Art is all about trial and error. You have to try out different forms, methods, and techniques to find the one that resonates with you. Art requires patience and consistency, but above all, it requires good supplies. To make art creation fun, exciting, and entertaining, an artist needs to have products that support imagination and help bring it to life.
Furthermore, it is essential to keep trying new art supplies as they enable you to understand which product can be your go-to supply and which one is buried under the list of ‘used once, never again.’
If you love art or know somebody who loves collecting new art supplies, you are in the right place. Here are five essential art supplies for every artist to gift your friend and make their day.
1. Graphite Pencils
The first supply that any artist needs is a pencil. To paint, you need to have a rough outline of what you wish to make. Graphite pencils are highly recommended for every artist. However, if you are a beginner, you can start with regular writing pencils and learn along the way.
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Soft graphite pencils work well on cold press paper, whereas harder pencils give you better strokes on smooth paper. This helps you have more on your strokes and keeps the paper neat. If you are under a budget to buy the supplies, you can get 2 to 3 basic pencils and make your drawing unique. 6B works for dark shadows, 2B for shading and sketching, and 4H for lighter areas. Sometimes, the product’s brand and its quality also play a significant role in making it to your favourites list.
2. Sketchbooks and Painting Surfaces
Sketchbooks are a crucial art tool for all streams of artists. As an artist, you need to use a specific quality of paper with every product to get damaged, and your art remains unaffected. Most companies make particular types of paper for every paint type, such as acrylic art papers. You need to experiment with different papers to find out what works the best for your form. The papers and sketchbooks variety includes canvas, watercolour papers, masonite, etc.
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If you are a mixed media art enthusiast, get papers that work with mixed art. Luckily, many new companies offer diverse art papers to sustain the variety.
3. Tracing Paper
This is an eccentric essential that is unknown to most artists. Tracing paper is a hidden gem that can be easily overlooked. It is highly recommended that animators and stop motion artists experiment with tracing papers. The end product of using these papers can be rather joyful, freakish, grand, and surprising. As tracing papers have low opacity and more scope for light to pass through, they can help tremendously with art creation and copy processes.
4. Brushes
Choosing the correct paintbrush for your painting is not as simple as it seems. For different strokes and effects, you require multiple types of brushes. To paint the thicker areas, you will need a broader brush, whereas, for the tight spaces, you need to have brushes that have a lesser width. Before choosing the shape, you wish to paint with, experiment with the available options. This will give you an idea of what suits your painting technique the best.
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Tip – For acrylic paints, linear brushes are the best when it comes to painting fine details. The flat wash brushes can make it easy for you to paint the backgrounds, and filbert brushes work well for traditional paintings and smoothing them out. Round brushes and linear brushes are also recommended for watercolour paintings.
5. Paints and Palettes
The ultimate art supply that you need to add vibrancy to your artwork is a sound colour palette. Palettes help make the process of painting more comfortable and organized. You can use plastic palettes, tiles, or even plates to pour the colours into. Choose the paints that you wish to add and mix and match them for astonishing results. If you are a beginner, start with a smaller colour palette, preferably with the primary colours, so you don’t get confused or overwhelmed.
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Watercolours, oil paints, acrylics, and inks are the most used paints by artists. Acrylics and watercolours are very versatile and look vibrant on paper. Oil paints require more time and experience; therefore, many beginners prefer acrylics for their flexibility and ease of drying. However, the results with oil paints are worth the efforts.
Conclusion
Three are many more fantastic art supplies that you can own as an artist. However, these five essential art supplies are the foundation of beginning any artwork. Investing in good quality art supplies can help you open a horizon of possibilities and explore your creative abilities. You never know which messy experiment or odd combination will land you your best artwork.
References
- https://www.creativebloq.com/art/16-essential-art-tools-artists-41619768
- https://smartartbox.com/blogs/smart-art-blog/7-essential-art-supplies-for-every-artist
- https://www.craftsy.com/post/essential-art-supplies/#
- https://masterpiecesociety.com/essential-art-supplies/
- https://www.annelafolletteart.com/blog/2019/11/05/12-art-supplies
