Artist Supplies to Purchase for Beginners

Artist supplies are not challenging to find or to purchase. If you are an artist, you pretty much know what you need and what to look for in a real store or an online store. It can get confusing for those who are just starting for their pleasure to either draw or to paint. In this case, when looking for art supplies, it is an excellent idea to know just what kind of supplies you need at the beginning. Many online Australian sites sell a wide variety of art supplies. So let’s take a look at what you should have when starting.

1. Sketchpad

First of all, you need something to draw on, like a sketchpad or drawing paper. You don’t need a very thick pad just enough to start you off. Also, if you are considering painting or using watercolours, you’ll need to sketch what you are going to paint before actually adding colour to the subject.

2. Pencils

Next, not just any pencil will do, but a set of reliable drawing pencils is needed. In this case, you should choose graphic pencils, and 3 or 4 should start you off nicely. You’ll need a 2B graphic pencil for basic sketching and shading, a 6B for creating dark shadows, and a 4B for working in light areas.

3. Eraser

Even a professional artist can make mistakes. So you need to purchase kneaded erasers, which are simple to use and won’t leave residue behind.  With these kinds of erasers, you can give them different shapes so you can erase smaller areas of shading to provide a light effect to your drawings.

4. Surface to paint on

Once you have completed a drawing, you’ll want to draw the finished picture onto a surface for painting. If you are going to use watercolours, you’ll need watercolour paper, which is paper that has been stretched and is ready for you to paint on. If you choose acrylic paints, then you need acrylic paper pads since these take up less space than a canvas.

5. Palette

From the beginning, you can purchase and use any palette, and a plastic one works well with both watercolours and acrylic paint. They can be purchased at any art supply place and are washable and straightforward.

6. Brushes

For your basic needs, you should have three paint brushes when beginning to work with acrylics. The most common is a filbert for basic painting with which you can smooth out the details, and a flat wash brush which is used for painting backgrounds—finally, a small liner for the finer details.

If you’re going to paint with watercolours, you’ll require a medium or large-sized flat brush used for washes. You will also need a round brush for overall painting and a liner brush for the smaller details.

7. Paint

No matter if you choose watercolours, acrylic, or even oils, you have to have paint. Paint in several lovely and brilliant colours. Even paint can be at first just the basics to be expanded later. So in the very beginning, you’ll want to choose at least one of each – blue, red, brown, and yellow. Your palette should consist of various shades of these colours. So if you are not sure, you can find a professional art supply dealer even online and make inquiries before you make your purchase.

Melbourne Etching Supplies sells top quality artists supplies at reasonable prices. Visit their shop and enjoy.