There are many benefits to practising art. It can be used as a form of relaxation after a stressful day, as a brain exercise to improve memory, and for an overall better quality of life. If you haven’t tried any form of art by now, you should really consider giving it a go.
You might think that if you aren’t a creative person, art wouldn’t be a good fit, but art is for everybody! You don’t have to be the next Van Gogh to enjoy creating. Just take a pencil or a brush, and see where it takes you. But with so many choices on the market, what art supplies do you need if you’re a beginner?
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The Tools You Need to Start Painting
If you love colours, painting would be the right choice for you. Many believe that shopping for painting supplies is time-consuming and complicated, so they put it off because they can’t seem to catch a break from their busy life. But you can simply visit a good online artist store to get quality art equipment delivered to your doorstep and start painting today. It’s that simple and here are the tools to get.
Colours Are the Essence of Painting
Acrylic Paints
Acrylic paints can be used on their own or dissolved in water or acrylic mediums for creating different appearances and textures. They dry fast and become permanent when dry. This makes painting over dry colours easier but they’re harder to blend because of this quality. They are applied with brushes, rollers, and other painting tools, and come in small tubes or bigger ones.
You might want to get bigger tubes or bottles of neutral colours like white or black because they usually run out fast. Acrylic colours can be applied on different surfaces like paper, canvas, wood, rocks, plastic, etc. When still wet, they’re easily cleaned with water.
Watercolour Paints
These are paints that use water-soluble binders. They don’t contain harsh chemicals and are easy to clean. If you forget to wash your tools after painting, don’t worry because they don’t harden when dry and won’t destroy your brushes. They usually come in small tubes, palettes, or sets.
There’s no wasted paint when using watercolours because any leftover can be left to dry and mixed with water the next time you paint. They’re transparent and one colour can give many different shades. They need to be applied to surfaces that absorb water.
Gouache Paints
Gouache paints are mixed with water as well, but unlike watercolours where you can see the paper, gouache doesn’t allow that. It’s relatively cheaper and gives a matte finish but can’t be watered down as much as watercolours.
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The Right Canvas and Easels for Greater Practicality
A canvas is a versatile surface for painting because it comes in every size from small to large and has affordable prices. They are usually made of linen or cotton and depending on the technique of weaving, they have different textures. They can be stretched on a frame but canvas panels are more suitable for beginners because they’re lightweight and more affordable.
Easels are used as a stand for your painting and they come in different shapes. When you’re starting you might want to purchase A-frame easel because it’s the simplest one and can be made of different types of wood.
Brushes and Palettes as Primary Tools
Painting brushes come in a variety of shapes. In the beginning, you can buy several brushes like a round brush, flat brush, and filbert brush which gives good coverage, and later on when you learn more you’ll see what works for you. For thick paint, you’ll need stiff brushes and for thinned paints, you’ll need soft brushes.
Palettes also offer a great variety of shapes such as round, rectangular, kidney shape, etc. They’re mostly wooden or plastic with no holes or different layouts of the holes for paint. You could go to the nearest art shop and see which one satisfies your needs best.
The Tools You Need to Start Drawing
If painting isn’t your thing and you want something simpler but still intriguing, drawing may be your cup of tea. Every well-stocked artist store has an expansive range of art materials for drawing that you could choose from.
A Quality Set of Pencils
Graphite pencils are the most used ones. They can be hard pencils that produce light lines and stay sharp for a longer time but may scratch the paper, and soft pencils that leave darker lines but are easier to erase. They come in a set or individually.
If you want to bring colour to your work, try colour pencils. They offer a wide array of colours and differ in softness. The softer the pencil the easier it breaks.
Charcoal pencils are easier to use and less messy than stick charcoal. They’re compressed into wooden or rolled paper barrels and can be harder or softer. They give dark tones and are suitable for blending.
Calligraphy for Meticulous Folks
Calligraphy is a fairly easy and affordable hobby to try. It’s the process of writing letters and making them a work of art. There are two types of pen: dip pen that’s dipped into ink and fountain pen that has ink inside of it. The latter is less messy and a perfect choice for beginners. Also, having a quality paper is the key. It needs to be thick and smooth and Bristol paper is a great option. Inks come in many colours and you need to try several to see which one will be for you. They can be mixed with water to create different tones.
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Erasers, Sharpeners, and Sketchpads
Sharpeners and erasers are the basics for drawing. Depending on the pencils that you use, there are many different kinds. Electric sharpeners are quick, easy to use, and less likely to break your pencil. Kneaded erasers are good for charcoal and vinyl erasers are gentle and won’t damage the surface.
A quality sketchpad is essential for all of your drawings. If you plan to use it every day, you need a durable one with more pages and a hardcover that will keep your sketches safe.
The Tools You Need to Start Sculpting
Sculpting is making 3D figures out of moldable material. Different kinds of clay can be used for this purpose.
Water-based clays are cheap, easy to work with, and are mixed with water. They quickly dry out so they’re more suitable for making smaller things. Air-dry clays are water-based and they dry in air so there’s no need to expose the work to high temperatures for drying.
Polymer clays are manmade clays. They are soft, flexible, and need heat to dry out. It’s great for beginners or kids and you don’t need special ovens. Your home oven is enough to dry polymer clay.
There are several tools that will make sculpting easier. They’re so simple that can be easily made at home but any art store has them as well. A needle-like tool on a stick is good for fine lines and a small spatula will help move the clay around. Tools with different loops made of wire are useful for smoothing and removing clay, and making wrinkles. Wire-brushes and tools with a ball on top leave different marks and indentations, and a brush can be used to smooth the clay with water.
In short, that’s all you need to know about the tools needed to create these different forms of art. So go shopping and start creating!
