PICK AND TRY: art materials

Ahhh the emotion of getting new art materials, the first time we use them… this feeling never gets old.

Today I’m going to talk about how to pick new materials, things to consider, some advice and practices.

I would never advice getting a set unless you already tried the medium and you like most if not all the colors that come in the set. Pick 3 or 4 colors you are usually using in other mediums or colors you feel you need in your practice. Or if it’s a material like paint, you can always go for the primary colors + white + black but you will have to learn how to mix them, how pigments interact with each other, etc.

Before anything I would think why I want this material? Do I need it? With this I don’t only mean need as an imperative need, will it make my practice easier? Have I felt it was missing something like that when I draw? Or I’ve just been influenced by someone on Instagram?

Then think which kind of performance you enjoy using or the result you are looking for. For example, I am a very light-handed artist, but I enjoy lots of pigment and filling big areas quickly, so I know that color pencils are not for me1.

Before buying I read about the material, its composition and its compatibility with the materials I already use.

Then I compare brands, do they have the same composition, consistency, lightfastness (if it’s something you need)? Is the size of the tip/barrel different? Which brand has the colors I need? You can find this information on brands’ websites, video reviews, blog posts, etc.

If you are lucky to know someone that already has the material you want to try ask them if you can use theirs to see how you feel it.

Once I get all these answers, I search for color swatches made of the material, not the flat color square that the brand usually provides, on a white surface. This way you can appreciate the true colors. That’s especially important if you are buying online, if you go to a physical store, they sometimes have a color chart or will let you try it or you can see the actual color of the tool.

Now you are ready to get your new art materials!

Where to store your new treasures? Instead of buying the perfect 5 tier plastic container look around at home or even ask friends and family.

There are many containers that we use on our day to day that can be reused for art supplies such as: jars, tin boxes, jewelry boxes, chocolate boxes, tech packaging, other art supply boxes, etc. (like Grandma did with the cookie box sewing kit2).

Once you start realizing what could be reused, you will think about it before throwing it away. I have many empty chocolate cardboard and tin boxes stored and some little jewelry boxes.

When sketchbooking I’ve realized that I would love to have some neutrals to block shapes quickly without having to take paint, brushes, water… I have gouache paint sticks, and I love them so badly but they are mostly bright colors so I did my research and looking at artists that do a similar practice as me I’ve seen that for what I need, big acrylic markers may do the trick. Then I did my research watching videos of people using them the way I want to use them, I looked for color swatches, sizes of the tip from different brands and the colors of different brands. Then I chose these 3 neutrals + a neon pink because I always loved neon (pictured above).

I hope you found this useful and helps your art practice to be more sustainable!

Comment below which was your favorite tip and if you have more please share them too!