A lot of people have gone through a phase of keeping a diary. That notebook you hide underneath your bed or pillow, containing secrets and hopes. But journaling today is a new art form in itself. If you are looking for the best art supplies for beginners in journaling, just check out the list below.
Notebook
It all starts with a notebook! Starting out your journaling, you should pick out the notebook that is best for you. This should coincide with your purpose, such as tracking daily habits or keeping a yearly diary.
The most common notebook is a hardbound, which has a fixed number of pages. Other journal enthusiasts prefer the traveler’s notebook, which allows you to add on pages as you please.
When picking out a notebook, make sure to take note of the pages. Do you want to write on blank pages? Or maybe prefer dotted ones, a graph, or lined pages?
Aside from that, you also need to choose paper with a high gsm. You can always start off with 100gsm or less, but the higher the gsm, the thicker the paper. If you tend to write with a bit of pressure, opt for a high-gsm paper to reduce the tendency of punctures or ink smearing at the back of the page.
Pen
After the notebook, the next most important supply you’ll need is the pen. The beauty of journaling today is you don’t have to have one permanent pen. You can experiment with different colors, nib sizes, inks, and more.
To help you get started, check out Writech’s Journaling Set. You’ll be getting 4 retractable gel pens (0.5mm), 4 retractable highlighters, and 4 brush pens in different colors.
You may use Writech’s Journaling Set to make beautiful calligraphy or even fill in or color your doodles. The sign brush pens deliver vivid colors and lines. They can even be diluted with water if you need softer tones.
Journaling isn’t all about writing, after all, you can also draw or sketch to your heart’s content. The best art supplies for beginners drawing are erasable writing instruments. You don’t have to stick to pencils all the time, you can also opt for erasable pens now. However, if you are a bit more traditional, you can check out the best drawing pencils for new artists to pros to help you out.
Paper
To give some depth to your journal, a steady supply of paper is really helpful. It doesn’t matter if you want plain or paper with designs on them. It all depends on your vision, what you want to make of your journal, your artwork.
Paper is one of the best art supplies for beginners as it has so many uses. You can use it to border a page, make a frame for a photo or a small drawing, highlight dates, and more.
Once you get more advanced, you’ll be able to use paper for origami art or maybe even pop-up pages on your journal! Truly, you can let your creativity run free with a simple sheet of paper.
Scissors
You might see other journalers just ripping off pages or paper to create art. It doesn’t mean you have to do the same. If you want some texture in the pages of your journal, grab some scissors to help you out.
Aside from regular scissors that can cut straight, why not check out pinking scissors too? School Smart’s Paper Edger Scissors offer unique patterns for you. You can cut precise zigzags or wiggly lines with ease.
The set from School Smart contains 6 scissors with different edges. What’s more, it comes with a wooden revolving stand! Your scissors won’t be scattered about but rather kept tidy in an aesthetically-pleasing stand.
These pinking scissors come with stainless steel blades. So you don’t have to worry about them tarnishing or rusting over time. Rusty scissors are quite dangerous and can make quite a mess with your work.
Washi Tape
Another really helpful supply that journaling hobbyists utilize is the washi tape. You can find dozens of kinds in different colors and sizes. Washi tape can be used for decorating your journal’s pages, and maybe even the cover. It can function as an adhesive, too.
If you want to get creative, there are washi tapes that don’t have any designs on them. Just a plain solid color that you can write on or draw on. It can also be as simple as a tape that can function as a nametag for your notebook.
Glue
What are the best art supplies for beginners? When it comes to this question, the answer usually falls under the basics. Glue is a basic art supply every artist should have. It can be your best friend (as long as you choose the right one).
As it is, there are different types of glue in the market. You can opt for the traditional liquid glue, like the ever-popular Elmer’s. If you aren’t a fan of liquid, then there’s the glue stick. However, some people still have trouble using this, good thing there is now the handy-dandy glue tape.
Choosing the right adhesive will depend on you. What are you most comfortable using? You should also consider the materials that you will use your glue with. Some paper may be too thin that liquid glue can disfigure it. Glue sticks can also make some paper a bit lumpy. Do take note of those when getting the right glue.
Stickers
If you aren’t too comfortable with DIY-ing doodles and small art on your journal, there’s another way to express yourself—stickers! There are thousands of stickers to choose from, from cute little designs to inspirational quotes, animal drawings, blank speech bubbles, and more.
Stickers are easy to use, probably the hardest part of it is actually picking one that you will go on your journal entry. Go crazy on the stickers and make decoupage or use just one for each page, it’s all up to you!
Journal Set
It’s all very thrilling to build up your art supplies for journaling. But as a beginner with 0% knowledge of the art, it can be very overwhelming. A good tip is to start off with a journaling set. That way, you get the very best art supplies for beginners.
Once you get the basic stuff, you can then add on other things you want in the future. Do check out Feela’s Dotted Journal Set to help you out. This set comes with an A5 notebook with 224 pages that are actually numbered. The notebook also comes with an index page, an elastic closure, bookmark ribbons, and an inner pocket to store things like stickers!
Aside from the notebook, Feela’s Set also has 1 black pen and 15 colored pens, write and draw whichever way you want. There are also 6 washi tapes and 6 sticker sheets that you can use to decorate the inside and also the cover of your journal. To try your hand at drawing and DIYing, the set has 5 reusable stencils too.
Final Thoughts
Journaling is a personal expression of yourself. There really isn’t a “right” or “wrong” way to do it. Journaling is art, and just like art, it is subjective. So, just do what you can while you are starting out, and don’t feel too intimidated by journal experts who seem to have all the pages figured out. They were once beginners too!
Enjoyed this post on the best art supplies for beginners? If so, please check out our other articles, such as the best art desk and the best art projectors! Thank you for reading!