Interested in sharpening your art journaling skills? Below, we have compiled a list of the 6 best art journaling courses that are available online. This list includes both free and paid art journaling tutorials that will teach you everything you need to know to be able to use an art journal effectively – whether your goal is to be a highly-skilled illustration professional, or just to use art journaling in another role or for your own enjoyment.
But first, let’s answer an important question – what is art journaling?
Art journaling, or sometimes called an ‘artist journal’ is a visual diary – it allows for record keeping combined with creativity. It’s a place to record art, as well as memories and emotions. In an art journal, artists, illustrators and other creative professionals will combine visual journaling and writing. You can uses lots of different styles and techniques and there aren’t any rules. An art journal is essential for all creative professionals to help try new techniques or material, practice and find inspiration.
To be able to use an art journal properly, you don’t need years of training or experience. Instead, you can gather all the art journaling skills you need through online classes. In this article, I’ve gathered the best online art journaling courses. They are suitable for a wide range of levels, budgets, and time frames. So, whether you’re a marketing executive looking to advance your skills, someone looking to make a full-time career in illustration, or a small business owner who is wanting to cut costs and create your own illustrations, we guarantee that there will be an art journaling tutorial for you.
1. Illustration & Inspiration: Keeping a Sketchbook (Skillshare)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 32m
- Cost: 14-day free trial
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 36,291
- Course rating: N/A
Taught by Leah Goren, an illustrator and surface pattern designer, this Skillshare class is perfect for all levels of illustrators – from complete newbies to experienced drawers. All you need is to bring any materials you love to work with (e.g., pens, watercolors, gouache) and any kind of paper!
During this 30minute class, Leah will inspire you to start an art journal that helps you stay creative. Leah’s passion and inspiration shines through in this Skillshare class as she shares her approach and 3 of her go-to prompts for overcoming creative block, namely: drawing a pattern based on an object, drawing from life, and drawing the space around you.
After completing this class, you should have adopted helpful skills to overcome a creative block and will, therefore, always be able to create beautiful illustrations based on drawing patterns, drawing from life and drawing from your space.
2. Expressive Pages: Journaling the Everyday (Craftsy)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 2h 33m
- Cost: $29.99
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: N/A
- Course rating: N/A
Judith Cassel-Mamet is a mixed media artist who wants to inspire you to keep your own personalized art journal to record both your everyday and your extraordinary experiences and use them for inspiration.
In this class, you will discover easy techniques and simple, portable tools that will help you activate your pages and turn them into inspiring platforms using color, design, objects, text and much more. You’ll also discover how to add your personal flair to journal spines and covers to really make your journal your own.
3. The Artist and the Journal: grow your wings from page to canvas (The Artist and the journal)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 2h 33m
- Cost: $149
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: N/A
- Course rating: N/A
This course covers art journaling in three parts. Firstly, you will explore creative starting points. In this part of the class, you will get a lot of inspiration to give you a solid foundation for art journaling. In the second part of the class ‘The Magic of the Page’, you will begin to create your journal. You will discover the creative process and explore intuition and intention through the making of two art journal spreads. In the final section ‘From Page to Canvas’, you will learn how to take the big leap! This final part of the course dives deep into how you can use your journal as an inspiration to create mixed media paintings!
The best thing about this course is that it allows you to work completely at your own pace. You can revisit each lesson as much as you like, as you’ll have lifetime access! By the end of this course, you should have the confidence and the skills to experiment with your own favourite techniques and styles.
4. Mixed Media Art Journal Girl: How to be loose & expressive with pencil, paint & collage (Skillshare)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 33m
- Cost: 14-day free trial
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 960
- Course rating: N/A
Taught by Toni Burt, who is a mixed media artist and an experienced teacher, this class is suitable for anyone who wants to improve their art journaling skills – whether you’re an experienced artist or a complete illustration newbie!
In this class, you’ll learn simple journaling techniques to insure that you can bring all your inspirations alive in just moments. You’ll cover journal page preparation, sketching, painting, collaging and how to finish off a journal! After this class, you should feel confident using journaling as a method to find inspiration!
5. Art Journal Process #001 (Skillshare)
- Level: Intermediate
- Completion time: 1h 15m
- Cost: 14-day free trial
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 74
- Course rating: N/A
‘Art Journaling Process #001’ is a Skillshare class which teaches you how to use an art journal to get the creative juices flowing!
This course focuses on the process of art journaling and the understanding that there must be time and sweat put into keeping an art journal that promotes creativity. Taught by Beatrice Ajayi, you will learn how an art journal can help you create a vision that you are happy with.
6. Gratitude Art Journaling: A Daily Practice (Creative Bug)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 3h
- Cost: Free
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: N/A
- Course rating: 5/5 (out of 109 ratings)
In this free course, you’ll go over a series of easy-to-follow video lessons on how to make art journaling part of your every day life.
Taught by Mou Saha, an artists and creative, you will receive step-by-step instructions on how to use art journaling to enhance your creativity. You will learn techniques for focusing on the moments, people and themes. You’ll also go over how to use ink and paint to make drawings, paintings and hand-lettering. By the end of this course, art journaling will feel like second nature to you. You’ll be able to appreciate the beauty in the everyday and will be able to turn this appreciation and gratitude into creative ideas.
Conclusion
So, there you have it… the 6 best art journaling classes online.
There are a huge variety of art journaling tutorials available. Some of them are quick and cost effective. Others are more expensive and take more time, but cover journaling in more depth.
All of the above art journaling courses are excellent. They are the best of the best. Each is taught by an experienced and dedicated teacher and they all have satisfied and happy customers.
So, which course you decide to take depends on you experience, funds and spare time. Have you ever even picked up pen or paint brush and attempted to draw? Or have you got years of experience with drawing but just want to nail your art journaling skills? Do you have a huge amount of money to spend on your skill development? Do you have a lot of spare time, or are you just looking for a quick, but effective, skill top up?
