Traditional Art Supplies
I may not be much of a traditional artist at the moment, but that is where I began. I don't think that I got my first copy of Photoshop until my freshman year of highschool, and I've had to use a lot of traditional materials in my 2 years of art school. By the way, the reason why I've had a chance to use so many of these supplies and brands is because they were on my college supply lists, which means that college art professors recommend them. Remember, with all of these supplies, you can buy them in higher-count or lower count packs depending on how many colors or shades you need.
Colored Pencils
There are a number of wonderful colored pencil brands out there. If you're serious about making colored pencil art, I suggest moving on from RoseArt or Crayola ("scholasitic quality"), to at least student grade colored pencil. What are student grade colored pencils? They are colored pencils that have more filler in them, so their colors aren't as vibrant as "professional quality" pencils, and they fade quicker. However, professional colored pencils can be expensive, so if you're not sure if colored pencil art is really what you want to make, I suggest you start out with a nice pack of student grade pencils. You can always "upgrade" to the profesional pencils when you're ready. Here are the student grade color pencils that I recommend: Prismacolor Scholar Pencil 60 Color Set
(this is what I first started out with). You might also want to give Prismacolor Col-Erase Erasable Colored Pencils, 24-Color Pencil Set
a try, since they are erasable (I've only ever played a bit with these in the store, but they seem to have good reviews).
As far as professional colored pencils go, Prismacolor is certainly one of the most well-known, and for a good reason. For Christmas one year, I got a box of Prismacolor Premiers, and I was blown away. They are so smooth, they leave Crayolas miles behind in the dust. Prismacolor also has a firmer type of pencil, called Verithins, that I got a free sample of. They were also great to use, and I can see them becoming the favorite tool of people who like to shade and color by hatching colors together (the Premier Prismacolors are smoother, so can be blended by smudging easier). I suggest getting a pack of each, and seeing which blending method you like best. Derwent is another great colored pencil brand. I don't have any myself, but I know some people in my art classes who swear by them. So the professional grade colored pencils that I suggest are: Sanford Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencil Set, 48/Tin (this is what I have)
, Sanfrd Verithin Colored Art Woodcase Pencils, 24 Assorted Colors/Set
, and Derwent Coloursoft Pencils with Metal Tin - Set of 24 - Assorted Colors
.Watercolor Pencils
Something that is a lot of fun to work with is watercolor pencils. These are pencils that you can work with normally, then add water to afterwards. You can also wet their tips and work with them that way. I personally like them because of the amount of control they offer. I love the way watercolor looks, but I have never been able to control them the way I like. With these, I don't have as much of a control problem. I have worked with these a decent amount, and would suggest them: Prismacolor 36 Watercolor Pencil Set
.Graphite Pencils
These have been required in almost every class I've taken that had any sort of traditional art component. For beginning artists, remember that "H" pencils are harder (and produce a lighter line) while B pencils are softer (and produce a darker line). "F" is sort of inbetween. I've only rarely found myself using the Hs. Normally, I start with 2B and work my way up the pencils as I add shading, ending with 8B. However, this is partly because I know I have a problem with not making my drawings dark enough, so you may find that you use the Hs plenty in your work. A lot of the fancy pencil brands make graphite drawing pencils. However, I have always been plenty happy with my General Pencil Co. Classic Graphite Set
(this is the set I own). It even comes with graphite sticks, which can be great for doing large gesture drawings, or shading in big areas.Charcoal
I'm not a big charcoal user, but I've had fun with it on the few assignments where I used it. I love how dark it can get! If you are going to work with charcoal, in order to keep yourself from fighting with your materials, I suggest getting three kinds of charcoal: compressed, vine, and pencil. Compressed charcoal looks similar to graphite sticks, and is equally good at covering large areas. It comes in different softness (B values), so make sure to get some of different ones. Vine charcoal is a strange sort, and I found it often squeaks when I use it. It quickly forms into a dust as you move it around and try to blend it, so work in a well ventilated area when using it. However, it is great at laying down light tones. Finally, charcoal pencils are just that: pencils. You can use them much like you would use a graphite pencil. I always had to buy my charcoal supplies separately, and that may be a good idea if you have a certain type that you like to use. In that case, I would suggest any of General's charcoal products
. And if you like using pre-made sets, I would suggest General 32-Piece Classic Charcoal Drawing Set
. I've never used that set, but I've never had any problems with General's products before. And remember, for a bit of fun, you can buy white charcoal tools, too.Pastels
I've only dabbled in pastels on two projects, but I think they are awesome! I really enjoyed using them, and felt very artsy when working with them. They are messy, but it's that good, arty kind of messy. I especially like how vibrant the colors are, and how you can blend them. I've only used one brand, so they are the one I reccomend: Rembrandt Soft Pastels Cardboard Box Set of 30 Full Sticks - Assorted Colors
. They are expensive, but they're quality supplies. You can also get lower counts, and half sticks for cheaper.Acrylics
I've never used oils, and only played with children's watercolors, so as far as paint goes, I only know acrylics. Acrylics are great, though. However, there is a lot to consider when buying acrylic paints. Here's my first tip: buy the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue), black, and white. With these, you can technically make any color. I say technically, because you can go to a lot of trouble trying to mix your own colors (I know because I took a color theory class, and half of it was about how to mix colors). Making green, purple, and orange (the secondary colors) is easy. But if you plan on making blue green, be aware you may spend some time trying to make it more blue than green, or vice versa. Because of that, I suggest getting mixed colors that you plan on using often. You can also wait until you've been painting for a bit, then purchase your favorite mixed colors. Or you can just get really good at mixing your own colors. But be aware that you may use a lot of paint trying to make the right color, which leads to my next tip: buy the big tubes.Little tubes, in my opinion, are for people who are either painting professionals, or are just making small postcard sized art. Until you get comfortable, buy the big tubes. Also, don't buy any paint that is really expensive until you know what you're doing. Student grade has more fillers (like student grade colored pencils) and also is less lightfast (which measures how much the color will change after exposure to light), but they'll be fine to get you started learning all those arcylic techniques. You can buy gallery quality paint when you're ready to start making gallery quality art. This is what I started with, and highly recommend to beginning painters: Reeves Acrylic Paint Sets set of 24
. The tubes may seem small, but they lasted me long enough as I got the hang of everything. Also, this size is good if you're not sure if this is the media you want to use. When you're ready to step it up a notch, I suggest any of the Liquitex Basic paints
. I've never used any of the really fancy paints, so my brand recommendation stops there.Traditional Art Accessories
Don't forget all your art accessories! Colored pencils tend to come with sharpeners and colorless blenders if you get the medium sized packs, but you can also buy them seperately. Sanford Prism Color Premier Pencil Sharpener
and Prismacolor Premier Colorless Blender Pencil, 2 Pencils
should do it (remember that colored pencils are a special sort of pencil and shouldn't be sharpened in your typical electric pencil sharpener). Traditional artists should also have some good art erasers
(get a couple of different ones, one of which should probably be Staedtler Mars Plastic Eraser - Color: White
because it tends to erase very well). A kneaded eraser
, which you can mold to into small or big shapes, is self-cleaning, and which you can use to just lightly erase something, is key (they also come in different sizes, and I suggest large). You should also have some tortillons
(which you use to blend) and blending stumps
, in different sizes. Pretty much any brand will suffice for these. And of course you'll need paper. With these, I usually just follow the suggestions on the front of the pack of paper or skechbook. If it says it's good for a certain type of dry or wet media, it probably is. I know this because I've never painted with acrylics on canvas, just on acrylic paper
, and not had any problems. Though I don't suggest using pencils on newsprint (a cheap sort of paper, good for planning or doing gesture sketches), unless you are using 4B or above, simply because your marks may be too light otherwise. Canson and Strathmore seem to be good paper/sketchbook brands, but anything that isn't suspiciously cheap should be fine. I suggest getting a spiral-bound sketchbook, though, because I find it harder to keep hardbound book-like ones open. Also, don't get one that's too big if you plan on scanning your sketches (all-in-one printers usually don't have very large scanning beds) or carrying the sketchbook around. As far as painting supplies go, you'll need mixing plates, a good water cup
(or plastic or paper drinking cups), palette knives (which I think are great for mixing and also for placing big splotches of color), paint cups
to hold your paint until your next painting session (so it doesn't dry out), and plenty of paper towels to blot your brush. As far as brushes
go, don't buy the really cheap ones. In a few weeks you'll wind up with hairs falling out of the brush and pieces of the handle chipping off, which will all fall into your paint, adding some unintended texture to your work. It doesn't hurt to spend some money on these, since they should last a while. I suggest using either synthetic or hog bristle brushes (other types may not work ideally with acrylics), and get some different sized ones.So, I hope this was helpful! If you agree or disagree with my recommendations, or if you think I left a cool product out, feel free to leave a comment!
Until next time!
Thank you! This is helpful.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous You're welcome! I'm glad you've found it useful!
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