Roundup: 5 of my favorite art tools
I love going to the art supply store. I can spend endless hours perusing the various departments at Dick Blick store near my house. I rarely leave there without a bag of goodies in my hand.
One of the best things about being an artist is that we get to use such cool tools.
So here are a few of my favorite tools that I use regularly. These are not affiliate links, just things I’m really rather jazzed about.
I started using this watercolor about a year ago. What I love about it is the colors are so RICH and really vibrant. They call these "modern" watercolors. They layer beautifully.
There are 107 of these colors and I must have all of them by now! What I love about this paint is that when it is dry it does not reactivate with water.
It becomes more like an acrylic paint- only it's matt like gouache. The best of both words for sure. I love that there are so many colors. The color combinations and mixing options are endless!
Can I say enough about how much these pens!!! This is where I am doing my happy dance!
They have water based pigment that plays well with acrylics, watercolor and can be used on any surface. (The ink is not permanent on glass.)
Paint markers take a little bit of getting used to if you have never used them before. You have to shake the pen and press the paint nib down several times to get the paint flowing.
The paint dries quickly and has matt finish. The pens come in variety of nib sizes. I use the medium and fine nib the most. The basic colors come it sets of 12-15 colors.
You have probably figured out by now I am a bit of a pen nerd. (But this a good thing).
The Pitt Pens are great for illustration. I use mostly the fine and Big Brush pen for making drawings that I scan into the computer and vectorize for patterns or hand lettering.
These pen also come in variety of colors and all are waterproof and acid free.
This is one of my favorite papers to use.
I use these plain paper pads for drawing motifs for my patterns. I sometimes do use plain copy paper- it cheap and plentiful. It’s fine.
But.....
Rhodia paper is sooo smooth and it is a bright white. This paper is so easy to draw on. It works well with markers and dry media. It does buckle with heavy watercolor washes. It’s a bit expensive, but worth it.
That's it for now.
Do you have any art supplies that you might recommend? I'd love to know. You can share them in the comments!
