A Beginner-Friendly Look at What to Buy First (and What Can Wait)
If you have ever looked at an art supply store or an inspiring haul video and felt overwhelmed, you are not alone. It is easy to believe you need shelves of paint, dozens of brushes, and every marker in the rainbow before you can start art journaling. The good news is that you truly do not. You can begin with a handful of simple supplies you may already own.
The heart of art journaling is expression, not equipment. A beautiful page has far more to do with playfulness and curiosity than with expensive materials. Fancy supplies are lovely once you know what you enjoy, but they are never the thing standing between you and a page you love.
So let’s keep it simple. Here is what you actually need to get started, what makes a nice next step, and what can happily wait until later.
The Essentials: What You Really Need
If you buy nothing else, these few things will carry you a long way.
1. A Journal
Best for: giving yourself a sturdy place to create.
Your journal is the one thing worth a little thought. A mixed media journal is a great all-around choice because its thicker pages can handle paint, glue, and layering without buckling. If you only plan to draw or write, a regular sketchbook is fine. If you already own a blank notebook, start there. You can always upgrade once you know how you like to work.
2. Something to Make Marks With
Best for: drawing, writing, and outlining.
A single good pen or pencil is enough to begin. A waterproof black pen is especially handy because you can draw with it and then add color on top without it smearing. A regular pencil works beautifully too. You do not need a full set of anything to make meaningful marks.
3. A Few Colors
Best for: bringing your pages to life.
You do not need a huge palette. A small set of paints, a few markers, or a handful of colored pencils will do the job. If you are buying paint, a basic set with a warm and cool of each primary color lets you mix a surprising range. Start small and add colors only as you find you want them.
4. A Glue Stick
Best for: collage and adding bits of paper to your pages.
A simple glue stick opens up a whole world of collage. With it you can add magazine clippings, patterned paper, ticket stubs, and other found treasures to your pages. It is inexpensive, mess-free, and endlessly useful.
Nice Next Steps, Once You Are Hooked
After a while you may want to expand your kit a little. None of these are necessary, but they are enjoyable additions when you are ready:
- A round brush: A single medium round brush is versatile enough for washes and details alike.
- A water brush: A brush with a water reservoir in the handle is wonderful for painting on the go.
- A white gel pen or paint pen: Perfect for adding highlights, dots, and details on top of dark colors.
- Washi tape: A quick, low-mess way to add borders, patterns, and color.
- A few papers you love: Scrapbook paper, old book pages, or napkins add instant texture to collage.
What Can Happily Wait
It is easy to feel like you need the things you see other artists using, but many supplies are best saved for later, once you know your own style. There is no rush to buy:
- Large sets of every color, when a small mixable palette does the same job.
- Expensive specialty paints and mediums you have not learned to use yet.
- Dozens of brushes, when one or two will cover almost everything.
- Trendy tools you saw once online but are not sure you actually want.
Buying slowly, as you discover what you love, saves money and keeps your practice from feeling cluttered. Your taste will guide you far better than any shopping list.
A Simple Starter Kit
If you would like a clear place to begin, here is a small kit that can take you through months of journaling:
- One mixed media journal.
- One waterproof black pen and a pencil.
- A small set of paints, markers, or colored pencils.
- One glue stick.
- Optional: one round brush and a white gel pen.
That is genuinely all you need to make pages you are proud of. Everything beyond this is a bonus you can add whenever it feels right.
Look Around Your Home First
Before you buy anything at all, take a few minutes to gather what you already own. Most homes are full of usable art supplies hiding in drawers and cupboards. Old markers, colored pencils, ballpoint pens, and highlighters all make marks. Magazines, newspapers, packaging, and junk mail make wonderful collage material. A glue stick from the school supplies, a pencil from a junk drawer, and any blank notebook can be enough to start today.
Starting with what you have does more than save money. It removes every excuse and lets you begin right now, which is often the hardest and most important step. You will also learn a great deal about what you enjoy by using these simple materials, and that knowledge makes any future purchases far wiser. By the time you do buy something new, you will actually know what you want and why, instead of guessing in a store aisle.
Supplies That Do Double Duty
When you are keeping things simple, it helps to choose supplies that can do more than one job. A waterproof black pen, for example, lets you write, draw, and outline, and it holds up when you paint over it. A medium round brush can lay down a broad wash and still come to a point for small details. A set of watercolors can create soft backgrounds, bold shapes, and everything in between, all from the same little palette.
Choosing versatile tools keeps your kit small without limiting what you can make. Instead of buying a separate product for every effect, you learn to get many different results from a few trusted materials. This keeps your practice easier on your budget, and it also makes your kit more portable and far less overwhelming. A compact, flexible kit is often far more freeing than a drawer overflowing with single-use gadgets. When each tool earns its place, you spend less time choosing and more time actually creating, which is exactly where you want to be.
A Few Words on Quality
You may wonder whether you need expensive, artist-grade supplies to make good work. The honest answer is that you do not, especially when you are starting out. Inexpensive materials are perfect for learning, experimenting, and figuring out what you enjoy, and there is no sense spending a lot before you know your own preferences. Student-grade paints and an ordinary journal will carry you a very long way.
That said, there is one place where a small step up in quality can make a real difference, and that is your paper. Thin pages buckle and tear when they meet water and glue, which can be discouraging. A journal with sturdier, thicker pages simply behaves better, so if you choose one thing to invest in a little, let it be the book itself. Everything else can stay humble for as long as you like.
Let Your Supplies Grow With You
The nicest way to build a supply collection is slowly, in response to what you actually reach for. As you journal, you will notice yourself wishing for a particular tool, maybe a finer pen, a brighter color, or a way to add highlights. Those small wishes are the perfect guide for your next purchase, because they come from your real practice rather than someone else’s recommendation.
Buying this way keeps your collection meaningful and clutter-free. Instead of a drawer full of materials you never use, you end up with a small, well-loved kit of things that suit your style. There is no prize for owning the most supplies, and often the artists with the fewest materials are the most inventive with them. Trust that you have enough to begin, and let the rest come in its own time.
Final Thoughts
The best art supplies are the ones you will actually use, and you need far fewer of them than you might think. A journal, something to make marks with, a few colors, and a glue stick are more than enough to begin a practice you love. Start with what you have, add slowly, and let your own curiosity guide what comes next.
Do not let a shopping list stand between you and your first page. Gather a few simple things, open your journal, and give yourself permission to play.
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