something more advanced!)
For more (advanced) art journal techniques, including painting & backgrounds, be sure to subscribe or join the Mixed Media Art Journey group on Facebook!