If you have been art journaling for a while you will probably already have build up a nice stash of items that you always use. Your "go to" stash. And if you are just a little bit like me your actual stash of supplies is much larger than what you really need. In this post I will try to narrow the list down to a reasonable size for someone who is just beginning. Call it your beginner art supply stash if you like.
This will in no way be a complete list and the items listed will not be required to have to be able to art journal. It is just those few items that I can not live without.
1: Journals
Most importantly you will need a journal. There are no specific journals that are required. You can use pretty much anything you like.
I have several different journals. Mostly because I like to work on various sizes depending on what I am wanting to make. I prefer a medium size. At least 7x8 inches. Sometimes I go larger and other times I go smaller. Largest one I am working in at the moment is 8x10.5 inches and the smallest is 5x7 inches. Choose a size that you feel comfortable with.
You can of course also use loose leaf papers. Then either just keep them in a binder or get the bound into a book when you are done.
I also prefer paper that is heavy enough that it can stand up to being covered in paint, glue, or sprayed with water. I prefer 140lbs hot press water color paper. It is smooth yet heavy. I believe the lightest paper I use is 90lbs mixed media paper.
For a beginner I suggest: A Strathmore Visual Journal, mixed media paper, and 9x12 inches. It is not the cheapest journals at around $10-15, but it is certainly not expesive either.Some Walmarts have begun carrying the Daler-Rowney mixed media journals and they cost about $10.
2: Colors
You will need to get some colors to add to your journals. I personally do not have a preference. One day I enjoy water colors and another acrylics, and sometimes I mix them all.
Water Colors: I bought a box of 24x12ml tubes of water colors by ArtCreation Expression at Hobby Lobby for about $17 I prefer tubes rather than pans (more about this later). I do have a small pan set with 12 colors.
Acrylics: Same as with the watercolors. I bought a pack of 24x12ml ArtCreation Expression at Hobby Lobby for about $17. Those are perfectly fine for a beginner until you decide if this a medium you want to explore further.
Coloring Pencils: As a beginner all you really need is a small pack of 12-24 pencils. You can read more about my coloring pencil preferences HERE.
Markers: I prefer Sharpie permanent markers. They are cheap and they work fine for my use.
Water color pencils and crayons: I use Loew-Cornell watercolor pencils and Derwent Inktense pencils. They are entirely different in price and quality. The Loew-Cornell are perfectly fine for art journaling, but if you want to splurge I suggest Derwent Inktense pencils. I bought a box of 12 for $36. Probably will never buy them again unless I find them really cheap AND 50%.
For watercolor crayons I use Staedtler Karat Aquarell and Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Artists' Crayons. The Staedtler crayons are perfectly fine for art journaling and are quite a bit cheaper than the Neocolors. Neocolors are wonderful crayons, but also expensive. I have seen packs of 15 at $34, but you can find them cheaper on Amazon. Something to consider when you want to splurge or maybe add to your Christmas or birthday wish lists.
3: Writing Tools
For writing you can use pretty much anything you are comfortable with. I like to use several different items depending on what I am writing.
This is a small list of what I use:
Sharpie permanent markers (many different colors)
Sharpie poster-paint markers (white, black, gold, and silver) Make sure they are water based.
Sakura Glaze (many colors, but most often I use black and white)
Sakura Pigma Brush (black)
Gel pens (black and white)
Glitter Gel pens (many colors)
4: Collage Fodder
I cut pictures from magazines, and because I art for me I dont worry about copyright. I most times wont share my art journal pages and I definitely will not profit from them, so I use magazine clippings.
I pretty much use any kind of paper I can get my hands on, but I will get into this further in a different article.
5: Adhesive
I use Modge Podge. Some people swear by it and others think it is the worst. I like it. For glue stick I use UHU stics. And sometimes I will use a tape runner from Tombow and also the Tombow liquid glue.
There are so many other items that you can use when art journaling such as tape, ribbon, stamps, spray ink, and much much more. I will get more into that later, but to begin with this is really all you need:
A journal (or loose leaf papers)
Colors (your preference)
Writing tools
Collage fodder
Adhesive
Have fun!
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