Cut it up, glue it down and let it go: a beginner's guide to collage art
I started making physical and digital collage art in 2019 and although it was nothing more than a fun hobby at the start, it became a huge part of my life. It is therapeutic for me to be able to take something I’m dealing with in real life and turn it into a piece of art that I can hold and look at. I’ve always been a really emotional person, and if I let my feelings run wild, they tend to overpower me a bit. Making art really helps me to process all those feelings because it gives me a fun and productive way to deal with them, and once I finish the artwork, I can let that feeling go. Since this really helps me, I wanted to put together a list of ways to get started with collage art.
First of all, it’s important to know that if you plan to sell your collage artwork or post it online, there are certain copyright rules that you need to follow, so do your research but if you’re only making them for personal use, there are really no limits!
Now, let’s talk about supplies! You’ll need different things depending on if you plan to make your collage art physically or digitally. For physical collage art, here are some items I use:
craft glue
old magazines and postcards (you can find some really great ones at antique or thrift stores!)
scissors and precision cutters
For digital collage, I use:
my own personal photos
pictures from online that are copyright free
editing tools (Also will talk more about this later!)
Physical Collage Art Basics
To make collage art, all you have to do is cut out pictures and words and glue them down to whatever canvas you like. That’s really all it takes, but there are a lot of ways to experiment with it. Personally, I like to make collages using the junk journal that I linked in the supplies list above because every page is different and they make for easy backgrounds. Scissors are obviously necessary, but precision cutters are also really helpful when you’re cutting up pictures with intricate edges. Again, copyright rules will apply if you plan to sell or post your art, but if you don’t plan on doing that, you’re free to create whatever you’d like! Old magazines, family photos and pictures you print out from online are all great sources. You can also Google “collage kits” and find some free pages that you can print out and cut up. You can find collage kits to purchase on websites like Etsy, too! One of my absolute favorite collage kit sources is Rookie Mag.
There’s no right or wrong way to put your collage together. You could look up pictures for inspiration or just wing it. Your collage could include lots of pictures or just one or two. Don’t think about it too hard!
Digital Collage Art Basics
Digital art is just like regular collage art except that it requires different tools. To make digital collage art, you’ll need software that can edit things together. When I started out, I was primarily using free apps on my phone to make my art. Here are the apps I used, and why:
PicsArt
This is the main app I would use to compile my images and edit the collage overall.
MagicEraser
This app can be used to help you cut out images to add to your collage.
Swatches
This app is helpful if you want to plan your color scheme or have a specific color you want to use in your art.
Phonto
Currently, I use my own handwriting to add words to my art, but when I was starting out, I liked to use fonts. This is the app I used to do that, and to download new fonts I would go here.
Another popular app for making artwork is Procreate, which costs $10 to download. I do have Procreate, but I don’t really use it because I never took the time to learn how to use it. However, it’s popular for a reason and there are plenty of YouTube tutorials out there. I would recommend downloading Procreate on some kind of tablet with a pen to draw and write with.
I have recently started working with Adobe software, but this can be really expensive. It can also be a little complicated. Again, there are a lot of YouTube tutorials out there that can help you with this! A good program to try out when making digital collage art is Adobe Illustrator.
Finding Copyright Free Materials
There are several great sources you can look at to find copyright-free materials. You can find them for free or for purchase. Sometimes free pictures are all you need, but for some projects, you might find a specific image you want to use and you may have to pay for it. Here are some sources, both free and not.
Free sources:
unsplash.com
pexels.com
pixabay.com (one of my personal favorites)
freepik.com
rawpixel.com
flickr.com
libreshot.com
travelcoffeebook.com
Paid sources:
behance
creative market
iStock
collage elements and kits found on websites like Etsy or Amazon
Sharing Your Artwork
Assuming that you haven’t broken any copyright laws, sharing your artwork can be super fun and rewarding! I mainly post my work on Instagram. There are art-sharing websites like DeviantArt and if you want to sell your artwork, a few great platforms to look into are Ko-Fi and Redbubble! Just make sure that you do your research on a platform before you start using it. Of course, you can also keep your artwork completely to yourself.
Cutting it up, gluing it down, and letting it go
The most important part of creating anything is how it makes you feel. My artwork is made up of thoughts I have throughout the day about whatever is going on in my life at that time. Sometimes they’re happy thoughts, and other times they’re sad or frustrated or just completely complicated. Making each piece is my way of paying attention to what I’m feeling and after I’m finished, I can file it away. Honestly, looking through my Instagram feels like re-reading an old diary.
Art doesn’t have to be some crazy masterpiece - it can be art just for art’s sake. No matter how or what you create, it’s the pieces of work that reflect your inner thoughts that will always feel the most special to you.
