Today I’m going to walk you through my Top 10 Must Have Art Supplies so that I can save you from spending all day and all your money in the art supply stores!!!  I have listed out below all of my essential items I use on the daily or if you prefer you can watch my video as I explain why these have made my top 10 list.

Don’t have time to read this guide? Watch the video below! Make sure to read to the end to grab my FREE “What Pen is This?” Guide so you can navigate the art supply store like a pro.

The links below may be affiliate links where appropriate. This means that your purchase through these links may result in a few cents in payment to me, to support creating further resources like this one! That being said, I will never suggest supplies that I do not personally use and fully recommend.

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RHODIA PAPER

My all time favourite paper is Rhodia Paper! It comes in all different shapes, sizes and cover colours (Orange (my personal fav!) Black and white). You can choose from a blank pad, grid pad or dot pads depending on what you need them for or your personal preference. I love this paper so much because of it’s smooth finish – because of this you can use it with brush pens and well as pointed pens.

STRATHMORE PAPERS

These papers have a slightly different purpose than the Rhodia papers.  The ones I like the best are the BRISTOL which has a smooth surface but is much thicker than Rhodia so I can use this on more finished products.  The other one I use a ton is their WATERCOLOUR.  It’s a cold press paper with some grit and texture to it which makes it great for watercolour painting and lettering.  I do not recommend this paper for your brush pens.

TOMBOW FUDENOSUKE HARD TIP PEN

This is hands down the best brush pen of all time!!! The amazing thing about this pen is that it can be used by beginners but is the pen I use 99% of the time.  It comes in both a hard tip ( blue barrel) as well as a soft tip ( green barrel) My personal favourite is the hard tip pen.

PALOMINO BLACKWING PENCIL

I can’t say enough good things about these pencils. They are by far the best quality pencils I have used due the amazing lead and the removable and refillable erasers. You can snag these pencils in three different colours, grey, black and white.

MICRON PENS

These are by far my favourite normal ink pen – not to be confused with brush pens, these serve a much different purpose.  I use these for everyday use as well as with watercolours because they don’t bleed. They also have archival ink so you know your work or writing won’t fade over time which is a huge plus! They also have an amazing quality ink and come in various size tips. My go-tos are 1,3 and 5.

UNIBALL SIGNO

I have yet to figure out how to truly pronounce the name of this pen!! If anyone has it please….send it my way! [Sig-No] [Sign-o]??

These are amazing white ink pens that have a very opaque look to them.  The ink in these flows really well and is perfect for faux calligraphy.

SHARPIE OIL PAINT PENS

These puppies are my go-to when I am writing on chalkboards, glass or mirrors.  They have a great flow when used on these types of surfaces.  I would consider these pens “pretty permanent” however they can be removed with acetone or rubbing alcohol if absolutely necessary.

ZEBRA G NIB

This is my favourite nib when it comes to pointed pen calligraphy.  This is a great started nib for beginners but again this is the nib I typically use.  It has a nice sharp point which is great for creating that thin upstroke but is also flexible enough for a good downstroke.

KUVETAKE SUMI INK

This is really the only ink I use for pointed pen calligraphy.  It is nice and smooth and it works really well with alot of nibs.  It isn’t fussy and it’s very easy to work with – something you definitely want when using nibs and ink.

PRINCETON SNAP ROUND BRUSHES

Paint brushes are not always easy to come by – so when I’m ready to paint I will always reach for my Princeton round brushes.  They come in a ton of different sizes, aren’t super expensive and are GREAT for lettering.

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