My Favorite Supplies on a Budget

Alright every artist has their go to supplies, the ones they find themselves grabbing for again and again. And just a reminder, I am a college student working on a budget. For most of my supplies I am looking at the quality and the affordability of the product. Trust me, art supplies can get pricey, fast! Also, I would like to point out that I am giving links to these supplies, but this is not a sponsored post, although that would've been nice (again broke college student here)🙏. Just a few caveats before we get started. Art supplies can get expensive, but my favorite thing to do is space out my purchases, or ask for certain supplies as birthday gifts, or Christmas gifts. Hey! Valentine's Day is coming up, instead of flowers and cheap chocolates, tell them that a nice set of watercolors couldn't be anymore romantic. Although I do really love getting flowers, maybe if you're nice enough they'll get you both. 😊 But anyhow, the supply list I give is not the cheapest supplies you can ever find. My goal here is to show you supplies that are quality and cost effective. Remember, however, the most important thing to remember is that you don't need fancy supplies to get started creating!

Watercolors

My all time favorite supply I grab for all the time is my watercolors. I use two kinds of different watercolors.

1. Windsor and Newton Cotman Watercolors. I have the Sketcher Pocket Box Set. I have had this for years, and I am just now starting to replace certain colors. This thing has been well loved (as you can tell!). It is cost efficient, and has quality paints. The best part it is easily portable. I have taken this thing on airplanes people!

1. Kuretake Gansai Tambi (Japanese Pan Watercolor Set). I received this 36 set of watercolors for Christmas and I am in love. Because I have more color options with this set than my pocket set I find that I am using more colors in my work. I am really enjoying these so far, and again they are not too expensive, and you can even get smaller sets for less. I don't think I will be taking this whole thing on the airplane, however. 

Acrylic Paints

Alright I have to confess, I had to buy Golden Open Acrylics for a painting class, so I had no choice but spend money on these. They are a little more expensive, but I am now spoiled and love the quality and coverage of these paints. And still they aren't outrageously expensive. Trust me I have found myself deep into the rabbit hole of art supply catalogs, and there are some pricey supplies out there! None the less these Golden Open Acrylics I love because they cover well, and don't dry out as fast as some acrylics. 

Another nice acrylic is Liquitex Basics line. These acrylics are nice quality paints and easy on the wallet. 

Paper

Alright it's really hard to paint without paper, and for many artist, quality paper is really important. I tend to go through paper like it grows on trees.... oh wait. Okay, I go through paper really fast! When I am shopping for paper I am looking at price and quality. 

The best watercolor paper I have found is Canson XL Watercolor Paper for all my watercolor needs. I don't tend to use heavy washes when I am painting so I don't run into my paper warping, but I also don't feel bad if I ruin a piece and have to throw it away.  I do use Strathmore Ready Cut Watercolor Paper for my art prints. But I mainly stick to Canson when I am painting. 

For other drawing and painting endeavors that are not watercolor I use Strathmore Bristol, and Canson XL Oil and Acrylic Paper. This Canson paper reminds me a lot like canvas, and holds acrylics well. So if you want to paint, but don't want to paint on a canvas, I highly recommend this paper. 

Brushes

Paint brushes. Again, paint brushes can range from under a dollar to hundreds of dollars, so when I am looking for a paint brush I want a quality brush where the bristles will keep their shape, and they won't fall out, but they won't break the bank either. I also tend to accidentally leave my brushes in water for days on end...oops. I have found I really like Fine Touch Brown Nylon Paint Brushes. I can use and abuse these and not feel guilty, and they hold up well to the mistreatment.

Other

I have a few other supplies that I tend to gravitate towards. 

1. Micron Fine Liners. I use these a lot to line my illustrations, as well as, hand lettering. 
2. Sketchbook. I never use to be a fan of ringed sketchbooks, but I have fell in love with this one. Unfortunately, I have no idea where it came from. I have linked a similar product I found.

That might seem like a lot to be my go to supplies. Remember however, all you really need it a pencil and some printer paper to create something amazing. Please, ask question, leave comments, and if you have a list of go to supplies let me know below!