Sketchbook, Art Journal or Visual Journal? What's the Difference?
Sketchbook, art journal, visual journal, junk journal. If the words have you confused, you are not alone. People use them in slightly different ways, and they overlap a lot.
Here is a simple way to tell them apart, and how to choose where to start.
The short answer: a sketchbook is mainly for drawing and practice, an art journal mixes images with words and feelings, a visual journal is a diary told in pictures, and a junk journal is a handmade book made from collected scraps.
You can combine all of them in one book.
What is a sketchbook?
A sketchbook is a book for drawing. It is where you practise, try ideas and look closely at the world. Pages are allowed to be unfinished, messy and experimental. Nobody needs to see it. If you want to build drawing skills and confidence, this is the place to start. Some artists use their sketchbook for finished artwork too.
What is an art journal?
An art journal mixes images with words, colour and sometimes collage. It is usually less about drawing something accurately and more about expressing an idea or a feeling. Think layers of paint, handwriting, stickers and doodles on the same page.
What is a visual journal?
A visual journal is a diary kept mainly in pictures. You record your days, places and moods through drawings, with words added where they help. It sits somewhere between a sketchbook and an art journal.
What is a junk journal?
A junk journal is a handmade book, usually made from recycled papers, envelopes, tags and other bits and pieces. The focus is on making the book itself. I explain more in What is a junk journal?.
Which one should you choose?
Choose a sketchbook if you want to learn to draw and build a regular habit.
Choose an art journal if you want to play with paint, words and collage.
Choose a visual journal if you like the idea of recording your life in pictures.
Choose a junk journal if you love paper, collecting and making things by hand.
You do not have to choose
The names matter far less than getting started. In my own books these things overlap, and that is a big part of the fun.
I keep a lot of sketchbooks for different purposes. In some, I focus on specific skills—like my watercolor portraits or my wobbly fantasy houses. I have messy practice sketchbooks, ones dedicated to a single medium, and smaller ones for travel. My travel sketchbooks are more like visual journals where I sketch, write, and paste in bits and pieces from my trips. I love using sketchbooks in different ways, and I really encourage you to experiment and see what kind of sketchbook works best for you.
Want company while you try?
If you would like to try a sketchbook alongside other beginners, come and draw with us in the Sketchbook Circle. We meet live on Thursdays at 6 PM UK time.
