For most papers, the weight of the paper will be directly related to the thickness of the paper. Paper Weight – The weight of the paper refers to how much a ream (500 sheets) of that paper weighs. Learn how the tooth of the paper can affect the application of the medium here.Ģ. Some artists will prefer heavier textures while others will prefer a smoother surface. Heavier textures will produces lines that may appear “broken”, while smoother textures will produce smoother lines and gradations of value. The texture of the paper plays a role in how the drawing material is accepted on the surface. The “Tooth” – The “tooth” of the surface is the texture of the paper. There are a few considerations for choosing a drawing surface that will affect the finished result.ġ. Quality Drawing SurfacesĪ drawing can be made on any surface, but the quality of that surface is sometimes just as important as the medium that it is used upon it. Need some ideas? Check out our list of 101 Sketchbook Ideas. A hardcover keeps the corners of the pages inside nice and clean and will help keep the pages flat if you use mixed media applications. I suggest a sketchbook that has a hardcover so that it will stand up to repeated use and travel. Since a sketchbook is recommended for daily practice, it is important to choose one that is durable and has plenty of pages for all of your ideas. Though the sketchbook may never be seen by the world, it is the often driving factor in successful artworks and successful artists. It is the “hard work” that goes into the development of the artist and it is the breeding ground for innovative, artistic ideas. Though the world may never see the hours of hard work that have been put into the workout, the exercise is important – if not crucial to the athlete’s success.Īn active sketchbook is the artist’s “exercise”. The professional athlete may workout for hours daily in the gym or on the track to enhance their performance on “game day”. Let’s compare a professional athlete’s life to that of an artist. Let me make an analogy to a sketchbook’s importance. But the one that actively gets drawn in – on a daily basis is the one of value. Anyone can “own” a book with blank pages of drawing paper. I should point out that I am referring to an “active sketchbook” – one that receives attention on a daily basis. A SketchbookĪ sketchbook is one of the most important things an artist can have. You may also find yourself hunting for them at the art store. Instead, purchasing the individual pencils as they are needed may be the better approach.Īlthough graphite pencils aren’t very expensive, purchasing individual pencils can be more pricey than just buying a full set of pencils. If this is the case, then a pencil set would not make sense. For example, 2H, HB, 2B, and 4B pencils would be plenty of range for most of us. Instead, they may find that they only use a few of the pencils. Many artists will find that they don’t use all of the pencils in a drawing pencil set. Derwent graphite pencils are consistent in their quality and is the brand I recommend.

Learn more about the different grades of graphite here.Īs far as pencil brands go, there are plenty of great options. These sets give the artist the ability to work with many different values and varieties of mark. Harder graphite makes lighter marks and keeps a sharp tip longer, while softer graphite makes a darker mark, but needs constant resharpening. Many sets include pencils with harder graphite (9H) through softer graphite (6B). Pencil sets usually come packaged in nice tins and can be great because they often include the full spectrum of graphite grades. There’s no way to know which brand will become your favorite until you try a few. When it comes to drawing pencils, each artist will find a brand that they connect with. We’ll start off with the most obvious essential – quality drawing pencils. (This list is focused on black and white drawing media only.) 1. In this post, I’ll offer 10 essential drawing materials and tools for artists that are just starting to get serious about their drawing. If you are starting to get serious about your artwork, no matter what age, you may also be starting to get serious about the materials that you use. The connection between quality art materials and quality artwork becomes noticeable along the way and it’s no wonder that emerging artists desire to have the very best materials possible. A standard pencil on some notebook paper would often “do the trick”.īut as we grew and developed as artists, the materials and tools that we chose became more important. Back then, materials and tools were not that important to us. Most of us started drawing when we were young.

Basic comics drawing