For the beginning artist, choosing the right materials can be both exciting and confusing. The variety of brushes, paints, papers and canvases can shake confidence and raise questions: “Where do I start?” and ”What materials are right for me?” It is important to realize that choosing the right materials has a significant impact on the creative process and the outcome of your work.
Pencils and erasers
If we talk about pencils for drawing preliminary sketches, then here it is better to choose a simple graphite pencil of medium softness, H or NV – will be an ideal option. Pencils of such density will not smear much on the paper. Softer pencils (B, 2B, etc.) are great for pencil sketches and quick sketches, when you use pressure to get a more contrasting, darker line or section of the drawing. Also, refrain from using too hard pencils (2H, 3H), or work with them with minimal pressure, as they can leave “dents” and even scratches in the place where the line was drawn.
As for the eraser or eraser gum, it should be soft, erase the pencil well, not to traumatize the paper and certainly not to smear the pencil on it. You can also use blots, they perfectly remove the excessive pencil layer from the paper, it is enough to kind of blot the drawing with it.
Eraser firms are many, choose it depending on the paper on which you draw.
Watercolor paints
The choice of watercolor should be taken as seriously as the choice of paper for it. After all, watercolor technique is considered the most complex, and if oil, acrylic or gouache you can overlap or even remove an unappealing layer, watercolor does not forgive mistakes and its task is to remain transparent!
Watercolor paint is a mixture of pigments and a binder – gummiarabik, which fixes the paint on the paper.
But if you want to do complex works, you like watercolor painting and illustration, then you should think about buying a good watercolor!
Watercolor comes in different packaging formats, also divided by the level of professionalism.
So, watercolors are student and professional. Student watercolor is less pigmented than professional watercolor and is cheaper. It is produced in cuvettes (boxes with solid paint in a set or piece by piece), in tubes, in liquid form, in the form of pencils and markers.
Watercolor in cuvettes – the most usual type of watercolor for us: dry and diluted with water, it is spent more economically and ready to serve you for 10 or more years.
Watercolor in tubes has a pasty consistency, has more saturated pigments and is perfect for working on large formats.
Liquid watercolor is packed in jars with a dropper. This watercolor is ready to use, it is very concentrated, but also quite capricious. It does not like mixing with other forms of watercolor, it can be layered when drying or give a completely unexpected shade. So before mixing it with ordinary watercolor, first try to experiment on a draft, and then, if the result you are satisfied with – transfer to the cleaner.
For training is best suited quality student watercolor in the format of cuvettes or tubes. It is desirable at first to buy a set of 12-24 colors, and then, as necessary, you can buy individual shades and even make palettes of the colors you use most.
If you buy watercolors in tubes, it is worth buying a special closing palette, where you can squeeze out the necessary amount of paint and it will not dry out. In principle, the palette is needed and for mixing watercolors in cuvettes! Also watercolor in tubes can be squeezed into ordinary empty cuvettes and put them in a special pencil case. All of these individually are sold in stores.
How to choose paper for Watercolor
Among the compositions of paper, it is worth highlighting first of all two ingredients: cotton and cellulose.
It’s hard to pick favorites between them, as everyone may have different goals and skills. Yes, and elementary, the habit of working with this or that amount of water. But still for practicing skills it is better to start with cellulose – firstly, it is more budget-friendly. And at the beginning of your creative journey you must and will make mistakes, to make out, it will take quite a lot of paper, so the ideal option is cellulose. It’s predictable, dries quickly, and is flatter to lay down than cotton.
The density of the drawing paper is also important. Watercolor paper starts at an average density of 185g/m2 to 800g/m2. It is worth noting that paper with low density is better suited for stretching on the tablet, as when wet without additional fastening it will easily begin to warp and it is problematic to return it to an even appearance. Paper from 300g/m2 can be used without a tablet. However, please note that a large amount of water can still cause it to “warp”.