12 Art Supplies Every Artist Needs - I've Tested 'Em All
Creating beautiful art makes my heart sing. It is my joy.
I know creating is a joy for you too - which is why I think you’ll love this list of my top 12 all-time favorite art products. These are great holiday gift ideas for an artist friend or a holiday gift from you, to YOU!
This list of 12 Art Supplies includes all of my tried and true and most essential art supplies. I love simplicity and trusted resources, and firmly believe that you don't have to spend a lot of money to create pretty things. I keep it very basic because I don’t even have studio space. I create at my kitchen table. I refuse to have any fancy one-use-only gadgets on this list :)
Now, as you review this list, don’t think you have to buy them all at once unless, like me, collecting art supplies is your passion. You know my story, right? I got laid off after 25 years in the retail business. I couldn’t hold down a corporate job after that and decided to explore my creativity. I had a huge box of art supplies waiting for me in the basement from years of “collecting”. Here’s a photo. LOL.
Before I get to the “official'“ list, there are a few basic supplies that you need: Canson mixed media sketchbooks that I love in both the 7 by 10 inch size and the larger 9 by 12 inch size. They are not expensive and I use them all the time. Good old fashioned Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2 pencils. And a few erasers. I alternate between the rubber kind which leaves all those small bits on the page and the kneaded kind which is malleable and picks up all those crumbs.
Now that I focus primarily on surface pattern design which involves a lot of work on the computer using Adobe Illustrator, I don’t need as many art supplies as when I was truly experimenting all the time. However, because I sketch and paint by hand, I’ve found true favorite supplies over the years which are included for you here.
My top 12 all-time favorite art supplies.
Of course, I have to start with paper. :) And by the way, you can get the full list with clickable links to make this super easy.
There are three kinds of papers that I enjoy experimenting with.
#1: Yupo Paper
Yupo is a super-slick processed paper that works in interesting and unpredictable ways with watercolor. The paint pools and spreads across the paper, forcing you to let go and just see what happens. It’s a bit like a dance because you can pick the paper up when wet and turn it this way and that to coax the paint around. The beauty of yupo is that you can't really control where the paint will go. It adds whimsy and a sense of the unexpected to your design. It also creates beautiful gradations and demarcations as it dries. If you haven’t tried yupo, please do! I promise it’s fun.
I like to play with this paper when I’m experimenting with mixed media work. Rice paper is very absorbent and reacts to watercolor paint or markers in a unique way. It’s very delicate. You need to handle it with care so that it doesn’t tear or start to disintegrate if you apply too much water. Pay attention to the way the paper feels against your brush and how the paint and paper work with each other. I took the most amazing online class called Crazy Flowers with Carla Sonheim and created the mixed media piece that you see below.
I cut the rice paper into small circles and saturated it with the greens and blues you see in these flowers. I added the ink last. You can’t really tell in this picture that the rice paper adds additional texture to the piece but it does and I love the final effect.
#3: Tracing Paper
This may seem like an odd choice but it’s actually quite fun to play with tracing paper especially if you want to experiment with stop motion photography or animation. If you haven’t tried either yet, I encourage you to do so. The process is pretty simple and the end result is quirky and joyful.
I’ve included a short animation of a whole bunch of apple sketches that I did on tracing paper. Here’s how to do it yourself:
Repeat the same drawing, page after page, on a pad of tracing paper.
Prop your camera up above the drawing, and take a picture of each page. Try to keep the pad in the same approximate location as you flip to the next page.
Load all the photos into iMovie or another simple to use video editing software like Animoto.
Add music if you like et voila! A super cute animation. Click the video below to watch it.
I buy pre-scored greeting card packs at my local art supply store or on Amazon. I love pre-scored cards because once I’ve created my design inside Adobe Illustrator, I can print the design right onto these cards using my inkjet printer. They come out great and I can gift or sell these beautiful hand designed greeting cards to my friends and family.
Here are some photos of a pretty Mother’s Day card that I made last year. I painted the flower in watercolor, digitized it in Adobe Illustrator, laid out the card design and printed it at home using the scored greeting card paper.
#5: Winsor and Newton Watercolors
Winsor and Newton sell beautiful miniature travel sets under their Cotman sub-brand. They are called Sketcher’s Pocket Boxes and are pan sets with 12-14 colors in each set. They come in all kinds of different color palette themes: fall, summer, etc. I love them because they're tiny and super easy to carry. And the paint quality is fantastic.
I always want the option to paint or sketch when I'm traveling, so I carry one of these mini-sets in my travel pack. Here are several watercolor floral paintings I did using my favorite set. You can see how small it is in the corner of the photos.
#6: Princeton Select or Neptune Round Brushes
Good quality watercolor brushes are more important than you think. I use both Princeton Select round brushes and a slightly higher quality set called the Neptune series. Maintaining your brushes and treating them with care makes a big difference in terms of how long they last and how well they perform.
Occasionally, I must confess, I splurge and buy a super special brush like the one I used in this painting. I used a da Vinci cosmotop spin brush that comes as part of a beautiful set. These brushes glide across the page beautifully and create amazingly diverse strokes from big fat ones to very thin ones. And they hold a ton of water! I love the effect I got painting these imaginary peonies with the large da Vinci brush that comes in the pack. I digitized them to create pretty art prints too. Super fun!
#7: Micron Pens and Uni-Pins by Mitsubishi
I have two sets of black pens that I’ve used for a long time. My Micron fine liner pens are like old friends, tried and true. And so are Uni-Pins from Mitsubishi. I love that both come in packs that include a variety of different nib sizes. Using different nib sizes in your sketching really adds depth, interest and the ability to add more details. I’ll start out with a medium sized nib, a .4 for example, and then once I’ve finished outlining my sketch, I’ll go back in with a smaller nib, a .1 perhaps, to add very light shading. Try it. I think you’ll like the results.
#8: Molotow Pens
Molotow’s line of permanent ink pens is becoming a new favorite. I bought the nine pack to see how different the nib sizes were and how they performed compared to my Micron pens. These are waterproof and I like them a lot. The black is really black and so far, they seem to be holding up well. I’ve been experimenting with watercolor and ink a lot lately and these work great on the paint. You do have wait until it’s completely dry though. So be patient.
#9: Caran D’Ache
Caran D’Ache colored pencils are a joy to sketch with. I have at least 8 boxes of these pencils ready to use! Even though the work I do ends up on the computer, these pencils are so special I just had to include them on my list. The colors are rich and the pencils slide across the page like butter. Sketching with colored pencils is a whole speciality that I’m excited to explore further. The smooth feel of the pencil on paper is incomparable.
#10: Olive Jars
As an artist who creates from my kitchen table and not from a fancy studio, I need to keep my supplies neat so that I can grab them quickly when I have to clean up. Storing things in beautiful and easy to handle containers is a must.
My favorite storage containers are from Good Faith Farms. My husband loves their raw, organic Kalamata olives. And I love their jars! They're a really great size for holding water when I’m doing watercolor work, or holding brushes or pens when I’m not painting. The wide mouth makes it easy to fit lots of supplies. I suggest trying out different types of storage containers that you may already have around the house to see what works for you.
I love these jars so much that I created an art print of them. It’s super popular!
#11: A Signature Touch
A personalized creative workspace is essential, and having a treasured object nearby can set the right mood for sparking your imagination. You don’t need an entire room! Just a few special things that are pretty to look at or remind you of something are enough to make a space feel and look special.
I have a pretty blue pitcher that has become my signature thing. It’s always on my table at home, and I bring it with me whenever I exhibit at an art fair. It’s been with me for so long that I instantly feel ready to create when it’s at my table.
#12: Candle
I frequently have a scented candle nearby when I create. It adds life to my small space, throws great light, and sets a calming tone. And I seem to have collected quite a number of candles over the years. Now’s a great time for me to enjoy them.
I always design with my olive jar full of water or supplies, my blue pitcher full of paint brushes, and a candle. Whether I’m sitting down to write in my journal, or getting ready to sketch or paint, when the table is set with these special things, I feel grounded. It’s a signal to the artist in me, “It’s time to create!”
My hope is that you try one or all of these products and that they energize your creative practice and help you explore your creativity in new ways. Staying open to new things and pushing your boundaries, even with something as simple as art supplies, will keep your creative sensibilities alive and well!
Remember,
It’s Never Too Late to Create
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MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation. I grew up in Paris on the Place St. Sulpice and walked to school through the Luxembourg gardens. And that was only the beginning… Learn more by watching the video on my About page.
