This is a long effort post designed to help artists who are in tight financial situations. Please share this information with others; it benefits everyone when artists can get the supplies they need to make their best work.
AliExpress is a website that sells goods that are directly listed by Chinese manufacturers (as well as occasionally those in Laos and Cambodia). It is part of the AliBaba umbrella. The purchases that you make on AliExpress, like AliBaba, are protected by AliPay, an escrow service. AliPay is the largest digital payments service in the world and highly secure, so it is safe to use your credit and debit cards here. As an escrow service, the manufacturers do not receive your payment information directly, and they are not paid until you confirm your product has arrived (as the money is held by AliPay in the interim). Many prices on this website seem suspiciously low. However, I have been purchasing consumer goods on AliExpress for years and have only had one or two small hiccups. There is also a process for getting refunds if your item does not arrive or was not as described.
The main complaint about AliExpress is that it will take a long time for your items to arrive. Sometimes it is as little as 10 days, sometimes it is as much as 2.5 months. This is a hazard of ordering your items from overseas. If you want faster shipment, it is available; I recommend “ePacket”, which is usually a couple dollars extra at most (sometimes less than a dollar extra). Furthermore, items are almost always “on sale” so watch for real sales and price fluctuations, which are common. Lastly, there is a small discount for ordering items through the AliExpress app. The site is also available in other languages, particularly Russian (where it is the top site for online orders).
Here are links to the items pictured above. I have ordered all of these items in the past and can vouch for my personal experience, though your experience may vary:
Multiliner Pens ≈ $1 (apiece)
Flexible Drawing Curve ≈ $3
Small Striping Brushes ≈ $1
Highly Pigmented Glitter ≈ $1
Silicone Brushes ≈ $2 (set)
Metallic Paint Pens ≈ $6.50 (set) - Highly opaque white included
Black Paper Sketchbook ≈ $3 (multiple sizes)
Small Silicone Brushes ≈ $2 (set)
Clay Modeling Tools ≈ $3 (set)
Beadmaking Tools ≈ $2 (set)
Acrylic Painting Broad Brush Set ≈ $ 5 (set of 12)
Silicone Capsule ≈ $3 (ideal for resin mixing/casting)
Touchfive Alcohol-Based Markers ≈ $ 20-120 for 30-168 size marker sets. Not as good as Copic markers but still pretty solid.
Refillable Water Brushes ≈ $ 2 (set of 3)
Opaque Gel Pen (White) ≈ $1
Set of 14 Drawing Pencils ≈ $3
Oil Pastel Set ≈ $11 (set of 50)
Chalk Pastels Set ≈ $15 (set of 64)
Canvas Pencil Case ≈ $5-6 (variety of sizes)
Quilling Pen ≈ $1 (Quilling crimper, ≈ $2)
Set of 6 Drawing Stumps ≈ $1
Variety Palette Knives ≈ $1 (each)
-> Note: Here is the entire Paint Brush Section, where you can find many different varieties of paintbrushes.
-> Note: Here is the Dainayw Art Supply Store, with which I’ve had particularly good luck, although it is not the cheapest source. High quality overall.
I tried to show a range of supplies. There are brushes and palette knives for painters, pens and markers for illustrators, tools for sculptors and beadmakers, capsules and molds for resin casters, glitter and gel pens for crafters, and just about everything else. Look around the site for other products that might work best for you; these are only a tiny window into what’s available. Crafters may enjoy the sections on stickers, washi tape, ink pads, and cute stationary, but I know less about those things!
Though there are many other items on AliExpress, be warned that they are not all useful or legitimate. Do not buy items that would be eaten or go on your mouth (such as cosmetics), as China has had problems with lead and cadmium in unregulated products. Look for products with feedback and multiple orders, from reputable sellers with feedback.
Please leave good feedback for your order if you are satisfied. Sellers are punished harshly for poor feedback, and these people are working very hard. This is a chance to do your art your way, so please show gratitude to those who make this possible. As another sidenote, this does NOT mean art stores in town are cheating you. Independent art stores in particular have a lot of expenses and actually tend to be very low-profit and run by people who care about having well-curated art supplies available to artists.
Share this to let others know about this opportunity, and thanks again! I wasn’t paid to write this, this is just to help people out.
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