An Overview
Mostly, I fill out pages of my sketchbook/journal – the blue leather one. I prefer using watercolours because I find it quick and easy to set up and clean so it I can squeeze quick doodles and sketches between other things. I’m also by no means, a professional, it’s just a very relaxing and stress-free thing to do after a long day at work or uni, but I am trying to actively get better at fundamentals by practicing as much as I can.
I do tend to grab and use whatever is near me because I’m a bit lazy, so parts of my sketchbook are just made up of scrap pieces of paper and drawn with a regular ballpoint or pencil.
I’ll link what I can find, but there are some things that I bought either at markets, overseas or a while ago that have no online equivalent.
Pens
I will use whatever pen is near me, I don’t pay as much attention to the quality and type because I mostly use them to sketch or line, but these are the ones that I currently have that I’m very happy with!
Uniball Signo DX Rollerball Gel Pen – Black, 0.7mm
I use this one a lot to go over pencil lines or do borders and outlines. This is also waterproof so I can lay down the lineart on paper and then go over it with watercolours without any bleeding or smudging. It does take a few seconds to dry and you have to make sure it’s completely dry before going over it with water, otherwise it can definitely smudge. Depending on the effect you want, 0.7mm might be a bit too thick. I’m considering getting another one that’s thinner, maybe 0.5mm or 0.3mm just because the black lines can be overpowering if you’ve got really light colours in the painting.
Uniball Signo Fine Gel Pen – Red & White, 0.7mm
These are similar to the black Uniball pen, they’re also waterproof but I mainly use them for sketching alone – usually on some brown craft paper – but I do sometimes use them for highlights. It’s smooth and doesn’t bleed or come out in clumps so they’re very reliable.
Pilot G-2 Retractable Gel Pens – Blue, 0.5mm
This isn’t waterproof and I use it just for sketching, on both regular paper and craft paper. I don’t use this one as often but when I do I’ll use it together with the red and white pens. This one is also pretty reliable, there is a bit more control over line width because it is slightly smaller at 0.5mm.
Tombow Brush Pen N15
The markings on my brush pen have actually rubbed off so the image is from a retailer which I’ll link later on. These are water-based so they’re good for blending if you’ve got other brush pens, or even with watercolours. I’ll sometimes put a bit of the black in and blend out from there, but I generally use them to enhance pen sketches or fill in white space. The brush tip covers a lot of surface very quickly and is a nice, dark colour. Putting a lot of it on paper can be tricky, and depends on your paper. If the paper is too thin there’s a chance it’ll bleed through and stain whatever’s underneath, and the paper can get a bit warped and soggy. If you use mixed media, cotton or watercolour paper though it works really well. It’s double sided, so on the other end there’s a fine tip for more precise work.
Pentel P205 Mechanical Pencil 0.5mm
Not quite a pen, but I use it a lot of my underlying sketches (it’s also great for studying and making quick notes/working out since it’s so smooth). Sometimes if you don’t rotate it as you work, you’ll end up with a sharp edge to the lead that can dig into the paper, but if you’re aware of it it’s pretty nice.
Paints
Kuretake Gansai Tambi Water Colour Sets
Currently, I have the Kuretake Gansai Tambi set of 24 colours. I might review them in more detail later on, but they’re a bit different from typical watercolours in that they’re a bit thicker and opaque – a slight cross between watercolour and gouache paints in my opinion. The colours are vibrant and there’s huge mixing potential. The pans on this set are full pans, so there’s a lot of paint to work with. There’s a plastic cover that comes with it that I use as a palette which works well since there’s a lot of space to mix. The packaging is also really nice and I tie mine up with some wool to make sure I don’t accidentally just grab the lid and let the whole thing slide to the ground. They come in a few different sizes (set of 18, 24 and 48 I believe) and this brand actually has metallic paints which I haven’t had the chance to try out yet, but seem really fun. I bought these on sale last year, but I do think they’re priced decently for the utility they offer!
Guitar Watercolours
I got these in Indonesia from a small art shop a while ago when we’d gone back to visit family, and I had a search online while typing this up to see if I could find it in store somewhere. From what I saw, it seems to be discontinued or sold as “vintage watercolours” so my guess is that the vendor I got it from had been holding onto them for a while. These watercolours are amazing though, the colours are so vibrant and dense, so it takes only a little bit of paint to cover a whole page. I keep them in a little wooden pencil-case box. I don’t use these as much because it takes a bit more time to set up, but so far I’ve had no complaints from using these. It’s a bit of shame they don’t seem to be available online anymore.
Mont Marte Watercolour Set
I still have my Mont Marte set which I picked up from the dollar shop a while ago. It’s definitely not the best quality, it can come out chalky and dull, but it was a good beginner set because there were a lot of colours and there was that space to mix colours on the lid so it was very portable and quick to whip out. It came with a brush pen and a small sponge as well so it’s a pretty contained set. I still use them for rough sketches and testing to work out what I want, before swapping to the Kuretake Gansai Tambi set. I noticed when I searched online they were actually a lot more expensive than what I bought them for, so it might be worth visiting a local bargain shop to see if it’s there for a lower price.
Paper
Blue Leather Sketchbook
My blue leather sketchbook I bought from the Glebe Markets in Sydney last year, the pages are 100% handmade cotton paper and the leather has been dyed that blue colour. It stood out to me in the stall because every other notebook and sketchbook was the usual brown or black. The paper holds markers, pens, gouache and acrylics really well, it’s quite thick and doesn’t warp. Using an eraser on the page tends to actually peel away the texture of the page and damage it a little, so I avoid making dark pencil sketches on the paper itself. It holds watercolour well enough, but it can be difficult to blend and get a smooth gradient. The paper doesn’t hold water as well as it holds the other paints, and the colours aren’t as vibrant as they would be on regular watercolour paper, but it’s reliable for quick, lighter sketches.
Schoellershammer Bütten-Aquarellpapier, 30 x 40cm, 200gsm
I got this a while ago as well and I don’t remember from where unfortunately. It’s a pretty large sheet so I’ll cut each sheet up into smaller ones – usually A5 sizes – for use later on. The paper is cold-pressed so there is some texture to it and 100% cotton which I think works best for watercolours. I actually prefer hot-pressed paper, but I want to finish up with this pad before I go out and get more. Paper can get really expensive, and I don’t think you need to have super heavy paper or anything for good results, a lot of it comes down to preference and your budget. I definitely can’t afford to keep buying lots of watercolour paper so I use it pretty conservatively actually, and paint on mixed media paper or my sketchbook paper more often. I did a bit of digging on this specific pad that I have and I couldn’t find the same one online, the closest I got was the Schoellershammer Aquarellpapier “Aquarell DaCapao” 42cm x 56cm which is a bit thicker at 220gsm.
Schoellershammer Bütten-Aquarellpapier
30 x 40cm, 200gsm
Schoellershammer Aquarellpapier “Aquarell DaCapao”
42cm x 56cm, 220gsm
Reeves Mixed Media Paper A5
Because I swap around with pens and markers and paints, mixed media paper works a bit better for me (and is cheaper than outright watercolour paper). It doesn’t compliment watercolours as well as watercolour paper of course, but it does a very good job in general and is much more affordable.
Mont Marte Sketching Journal Landscape A5
I use this sketchbook mostly for testing colours and combinations as well as quick rough sketches before moving on to watercolour paper or my blue sketchbook. Because it is a sketching journal, it doesn’t deal well with water on the page, but it’s good for pencil sketches and pens/markers.
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