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Ok, if you’re painting small, check out Golden high flow acrylics. Very low viscosity, so it’s good for painting super tiny.
But my other two product recommendations are only useful for regular viscosity acrylics:
1. Mastersons Sta-wet palette . This helps keep your acrylics from drying up on your palette. I’ve left my paints out for days on this palette and they don’t dry up. But add some listerine to the sponge so it doesn’t mold.
2. Tube Squeezer This tool helps you squeeze every last ounce out of the tube of paint. I love it.
You could try GIMP to start with, as it’s free.
A flatbed scanner would be the best way of copying your work onto your computer, it doesn’t need to be an expensive one. Scan stuff at 300dpi so you have a nice quality file to work with and see how it goes.
Avoid the plastic ones. They break exactly at the moment your paint is about to dry.
I've had a bunch over the years. Most seem to be about the same.
Wood handle and a shitty weld where the stem meets the blade.
I found the "liquitex professional freestyle" ones take a beating.
I'll throw up a link in a minute. I'm typing.
They come in the regular tiny sizes but they also come in super gigantic.
They're so good that I bought an extra large round one for the kitchen. Been using it to turn omelettes for years now.
Every shape you could want.
Some people are picky about flexibility. I've never had a problem with these. I'd rather it be somewhere on the undesirable flexibility spectrum than fragile.
This is just the first one I saw. Follow the rabbit trail and find your favorite
Akashiya Sai brush pens are wonderful! I would reccomend this set in particular: Akashiya Watercolor Brush Pen 30 Japanese Traditional Color Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VYHGH6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_i_9K60ZEF4VQBJ2KGC41Q4
A lot of other watercolor brush pens have a felt tip, which wears down, like the Tombow ones, but these have bristles that dont. The difference is bristle tips dont have a constant stream of ink (it has gaps in the lines it draws if you go too fast), but are better for details, and you have to go slower to color things all the way. Felt tips are a constant stream (like crayola markers), but are not as precise when working in smaller areas. I'd also reccomend a water brush for either of the kinds to help blend colors out! pentel makes a good set of them: Pentel Arts Aquash Water Brush Assorted Tips, 4 Pack Carded (FRHBP4M), White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FUMOLOI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_i_6T0MDDAA13AFZV6KT0RM
I have never used Helix pens, but my favourite technical drawing pens are the staedtler pigment liners. They are light fast and waterproof, but don't use them if you want to use alcohol based markers later on.
It is a pencil you need for the class, but marker blenders work beautifully with wax based colored pencils too.
However, don't get prismacolor! I've been selling fine art supplies for the last 13 years and their quality has taken a nosedive. Go with Caran D'ache. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006FXBPQO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_7v.9Fb23ES3JF
Like this: The Paragon Sketch Wizard - Draw Anything Like a Pro, Easy Tracing Drawing Sketching Tool, Gadget for Kids and Adults https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075BKYQ1W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_oRnLFbBSAN2Q5
A game changer for me was a mirror.
I put a mirror on the wall behind my drawing table so that I could rest my hand and draw the reflection. Let's you see foreshortening in the other direction.
Drawing from the mirror has been helpful a number of times on still life, as well
If you want a book
"Drawing Dynamic Hands" is a classic
Aha, another one with the same issue:
Apparently you can buy say these for Pilot pens:
https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-70001-MS-10-Eraser-Refill/dp/B002ZZ5HWY/
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A lot of store online, forces you to buy packs of 12 though, but if you buy it inside a store physically, maybe you can get away buying single packs of 5 erasers. This one also comes with a steel thingy to clean the tip I think I read.
Here's the set I have. $40 with a $5 coupon doesn't seem bad at all. Looks like you can get them on Walmart too. Ebay possibly but I'd be weary.
One thing I'll warn you on caliart markers - I can't speak to their longevity. I've only had mine a year. I have a set of copics - bought them probably 5 years ago. Those things were stored in probably 100+ degree temps for far over a year. Kind of poorly taken care of for a while. When I pulled them out of storage, I thought, no way these work. The damn things still worked like new. I just wanted to say, I do not know how well the knock off brands like Ohuhu will compare in terms of shelf life. Might be worth looking in to that in reviews, if it is important to you! Even with the good shelf life of the copics, I would still prefer the cheaper brands, because the cost is so much less. But again, alcohol markers are a rare use in my artwork. If that was my main focus, I might feel very differently. (I really don't know enough, to know what is truly good.)
If you haven't used Blick before, I would highly recommend them for art supplies. They often have really good deals. To be honest i find they have far better deals in general than amazon and walmart, which tend to really overcharge for art supplies. I've had a lot of bad experiences buying art supplies on amazon in particular, especially because things arriving damaged due to poor packaging :( I don't think you'll find caliart markers on blick, though :(
Looking, there is a blick studios illustrator markers though: https://www.dickblick.com/products/blick-illustrator-markers I don't know if they are any good as I have never used them, but maybe something to have a look at!
Any projector will do what you want, basically transfering the image to then trace onto canvas. Depends on your budget and if you just want it for tracing, go cheaper.
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Also, not the same but is use graaphite transfer sheets for smaller applications like these.
this? https://www.amazon.com/Staedtler-501-180-ST-SLIJPMACHINE/dp/B00YHRJJBS
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Does it do well with colored pencils as well?
Jack Richeson is a brand I would recommend. Their prices have gone up a bit since I was stocking them, but they have a very consistent quality.
I don't remember the exact brand of the one I modded because I sanded all that off a long time ago. However, when I sold easels, Jack Richeson was the only brand I would carry. Good prices, solid construction, fair return policy.
149 is a little more than the cheapest, but it is a better quality. Made in Wisconsin, I believe.
I'm a lefty, too! I use a Huion New 1060 Plus with Krita, and am really happy with my setup. As for a stand, I don't have a recommendation, I have it flat in front of me.
There are some other models that have tilt support, but once I got updated drivers, my Huion has run like a champ. You're probably looking at around $50-70-ish for an approximate 6x10 working area tablet.
I can't recommend Krita enough as far as software goes. It's designed for content creation, and is free. The landing page is here: https://krita.org/en/
Lots of great brushes, handles pretty well. I've had it crash rarely but it can autosave every x minutes for you.
With the New 1060 Plus I do occasionally mash a shortcut key since they're set up on the left side, but I've found the space in general to be generous for me to work in.
This is the set I’ve used for the last two years. It’s the only one I’ve found with a good number of grays and browns. 90 pens might be overkill, but I like the variety.
You can google arthritis gripping tools. https://www.amazon.com/6-Pack-Foam-Grip-Tubing-Latex-Free/dp/B06XTLQ95N/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=Arthritis+Tools+for+Hands&qid=1628557443&sr=8-11
Saunders 05607 Recycled Hardboard Sketchboard - Brown, 23 in. x 26 in. Clipboard with Built-in Handle - Solid Drawing Board for Artists, Students, and Creatives https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002UXREKY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_PA665E3TZMPD798WVEBN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
That isn’t a UK link, but I’m sure you can find what you need locally. They are super common. It’s basically just a giant clipboard with a handle. Get it a bit bigger than your standard paper sheet size you will use most often.
Then the Snap Synthetic or Velvetouch would be fine. Or even the Real Value sets. And I like some of the Princeton Select sets like this too.
Any of the Princeton brushes which are rated as good for both acrylic and watercolor should be stiff enough to hold a point and work with acrylic paints, but soft enough to work well for painting on paper.
Basically, acrylics can range from very thick to very liquid. The thicker they are, ideally the stiffer the brush. On paper, it's probably easier to use a little more liquid acrylic and multi-media brushes.
So I bought an ergotron arm and a detachable vesa mount https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BTAAUV8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glc_fabc_1643NVP0T0KYZ1QKHP64?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 For my cintiq 16. If you were to attach a piece of wood instead of the cintiq it should work fine. You don't need the detachable part but I like the freedom to take it off without unscrewing anything.
So I’ve been trying to figure out if they’ve changed them because those ones are a different name and barrel but seem pretty much sane otherwise...
https://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Hybrid-Grip-Metallic-Pens/dp/B000TK9S3G
This is a 6 pack (no copper or pink) but you can see what the barrel looked like.
Have never had a problem with their metallic range skipping/ stopping etc or drying up, super smooth, the ink itself is a very one shade deep metallic...the gelly rolls are sort of more glittery...the shades between the brands vary too so can actually both be used for variation.
Hope you enjoy trying out whatever you get!
What store do you recommend, I tried Walmart but couldn't find anything that said blender on it. I did find these on Amazon though. Blender pencil
Personally I can’t stand welded knives because they dont bend as well. I prefer knives where the metal is bent. You want to be able to flick the blade and have it bounce. I’ve bought nice knives but my all time faves—the only 2 I use— are from this super cheap Amazon set! I’ve only used the ones with the dark brown handles and can’t vouch for the others. The whole set is 6$
CONDA Palette Knife Painting Stainless Steel Spatula Pal... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G176P6I/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_api_glc_fabc_8594FbMH06YFZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
I've done some work with Poscas, and I'm actually not totally sure what's in them, either. JetPens describes them as pigment-based, so I always assumed they used pigments suspended in an acrylic binder, like acrylic inks. But if Uniball doesn't actually use the word "acrylic" to describe them, that's suspicious.
Your question sent me down the Google rabbit hole looking for lightfast tests of Poscas. I found this website, which shows that some colors (pink, orange) faded after a year exposed to sunlight, but the other colors look pretty good. Some of my Posca work is hanging up in my office and is over a year old by now, and I haven't noticed significant fading. But now I want to do a proper test myself.
Chalk markers are something different--they're designed to be erasable, so they wouldn't be archival. Some of them have a very Posca-looking design to them, though, so maybe that poster just confused the two.
Do you mean the rub-on texture stuff like this?
Deleter Screen Tone Jr JR-120 [Vertical Lines Pattern 40L/50%][Sheet Size 182x253mm (7.16"x9.96")] For Comic Manga Illustration Graphic Screentone https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N9MWXIN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_cX-AFb147FSAH
Presto pens work great
Try Sakura Gelly Roll pens. They have metallic colours that are glittery.
https://www.amazon.com/Sakura-57370-10-Piece-Assorted-Metallic/dp/B001LXK5HS/ref=sr_1_7?crid=24ZCBIPRP9N3L&keywords=sakura+gelly+roll+pens&qid=1567477254&s=gateway&sprefix=sakura+gelly%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-7
Since she’s been doing this for a few years, she might be interested in higher quality watercolors. Daniel Smith is a well loved quality brand, and they have a decently priced intro set.
The tubes are kind of small, but worth it. I’ve personally used it and learned a ton about color mixing using just the 6 colors. Blick carries this set and a ton of open stock colors, but recently my local Michaels also started carrying the sets as well.
If she paints with metallics at all, check out Kuretake paints. Really well reviewed!
Good luck!
I don't use a brush, I have little nibs. I did originally buy the big tubs but they're really not good! There are fluid pen things. https://www.amazon.com/Schmincke-Colored-Watercolor-Masking-mililiter/dp/B0014CKFNU
this works well, I've yet to have any issues and I had a degree of annoyances with the pots. I feel your pain! Plus they dry out and the next time I tried to use it, it was a big ball of plastic lol