New to Drawing? Make Sure You Have These Essential Art Supplies…

Gerhard Richter, Damien Hirst, Christopher Wool, David Hockney…

When all these artists are celebrated today for their unique concepts and successful executions, we pick their brains for the real meaning behind their artworks; but, have you ever thought about the offbeat art materials that were integral to those works?

This may seem surprisingly simple; however, the fact is that the right art tools are always essential to bring creative visions to life, in its right form.

While most of the professional artists have definite preferences on the stuff they use for drawing, there are some essential art materials, (scroll down to know what they are!) which every aspiring artist should carry in their equipment bags.

• Graphite Pencils

Years after schooling, pencils might seem dull, but we are sure you won’t get far drawing if you don’t have one!

While there are undoubtedly many brands of pencils available in different grades like Hb, 2b, 4b, 6b, 8b,10b (soft pencils), and 2h, 3h, 4h, 6h, 8h (hard pencils), it’s all up to you to choose the needed ones from them.

Keep in mind, there is no need to go wild; just three or four of the convenient grades and types are enough. We personally suggest using a 2B pencil for sketching and shading, a 4H for lighter shading, and 6B for drawing darker shadows.

And when it comes to our recommendations on the best brand of pencils, we would like you to try out a few brands on your own and discover the one which you are comfortable with.

Need more suggestions? Read Which Pencils Are Best For Sketching On Canvas?

• Drawing Paper/Canvas

A pencil without paper is useless!

So, a beloved sketchbook or canvas is something you should assemble now. Sheets of paper/canvas boards are the best when you want to create finished artworks.

But in case if you are planning for daily practice or on producing a more casual drawing ultimately, it’s better that you grab an inexpensive sketchbook or canvas pad – basically, a book with several drawing papers bound together.

Now, the next thing is at what size do you like to work?

When you start to draw, you will come to note that there is a particular scale at which you normally sketch. For some, it may be less than the half portion of the page, while for some, it may take up the whole page. You must take account of this too, when selecting a sketchbook.

• Erasers

So, here comes the real unsung heroes of drawing!

To rub out any mistakes made while drawing, we recommend getting both:

1. Rubber/plastic eraser and
2. Kneaded eraser

The plastic erasers, which come in white color, are preferred usually during normal sketching. However, the kneaded erasers, which seem more like Play-Doh, could be torn off pieces and shaped in various patterns to erase smaller details or produce subtle shading.

Be advised, if you are at the very first stage of drawing, then a simple white plastic eraser may just be sufficient. However, a kneaded eraser is something you will eventually want during your artistic journey. So, if you are purchasing a bunch of art supplies at once, we would say, there is no reason to wait on the kneaded one!

• Paint

For an art novice, a gazillion paint tubes are not required to create beautiful art!

This is valid for all the paints – watercolors, oils, or acrylics. All you need (we mean, at least!) is a tube of blue, red, brown and yellow. You can mix them according to your needs to create fresh hues.

Still confused about which paint should you buy for your first painting? Well, you are in better luck! We have already published articles on the topic. Don’t miss out on Part 1 and 2 of that!

• Palette

This is yet another necessary art supply, on which you don’t have to spend too much.

Being a beginner, just go for an inexpensive plastic paint palette. It is comfortable to wash, and of course, is a perfect choice for watercolors and acrylics!

• Brushes

Those magic wands for weaving colors across your drawing board!

If you are starting out in acrylics, below discussed are your power sextet:

1. Round or pointed tip brushes that are good for outlining, sketching, detailed artwork, painting thin to thick lines, and filling in smaller areas of the drawing.
2. Square ended flat artist paint brushes that can be used for bold strokes and filling large spaces.
3. Filbert flat and oval-shaped ended brushes that are most preferred for blending and painting soft rounded edges like flower petals.
4. Flat, spread haired brushesthat are suitable for clouds, leaves, and textural effects..
5. Angular flat artist paint brushes that could create better-curved strokes. .