Free Printable Vintage Animal Illustrations for Junk Journals and Art Journals
Inside This Post
These free printable collage sheets feature vintage animal illustrations sourced from an 18th-century natural history book.
The illustrations are ideal for junk journals, art journals, and mixed media projects thanks to their neutral backgrounds and classic engraving style.
You’ll receive two printable collage sheets with multiple animal images sized for cutting, layering, and focal points.
This post includes creative ideas, printing tips, and inspiration for incorporating vintage animal imagery into journal spreads.
All images are in the public domain and offered as free printables for creative use.
Vintage animal illustrations have a timeless appeal that works beautifully in paper crafts. Whether you’re creating a quiet, nature-inspired junk journal or a richly layered art journal page, antique animal imagery adds character, curiosity, and a subtle storytelling element.
The illustrations featured in today’s free printable collage sheets come from a natural history book published in the late 1700s. Originally created to document and study animals from around the world, these engravings now find new life in creative projects more than two centuries later.
In this post, I’m sharing two free printable collage sheets filled with vintage animal illustrations that are especially well suited for junk journals, art journals, and mixed media work. I’ll also share ideas for how to use them, tips for printing, and suggestions for pairing them with other ephemera.
Why Vintage Animal Illustrations Work So Well in Journals
Animal imagery has been a part of visual storytelling for centuries. In journals, it can feel symbolic, personal, or purely decorative, depending on how you use it.
Vintage animal illustrations are especially effective because they tend to be:
Detailed without being overly busy
Rendered in soft, natural color palettes
Surrounded by generous white or neutral space
Easy to layer with text, labels, and backgrounds
Unlike modern animal graphics, antique illustrations often feel peaceful and more contemplative. They leave room for interpretation, which makes them ideal for journaling and creative reflection.
About the Source of These Illustrations
The images used in these printable collage sheets are from an 18th-century natural history publication. During this period, artists worked closely with scientists and explorers to visually record animals that many readers had never seen before.
Each animal was carefully engraved and often hand-colored, resulting in images that balance accuracy with artistic expression. You’ll notice thoughtful poses, subtle shading, and just enough environmental detail to ground each subject.
Because of their age, these illustrations are now part of the public domain, allowing them to be freely shared and creatively reused.
What’s Included in the Free Printable Collage Sheets
This giveaway includes two coordinating collage sheets, each designed with journalers and collage artists in mind.
You’ll find:
A variety of animals, both familiar and exotic
Individual illustration “plates” that are easy to cut out
Multiple image sizes for different journal formats
A cohesive vintage look across both sheets
The layouts are intentionally simple so the illustrations can be used as full focal points or trimmed down for smaller elements like pockets, tags, or layered clusters.
1.5 x 2.5 Inch Journal Tags
Creative Ways to Use These Animal Printables in Junk Journals
Junk journals thrive on layers, texture, and storytelling, and vintage animal illustrations fit right in.
Here are a few ideas:
Focal Pages: Build a spread around a single animal and let it anchor the page
Tuck Spots: Use trimmed illustrations as tuck-ins behind journaling cards
Flip-Outs: Attach an animal image to a hinge or washi tape for interactive pages
Theme Pages: Create nature, curiosity, or cabinet-of-wonders–inspired sections
Pairing animal imagery with old book pages, handwritten notes, or label ephemera can give your journal a collected-over-time feel.
Using Vintage Animal Illustrations in Art Journals
In art journals, animal imagery often takes on a more symbolic role. You might choose an animal based on its perceived traits, personal meaning, or even just visual appeal.
Try using these printables to:
Anchor a mixed media background
Combine with paint, ink, or collage textures
Add handwritten reflections around the image
Explore themes like curiosity, travel, instinct, or observation
Because the illustrations have neutral backgrounds, they integrate easily with paint layers and don’t visually compete with expressive marks or color washes.
Pairing Animal Imagery with Other Ephemera
One of the joys of working with vintage printables is mixing and matching across themes.
These animal illustrations pair especially well with:
Botanical prints and specimen-style imagery
Ledger paper or handwritten notes
Maps and travel-related ephemera
Layering animal imagery with unrelated elements can create surprising narratives - a zebra over a map, or a squirrel paired with an old ledger number, for example.
Printing Tips for Best Results
To get the most out of these printable collage sheets, here are a few printing suggestions:
Print on matte cardstock for sturdier elements
Use lightweight paper for layering
Use presentation paper for richer color depth
Lightly distress edges with ink or sandpaper for a softer, aged look
You can also resize the sheets when printing if you prefer smaller elements for mini journals or tags.
More Free Printables You Might Like
If you enjoy working with vintage animal imagery, you may also like these free printable collections on The Art Scavenger:
Free Vintage Typography Printables – Perfect for labels, titles, and layered text
Months of the Year Ephemera Printables – Great for dated journals and planners
Free Vintage Map Ephemera Printables – Ideal for travel and exploration themes
Free Vintage Insect Illustration Printables – Perfect for creating cabinet-of-curiosity spreads and nature-inspired journal pages.
These collections mix easily with animal illustrations and help expand your creative options.
2.5 x 4.25 Inch Journal Cards
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these printables free to download?
Yes. These vintage animal illustration collage sheets are completely free to download for creative use.
What size are the collage sheets?
They are formatted to print on standard letter-size paper, with individual images sized for journaling and collage.
Can I use these in junk journals and art journals?
Absolutely. These printables were created specifically with journalers and mixed media artists in mind.
Are the images in the public domain?
Yes. The original illustrations date back to the 1700s and are firmly in the public domain.
Can I resize the images?
Yes. You’re welcome to resize them when printing to suit your project needs.
Final Thoughts
Vintage animal illustrations invite us to slow down and observe. They carry a sense of curiosity from another era, a reminder of when the natural world was still being carefully documented, one drawing at a time.
I hope these free printable collage sheets inspire you to experiment, layer, and tell new stories within your junk journals and art journals. Whether you use them as focal points or subtle accents, they’re meant to be played with, personalized, and enjoyed.
Love These Printables? Support The Art Scavenger!
I love sharing free vintage printables, and if you enjoy them, there are easy ways to support my work so I can continue creating and offering more free designs:
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Terms of use:
Free to use for personal or commercial projects. You may print the collage sheets as many times as you wish for your personal crafts or in your projects to sell, including: art journals, scrapbooks, junk journals, collage art, etc. You may not redistribute or sell the collage sheets “as is" in either print or digital form.
If you wish to share the files on your own website, please do not make the files available for download directly from your site. Instead, include an image with a link back to this site.
To the best of my knowledge, these are all royalty free images that are in the Public Domain in the US. However, you should always do your own research if you plan to use them commercially.
