My 2017 Art Supply Favorites and Hate its

Happy new year, darlings!!

Hope you are all to an awesome start of the new year. I’m writing this post a little later than expected. My last days of 2017 were a bit complicated due to family and personal reasons and truth be told the whole year was a bit like that for me. Challenging, transitional, with many setbacks and losses, but with countless blessings as well. I always like to stick with all the positive, and this post is in the same line of thought. Just like last year, I’ll shout out the art supplies I discovered and became my go-tos this past year. As for my new year resolutions, I do have a few, but the most important one is that I need to SKETCH MORE. Who is with me on that one?

Let me start this list off by saying that for the most part I’ve kept using my same essential art supplies (same watercolor pan sets, same sketchbook for the most part, same brushes) You can find all that information in my 2016 favorites and hate-its post which I linked right here.

Let me also state right from the start that this post is not sponsored. I bought everything with my own money (except the markers which were sent to me, but with no obligation of posting about them whatsoever) Without further do, let’s begin!

Faves

Jerry’s colossal sketchbook (11″x 14″)

I picked this sketchbook up in Jerry’s Artarama. I didn’t need one, but I saw it and found it so chunky and appealing that I *had* to take it with me. It has a nice tooth for sketching with graphite, and soon after starting sketching in it I noticed that my illustrations come out prettier in that pad! Maybe it’s infused with confidence. lol I love me some big sketchbooks. I don’t really care for sketchbooks that are smaller than 11”x14”. The downside of this one is that I cannot color my illustrations in it. I have to transfer them to a different paper depending on what media I want to use. This pad is not good for wet media or even markers. I still have my trusty old Canson Mix Media sketchbook that I often reach out for. (watercolors and gouache are still my favorite media). Buy this sketchbook here.

Artagain Desert Rose drawing paper by Strathmore (9”x12”)

Pink sketching paper whaaat? Yup. It’s similar to the Toned Gray or Toned Tan sketchbooks by the same brand, but PINK. It’s beautiful. I like using graphite, Prismacolor pencils. (Especially the Col-Erase Rose one), and acrylic markers on it. White pencil looks beautiful in it too. Get the Desert Rose sketching pad here.

“The Masters” brush cleaner and preserver

This is the soap I use to clean my brushes. It’s really good and keeps my brushes looking good as new. It’s also really use to use on the go. I use it in my studio after I finish painting. I use the leftover water I was using for the watercolors and that way I don’t need to go rinse them at the ladies room. Get it here.

Artistro Acrylic Paint Markers

The kind people from Artistro sent me these markers for me to play with. I have certainly reached out for them a lot, specially when rendering sequins. My most used colors from that set are the pink (shocker), purple, white (it’s awesome for rendering sparkles), and black ones. These came in a set of 8. The point is medium (I would prefer it if they had a fine point) The awesome thing about them is that they can also be used in glass, ceramic, porcelain, metal, wood, etc. I haven’t tried those surfaces yet.

Paper Mate Sharpwriter pencil #2

Ok, story time. A couple months ago I was in a meeting with some clients. They had these pencils lying around in the table we were sitting at. I picked the purple one up (I’m very partial to that color and they didn’t have a pink one) and started producing some drafts for them with it. Jeez. I was enamored. Good thing they let me keep it!! It such a basic pencil, but its lead is so buttery!!! I adore it. I’m gonna get a big box just in case something happens to this one. teehee! I linked them here for you guys.

Copic Sketch BV20 dull lavender

I don’t use always use Copic markers, but when I do I color my shades with this marker. lol I just think shadows look really pretty in a purply shade.

“Clearly Chic” clear organizer

This isn’t strictly an art supply, but I came across these mini drawers in HomeGoods and I got two. They are intented for storing makeup. I love them. I have them sitting on my desk with my markers in them and I can see the colors easily. Plus my markers are now stored horizontally how it should be. Since my Copic collection isn’t as big, I could even fit their refill inks in there too. I only wish the depth of the drawers was a quarter of an inch larger. The markers do fit a little tight in them.

I linked it here, but your best bet is to browse your local HomeGoods.

Hate It (it’s just one)

…and now it’s time to throw some shade. lol!

Yupo Watercolor paper

I picked this sketchbook up in Jerry’s Artarama as well after months of wanting to get my hands on it. Everybody and their mother were raving about this Yupo brand. They didn’t have the kind to be used with markers at that store (and still to this day I haven’t tried it), so I bought the watercolor one instead. I thought “yay, perfect” since I love painting with watercolors. I sketched a mermaid for the occasion and transferred it to the paper using a light box. And then proceeded to paint it. Or try to paint it. The watercolor was not absorbed by the paper. The water sat on top. Forever. No pigment whatsoever was laid on that sketch. Ugh!! On top of it, in the areas where I had slightly erased a line or two, the paper repelled the water and pigment EVEN MORE. I was done. I probably should have given it another try, but I was beyond annoyed. I even tried different kinds and brands of watercolors, but nothing happened. I also tried my markers in it, but nothing good happened. If you want to get yourself one of these sketchpads I would recommend that you do your research first. Maybe the ones intended for markers aren’t bad at all.

And that is it for this (lengthy) post. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Looking forward to reading your comments. Feel free to recommend any art supplies that you absolutely love! Enjoy the rest of your day.

xo,