When I draw, I often draw using many different types of pencils and pens. I have decided to write a post about what brands I think are good for drawing and sketching.
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A peek into my tackle box. The gray markers at the bottom are my Copics.
The rest is stuff I need to clean out. |
My Favorites:
- Copic Markers
- Gives pictures more of a watercolor/painterly feel. Colors blend nicely with minimal bleed. Unfortunately, they're a bit pricey at about $4-5 per marker. They also have replaceable ink, which is pretty cool.
- Prismacolor Markers
- Has much darker pigment than Copics. Bigger nibs make it ideal for coloring larger areas. These are also much cheaper than Copics, ranging from $2-3 per marker.
- Faber and Castell Graphite Pencils
- Just a preference of mine. Staedtler
is another alternative, but I find them to be a bit pricey. Faber and Castell's run about $0.65 per pencil, while Staedtler is about $0.99 per pencil. Staedtler is also break resistant, so that's pretty cool. When buying pencils, it's always good to have a nice variety of leads, from soft to very hard. (B= Soft, H= Hard and HB= Medium.) I may write a post that's a bit more in depth later, if anyone is interested in learning more.
- Sakura Micron Pens
- Good archival pens, but a little pricey.
- Millenium Pens
- Cheaper than the Sakura pens. Still pretty good archival pens.
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Light blue and black pencils are Staedtler, dark blue and gold are Faber and Castell.
The gray pens are Millenium and the tan are Sakura. |
- Prismacolor Color Pencils
- Smooth coloring and even color
- Adobe Illustrator
- For digital work. A decent free alternative would be GIMP, but it doesn't have as many features. It's a good basic program, but I would not recommend it if you plan on doing professional work.
- X-acto Knife
- I usually use this for when I make stencils or collages. Any sharp, surgical grade steel knife should work. No need for name brands if you can't afford them.
- Faber and Castell Dust-Free Eraser
- LOVE LOVE LOVE this eraser! Minimal dust and erases almost completely! Runs about $1 per eraser.
- Kneaded Eraser
- Also a very good eraser for cleaning up smudges. MOO is a really neat alternative to kneaded erasers. It's made by a Korean company called Nayana Co. and can be purchased at Hobby Lobby for about $2 for 2. the MOO is also dust-free, so there is minimal mess and erases cleanly.
- Self Healing Cutting Mat
- Ideal for projects that require a knife or any sort of cutting that is not with scissors.
There are other things I use, but these are my favorites. If price is an issue, cheaper alternatives are also fantastic! No need to spend a fortune trying to make decent art!
