by Harold Sink

Created on: February 03, 2009   Last Updated: March 08, 2009

A beginner artist may wonder what all they need to start off creating their art. The true question is, "Which medium of art are you going to work on first?" "Medium?" you may ask. A medium can be anywhere from a graphite pencil to oil paints.

The range is so diverse that one needs to understand the entire spectrum before diving in. Pencil is the good old school medium we all grew up with. Some of us remember the Big Chief pencils and pads of paper back in grade school.

To give you an idea of some of the mediums here is a brief list:

Pencil,

Charcoal,

Pastels,

Colored Pencils,

Watercolor Pencils,

Gouche paints,

Acrylic Paints,

Watercolor paints, and

Oil paints.

Therefore, the basic of all essential art tools would be a pencil, eraser, paper and a pencil sharpener. That is it. Other more costly items to go with that are a drawing board, table or desk, an art lamp, and a comfortable chair. You can go further in expense with a floor mat for the chair, a drop cloth if you get into paints, and so on.

With pencils, and for someone to be serious about it, you will need a range of graded pencils from 9H to 9B in either Prismacolor or Staedtler brand. These are two of the best. Derwent, Lyra, Faber-Castell and Caran D'Ache do not have the complete range of these grades.

You will also need a kneaded and acrylic eraser. General, Staedtler and Pentel are good sources for these. The latter of these two erasers is also referred to as a white, hi-polymer or dust free eraser. These are the only two eraser one will ever need. Don't forget to buy an eraser shield. This allows you to erase a specific area without affecting the surrounding area.

A good acid free tape or drafting dots will keep your paper in place on the drawing board or table. They pull off without taking the paper with them. A drafting brush or an artist's mop brush are good for brushing off the eraser stubble. You may even want the benefit of a drafting dust pad to allow less smearing if you get into technical drawing with a t-square or parallel bar.

Good paper is a must when you are going to work on something of good quality to be completed. Anything over 20lb paper will do well. There are so many brands to choose from. Some of the most common are Fabriano, Starthmore and Canson. Bristol paper can be purchased in vellum form, which is great for inking and cartoon work.

Inks require you to have a pallette. I recommend a ceramic pallette for them so that they do not dry out so quickly. Brushes and different nibs for your nib holder

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