hello, i wanted to make a post about all my favourite art supplies that i currently use for my traditional art work! i’ll go through my favourite surfaces to use and where i get them, and i’ll also talk about my favourite paints/paint pens, and the pros and cons with them 🙂
► surfaces ◄
watercolour paper – i use the water colour paper by seawhite of brighton, its 350gsm and i’ve found that it’s the best watercolour paper i’ve tried to far, it doesn’t wrinkle or buckle up when you use paint on it even if you use quite a lot of water colour. i bought this from hobbycraft and i got it when it was in the art sale – if you live in the UK that is the best time to buy art supplies from hobbycraft as usually everything is half price!!!
canvas panels – these are amazing for using with paint pens because they’re not like regular canvases, they are backed with hard cardboard so it doesn’t bend or cave in like a regular canvas does. and of course the finish is great and it makes your artwork feel more special. again, i buy these from hobbycraft in packs of 3.
wood panels – i love using wooden panels because the texture is so fun to paint on, you just need to make sure you use a light base of paint before you start painting as the paint can bleed in the grain of the wood if you don’t. but painting on anything wooden is so fun and also, makes a great gift for someone because it feels so special.
► pens/pencils/paint ◄
posca pens – these pens were the reason i got into traditional painting after pretty much only doing digital art for the longest time. i know a lot of artists love and use these pens, and i can see why. they dry super smooth and the colours are vibrant. but you definitely need to play around with them first because they can be super hard to work with if you’re not using the right surface, find out what works best for you. this is why i usually use my poscas on canvas, ceramic, wood etc.
pros –
- vibrant
- smooth, matte colour when dry
- can be bought singularly
- last a long time and don’t dry up
- different tip sizes available
- available in most craft/art stores
cons –
- can be expensive, especially compared to other brands but with posca pens, you do get what you pay for.
- aren’t great for beginners, paper can pill up if used wrong or if used on the wrong surfaces, which is frustrating.
morfone acrylic pens/chalk markers – these pens are really affordable and great dupes for posca pens, i use them in pretty much all my pieces! i wouldn’t say that they are as great quality as the posca pens but that doesn’t mean that they’re not good. per pen, they work out 2.22GBP cheaper! ($2.98) which is a lot cheaper. this is why they are perfect for people who want to try out paint pens for the first time or people who are on a budget 🙂
pros –
- really affordable
- most colours match to posca pens, which means they’re great dupes
- really pigmented colour, great coverage
- colours can be quite vibrant, but more hit and miss than posca.
cons –
you can’t buy them singularly