Sometimes it’s difficult to make progress in your process journal. There were days where I used to be stumped for what to do and couldn’t think of anything. Maybe you have those days too. So, here are some prompts and suggestions for the days that you seem to be stuck, going nowhere.

1. A Topic

Find a topic, a feature, a medium, or anything specific. A facial feature, a mandarin, the art of monoprinting, etc. Take pictures of it. Use different media/colors/styles/compositions. Draw it. Stick your topic in your journal. Write down ideas and inspirations from it. Find an artist that does a similar topic. Expand.

Example by Olivia Paine:

2. Artwork Analysis

Pick an artwork from an artist. Copy it. Analyse it. Make your version of it in the same style. What do you like? What don’t you like? What do you take away from it?

Example by Lucy Luu:

3. Experiment with Mediums

Take a picture of your final idea for your artwork. Draft it in various mediums. Watercolor, acrylic, oil pastels, colour pencils, etc. Change up the paper you use. Maybe try it on some aluminium foil. Do make sure to reflect on the mediums you try and conclude on your findings.

Example by Emilya Swan:

4. Experiment with Color

Find a picture and color it in different versions. Make it warm. Make it cold. Play around with contrasts of color. What do you see? What are some observations you’ve made?

Example:

5. Stick In “Random” Things You Found

If you went to a festival, stick in stuff from the festival. If you went to a museum, stick in stuff from the museum. If you went and found literal trash from outside, stick it in. You can stick anything in as long as it’s cohesive and you talk about it in relation to art, whether it’s an idea for the intention of the artwork or it just looks visually. As long as it inspires you one way or another, just stick it in.

Example by Ellie Green:

Conclusion

I hope these ideas for the process portfolio or process journal will help you when you have no idea what to do. The examples I attached to each prompts are not from IB process journals. They are mainly there to help you understand what the prompt means, not there to copy. If you have more prompts of your own, feel free to comment them below to share with others!

(If there are any copyright issues with any of the attached files on this article, please contact me individually to have it removed.)