My last ask post was broken between mobile and pc, so let me go through it again @kayrosebee:
I’ve had a very wonderful holiday and I’m trying to make the most of my time off with lots of (incoming) art and things!
I really hope you had a good one too!!
So, I’m feeling more and more removed from traditional art as I go, but I’ve absolutely got my favorite brands.
As far as watercolor paper goes, you can’t go wrong with Arches. They’re a little spendy, but it’s worth it not to have cheap paper when doing watercolor.
They make both a cold-pressed and hot-pressed textured paper, and all that means is a larger, more traditional watercolor tooth to the paper (on the cold-pressed) and a smoother, more airbrushed surface (on the hot-pressed.) Think about goosebumps to remember which is which if you’re purchasing paper online. Cold=large tooth, hot=smooth.
I also have a kinda off brand that I LOVE called the Bee Paper Company, which also happens to be established in my home state, BUT I will say, I only like their small sizes. The larger the paper goes for this company, the less it holds up (and they don’t make very large sizes.)
You can see the size in this picture is 6x9”. I also have some 12x14″, but I can’t find it and I’d rather not use it anyway. It really is nothing like their small cuts…
To prevent buckling of the paper, you have a couple options. The best and most successful way to complete a piece without any buckling is to use a paper block, like my cold-pressed pad is.
All this is, is a block of watercolor sheets already sealed down.You can peel your art up when you’re done just like you tear off a new piece of paper from a drawing pad, and voila! No ripples!
You can also use something called gum (gummed) tape, which will essentially glue a water-saturated piece of paper to your art board.
Be careful though, this tape DOES NOT come off again. You will have to cut your paper to release it, so make sure you leave enough of a border if you’re gonna use this stuff.
You can also help prevent buckling by properly preparing your paper before you start painting on it. There’s a little tutorial here.
All that being said, I do still OFTEN use some traditional 3M painters tape, which does the job, but not perfectly, and I do still have some issues with buckling. (You might recognize this boy. He’s almost done, I swear!!) This tape will not work with pre-saturated paper though.
As far as paint goes, you can really experiment with what you like. I use a combination of Aquarell, Windsor Newton (watercolor and gouache), and Grumbacher (Art Academy is good quality and still relatively affordable. Windsor Newton is a good budget brand, and Aquarell is high end expensive paint that I don’t find much more satisfying (if at all) than the Grumbacher).
My colored pencil accents are nearly always Prismacolor. I could suffocate in my own supply tbh:
But I also have that fancy-pants swiss brand there in a couple colors and, honestly, it’s a little waxy… I could live without it.
I used it in this sketch and it wasn’t nearly as bright as it should have been.
You can use anything you want for the ink accents, but make sure it’s waterproof. I like Micron and Faber-Castell artist pens for line work.
I have also used a regular ballpoint pen for pieces, but ONLY AFTER it’s dry and I know it’s not getting wet again (IT WILL BLEED).
I think that was everything, right??? I hope that helps a little bit with your shopping (I’m nothing if not an art supply princess. I LOVE RESEARCHING IT), and I wish you all the luck on your big projects! I hope we’ll get to see some of them!!!!
