Category Archives: Art Supply

Art Supply

Art Supplies and Materials in your Studio

Before I show you all the art supplies and materials every art studio should have, let’s take a look at the definition for a moment.

Art:

The definition of art is the creation of works of beauty or other special significance. It is the exercise of human skill. An imaginative skill as applied to representations of the natural world or figments of the imagination.

Supplies:

The definition of Supplies is an amount available for use. It is stock that is stored for use when you need it.

Put those words together and you have, “Art Supplies”.

I know you knew what art supplies meant. But it opens up an artist’s mind to all that could be needed in your combats with your next canvas or illustration board.
Check out the “War of Art” on learning how to combat your art skills!

It is quite overwhelming all the different kinds of art supplies and materials you can have at hand. Most of you know what your main niche is whether it is pen and Ink, acrylic paint or just your ordinary pencil drawings.

Before you start you always want to have all the possibilities of every type of art tool there is. Which leads me to a problem I started having…? My art studio started to get really messy. I had pencils mixed up with my pen and ink and my oil paints started blending in with my acrylic paint! I guess it would be ok if I was constantly doing Click for Acrylic Paintmixed media drawings.

It also happened with my art material. Somehow I started placing my canvas boards in with my illustration boards. And a few finished pieces got in to the blend of those!

Click for Illustration Boards

Most of the time when you see another artist’s studio you see they are not the neatest or well organized artist either. But I bet if you asked where there eraser is or the color siesta blue was, they would give you the general area it is in.

I couldn’t put up with it any longer. I had to get organized. I didn’t want to spend any more time looking for the tools I needed. I also wanted to have most of my art supplies at an arm’s reach away.

I needed an art storage organizer for each and all of my different kind of art supplies that I used. I have three art bin storage boxes. Each one is labeled with their contents. One is for colored pencils, the second one is for pen and ink and my third is for miscellaneous art supplies like razors, erasers, scissors, markers ect…  these are my most important storage units because they are the ones I would take to the park or beach or anywhere on want to set up a studio.

I also wanted an art file cabinet to store all the different kinds of illustration boards, canvases and my finished projects.Click for art filing cabinets

 

Art Supply, Colored Pencils

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencil Set

The first time I used this brand of colored pencil was in 1985 when I worked at the Pearl Paint in Paramus, NJ.
I used to work in the pencil and pencil, when I discovered that out of all the colored pencils. “Prismacolor” seemed to be the easiest to work with. They were vibrant in color and laid down nicely on illustration board. Compared to other pencils that were either too hard or too soft. Prismacolor colored pencils are not messy and can be blended in together nicely.
As you can see in my rendition of the characters of the Wizard of Oz.
Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils were used for the wizzarsd of Oz
I believe that these pencils are worth every penny. I did I comparison with the Sanford Verithin Colored Pencils. And hands down the Presmacolor was much more vibrant and the color filled in the tooth of the paper much faster.
In fact the Sanford pencil couldn’t cover all of the paper.

The tooth of the illustration board was not able to be covered with other colored pencils. Where as the Prismacolor colored pencils did and were very vibrant in color.

When I first started drawing portraits I started with people I loved. I drew people that were heroes or eye candy. I remember the look on my girlfriends face when she saw the first portrait I drew of her. She didn’t know what to say and began to cry. I felt like she really knew I loved her. It was in pastel and it was from a photo I took of her when she was getting off the school bus.

Well before I get to mushy back on topic. That is why I loved drawing portraits more than anything else. It was the resemblance of those heroes and loved ones that captured my audience’s attention. People always told me that I got their eyes perfect. Don’t know why but maybe because I started with their eyes. It is probably the hardest part about drawing portraits other than the ears and nose.

Colored-Pencil-John-Wayne

Color-Pencil-Swatch

I used to only draw in pencil. I found it amazing that with basically just one color I could make over 20 different shades and textures. That is when I thought more and more of the possibilities of colored pencils. Prismacolor Pencils have always been there since the 70’s. When I was a child I always asked my parents to bring me to an art store. They brought me to a Pearl Paint art store where I had gotten must of my art supplies.  When I was 17 I got a job working at the same art store.

Art Supply

Top 10 art supplies every artist needs!

Top 10 art supplies every artist needs!

Every artist has different needs for their work, But I have made a list of the top 10 tools that a beginner artist needs or would ask for Christmas or their birthday. This list would also apply to what a beginner artist needs to start basic drawing techniques.

Sketch-Book
A Good Sketch Book

1. Paper, Illustration Board, Canvas

There are different surfaces for various media, such as pencil, pen, markers or paint. To begin with, I suggest using inexpensive copy machine paper. A ream of #20 bond paper is available at office or art supply stores. Latter on you

can purchase more expensive drawing surfaces for your finished works of art.

2. Erasers

There are a few different kinds of erasers out there. I’m not referring to the eraser that comes with a pencil. There are different shaped pink erasers used for light pencil marks. I prefer a kneaded rubber eraser because it can be shaped to erase small areas by kneading it like a piece of clay. And best of all, it doesn’t leave messy crumbs.

Erasers-Pentel

3. Pencils, Pens, Paste

There are different mediums that are available, and different effects that each one produces. I suggest using a 2B lead pencil for starters. There are artist pencil boxes that have a full range of leads that start with 2H lightest (hard lead) to darkest 6B (soft lead). The most used pencils for a beginner artist are 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B. Soon the artist will want to experiment with other media such as, colored pencils, pastels, pen and ink

4. Pencil SharpenerPencil-Sharpener

Keep your pencils sharp so your drawings are sharp. An electric operated sharpener is the best, but the old fashion crank-handled or hand-held type works just as well.


5. T-Square, Triangle and Ruler

The T-square runs across the straight edge of your drawing board and gives you consistent parallel lines. With the triangle you can achieve perfect right angles or can simply use it to create straight lines. Together they can be used for measuring and adding perspective to your work. Rulers are needed to make sure your drawings are at custom or standard sizes.

6. Cutting Knife

Used for cutting out tiny areas, making straight cuts using a metal ruler to cut excess substrate from you works of art.

7. Drawing TableDrawing-desk

An adjustable drawing table also called a draftsman’s table is to help make the artist comfortable when in their drawing position. For some artists working on a flat table works just as well. You can also create an alternative to the adjustable table by using a piece of wood approximately 18″x24″. It can then be propped up with your legs or some books on a table to any angle you wish.

8. Lamp or Light SourceStudio-Lamp

To create your best art you need the best light. Position the lamp or yourself in the right spot so you don’t cast a shadow on your art work. There isn’t a more important piece of art equipment to add to your art supply than a good artist lamp. When you have great lighting in your work space you can get a full appreciation for color, contrast, and composition. The best light source is outside light. So when setting up your work area be sure to be close to a window.

9. ChairArt-Studio-Chair

Being comfortable either at your desk or at the beach is so important. You want to be relaxed but not too comfortable that you’ll fall asleep. Being in the same position for a long time can hurt your back or lose circulation in your legs, arms and even hands.

 

10. Light box

Light-Master Box
Click for Details

A light box will help the artist see through 2-3 sheets of paper at a time. It helps the artist to outline their rough sketches into fresh lines on a new sheet. It also allows you to change the
position of your artwork when retracing to devise an enhanced composition.

This article was also published on EzineArticles