PSA for low income aspiring/beginner visual artists!
So, you're wanting to get into visual art, yeah? And you've been watching a bunch of artist's process videos and pouring over tutorials online and purchasing how-to art books (idk if people still do that last thing or if I’m just getting old lol)? And the artists you’re observing use supplies and/or software that are inaccessible to you? And you are saddened to see that, when you go to art stores, those expensive supplies are not only outside of your price range but also labeled as ‘level 3′ or ‘professional’ while the supplies you can afford are labeled as ‘level 1′ or ‘beginner’ or even marketed towards children? Or perhaps you’re just overly hard on yourself, regardless of your experience with art, because you’ve been conditioned to believe that the quality of your artwork is reliant on the materials you use to make it?
Hello! Fellow low income artist here! I’m a month away from completing my Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art, my major medium being drawing (though I use a wide variety of media) at my liberal arts college. I’ve been making digital art for 11+ years and traditional art for even longer than that. I’m here to tell you the full truth about the role your materials play in creating artwork. I expect this post will get pretty long-winded, so all the details will be below the cut.
Disclaimer: I am not the expert on this stuff, though I do know quite a bit. Additionally, I’m probably not going to touch a lot on 3D media, as I primarily work in 2D media and have much more experience with related materials. 3D media is also far more broad and variable of a subject to cover, and while I’ve worked with some of it, by no means do I have my finger on the pulse of most of the types of materials 3D visual artists use.
You might have guessed by now, but this is a post about the regrettably common fallacy of quality materials = quality artwork. I, personally, struggled a lot with this growing up as almost every source I looked into for inspiration or guidance on different art techniques showcased specific brands of materials that neither my family nor I could ever afford. Even in my first college painting class, I was told to purchase the highest grade of acrylic paints available, which were again, way out of my price range. I ended up telling that professor “I can’t afford the materials you want me to use, I’m going to use the paints I already have”, said paints being the $2-$5 acrylics you can get at Walmart or in the kid’s section of art supply stores. I used those paints for the entirety of the class and got an A.
Now, if you’d have asked me at the end of that class (early on in my time at college) about my thoughts on art materials, I would have vehemently persuaded you to never purchase materials labeled as ‘professional’ grade. That said, I was still just a burgeoning anti-capitalist (and an egg) at the time and have picked up a lot more information over the past 4-5 years.
The Truth About Art Materials
So let me now reveal to you the great truth about an artist’s materials, and then I’ll go into more detail about the specifics. The main thing I hope you take away from this post is:
The quality or grade of a medium DOES have an impact on how artwork is created, but it DOES NOT have an impact on the art’s visual and conceptual quality! The way art supplies are oftentimes labeled and marketed is intentionally calculated to make consumers feel like they NEED to purchase ‘professional’ grade materials in order to make good art! This tactic and the mindset it encourages is rooted in all sorts of prejudiced -isms, and is both harmful and objectively false!
Traditional Art
I will be mainly referring to the following types of media in this section: paints, graphite/charcoal, pastels/conte crayons, ink, markers, and colored pencils.
So, you’re probably familiar with some of the commonly used ‘professional’ brands of art materials by now, yeah? If I said something like Copic, or Prismacolor, or Liquitex, or Winsor & Newton, stuff like that rings a bell? I mean, it’s not like a stark majority of artists (especially on Youtube) make content and/or share their work that specifically features these brands aha...
Traditional 2D art materials tend to fall into four pretty distinct categories: 1.) the material that receives the medium (paper, canvas, fabric, etc.), the medium itself (paint, graphite, charcoal, pastels, ink, etc.), tools to manipulate/work with the medium (erasers, blending stumps, brushes, etc.), and, optionally, finishes (various sealants and protective overcoats). Some mediums are already crafted into the working tool, as is the case with pencils. You can find differing qualities/grades of all of these types of materials, all with varying levels of prestige or infamy.
So How Much Do Traditional Art Materials Differ From One Another?
There are two (well, more like one and a half) main differences between the expensive, ‘professional’ grade traditional art materials, and the less expensive, ‘beginner’ or ‘student’ grade materials and materials marketed to children. The differences are: 1.) chemical/mechanical composition and 2.) archival quality (something which is directly related to the material’s chemical/mechanical composition).
‘Professional’ grade materials are pretty much by definition of archival quality. Which really just means they’re made specifically to hold up long term, and probably have a higher resistance to UV rays. This isn’t to say that ‘beginner’ grade materials won’t do the same, especially if they’re well cared for, but their chemical or mechanical composition may not be so specifically designed to weather the passage of time.
Particularly in the case of pigments, I have sometimes encountered the terms ‘professional’/’archival’ grade being used in reference to materials composed specifically of natural/organic components versus synthetic ones, but this is not always necessarily truthful as we have developed synthetic pigments that hold up better over time than natural ones (and are also less dangerous for one’s health). There is a lot of history behind pigments, and you’re likely to find a lot of conflicting information about which type of pigment makeup is “right” or “best” if you go looking for it (read: pigment choice is mostly based on personal preference and the individual intentions for an artist’s works). Celtic Artist Branna O’Dea has this neatly summarized page on their website about pigments, which I think is a good, easy to read, place for you to start if you’re interested in learning more on that subject: https://www.artandillumination.com/2019/pigments-natural-vs-synthetic-organic-vs-inorganic/
There are a few other differences you may or may not find in ‘professional’ grade versus ‘beginner’ grade materials. These differences are not consistent across different types of materials. I’ll list some of the differences (and lack thereof) that I have personally encountered:
‘Professional’ grade acrylic paint may ‘go farther’ than ‘beginner’/’student’ grade, as in you can use less ‘professional’ grade acrylic to cover more surface area. I’ve also found some ‘beginner’ grade acrylic to be more translucent than ‘professional’ grade paint, meaning in order to achieve 100% opacity, you need to build up layers of the ‘beginner’ stuff. This translucency can also easily be used to your benefit though as it makes creating washes of color and layering colors much easier.
‘Beginner’/’student’ grade watercolors can be just as vibrant if not moreso than ‘professional’ grade watercolors. This also kinda depends on if you’re working with a ‘student’ grade palette that’s marketed more towards children like Crayola, or a ‘student’ grade palette marketed towards beginning artists like Blick’s store brand or Artist Loft. One perk of certain ‘professional’ grade watercolors is the ability to mix your own palettes if the paints come in tubes of workable gel or liquid.
Some ‘professional’ grade art tools may be crafted to hold up nicely over a longer period of time. They may also be less flimsy than bendable plastic art tools. I’ve found this to be true mostly in the case of brushes. As far as pencils go though, I’ve not noticed there to be much, if any, difference in how the product is graded. ‘Lead’ in Prismacolor colored pencils breaks just as easily as in Crayola colored pencils.
‘Professional’ grade paper (while unfortunately expensive) is usually pretty well-worth using, especially when working with wet media. That said, it is important to research types of paper and generally know what medium you intend to use on it, as different types of paper are made specifically to be used with, or just work better with, certain types of media. Overall though, nice paper is less likely to warp and tear under heavy-handed work.
I haven’t really experimented with Copic illustration markers, but I have played with Blick brand illustration markers, and have found them to be no less vibrant than Copic. I’m unsure how long Copic marker cartridges last, but I’d wager they probably last a bit longer than Blick’s brand does.
Myths About ‘Elite’ Traditional Art Materials
Yeah, I’m gonna refer to them as ‘elite’, purely because, regardless of their actual quality, these brands are advertised as the best of the best so much so that owning/using them has become a status symbol. I’m talking specifically about brands like the ones I mentioned earlier (Copic, Prismacolor, Liquitex, Winsor & Newton, etc.). Here are some myths about ‘elite’ brands:
They are always more vibrant/saturated/opaque than ‘beginner’/’student’ grade materials. In some cases this may be true, in other cases it may only be partially true, in other cases still this is completely false. I would highly recommend looking up brand comparisons on YouTube as these usually are super informative and allow you to see the product in use which can help you decide what brand is best for the purpose you have in mind.
They are always more versatile and easier to use than ‘beginner’/’student’ grade materials. This one is just straight up entirely false. If anything, I’d say the opposite is true. Certain ‘Beginner’/’student’ grade materials are made to be more forgiving than the other way around. Additionally, in circumstances where ‘beginner’/’student’ grade materials are, in fact, less opaque than their ‘professional’ grade counterparts, the ‘beginner’ materials are the far more versatile option.
They’re all-natural, so they’re better for the environment, and they’re more ‘real’ than synthetic products. This one is also varying levels of true/false. Some art materials that are advertised as all-natural are just that, others just have naturally found pigments. I hate to break this news, but in most cases, certain types of traditional media *coughs* acrylic paint *coughs* are just generally not environmentally friendly. To be honest, I’m not as knowledgeable about what media are and are not environmentally friendly these days, but I do know that organic pigments doesn’t necessarily mean organic products.
They’re more expensive, so they must be/perform better than the cheaper options. Do I really need to comment on this one...?
They always have more color varieties than ‘beginner’/’student’ grade materials. This one I’ve also found to be false a vast majority of the time., with Copic markers being perhaps one notable exception. But to that I say, if you really need 358 different colors, might I recommend digital art instead where you can use literally every color...?
Popular and/or professional artists often use these brands, so they must be a prerequisite for making art that is ‘good enough to get attention’. Again, this one is entirely false. Popular and/or professional artists have likely spent a large amount of time, usually a number of years, establishing themselves. Popular artists on social media are also usually more well recognized because they make a lot of work quickly. I occasionally use Prismacolor colored pencils; realistic colored pencil and watercolor work is probably what I’m best known for within my college program. I am neither a professional artist nor popular in any art-related social circle. This has everything to do with me working slowly, especially on art that is required for a grade or commissioned, because I hate making art for those reasons, and also because I don’t put in much effort to establish myself virtually - I don’t want to do that. It’s nice when people give me positive feedback or compliments on my art, but personally, I think I’d rather drink bleach than become a popular artist. That’s a conversation for another day though, lol.
Digital Art
Digital art should be quicker and easier to talk about. Once again, I have some, but not much, experience with 3D digital art, so I’m going to largely gloss over the details of that.
When it comes to digital art, you generally have only two types of materials to take into consideration: the tool you’re working with to make the art (mouse, touch screen, drawing tablet, etc.) and software (Paint Tool SAI, Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop, etc.).
I actually find that the pricing for digital art materials is surprisingly more honest than is the case with traditional art materials, at least in regards to digital drawing tablets. They’re probably still overpriced, because capitalism, but the brand and model you’re using is less of a gross status symbol, and generally speaking, their cost is actually pretty telling of their functionality in comparison to other brands/models. Wacom is (probably - it was a few years back at least) the best known brand of digital drawing tablets, and yeah, I really like them. I’ve used a cheaper brand before and it just didn’t handle as nicely as my Wacom tablet, and I own one of, if not the cheapest model (around $80).
Now software is another story. There’s definitely some discrepancies in social status based on what software you use, but I’ve noticed that it’s less of people looking down on you for using MS Paint, and more like people clocking you as privileged for using TV Paint. And that’s where piracy comes in.
Encourage piracy? Me? I would never c:
Moving on. The nice thing about digital art at least is that the differences in programs is usually based on their user interface, speed, and functionalities, and there is a lot, like A LOT, of overlap. Of course there’s overlap with traditional materials too, but like, there is so much more overlap with digital art programs. Better yet, if the pirate’s life isn’t for you, there are some really fantastic art programs out there that are open source and completely FREE!!! I would highly recommend browsing https://alternativeto.net/ for more than just art programs. AlternativeTo is a database of crowdsourced software information so you can hopefully find exactly what you’re looking for.
Personally speaking, I currently like Paint Tool SAI the best simply because it runs fast and smooth. A lot of people steal access to it, which I’ve heard is easy, but I would recommend paying the $45 USD to purchase it if you can and support the creator of it because it is a truly amazing program. I like GIMP for making/editing things like video thumbnails and web banners. Krita is also pretty nice; I’d say it’s almost somewhere in between GIMP and Paint Tool SAI as far as it’s capabilities go. Don’t support Adobe if you can help it; it’s just a greedy corporation that parasitizes your bank account by making you pay for a subscription to use software that you used to be able to purchase once and use indefinitely. Photoshop is nice for editing photos, but still isn’t as fast as Paint Tool SAI, and seriously, fuck Adobe.
Digital art has a more steep learning curve I think than most traditional art methods, but once you’ve learned one program, learning more gets subsequently easier. There are also a ton more digital resources to accompany learning how to make art digitally, also many of which you can access for free. I started off making drawings in MS Paint with a mouse, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone has to start somewhere. :>
Conclusion
If you create something, and your intent is for it to be art, then you’ve made art and you’re an artist. Period. Does this mean that people try to use this definition for nefarious purposes? Oh absolutely. They usually lose a lot of funding for the art community in the process, but in at least some of those cases, the work they were doing is commendable.
You don’t need to buy the fanciest of materials to be a stellar artist. If someone lords their collection of Copics over you, please laugh at them. Seriously, laugh in their face, you have my express permission.
Not only do you not need ‘professional’ grade materials to make art, but using materials that are ‘beginner’/’student’ grade can be exceedingly more impressive than not. Learning how to make the best with what you can get is an incredibly valuable skill to foster. Sometimes it’s hard, not having access to all of the things other artists have access to, I would know... Trust me though, you don’t need what other artists have to make beautiful art.
Stay creative! <3
