Before you begin to review, remember this- you can draw for months with just a single pencil, and a piece of paper. You don’t need to purchase a race car, when you are just learning how to drive. You can just practice in a car much like my first car- a 1976 Plymouth Eagle with the front bumper and radiator grill held on by a rope (graciously gifted to me by my sister, who got into a minor collision and was afterwards too embarrassed to drive it.) But what about as time goes by, and you are growing comfortable in driving, and now you want to race? Then, and only then, it is indeed time to buy a better car- you can’t turn tight corners and hit high speeds when your front bumper is held on by rope. In my boyhood years, I learned to draw with a single #2 pencil on sheets of printer paper; as an aspiring student, I acquired what materials I could afford and improvised to fill the gaps; now, as a professional artist I work with the highest quality art supplies available. Now, to work with anything less than the best art products would prevent me from being able to execute my vision as an artist, because I slowly learned how to use the materials.
On this page are listed ALL of the art materials a serious art student or professional artist needs. But throughout the larger website, you will also see listed on the opening page of each course the materials suggested only for that specific course. Why? The lists have been broken up, so that you can purchase only what you need, in the season you need it- not the entire list. Do not feel the need to purchase all of the supplies at once, in the beginning.
Drawing Art Supplies
We have bundled the following lists into Amazon Lists. Simply click, and you will have access to the entire bundle.
The list below, Fundamental Student Drawing Materials, is available bundled on Amazon at this link: Amazon Advanced Drawing List
| Fundamental Student Drawing Materials | ||||||
| Type of Material | Student Level | Note | Quality- Good or Best | Source (click link for each individual product) | Quantity Needed | Price (subject to change) |
| Derwent Pencil, Set of 6 pencils, staggered from HB to 6B | Fundamental | This is a smaller set of pencils | Good | amazon | 1 | 10 |
| Alvin Automatic Pencil, .5 millimeter | Fundamental | For schematic drawings, incised contours | Good | amazon | 1 | 15 |
| Kneaded Eraser, pack of four | Fundamental | Good | amazon | 1 | 6 | |
| Hard Eraser, pack of three | Fundamental | Good | amazon | 1 | 4 | |
| Sanding Block | Fundamental | Good | amazon | 1 | 5 | |
| Blending Stump, assorted packet | Fundamental | Good | amazon | 1 | 6 | |
| Pencil Extender, Pack of 12 | Fundamental | For lengthening pencils as they shorten | Good | amazon | 1 | 8 |
| Hand Held Sharpener | Fundamental | Good | amazon | 1 | 3 | |
| Potato Peeler | Fundamental | Same as used in a kitchen. Be sure it is new, and sharp- dull ones not useful | Good | amazon | 1 | 10 |
| Pencil Roll | Fundamental | Be sure it has individual slots. Simple cases are disorganized, and slows down artistic process | Good | amazon | 1 | 9 |
| Paper, Sketch Pad | Fundamental | Good | amazon | 1 | 13 | |
| Paper, Bristol | Fundamental | Good | amazon | 1 | 11 | |
| Blue Tape | Fundamental | Good | amazon | 1 | 4 | |
| Portfolio | Fundamental | Good | amazon | 1 | 13 | |
| Sum Total (estimated) | 117 |
The list below, Advanced Student Drawing Materials, is available bundled on Amazon at this link: Amazon Advanced Drawing List. This list, combined with the above list, completes the materials lists needed for a serious student of drawing.
| Advanced Student Drawing Materials, Supplement to Fundamental | ||||||
| Type of Material | Student Level | Note | Quality- Good or Best | Source (click link for each individual product) | Quantity Needed | Price (subject to change) |
| Mitsubishi Pencil, Set of 22 pencils ranging from 10H to 10B | Advanced | This is a larger set of pencils, for advanced students/professionals | Best | amazon | 1 | 35 |
| Rotring Automatic Pencil, .5 millimeter | Advanced | For precise, incised lines | Best | amazon | 1 | 23 |
| Hand Held Sharpener, Blackwing | Advanced | Clever design, to sharpen a pencil and get a long taper | Best | amazon | 1 | 11 |
| Box Cutter (Not for children, or for those uncomfortable with knives) | Advanced | Best possible way of cutting the wood on a pencil away, for a long taper. Only works for harder pencils, from 10H to HB. Softer pencils snap, when the graphite is too long | Best | amazon | 1 | 17 |
| Strathmore 500 Series Bristol Paper | Advanced | Very heavy duty paper, for special projects or commissions. Not for quick sketches! | Best | amazon | 1 | 30 |
| Sum Total (cost subject to change) | 116 |