My advice and recommendations about art supplies and art materials for artists and illustrators. How to choose the right art supplies to do the job and save money
Finding useful gift ideas for artists sounds easy until you actually start looking. There are endless art supplies for sale, but that doesn’t mean an artist needs or wants them. Most experienced artists already have their favourite pencils, paints, brushes and paper. Buying more of the same can be a …
Same old problem, there’s too much choice, so how do you choose the right pastel pencils? If you are struggling, this guide will help you choose the best pastel pencils for beginners ALL lists are subjective, we all favor our own brands for our own reasons, not the least of …
When you’re putting together your first drawing kit, it’s incredibly tempting to walk into an art store and buy one of everything, a fancy sketchbook, dozens of pencils, even a drawing board. But here’s the truth, most of that stuff ends up gathering dust. In this post, I’m going to …
Are you still using your finger to smudge and blend your pencil drawings? Stop. It’s one of those mistakes many beginners make. There are drawing tools for blending. Your fingers contain natural oils. Rub them over graphite and you can leave greasy marks on the paper. Those marks are difficult …
Choosing the wrong pencil for an underdrawing will ruin your watercolor painting. Too soft and your watercolor wash gets dirty, too hard and the pencil will scratch the paper. The best type of pencil to use with watercolors is a graphite drawing pencil, grades F, H, or 2H. Water-soluble graphite …
As a professional artist with over 20 years of experience using mechanical pencils to draw very detailed pencilwork, I’m well placed to offer some good advice about choosing the best mechanical pencils for drawing. The Pentel P200 and Pentel P120 A3 series are the best mechanical pencils for drawing due …
Starting with the right tools makes all the difference. When I began drawing, I didn’t know which pencils to pick or what paper to use. I wasted time and money on drawing supplies that didn’t work out for me. But you don’t have to make the same mistakes. In this …
If you’re buying a gift for someone who draws, or wants to start drawing as a hobby, skip the cheapest starter kits. A few good tools are worth far more than a box full of Chinese crap. Who am I to recommend these items? I’m KevinHayler, and I’ve been a …
Most beginners treat an eraser like a panic button, for quick fixes only. That’s a mistake. More experienced artists use erasers as drawing tools. They ‘lift’ the graphite to create edges and textures that would be very difficult to acheive by shading alone. This is subtractive drawing, and it’s a …
We’ve probably all been there, you buy a beautiful print only to end up paying through the nose to frame it. OUCH! Leaves a bad taste doesn’t it? But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are 9 ways of framing on a budget to SAVE YOU MONEY! It’s …
Just as digital art has become mainstream and gaining acceptance as a serious art form along comes AI and parasites on all that talent. Now anyone can ‘create’ art with a single prompt. Is there a place for genuine digital artists anymore? Only time will tell. So, given the uncertain …
Finding the best drawing pencils for beginners is easy, they’re the same ones the professionals use. In other words, you must buy high-quality pencils if you want to achieve good results. Drawing pencils are specialized and designed specifically for artists. These pencils differ from standard writing pencils, in as much …
All the major brands make good erasers. In that sense, recommending the “best choice” is a bit misleading. In this post, I’ll tell you the best erasers for drawing by type, I’ll tell you what they do, how to use them, and suggest some trusted brands. I’ll also list the …
Too much choice and not enough knowledge. How does a beginner choose the best easel for drawing? Where do you even start? Indeed do you even need an easel? I’ll point you in the right direction. The best drawing easel is a combination of four things: size, weight, adjustability, and …
Have you ever arrived in an art store and been overwhelmed by the bewildering types of paper? How do you choose the best paper for pencil drawing? You can’t buy each one and test them out. That’s why I decided to demystify the process so you can buy the best …