Top 15 Art Supplies

| Allison

Hello, dears!

As many of you know, I absolutely LOVE art. It’s one of my very favorite hobbies, and also my job. I know a bunch of you guys enjoy art too, so I thought it’d be fun to show you a few of my favorite art mediums, brands, and supplies, along with how I use them. 🙂 Hopefully you’ll discover some new things to improve your art and make the process more fun.

Also, I will link to my Etsy shop a couple of times, as well as throw in some affiliate links (see note below the featured image. Okay, that’s it! I hope you enjoy these mini reviews!

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NOTE: This post includes affiliate links. If you purchase something using my link, the price won’t change for you, but I get a small commission for advertising and you get to support this blog for free! Thanks – I quite appreciate it! 🙂

  1. Winsor & Newton watercolors. These supplies aren’t really in order of most liked to least liked, but this might be my favorite. 🙂 I’ve had this set for a few years and I still love it! The colors are very pigmented but still transparent, like quality watercolors should be. It comes with 24 individually wrapped “pans” of watercolor, which you can replace color-by-color when you run out. Handy, right?

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    Watercolor art from this post.
  2. Faber-Castel Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils. To be honest, I haven’t used these much yet, so far I’ve enjoyed them! They’re not as richly colored as “real” paint unless you apply a good amount of pressure or use lots of layers, but other than that, they’re excellent. Unless you press too hard, the pigment dissolves almost perfectly in water with no streaks. Watercolor pencils are great for on-the-go sketches, or detailed illustrations when you want more control over the outcome.

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    Buy the bunny art here.
  3. Silver Black Velvet paintbrush, size 8.  If you only buy one paintbrush, this is the one to get! Silver Black Velvet brushes are ridiculously expensive, but let me tell you – this paintbrush is ridiculously amazing. Why? Because it’s so versatile: you can paint a whole background fairly well if your paper isn’t huge, but on the other hand you can twirl the tip into a tiny point that’s great for details. I’ve had this brush for a while and the bristles are nearly as good as new!collage 6
  4. Strathmore/Arches watercolor paper. In a lot of ways, a quality brush and good watercolor paper will help your art more than a fancy set of watercolors. I guess this is technically two recommendations, but your choice will depend on your budget. Strathmore watercolor paper is affordable and pretty good quality too – great for beginners! Arches, on the other hand, is NOT cheap, but it’s also outstanding quality. These are both cold press (bumpy – think goose-bumps from the cold), but I really want to try hot press (smooth) sometime…

    collage 7
    Buy the watercolor art here.
  5. Hand-Book Journal Co. Sketchbook. (The link is to the same brand but different size.) This little guy is a great, versatile sketchbook that handles almost anything! The bookmark and elastic band are lovely features as well. 🙂 The paper is thick enough that your art won’t bleed through, except perhaps with Copics, Sharpies, and the like. It will wrinkle a little with watercolor, as you can see in the far right picture, but it’s an acceptable substitute for actual watercolor paper when you’re just doing a casual painting. collage 14
  6. Royal & Langnickel Gouache. I’m not experienced with gouache so I can’t really compare this to anything else, but I enjoy using this set, and it’s SO cheap. Gouache is basically a cross between watercolor and acrylic paint: water soluble like the former and creamy, bright, and more opaque like the latter. This set comes with a great range of brilliant colors that dry with a beautiful matte finish. The white gouache is especially good for highlights.UPDATE: I like Arteza’s gouache set so much better! 🙂 You can find all different sets on their website, or get a gloriously huge pack here.

    collage 2
    Buy the mushroom art here.
  7. Gelly Roll white gel pen. (It’s best to get a pack of these at a craft store like Hobby Lobby or Michaels rather than online.) Guys, if you enjoy art and don’t have a white gel pen, PLEASE GET ONE. They’re super cheap and nearly indispensable, in my opinion. White gel pens have SO many uses, but they’re especially good for highlights on shiny objects like eyes and glass, as well as small details like whiskers, or intricate patterns like mandalas or the triangles in the art below. This brand of pen glides on smoothly and dries bright white.collage 8
  8. Gold ink. Another fun way to make your drawings pop is to use gold ink! This is the only gold ink I’ve used, but I don’t think I need to try any more. 😉 It’s super shimmery and metallic and beautiful. The one small drawback is that you need to shake it well before using as it separates pretty easily. See the layers in the top center picture? If you shake it, it works great, though!

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    Firefly art from this post.
  9. Prismacolor colored pencils. I think I’ll stand by these pencils for the rest of my life. XD I never really liked using colored pencils before I got these, but now I do! Where normal colored pencils can be streaky and hard to blend, these are creamy, brilliant, and blend super easily. They’ll still be streaky if you apply them lightly or don’t blend them well, but… see the rooster picture down there? I did that entirely with these pencils, and it looks almost painted, doesn’t it?

    collage 1
    Buy the rooster art here.
  10. Micron pens. I LOVE THESE THINGS! Not only does this set come with a fantastic range of tip sizes, but the ink is dark, flows well, and is completely waterproof. That’s the best part. Don’t you hate it when you’re drawing something and then paint over it and smudge the whole thing? You don’t have that problem with Microns! I got these pens last year, I think, and the ink is just now starting to run out in some of them even with how often I use them. One thing to note is the nibs will wear down after a while if you press too hard while drawing.

    collage 9
    Castle art from this post.
  11. Frixion erasable pens. This is more of a letter-writing or doodling supply than a full-blown art medium, but they would work well for preliminary sketches like you’d usually do with pencil. You’re probably wondering if they can actually erase… and yes, they do! See the picture down there? It works, trust me! Sometimes you’ll still see a trace of ink left, but often it completely disappears. collage 10
  12. Mechanical pencils. It’s annoying to sketch details with regular pencils because you have to sharpen them so often. But that’s not a problem with this set! These HB pencils come in four sizes for various levels of detail, as well as plenty of replacement erasers and lead. These are GREAT for complicated sketches.collage 11
  13. T’GAAL pencil sharpener. This is by far the best handheld sharpener I’ve found, and it can even compete with electric sharpeners! It’s easy to use and doesn’t break the pencil or leave those annoying shards of wood like handheld sharpeners usually do. The knob adjusts how much it sharpens the pencil – 1 doesn’t grind off much wood, just the very tip; while 5 makes the sharpened part long and narrow.collage 12
  14. Kneaded eraser. (You can find these at craft stores too.) This gray blob doesn’t look very appealing, but it’s most helpful. Kneaded erasers are putty-like erasers that lift graphite without harming the fibers of your paper. They might not get your paper as white as a normal eraser, but they’re great for evenly lightening broad swaths of pencil or sketches. You can also roll them to a fine point for erasing small details. Also they last forever and don’t flake all over your drawing!collage 13
  15. Washi tape set. (You can also find this at Hobby Lobby.) Of course, I had to add washi tape to this list, right? XD I have a bunch of beautiful tapes, but this set includes some of my favorites. Unfortunately, the gold foil tape has a paper backing (see picture below) which is kind of annoying to use… but it peels off like a sticker and is great otherwise!collage 15

And that’s it for my top 15 art supplies! I hope you guys enjoyed seeing the photos and art, and maybe found some new products to try out. 😀

Do you have any of these supplies? Which one would you like the most? What is your favorite art supply?

Thanks for reading, dears, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***

71 thoughts on “Top 15 Art Supplies”

  1. Oh, yay! Art supplies! Aren’t the white Gelly Roll pens WONDERFUL?😍 And, yes! Microns! Oh, yes, kneaded erasers are one of my favorites! You have a lot of fun supplies!
    Have a lovely evening!

    ~TheJunebugblog

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  4. Love this!! I absolutely adore the tablet watercolors. They are great! 👍🏻😊 I also love Micron Pens for Bible journaling especially. 😊

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    1. I just had all these random ideas for posts here. I hope you don’t mind my rambling! 😂😂 Here they are: A Day in the Life, Rain Photography, Watercolor Flower DIY. Wow, random thoughts there. 😜

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  5. Ooh those are some great supplies! I have the Primsacolor pencils, the micron pens, the Windsor and Newton watercolors, and several white/gold/silver gel pens.

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  9. Great list, Allison! I haven’t use most of these supplies, but I’ll be definitely keeping this post handy so I can look back on it for ideas. I have used Primsacolor colored pencils, and I’m completely sold on them. They’re the best I’ve ever used, hands down. As for what I might like to have, I think it’d be great to have a white gel pen. It seems like such a cool drawing tool. 🙂

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  10. Wow!! These are awesome! I wish I could get them more easily where I live, haha! Your artwork is amazing and the photography skill in this post are superb! Great job. ^-^

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  11. It is very interesting to see all these different techniques, I have recently gotten some just out of the box colouring markers and plan to do some experimenting myself, I prefer that I start with something small for now but I believe you have a lot of excellent choices I will most definitely consider in the future!

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  13. Oh my goodness!! Your Esty art is really good!! Ooh yes, I’ve used Winsor and Newtown + Faber-Castel supplies before and they’re great. Ooh yass, white gel pen is a lifesaver!
    Thanks for the recommendations, I shall have to look into them.
    Btw have you ever used Derwent supplies, they’re an English art company and they’re really good.

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    1. Aww, thank you so much, Sarah! YES, I know, right?
      You’re most welcome, dear!
      I think the only Derwent things I’ve used are some colored pencils that I honestly wasn’t a fan of. XD But maybe I’ll have to try out more of their stuff!

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      1. You’re welcome ❤️
        Hmm okay, I don’t know which pencils you tried, but use whatever works with you! I use the Derwent Colorsoft and Studio pencil packs.

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  14. This was a fun post to read! I have the first set of watercolors, because my grandmother is an artist so she gave them to me and my sisters each, and they are really fun and easy to use!! ❤ The gel pens look super cool too.

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  19. YOU ARE SUCH AN AMAZING ARTIST, K, AND THIS IS SO LOVELY AND INSPIRING! I am an artist too but … I haven’t quite explored as far as I’d like to. Currently feeling like unless I start stretching my talent I’ll just stay right here and never improve, you know?? ANYWAY SO THANKS. Seeing what others do always makes me interested in moving on too!! :DD

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    1. AWWW YOU ARE SO SWEET THANK YOU! Yes, I totally recommend getting out of your comfort zone and exploring with your art! I’m so glad I could inspire you, dear. 🙂 Thanks for the great comment!

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  20. Ahhh I love this post so much! I think I’ve used all of these art supplies since I’m a watercolor artist too. 😀 Definitely recommend each of them too! If you haven’t tried Arteza watercolor paper, I’d highly recommend them! Their paper can’t handle excessive scrubbing and whatnot (otherwise it’ll pill) but it’s definitely as good as Strathmore 300, but much cheaper. 🙂

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    1. Yay, I’m happy to hear that you liked the post and you like the supplies too! Ooh, I’ve heard that about Arteza paper, so I might have to buy some when I run out of my Strathmore. Thanks for the suggestion!

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  21. I’m totally just reminding myself that I have WAY too many art supplies by reading this…I love your reviews, and agree! (I have all these things XD) I adore Faber-Castell, they’re a great brand!

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  23. Pingback: Top 15 Art Supplies — A Farm Girls Life – SEO

  24. Wow, this post is so helpful! I’ll definitely be saving this to look at when I’m in need of art supplies. 😛 I love Micron pens, Prismacolor pencils, Frixion erasable pens, that T’GAAL pencil sharpener, and washi tape of course. XD The white gel pen and the gold ink look so neat – I have a gold paint pen, and I love being able to add little highlights to envelopes and such. 🙂 I’ve never had very good luck with kneadable erasers, but maybe I’m just using them wrong? They always seem to just crumble into pieces. XD Anyways, this was a very enjoyable and helpful post! 😀

    -Clara ❤

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    1. Hurrah, I’m so glad it was helpful! YES, those are all great! Ooh, that’s so fun! A gold pen would certainly come in handy. Oh dear, it sounds like you don’t have a very good kneaded eraser because they’re supposed to stretch, not crumble. O.o XD Thanks again for the lovely comment, and I’m so happy you liked the post!

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  25. Pingback: Top 15 Art Supplies — A Farm Girls Life – EverydayVibes

  26. I’m not a water color artist but as a comic artist​ I do use a lot of these supplies. the fabricastle pencils are really great! I also love using​ sakur​a pe​ns and the watercol​or paper just because I love thick tooth like paper! I like to use markers when I illustrate by hand and my prisma​ color pencils. even if I never use all my supplies I like to own all types just in case I want to try it out. I think I would also like to write a blog post sharing my art suplies​ too. I would like to link it to this if you’ll have me. nice
    to see other artists out here. great water color work!

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    1. Oh, neat! I’ve heard of the Faber Castell pencils but haven’t tried them yet. Sure, that’s a great idea to write a post about your favorite supplies! I’d be delighted if you link to mine. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!

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  28. I prefer prang for my watercolor. But I still haven’t use any other great brands. I also have simballion but I don’t like it that much. Hope to learn more on your blog. I’m an Architecture student by the way and I am interested to learn painting — anything related to colors.

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  30. I love art so much! I am a beginning artist and it’s been a tough journey. I’ve started off with basic sketches to just get the feel of it but I have watercolor paints for when I feel confident enough to use them.

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  31. Hi Allison! Thanks for this post. Really helpful since I enjoy painting too. For the Washi Tapes, just wanna ask if you use it on watercolor paper, and peel it off, will the tape peel off without tearing the paper? 🙂

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    1. Hi, Shanice! I’m so glad you found this post helpful! Good question. Sometimes the tape peels off easily, and sometimes it takes some paper off with it, depending on the kind of tape used. If you have trouble with that, try sticking the tape to your jeans or other cloth and peeling it off a few times to make it less sticky. 🙂

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