Drawing Materials Tutorial

EDIT 6/2/2015
As I've gotten older, I've changed around my art materials! Here in my store I have updated material guides for what I currently use- gumroad.com/l/drawingmaterials… The updated guides include some completely new art mediums I use now too.

The materials listed here are still great and recommended! My style has just changed a bit over time, and with that, so have my materials.

Happy arting!!


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All the materials I use for my drawings


Pencil Drawing Materials:

Canson Vellum Bristol: This paper is one of my favorites to use. It’s easy to blend with and it’s a good paper to do detailed drawings on. A lot of other artists use Smooth Bristol to draw portraits, but I find it difficult to blend with and I get frustrated, but Vellum in my opinion is much easier.

Jack Richeson’s Cold Press Watercolor Block: This is the easiest paper to draw on that I own. It blends so smoothly and easily. Even though it is made for use with watercolors, I think it works great with pencil portraits too.

Aquarelle Arches Hot Pressed Watercolor Block: This is a very smooth watercolor paper, but it still has a fine tooth to it. I’ve only used it once so far, but I liked working with it. 

Draft Line Mechanical Pencils: I love mechanical pencils. I find them to be much more precise then regular pencils and you don’t have to sharpen them! They come in different sizes…0.3mm being the smallest and 0.9 being the biggest. My 0.5mm mechanical pencil is actually a Staedtler instead of a Draft Line, but that brand is also nice.

Pentel Lead: This is the lead that goes in your mechanical pencils. The range goes from hard to soft (3H to 4B).

White Gel Pen: I use this for very small details, such as little highlights on eyes.

All of my Pencil Drawing--
gabbyd70.deviantart.com/galler…



Charcoal Drawing Materials:

Strathmore Grey Paper: This is a great paper, the only draw backs are that it is a thinner paper than Bristol and it can fade if there is nothing drawn on it :/ But I think it’s the best paper for working with charcoal. It’s so easy to blend and it’s nice because it is a mid tone already (unlike white paper) so all you need to do is add the shadows and highlights.
If you can’t find Strathmore, another paper that works the same is Fabriano Ingres. It’s just a different brand.

General’s Charcoal: I like all of these…white is an essential when working on grey paper. It makes the highlights really pop. The black charcoal ranges from soft to medium to hard. Soft is for smooth coverage and hard is for more detailing work.

Stabilo Pastel Pencils & Rembrandt Soft Pastels: I like to use these when I need a different shade of grey.

All of my Charcoal Drawings-- gabbyd70.deviantart.com/galler…



Pastel Drawing Materials:

Strathmore Tan Paper: Like I said with the Strathmore Grey Paper, this is a great paper, the only draw backs are that it is a thinner paper than Bristol and it can fade if there is nothing drawn on it :/ But I think it’s the best paper for working with pastels. It’s so easy to blend and it’s nice because it is a basic skin tone already (unlike white paper) so all you need to do is add the shadows and highlights.

Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel Pencils: These are great for detail work in pastel drawings, or for doing the entire drawing.

Rembrandt Soft Pastels: I use these for fast coverage. They work great and they make drawing things like backgrounds and parts of the face much quicker.

All of my Pastel Drawings-- gabbyd70.deviantart.com/galler…



Marker Drawing Material: EDIT: I now most often use copic sketch markers

Canson and Strathmore Smooth Bristol: These are the same thing really, just different brands. They work great for marker drawings in my opinion. I don’t use them for my portraits though because I have such a hard time blending with smooth paper….weird I know XD You’d think it would be easier for me, but some people use it and it works out great for them.

Staedtler Pigment Liners: The pack I have come in varying sizes. They are nice though because you can outline things easily and the black ink won’t bleed.

Prismacolor Markers: I like these a lot. They are smooth and don’t leave visible marker lines like most markers do.

Gel Pens: These are great for detail work. They’re a lot of fun, especially the glittery ones.


All of my Marker Drawings-- gabbyd70.deviantart.com/galler…


Blending Tools:

Chamois: Good for smooth areas

Toilet Paper (or tissues): Also great for blending skin, and its easier to get a hold of than a Chamois XD.

Q-tips: These work nicely for blending smaller areas.

Stumps: I use these to blend very small areas, such as small details on the eyes and lips.



Erasers:

Kneaded Eraser: These are fun to play with, but they are also useful They are good erasers and I always use mine. You can stretch them into any shape you want, so they are great for erasing out small areas and they also work well with making textures.

Regular Eraser: Mine says prism on it, but I’m sure any brand works. This one erases good though. It doesn’t leave anything behind.

Faber-Castell Pencil Eraser: I use this for erasing small details, such as fly away hairs.



Other Tools:

Pencil Sharpener: I use a Royal P50 Electric pencil sharpener. Just go out and buy a nice one.. it’s worth it in my opinion. Dull pencils are so annoying XD

Ruler: This is good for measuring any proportions or if you just need a straight edge.

Surface to work on and Painters Tape: I tape my paper to this board before I begin a drawing. That way, I have a clean edged drawing when I take the tape off. Sometimes it helps to get your fingers wet and run them across the tape first though. This will take off some of the stickiness and ensure that you won’t rip your drawing when you take it off. I haven’t ripped a drawing yet though, so it isn’t too much to worry about.


If you have any questions feel free to ask Thanks for looking!