#what i use: faber castell pens/alcohol ink markers/white gel pen (highlights)/colored pencils for small details

[thosetrollkids]

inspired by the recent eclipse, a sphinx boy!

and hey! guess what! i now have a ko-fi! if you like my art and want to support my little corner of the web, you can check it out- it's very much appreciated :3

[beedalee]

Bee’s Modest Art Arsenal

I made a comprehensive list of all the stuff I typically use to make art as of right now. It’s not meant to be an end-all-be-all for art supplies by any means, just... stuff I like! And it’s largely affordable whenever possible, yay!!! Some of my favorite art products I find completely on accident or in unlikely places so never be afraid to give it a shot if it calls to you! My list is under the cut, and ofc, all photos are not mine and used purely for educational purposes.

Paper & Sketchbooks

Printer paper (the cheapest kind anyway) is absolutely fine if it’s what’s accessible and convenient, especially if you’re just doing warmups and concepts! I like to keep paper and recycle it in some way too- and some printer/junkmail paper is REALLY nice!! Typically though I prefer bound sketchbooks to keep track of my growth better. I seek specific textures and weights that are better suited to more aggressive mediums, like watercolor and marker. Printer paper is flimsy and really only for dry media!

So for more experimental mixed medium drawing, like markers, paint, watercolor, heavy inks, scrap-booking and collage stuff, I own these:

Shown above are: Strathmore Mixed Media 400 series, Canson XL watercolor paper, Canson XL mixed media paper. Each pad was between 5-9 dollars depending on the size you want, and you can find these at many stores; Joann’s, Micheal’s, Walmart, Staples, etc.

As for sketchbooks- I don’t swear by a brand but here’s what I look for: I prefer wire bound or coptic binding, because both allow the book to lay flat (unlike classic “book” case binding) Also, texture is veeeery important to me! I like very smooth bright white paper that isn’t too thin for sketching and inking. It’s a small personal thing, but because I’m left handed, the more textured paper is the more I smudge it to hell and back. (;￣ー￣川

Pencils & Erasers

For general sketching, I prefer mechanical pencils (but I always keep some wooden pencils around too just in case I need something softer) I’ll use just about any brand or size lead, but my personal favorite is 0.5mm lead, and comfort grips are essential for your artist’s finger bump!!! The two pencils I use the most are a Bic Velocity and Pentel whose label has been smudged off... but again, ANY brand is seriously fine. Some people like standard .7 or even .9 could be good for you if you’re prone to breaking lead!

(Disclaimer: I have virtually no experience with those fancy different lead size HB wood pencils because it smudges so i don’t want it.... (ʘ‿ʘ);;; )

Red and blue sketching pencils are useful because when you scan it, you have the option of editing out JUST the blue or red channel in your art program, leaving only the refined sketch or inks. If you don’t have easy access to an art store that carries these kinds (or just love rainbows like me) use erasable colored pencils for more or less the same effect.

95% of the time, I don’t trust erasers on the tip of any pencil. Ever. My family has a bad habit of hoarding pencils for years or buying cheap ones with cute prints, so the erasers ALWAYS suck. Instead, I use an entirely separate selection of erasers. 

Shown above are Faber-Castell eraser 3pack, Prismacolor kneaded rubber, and Pentel’s hi-polymer eraser. They’re relatively easy to find, though Pentel’s may be the easiest in a pinch, and you get a bunch for a low price!  Those pointy pencil topper erasers work as well if you want something smaller tho!

Kneaded rubber is really useful if not making a eraser crumb mess is very important to you or your work, effective and very gentle. (and gross looking after a while... like a grey poo... but it’s fun to play with?) I always have a big fat eraser like these around for erasing large areas- I prefer them a LOT over pink erasers, which occasionally do the dreaded smudge or dry out. and then smudge. HHNGGH

Pictured above are Papermate TUFF STUFF eraser stick (and a refill), Pentel’s Clic Eraser, and Clic Eraser refills. The refills are almost always exactly next to the product itself.

So you have a big eraser! But for detail work and hard to reach spaces, that fat nub might make you want to pull your hair out as you accidentally erase the face you spent 15 minutes perfecting. These are probably one of my favorite tools, and I’ve used them since I was 14! Pentel’s eraser is great for moderate to fine detailing, and then I recently found Papermate’s at a Dick Blick. It may be the most elusive (I mean.. we have the internet now so...) but it’s INCREDIBLE for detail erasing. I’m super finicky about precision, so these are heavenly for me.

Pens & Markers

For inking and lining, I turn to these! They’re pretty accessible in many stores now-a-days (Sakura used to be so hard to find). Shown here are Sakura Micron Pigma 8 pack and Staedtler Pigment Liner 4pack. Staedler was my first baby-bee brand and the quality is still good, even if I prefer Sakura now because of the wide variety of nib sizes. You can also find Sakura in singles in art stores like DickBlick or Jerry’s Artarama probably! Liners are waterproof and archival, and take a lot of punishment under wet media or on top (though I’d always encourage letting it dry first.)

Shown above are Sakura Micron Gelly Roll Metallic and Classic White Gel Pens! Gel pens were a super cool fad back in the 2000s for me but now they actually serve a REALLY handy purpose. You could use them to highlight or detail just about anything, but I especially find the metalic and white gelpens very useful. The metals are great to add a bit of bling to a drawing, shine your rendered metal, or just add sparkles. ✧☆✧ (و｡･｀ω´･｡)و  The white is GREAT for tan, gray, or black paper- or to highlight areas in hair or eyes- AND to white out small oopsies without having to use actual white out. I highly recommend getting a 3 pack of these guys!

I also recommend ballpoint pens. Yes, those random ones all over your house, given out for free at banks or offices- any old ballpoint pen (that isn’t on the verge of dying.) The difference between sketching in pencil, inking art, and using pen is that ballpoint pen is all the permanence without the refinement of inking. I looove using ballpoint to sketch messy stuff, to mess up and start over. plus, it also comes in a billion colors, and you don’t feel bad writing with them normally or losing them when you travel. It isn’t waterproof so it will bleed if you put marker or watercolor on it, but... sometimes i do it anyway! 8) 

I currently use Spectrum Noir and Prismacolor Alcohol markers. SN are in packs of 6 for 14.99, but if you’re like me, a joann’s 50% off coupon can net these sets for 7.50 apiece. I got the prismacolor 12 pack for my birthday, and I like to collect a few certain colors on occasion, but the money saved on the SN makes that splurge possible. I think the quality is really great for the price, even if I am still pretty novice at marker coloring. I write a bit more about these here!

Digital Art Tools

10x6.25 in Monoprice Tablet (and some AAA batteries) (You can probably find bigger or more updated models for the same price by now, as well.)

Love this tablet! REALLY affordable (70-80) and such a trooper- I’ve battered this thing with water and heat and cold and it’s still as resilient as ever. I think I’ve changed the single AAA battery in my pen like... 3 times max in the 4-5 years I’ve owned it. I’ve disabled the “close window” hotkey (bc I’m LEFT HANDED AND HIT IT ALL THE TIME) but otherwise it’s a really great tablet, does exactly what it should. Works with windows 7 well, but I can’t give a review of it on any other OS.  More about it here.

I use Easy Paint Tool Sai and Photoshop 7 for text/editing (though I’d like to upgrade to CS2 in the future), but free/purchased art programs are vast and endless, so it’s really up to your personal taste... and this post is already long enough!

So, that’s about it for now! Those are all the essentials I like at the moment- everything else is experimental, which is always encouraged!!! Expand your horizons!! Have fun!! Go draw a thing!