Dishfunctional Designs: Easy Book Page Art DIY Tutorial

Hi friends! Today I'm going to share with you an easy book page art DIY tutorial. Hopefully this short tutorial will pique your interest in this fun and easy form of mixed media art. All you need to get started is an old book that is ready to be discarded. Old, out of date dictionaries and encyclopedias are great choices for this craft. As we work I will explain what art supplies I used for my project, but you can use whatever art supplies that you happen to have on hand.

The book that I use for all of my book art drawings, sketches, and paintings is an old dictionary that once belonged to my father. I remember him using it when I was a little girl, and it brings back lots of great memories. Because of that, it has lots of sentimental value to me, but nowadays we don't actually use dictionaries anymore due to the Internet, so instead, I create art on the pages and then one day I will pass it down to my own daughters. One of the best places to find an old dictionary is at a used book sale. I like the old style dictionaries due to their thin, smooth pages. Okay, lets get started!

The first step we are going to do is to sketch a design onto a page with a pen. You can use a regular ball point pen or you can go to an art supply store and get one that is specifically for use in artwork. If you are going to use watercolor paints in your artwork as I did, you are going to want to use a waterproof pen. Unsure if your pen will not smear or run in water? Then the best thing to do is to test it out on a separate sheet of paper with some watercolor paints before beginning your book art. I used a Micron pen to sketch my artwork.

Once you have your pen, sketch your drawing onto your page. You don't have to go into great detail. You can use as little or as much detail as you would like. You can always add more detail down the road if you think it needs a little extra something later on.

For my sketch I drew some long wavy lines to form vines. Next I added a few leaves to the vines. After that I drew a few spiral shaped designs connected to the leaves and vines. Finally to add some visual texture I added some small circles or berries here and there along my leaves and vines. The last thing I added were some large circles for blooms at the ends of the vines. Once again, it's up to you how much or how little detail you want to add to your sketch. The style is completely up to you! For my sketch, I drew quickly and didn't fuss with many details.

Once you are pleased with your sketch, it's time to add some color to your artwork. For my project I used Windsor-Newton watercolor paints but you can use whatever you have on hand.

For my painting, I did not saturate my book page with water, as that could ruin the paper. Instead, I used a wet brush and was careful not to use too much water and blotted any excess water and paint off with a tissue. Once you are pleased with you painting, set your project aside until it is completely dry.

Once your project is completely dry you can add some more details in pen or marker if you desire. For my project I used a black medium felt tip pen to trace over most of the lines in my sketch, giving the edges of my drawing a bolder line and helping the black to pop out from my drawing.