Having the right tools at your disposal can really help you bring out the artistic vision in you. If just getting started with setting up your artistic workspace, there is a selection of tools that are going to set you at a better position of creating a new piece of art. Here are the seven primary art tool essentials that any artist must have to get started with their art.
Graphite Pencils
Even if just doing painting, drawing the subject before starting to paint is necessary. This is particularly why a set of reliable pencils is a must have for any artistic work. Actually, you don’t require a large collection of pencils, 3 to 4 pencils will just do fine. However, it is essential to have 2B for drawing sketches and shading, 6B for dark shading and 4H for light shading.
Erasers
You are going to need a kneaded and a white eraser. Kneaded erasers are particularly great because they don’t leave traces behind. Another great advantage of the kneaded eraser s that it can be shaped into different shapes so as to erase a small area when there’s need to create a light shading.
A Drawing Paper
A drawing paper is essential for drawing preliminary sketches. For this purpose, you can get an inexpensive sketching pad with about 70 sheets. They come very handy when you need to create a completely new idea by creating rough sketches before putting your idea on the actual painting surface.
Painting Surface
After composing your ideas and sketching them on a drawing paper, you’ll need to draw your final piece of art on your painting surface. This is where there are different options to choose from, depending on your selected medium.
If you like painting using watercolors, then the most convenient painting surface as far as your choice is concerned would be pre-stretched pads. Just like the name suggests, they are sheets of paper that have been stretched already so you can paint right away. If you prefer painting using acrylic, then you can choose from two types of painting surfaces: acrylic paper or canvas. Acrylic paper are a favorite because they don’t consume a lot of space and you don’t have to apply much pressure. It gives you more room to make mistakes and experiment. But this choice will greatly depend on your personal preference.
Palette
In choosing a palette, an inexpensive plastic palette will just serve you best, whether using acrylic or watercolors. You can get palette from most of the art stores locally or even online at major stores like Amazon or Walmart at few dollars depending on the size. They are basically easier to use and wash.
Brushes
If you chose to paint using acrylic, there are basically three types of brushes that can be used. They include:
- A liner brush used to paint fine details
- Filbert brush for smoothing out and general painting. For medium size paintings, a size 6 brush will do.
- Flat wash for painting the backgrounds.
If you chose watercolor painting, three types of brushes you’ll need include:
- A size 6 liner brush for small detail painting.
- Size 8 or 10 round brush for general purpose painting.
- Medium sized flat brush for washes.
Paint
Last but not least, you are going to need paint. Using a limited palette, you can start painting attractive paintings. You don’t need a large palette brimming that has excessive color amounts. As a matter of fact, it’s better, especially for rookies, to begin with small palette and less color amount. Otherwise you can get easily overwhelmed.
Whether you like watercolors, acrylics or oils, the following are the primary colors that you can use for painting practically any type of painting:
Generally, you’ll require a single red, blue, brown and yellow paint. For each of these colors, there are other hues that you’ll find very essential:
- Phthalo green
- Phthalo blue
- Cadmium red
- New gamboge
- Burnt umber
- Alizarin crimson
Using these colors, you can come up with an almost endless list of colors by mixing different types.
There you go. With these art tool essentials, you are ready to crafting some inspirational art paintings.