List of My Favorite Art Materials

Hello again, I hope you've been doing well and staying warm (if you're in the northern hemisphere like me haha).

Materials are a big part of the art creation process and today I'll share with you a few of my favorite materials I've been using for years for drawing & painting.

Just a disclaimer: I'm not sponsored by any of these products and these are my own opinions & thoughts from my own experiences. Some of the links are Amazon affiliate links, which I get a small commission from the sale if purchased - at no additional cost to you :)

Painting Materials

Princeton Neptune Quill Paintbrush Size 8

I primarily work in watercolors now and this paintbrush is has been a favorite of mine for years now. It's been my go-to brush for my paintings and travel sketches across the world.

And sometimes, it's the only brush I use for an entire painting. It's versatile and I find the quality to be quite good. It is a bit pricey, but I've had mine for about 4 or 5 years now and still love to use it. So I think the price is worth it for me.

See here: https://amzn.to/4a6n9Jz

Custom Arches Sketchbook

Arches is my favorite watercolor paper and in the past I was lucky to find a vendor on Ebay who made small, custom sketchbooks - great for travel sketching. Unfortunately, they haven't made any new ones in the past few years so I've been forced to find other means (even making my own recently).

Having a little sketchbook like this, at a size that I want and feel comfortable with, makes me happy to paint :)

M. Graham Watercolor Paint

I find this paint to be high quality and affordable. I also like the way it dries on the palette because the binder in the paint is partly honey. So it doesn't dry up super hard, it has a softer texture. Makes re-wetting easier. Just fun paint to use.

See here: https://amzn.to/47PJ8CH

Drawing Materials

Mechanical Pencil with 2B Graphite

For most of my drawings and sketches, I actually use regular wooden drawing pencils. But sometimes, I like to use this mechanical pencil with 2B graphite I bought from Faber-Castell.

The graphite feels so smooth and nice and the mechanical pencil is quite solid and has a bit of weight to it. It's fun to use something different from time to time and see how it affects my sketches.

See pencil: https://amzn.to/46VZyIp

See graphite: https://amzn.to/3NeYSH5

Canson Cream Drawing Sketchbook 5.5” x 8.5”

This little sketchbook is super fun to have around and pick up anytime I feel like sketching. I have a couple right now that I'm sketching in and one of them is almost completely full.

The paper has a small bit of texture to it and feels quite nice. Definitely recommend for drawing or sketching.

See here: https://amzn.to/3NlbOeC

Kneaded Eraser

A simple but important tool for any artist, an eraser. Kneaded erasers have been my go-to erasers for years due to their ability to be shaped and molded.

I can easily lighten up a sketch but rolling the eraser into a cylinder and rolling it gently across the page. I can also form it into a sharp point, and erase just a tiny part of my drawing. Must have if you do any drawing.

See here: https://amzn.to/3Nhd3vi

Sakura Pigma Professional Archival Ink Brush Pens

Best brush pens I've ever used. This particular set has 3 different sizes. The large ones are my favorite but they are all quite useful.

I use them for my ink drawings and for drawing my cat from life all the time :)

See here: https://amzn.to/3Nm1nrj

I could probably keep going on for a while, but I think that's a good place to stop haha.

I do want to stress, it's usually not the materials that 'make the artist' or 'make the art'. They help and can be useful but in the end, no matter what materials you use, you can create something beautiful (or whatever aspect of art speaks to you).

Hope this list helped in some way though. Just a peak behind the art I create and what I use to create it.

Have a good week and try to create some art when you can :)

More to come soon!