Starting Out: Some Journaling Materials

So you think you want to art or visual journal? Wondering where to start?

Here's a handy list of some materials to get you on your way.

#1. A good journal. The good people of the artfire community make some great journals and sketchbooks. Head over here to check them out. Size and paper are up to you. I like a smaller journal- 100 or so pages and a medium weight paper, about 90lb.

#2. Some decent pencils. Many brands put out decent pencils in a range of hardness. I'd suggest HB, 2B, 4B and 6B. Brand doesn't matter but try a variety before you settle on just one. General makes some affordable pencils. I like Palomino. Get some erasers and a good pencil sharpener to go along with them.

#3.  A black pen. Roller ball, felt tip, dip pen, etc. Pick a pen and try it out. the important thing is that you like it. I'll go ahead and suggest Pitt pens and Rapidographs. While pricey they last well and put down substantial black lines. If your going to work on plain paper treat yourself to the rapidograph. Rapidograph pens need smooth paper and plug up if used on weird materials. Great for sketching and writing not always the best for art journals.

#4.Brushes. #6 and #8 rounds I like mine to be for use with acrylic paints, they have the best spring and work well with most media I use in my journal. A 1/4 in and 1/2in flat again mine are for acrylic paints. A #3 liner brush or larger. A few bristle brushes in a variety of sizes and shapes. Buy a cheap pack of them.

#5 Gesso. I could wax philosophical about gesso all day, but I'll refrain. I use liquatex basics brand.It covers well enough and is cheap enough that I don't feel bad using it up. I use the basic white but I also have clear and I'm planing on trying the black the next trip I make to the art supply store.

#6 Glue. Plain old white PVA, it dries clear, goes on easily and can be used in a variety of techniques. Also you can try some of the other methods to glue stuff to your pages. I'm a fan of the Beacon's 3in 1 Advanced Craft Glue, it dries fast, doesn't wrinkle the paper and when I get bored I can sniff it. (Just kidding i love my brain cells, sniffing glue is a BAD idea.) I don't like glue sticks becuase after awhile they can give up their hold. Also I don't like the roll on dry glues. I had a very bad experience with a major brand name roll on glue that gave up it's hold in a book project. Luckily it was an experimental book and I still had it in my possession but that was a valuable lesson- use a known glue in places where you need it.

#7 Acrylic Paint. I like liquatex and  Grumbacher. Buy one of those 6 color sets as well as a white and black. That's it, all you'll need. No need for 700 colors or the latest special thingie. Just 6 basic colors white and black. And for gods sake don't buy apple barrel or the craft paint in the squeeze bottles. I know I know- 300 colors at 75 cents each. STOP. Step away from the pretty pretty display. PUT IT DOWN and listen. Those paints fade, peel and stick together. The set of 6 liquatex (about $10) will last you longer, never fade and thought they might stick together your pages will never fall off the paper. For your money I'd rather see you buy the set of 12 student grade Reeves paints. Made by Grumbacher they might be lower quality and might skimp on pigments but in the long run you'll be better off. Trust me on this one. Stay away from the apple barrel and other craft acrylics

That's the basics. In addition to those, look further for more stuff...

#8 Watercolors. Koi brand has a nice 12 pan set that is great. I like dry watercolors for travel and tubes for at home. Either is nice. Cotman also has a nice 12 pan set in a nice plastic case. You can make your own out of a altoids tin. Look it up on instructables.

#9 Watercolor crayons. Caran d'ache. get a set of 10 basic colors is all you really need. These last a long time and are wonderful to work with.

#10 Watercolor pencils. Derwent. For the love of all things good in the world don't buy the crayola version. Derwent pencils are highly pigmented, go on smoothly and come in a huge range of colors. You can buy them singly or in a package. I'd recommend the tinned set of 12.

#11 A bottle of good india ink. Any brand. Waterproof is best. I like HIggins eternal.

Then there is of course all of the other things- various stamp pads, inks, rubber stamps, hand carved stamps, papers, brushes and stuff I love...

Can you think of a supply you can't live without? Leave a comment!

Comments

[Beverley]

I love what you have written here,mostly because I have all of the things you mention, plus a trillion others! I did resist the craft paints though, so kudos to me! This is an excellent guide on stuff you need to get started.

[Jonathan Manning]

GLITTER! I use the "La Cheapay" poster paint acrylics, but the style I'm going for is washed and faded so it works for me. I also use the $0.88 roseart watercolors and their very cheap watercolor pencils.

[leslie herger]

I have used the craft acrylics in the past and had poor results. I suggest the other brands mainly liquatex because I know them and because they will in the long run last longer. You can thin them with water or medium and get the same effects as craft acrylics just in a more stable product. Compared with the craft acrylics the shelf life in longer and you get more use from the artist grade acrylics. thats mt opinion though. :)

[leslie herger]

You can make art with anything that makes you happy. Each persona has their favorite materials. the real secret is getting the effect that you are looking for. And that is what is most important.

[Michelle Waters]

I completely agree with you about the shelf life of craft acrylics. Nothing more annoying than pulling out a bottle of the color you need, only to find out it's all dried up. So I've given all my craft acrylics to Mom and am using Liquitex, Windsor & Newton, Grumbacher, and Golden.

Thank you so much for this list. I'm working on building up my supply.

[leslie herger]

Ive really got to try some of the golden stuff, everyone raves about it. Ive never been unhappy with the liquatex. Ive bought other brands when on sale, but Golden never goes on sale so Ive never tried it. I always had that issues withteh craft acrylics too. They would be dried up or separated, or something else and at 75 cents a tube who cares, until you figure out your spending a lot more to replace the tubes ever so often OR to get the colors you need.

[Alia]

I got some Golden acrylics on sale (part of a local store's Grand Opening. I think they regretted it: I bought a good $300-400 worth of Golden tubs for around $100!) I'd always promised myself that I'd switch to "artist grade" paints when I could tell the difference. Wow. I was hard-pressed to use up my Liquidtex paints after I'd tried the Golden.

Recently, as an experiment, I bought a small container of black gesso to try. I don't get the point -- quite possible that I just didn't know when to use black v white, or overlooked something obvious. I do get the point and sometimes enjoy using some of the Golden textured pastes and gessos. Basically, regular binder/gesso with stuff mixed in. (You could probably fake a cheap version by dropping a wet canvas on a gritty driveway. Hee hee!) Interesting for building up some wild textures.

I'm a long time fan of Derwent's watercolor pencils. Besides the merits you mentioned, unlike wax-based colored pencils, watercolor pencils don't develop a "wax bloom" over time. To balance this merit, there is of course the flaw that you'll be very sorry if you drop your sketchbook in a puddle!!!

[leslie herger]

Ive got some of the goldens mediums and they are top notch. I like my liquatex brand paints though, not their basics line though. Those are not so great, except for the gesso, thats pretty good stuff. Ive got to go and try a few of the goldens stuff now. Ive been wanting to try the black gesso but I think I can mix my own by adding india ink to regular gesso or to my clear.the derwent colored pencils are fab. I love them.