This section will include 10 step-by-step formulae for making art journal spreads to take the overwhelm out of art journaling.
Art Journal Catalysts
Pen
Lesson 4 – Layering Image Transfers
For this final lesson, I will demonstrate how you can create a really cool art journal spread by layering multiple image transfers on top of one another. This particular process does take time to complete, only because you have to wait until each transfer is completely dry before you add another transfer over it. But the outcome is so worth the time and wait.
Layers and Layers of Life with Cindy
In this Artist Date with Cindy, we will glue and paint and then gesso and then glue and then paint some more. And then maybe some more.
Creating a mixed media self portrait
Connections "A portrait affirms; it gives the gift of self to its subject. It says, 'Yes, you are worth spending this time over, your story deserves to be told, you should...
How to make and use your own colour catalogue
Colour Hello, hello! It's Ashley here. This season has been such a blast, so I wanted to round it out by sharing a simple color catalogue you can create and use for continuous...
Combining warm and cool colours to create contrast
Contrast This season has been a blast, and I can barely believe that there are only two more weeks left in this wonderful world of contrast! But, thankfully, I have prepared for...
Adding words when you don’t like your handwriting
Hey there, it’s Kathleen here and today I want to share some ideas with you for how you can incorporate words and phrases in your art journal pages even when you don’t like your...
Lesson 4 – Lines, Lines, Lines
Lines can be utilized in many different ways to create visual interest in your artwork. Lines can be used as a graphic element to create drama, help draw the viewers eye across the page to a point of interest, create backgrounds with controlled line work and more.
Windy Waltzing Leaf: Using Bold Letters to Create 3-Word Poems
Ubuntu Hi, lovely Messians! It’s Divyam here and I’m totally excited to share with you this tutorial for the Season of Ubuntu. This season feels like a great moment to include...
The paintbrush of power: Using comics and cartoons to turn yourself into a superhero
When I read all our posts and conversations on the Facebook group or on the forums, I am continually blown away by the incredible human beings that make up this community. I see courage, creativity, friendliness, and love. I see artists making the world a better place each and every day. Lets play at being superheroes, celebrating these incredible qualities and bringing them to life in our art.
How to paint intuitively
Contrast "The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.” – Elizabeth GilbertHello my favorite artists! It’s Riet here...
Art journal your spirit animal
Art 101 Hi guys, it’s Riet here. Today I want to show you my Raven Nest Journal. It’s about my spirit animal that I discovered last year. I dedicated a whole journal...
How to create a collage of hands
Hey Messians. It's Nina here with a fun and simple idea for your next art journal spread. Since we're in the season of Gifts I thought it only appropriate to make this piece about...
Lesson 5 – Prompts
How I interpret prompts and how I utilise the techniques I have demonstrated so far to make my pages. The goal is to give you a starting point for using prompts in your own pages. It will include a run-through of my interpretation of four prompts, with hopefully four very different spreads at the end.
Lesson 4 – Journaling and Scripting
In this lesson we will cover different ways you can use journaling in your art journal spreads. We will be thinking a bit outside of the box as I am a big believer that the journaling you include in your spread does not need to be a huge story. It can simply be one or two words about how you are feeling or it can be a quote or song lyrics that represent your thoughts. Or you can let the art itself tell the story and skip the journaling part all together.
Lesson 8 – Resisting Ink
In this lesson, we are looking at how to resist ink. Since ink is such a fluid and water like medium, it can be fun and interesting to pair it with something opposite. We will work with elements that are basic for any artist – nothing fancy, not even masking fluid!
Lesson 4 – Interaction
How and why we should incorporate interaction into our journal pages.
Connecting to Culture: Creating a Paper Theatre in Your Journal
Ubuntu Elly here, adding my thoughts to the Season of Ubuntu. We have all had weeks now to wrap our minds around the concept of Ubuntu and part of my thought process has been...
Creating maps to illustrate the seasonal landscape
Sometimes a season can seem like a country with it’s own landscape and culture, quite distinct from other seasons. In this tutorial, we are going to choose one season to work with and create a map showing its unique terrain. We’ll add some simple symbols to represent each place and touches of colour to bring the map to life. This map can serve as a helpful guide when you find yourself deep within this realm, reminding you of the roads you can take and places you can visit to make your stay more enjoyable!
Storyboard Sunday: Using comic book panels to tell your tale
Comic book panels are a great way to focus in on the small moments while, at the same time, building up a bigger picture of the story we want to tell. In this tutorial, we’re going to be telling our stories by combining a comic book page layout with a mixed media, art journaling style.
Illustrating people: Easy tricks to add to your tool kit
Drawing is one of the greatest ways to learn how to see, because when we sit and spend time looking at something in order to draw it, we must give it more than just a passing glance. Here are some arty tips on how to draw people.
Creating a journal of the tides of your year
Nature Hi Get Messy friends. It's Elizabeth here with my final tutorial of the year. And what a year it has been. I have been so grateful to connect with you, and have been so...
How to find hidden imagery in paint spatters
Connections Hello, beautiful Messians! It's Ashley here, and today I'm sharing a quick challenge to stimulate your creativity and inspire you to get messy. When I was a kid,...
How to give your figures colourful hair
Colour Hey Y'all, Katie here today to share a tutorial with you! As you know I love drawing and painting, and with it being the Season of Color, I wanted to share with you how I...
How to work with negative space
Contrast Hello dear Messians! Vanessa here, I am thrilled to welcome you to the Season of Contrasts. I am feeling very inspired by this theme. When I was thinking of how to...
How to use lines expressively
Art 101 Hello Messians! I'm so excited to be back on the creative team this year and today I am sharing a very simple how-to guide for creating expressive lines in your pages....
Creating self portraits through blind drawing
Hello lovely Messians, Vanessa here for the last time in 2016. What a year it has been, no? For me it was a year of change, of adapting to new surroundings, of letting go of certain...
10 Songs 10 Minutes 10 Pages
When I’m staring at a blank sketchbook or art journal page, feeling the call to create but at a loss for where to start, I often turn to music. A good song can evoke so much. I draw from...
Using Envelopes In Your Art Journal
I love using envelopes when I art journal! It’s the perfect thing to tuck away some special writing or journaling, photos, letters, anything really.
A beginner’s guide to drawing faces
Hey friends, it's Katie here today! Your resident doodler! I'm the girl that always has ink on her hands! Really. This year I'm doing a challenge to draw or paint something...
Easy watercolor tiny book
Hey messy people! Nina here. When you’re taking on a huge project – like a daily challenge or a 30 lists album – it can prove quite necessary to take a shortcut on some things. Like the...
Writing letters to your past self
Hello everyone, Nina here. One of the most humbling experiences in life is learning just how much we don’t know. As we get older we realize that the things we used to be one hundred...
A guide to hand lettering
Hand lettering is something that everyone can do. I think it’s really important to embrace your writing, it’s part of you and your personality. I love to use my handwriting on my journal...
A look at Johanna’s pages – identifying the 5 elements
A look into some of my personal journal pages. We identify the elements I use together and look into the individual roles of each, what they bring to the page, how they bring it to the page and where they stem from.
Re-start: Six practical ways to get back into journaling when you’ve taken a break
Starting Tanyalee Kahler Tanyalee Kahler is an Australian mum turned artist. She loves creating mixed media art journals, dabbling with watercolours, publishing magazines...
Lesson 10 – Contrast in Pen + Ink
In our previous lesson, we learned how to use these two mediums together harmoniously. Lesson 10 however, is all about the contrast.
Lesson 9 – Replacing Water with ink
For our first lesson that uses both felt tips and inks together, we are re-visiting lesson 1. Lesson 1 taught us how to blend out our felt tips with water – this time though we are replacing the water with ink, or a mix of water and ink. This will give you a more pigmented finish and also allow you to mix colours and opacities.
Lesson 3 – Felt Tips + Magazines
In this lesson, we are using magazine pages instead of our art journal. Try and gather 5-6 different pages to try out these techniques. I always gravitate towards black and white imagery – or pages with a lot of blank space on them. This way, your felt tip marks are the star of the show with their bright colours and the images don’t steal focus.
Lesson 2 – Felt Tips + Water
Taking what we have learned from our first lesson, we are repeating some of the same layering techniques but this time, adding water. The inclusion of water changes the aspect of felt tips so much and there is a lot of different ways to approach this method. Grab your supplies and let’s make a splash.
Lesson 1 – Layering Felt Tips
We will be learning how to layer felt tips on a page. Using multiple colours to create new blends for backgrounds and patterns. Playing with warm colours, cool colours, light and dark colours together.
Lesson 7 – How to Layer Marks
How to successfully layer different types of marks without causing chaos or muddying up your pages.
Bonus – Marks Imitate Art
In this bonus lesson, we will create an art journal page transforming a found image with marks! This is a great technique to practice creating marks but also makes for a really lovely art journal page!
Lesson 1 – Mark Making Warm Ups
3 different warm up exercises designed to help you loosen up and also connect internally with your marks.
Scientific illustration: Curate your own seasonal collection
Art and science combined are great passions of mine and so naturally I really enjoy Scientific Illustration.
So today I wanted to share with you the rules of scientific illustration and hopefully show you some ways that you can level up your drawing skills, and illustrate the seasons.
How to tell your story
Story Amy Tan is here today to teach us how to tell our most important story - the every day one. Watch her incredible tutorial and learn how she uses everyday life + art to tell...
How to draw faces
Divyam shows you how to draw a face so you can add unique characters to your art journal.
Doodling for beginners
Nature Hey everyone, It's Katie here! You've probably heard of zentangles, right? It's a method of line drawing where you create repeating patterns and turn them into designs. I...
How to experiment with unfamiliar colours
Colour If you have been collaging or journalling for a long time and feel you have a distinctive style, it’s useful to notice your patterns and try to break out of them from time...
How to paint faces in your art journal
Contrast Hi you, beautiful creative souls! I am so happy to be back with another tutorial for a brand new Get Messy Season of Contrast. Can I just start by saying that I feel...
Drawing with pen and ink
Art 101 Hi, lovely Messians. It's Elizabeth here. I hope to serve as your personal creative cheerleader this season and throughout the year, chiming in with a "Just give it a...
Cataloguing and swatching your pens
Art 101 Hey Messians! EmK here for my first post, and I could not be more excited to be sharing these videos with you! You may have realized that this season is special! The...
How to create flowing journaling
Art 101 Hi Get Messians! Jennifer (@stitchandletter) here. I'm so excited to show you one of my favorite lettering styles, what I'm calling "connected lettering." I've been...
How to produce detailed layers
Art 101 This technique is an art journaling step by step that anyone can do, whether following the steps as I have done, or adding your own unique spin to the steps. There are...
Creating expressive pages without looking
Hello, Julia here again to share a new type of creative practice with you... This past year, I have started to create in a new way (for me, at least). It’s something I have started to...
Creating art inspired by double exposure photographs
Hey everyone, Katie here, your resident doodler, painter and galaxy-obsessed artist! Are you loving the Season of Dreams as much as I am? Dreams are so magical to me. Have you ever seen...
How to find animal shapes in your paintings
Hi everyone, Vanessa here. I hope the Season of Dreams has been full of inspiration for you so far. Interestingly enough, both Essie and I came up with the same type of tutorial for...
How to add drawn features to watercolour backgrounds
Hello, excellent ones! It's Essie again, this time with a really simple post about adding pen details to watercolour artworks. I feel like I need to start this post with a disclaimer:...
Including song lyrics in your art journal
Music is such a powerful part of life and memory. You can hear a beat, a lyric, see an album cover and be immediately transported to another place and time. I have strong connections...
Making and filling a grid
Habit Gilly guides us through the relaxing art of making a grid by colour, doodle, paint, collage or mixture of different things.Using a thick piece of paper or art journal we'll...
Floral Junk Journaling
Documenting In this lesson, you'll learn what junk journaling is and see examples of Meg's own junk journals. She'll show you how you can create your own floral inspired junk...
Transform your Imposter Syndrome into a Trickster Goddess
Failure Lesson by Emily Mulroney Emily is an artist. She’s also an explorer. Curious and open-minded, Emily enjoys exploring an array of creative pursuits and...
Document a day with me
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Bonus – Working Creatively with Pen and Ink
A bunch of techniques using pen and ink to encourage exploration.
Lesson 11 – Creating Independently
For our final lesson, we will be creating freely! Take all that you have learned in this course and put your favourite techniques into one page. Be inspired by the pages I am sharing in this lesson as well as your own discoveries along the way. We all are drawn to different things so take stock of what you have been more drawn to throughout the course and think of how you can combine your favourite parts into one (or more!) art journal pages.
Lesson 7 – Mixing Ink Colours
Using what we have learned from our first two ink lessons, we will now start to mix our own colours. Most ink sets are quite basic which gives us lots of blending and mixing possibilities. You can blend either directly on your page or on a palette. Depending on how much pigment (ink) and how much water you mix, your colours can differ immensely. Mixing ink colours is different to paint, as you don’t have the option of adding any white. I like to think of water as the white when mixing with ink.
Lesson 6 – Ink + Different Brushes
Imagine your brush is your magic wand and different spells will create different outcomes. In this lesson, we will see how many spells you know and can create.
Lesson 5 – Ink + Water
In our first ink dedicated lesson, we are simply mixing it with water. Super simple, but really cool and a perfect example of stretching your supplies. When you begin altering your materials, it gives you artist status for sure!
Lesson 4 – Colouring In
For this lesson, we really are going back to kindergarten. Colouring in is one of life’s simplest joys. It is remarkable for calming your nerves as well as creating bold and fun pages.
Part 3 – Elemental Magic
Humans are in and of this world, we interact with it; there is an exchange of energy. This is one of the first principles we learn in Anthropology and we sometimes forget this. We are the product of our environment, we are linked to it. Elemental magic encompasses those symbols, seen and unseen, that surround us.
Lesson 3 – Dots + Dashes
Creating organic patterns with dots and dashes, altering images, and sippling.
Word windows: adding text without affecting your images
For me, art journaling is as much about the story and the meaning as it is about the actual art work. I want to show you a way to combine words and images without having to draw on your art work.
A Zillion Ways to Fill a Sketchbook
Play There are a zillion ways to fill a sketchbook. Danny and Koosje share tips to push you out of your comfort zone and help you grow your sketchbook into a work of art. After...
Make mandala magic
Kindness Hi fabulous messians, this is Clare and I am here to show you two ways to make a mandala. Both are meditative and lovely to draw and create. Let's practice some self...
A guide to continuous line drawing
Connections Hello, messy tribe!Sasha here again for the Season of Connections. This Season seems so intimate and deep to me, so I wanted to come up with a tutorial that...
Repurposing small pieces of old artworks
Contrast One fun way to create unique journal spreads is to find "mini masterpieces" in your old art. Even when I don't care for a piece or a page, if I focus on small areas,...
How to keep an illustrated dream journal
Guys, it’s Julia here with the most exciting thing ever. Be prepared to put a journal under your pillow because we’re about to get early morning creative! Creating a dream journal is...
Creating burned and stitched art journal pages
Hello all and welcome to the Season of Music! It's Vanessa and I'm going to show you how to add some stitching to your pages...but maybe not in the usual way. Stitching can be decorative...
Movable Idea Catchers by Kiala Givehand
IdeasYour challenge, should you choose to accept it: Create an interactive way to explore and discover the ideas that live inside you. Part 1Bonus Save this file to your computer, print it out, and...
Sneaking around fear
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Lesson 2 – Scribbles
Ah, scribbles, the most instinctive of all the marks to make! I use scribbling heavily in my work because to me it’s an open ended expression and can easily be modified to reflect my emotions. You can use scribbles in so many ways to build backgrounds, create color blocks and add more expressive details.
Art journal your personality type
Introspection is the examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes. When I found out the topic of this season was about introspection, my first thought...
Making A Tag Book
Hello, favourites! It's Essie again, back to share how I've been approaching this season of lists. Now, I am a crazy busy person. Like a lot of women, I wear many hats, and routinely...
Reduce, reuse, recycle!
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Together we can do so much
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04 – Visual Gratitude Pages
While I love writing in my journal, there are also times where I just want to get my paints out and play. This lesson focuses on just that. We will still be documenting things we are...
03 – Creating Tags, Pockets & Tuck Spots
In this lesson, we will cover different ways to decorate tags that you can add to your journals. They are a quick way to get creative and make a lovely addition to your journal pages....
From Scrapbook to Sketchbook by Tiare Smith
EncouragementYour challenge, should you choose to accept it: Let this scrapbook sketch inspire your creativity. Use it as a guide to create in your sketch book or art journal. Action Steps...
Words and Lists by Abbey Sy
OKYour challenge, should you choose to accept it: Create a journal spread with a list of things that make you feel OK. Start with the phrase "I feel ok when..." and get creative with your...
06 My Story
Your handwriting. The way you walk. Which china pattern you choose. It’s all giving you away. Everything you do shows your hand. Everything is a self-portrait. A diary. Your whole drug history’s in a strand of your hair. Your fingernails. The forensic details. The...
02 – Creating Writing Spots
In this lesson, we are going to start putting our journals to good use by creating writing spots. There are lots of fun ways to do this and I will be sharing some of my favourites....
Vanessa – Feminist, Anarchist Zines
Zine-making is historically a mode of expression used by marginalized groups. Zines are inherently underground, queer, feminist, anarchist, punk, and rebellious. They were photocopied works of...
Flip Through
Here’s a complete flip through of how I documented my days using The Diarist, the A5 journal I’ve used for the previous year.
Textured Reflections by Amanda Trought
ChaptersYour challenge, should you choose to accept it: Create a reflective texture-rich art journal page. Bonus Save this file to your computer, print it out, and allow it to accompany you on...
Week 2 – Watercolours + pens + something found
CourageThis season we are collaborating with a partner, or being our own cheerleader. Download the Season Sidekick for a list of prompts to work from. Char and Claudette are choosing three items...
Collage Relaxation
Promise#gmseasonofpromiseYour challenge, should you choose to accept it: Relax with your art and get into flow state with this easy art journaling technique. Repurpose scraps...
05 – Hand-Lettering Headings & Quotes
In this lesson, I will be talking you through some of my favourite tips for hand-lettering and faux calligraphy, along with providing you with a brush-lettering workbook. We will then...
07 – It’s a Matter of Perspective
The integrating self grows in confidence and is open to other perspectives. As the new integrated self builds its new habits, it makes choices based on its core values. It acknowledges...
06 – The Integration
The self is ready to bear the discomfort that might come from realigning with its own truth and re-integrating with its core self - its inner child. The self has finally committed to...
05 – The Leap of Faith
Despite its fears and doubts, the self takes the leap of faith! Doubt and uncertainty feel overwhelming to the self. It weighs the pros and cons over and over again. Fear paralyzes any...