Inside: best art journaling for beginners: the tips you need to know to make every art journal page a success
You probably already read about how to start an art journal page and what supplies you need. You probably also checked other sites to find out about art journaling for beginners and read a lot of tips. But I want to share with you some tips that are not so common, shared or even popular.
THE SHORTCUT FOR MAKING ART JOURNAL PAGES
When learning a new craft or art it takes time to know all the materials and techniques and even longer to master them. So when you are a beginner in art journaling you will probably not open your art journal and start making pages. You will stare at the blank page, maybe make a page or two that you'll hate and then start to wonder if it's worth it. Maybe this is not for you.
Your next instinct will be to look for a shortcut. A way to make beautiful, expressive art journal pages you'll enjoy making and looking at.
The bad news...there is no shortcut.
If you want to make art journals you'll have to embark on a creative journey. A journey that will take you through fun, creative and fulfilling moments, but also frustrating, judgmental and uninspired moments.
But this is art.
ART JOURNALING TIPS
If you are still here that means you are still determined to make art journal pages and I'm here to help.
I have gathered, what I think, are the most important art journaling tips every beginners should know.
GET INSPIRATION EVERYWHERE
Inspiration can come from many places and that inspiration doesn't have to be for an entire page it can be for just one shape or word. From that starting point you can continue to create an entire page.
- Copy someone else's page or idea that you like. There are tons of those all over the internet. You can even copy mine 🙂 By the time you get done, I guarantee the page will look totally different and completely yours.
- Look at art, paintings and even scrapbook pages to spark an idea in your head. I like to look at the best websites to buy fine art online. It's not for the purpose of buying art, it's for looking at it. You won't believe how many ideas will fill your head when you look at all these paintings and art.
- Experiment with new techniques on your page. Just playing in your art journal and practicing a new technique can give you an idea for a page.
- Go back to basics with simple doodling or shapes. By applying them on your page you start a creative process that can lead you to wonderful places.
If you are still stuck in front of a blank page here is my sure way of overcoming a blank page in your art journal
TRY SOMETHING NEW
I know I always say that but I stand behind it 100%. Part of art journaling is experimenting. You don't always have to create perfect organized themed pages. try new crazy things on your pages. It'll inspire you and you'll have a chance to practice new techniques. I think that if you want to improve you have to try new things and step outside your comfort zone. If you do the same things all the time you'll stay in the same place. Plus if you're like me you get bored quickly and new things always spark my interest and creativity.
In this page I experimented with watercolors and doodling. I wanted to try and create a page with just a black paint and watercolors and it turned out great!
When trying new things you don't have to "invent the wheel" or try dramatic things. Even if you use new colors, change the direction of your writing, add new shapes or try new size of doodling - it's a new thing!
START WITH THE BACKGROUND
When you have no inspiration or no ideas for complete pages just create pretty backgrounds. Play around with paint, spray a little or use stencils with no specific idea or theme. One of two things will happen: either you'll get a great idea while your working because your mind is already in a creative mood. Or you'll have pretty backgrounds for when you will have inspiration and come up with a great idea for a page!
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT A BACKGROUND IS?
The most important thing to remember about a background is that if you are not willing to cover it with something like an image, another layer of paint or a pattern then it's not a background. If you have something on your page that you really like and want to show then it's already a part of your page or even a focal point.
MAKE MISTAKES!
In my article Mistakes to Avoid when Art Journaling I talk about what not to do when you make an art journal page. But if you read closely you'll find out that the mistakes I'm referring to have nothing to do with making art, but with how you perceive yourself as an artist.
Being an artist is all about making mistakes - this is how we learn. How many times does a baby fall before he learns to walk? Expecting to make a perfect art journal page everytime is not realistic and is setting you up for failure. If you don't know what's NOT working how will you know what IS working?
THE MOST IMPORTANT ART JOURNALING TIP - DON'T JUDGE OR COMPARE
I think this is the most important tip of all! When we judge our pages or compare them to other pages we usually spot the faults and mistakes on our page. We are usually too critical of what we do and comparing our creation with others just makes it worse.
So make your art journal a no judging place and accept everything you do with love. There are no rules in art journaling so everything you do is ok! The purpose of art journaling is to express yourself not winning a contest for the prettiest page! Once you'll free yourself from that - you'll really have fun art journaling!
Do you have any tips from your experience? Please share them in the comments.
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Have fun creating!
