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What Are My Art Essentials?

You know how essential your materials can quickly become if you’re an artist. Making quality art requires high-quality supplies, and the perfect materials can help you create your best work. Here are some things that I regularly use and recommend to artists.

Art supplies can create a headache, especially if your collection is extensive. But there’s a way to streamline the process. By knowing what you need, you can cut down on the stuff you don’t, saving space, money, and the frustration of not being able to find what you’re looking for when you need it.

The truth is, when it comes to your necessary art supplies, it heavily depends on the medium you choose. However, there are general necessities to digital and traditional art you should probably know.

Pencil

Pencils are an art essential, and did you know that some people use pencil shavings to make art? Pencil shavings, also known as graphite, are miniature pieces of wood that come off of pencils. When a pencil is sharpened, it whittles the lead and removes tiny pieces of wood from the pencil. The pencil shavings aren’t considered waste, though. They are used in art to create objects, such as sculptures, paintings, and more.

Paper to draw on

Paper is all around us, from posters and postcards to business cards and napkins. In fact, according to most estimates, there are approximately 500,000 sheets of paper produced every second throughout the world.

Paper is a hugely important material, and we must continue to foster our skills as artists and makers with it. Paper as an art material has multiple uses. It can make beautiful ornaments and great packaging and can be used to enhance collage and painting. Paper is also relatively easy to make, and it can be ground up, mixed with other materials such as clay and glue, or used as-is to create smooth, textured surfaces. Below are a handful of other ways paper can be creatively transformed.

Eraser

Ah, the pencil. It’s ubiquitous, dependable, and change-resistant. They hold many things: ideas, thoughts, stories, and to-do lists. But, as with everything in life, there are trade-offs. As much as we love our pencils, they make it hard for us to keep the lines neat, and smudges often happen.

There’s something about a good eraser. They can be used to create a myriad of works of art, whether it’s lettering, doodling, or shading-and they come in all shapes and sizes. Whatever you need it for, there’s a whiteboard eraser that will suit you. Just keep in mind: if you want a good eraser, you’re going to pay for it. Some artists prefer a cheaper, generic eraser, but they can be notoriously hard to draw on. Some artists swear by their expensive mechanical and kneaded erasers, which are a quick way to remove mistakes without adding too much to your work.

Gadget to draw in for digital art

The digital age has transformed our art experience. Digital art can be created with almost any tool that can produce electronic signals, from simple pencil and paper to more sophisticated programs. The digital age has, in turn, created new art tools, like digital art software, that create and enhance the experience of creating art. People interested in video art may also incorporate special effects in their paintings through UX/VFX (perhaps like the ones done by Marco Brambilla in his illustrations).

Many artists create their art digitally nowadays, and once again, it’s never been easier. The hardware is almost as ubiquitous as software. These days, you can pretty much find a computer, tablet, or smartphone that is powerful enough to run all but the most graphically demanding software. Even when you need something more powerful, there are usually plenty of options available.

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