Hey guys I recently got the urge to start doing some good sketches. Im a total apprentice but I want to get some decent pens/pencils and a notebook. What do you guys recommend? I dont really want to mess around with fountain pens and dont plan on spending a lot of cash(for now) but want to get some good gear. If you guys can also post pics of what you use and links to them(or where I can buy them) it would help a lot
I like to draw, though I’m not too good at it so I can’t help much when it comes to suggesting tools.
Well Im not looking for pro pencils and stuff, just say decent cheaper pencil sets, or mechanical pencils, or pens and what kind of paper to use.
I just use pencils for drawing the shapes and then use a mechanical pencil to finalize. And as for paper I use what ever I can find, from post it notes to graph paper. xD
A good to book to read if you want to learn how to sketch would have to be “Lee Hammond’s Big Book of Drawing.” That book helped me become a better artist. It teaches you all the basics of drawing.
~ManofMystery
I believe he was looking for some supplies, not a teaching book.
Well, in that case, I would recommend this: IT’s a pretty good set for anywhere near 10 bucks.
Actually I guess a book also falls into supplies. Those pencils look nice. I might get both. And what kind of paper is better to draw on? The only high quality paper I know of is Velum which I use for floor plans at school but I know thats mostly for tracing and expensive
maybe I’m not the best to be giving advice, because I do a majority of sketching with a basic #2 pencil, but here’s my set up
I usually use a strathmore 300 series sketchbook (100 sheets of 9x12 50lb paper)
if I feel like being fancy or making a good sketch, I use a set of reeve’s pencils I got and a nice staedtler eraser. The set I got didn’t come with a metal case like the ones linked before, but it came with 6b-4h pencils, a couple erasers, blending sticks, and a pencil sharpener for around 5 or 6 dollars at michaels.
oh and if you’re not sure what the paper weight means, it’s just how many pounds 500 sheets of that paper weighs. so heavier = thicker paper.
And what is the difference between using 50lb to 500lbs paper? Which is better for what?
Weight of paper is determined by how much fiber content exists in a ream of paper of a standard size - often 22x30 is considered a standard size. But there are different standards for European, American and Asian papers. So the weight can be confusing. LBS or GSM is for pounds and grams per square meter respectively. The higher the number the thicker the single sheet of paper is.
~ManofMystery
But whats the belefit of using lighter over heavier and vise versa?
Lighter paper is weak and fragile compared to heavier paper, which can withstand more lbs of pressure. I’m not sure which is better for which.
~ManofMystery
light paper like the strathmore 300 series sketchbooks use is made for sketching with dry media. This doesn’t really go into weight, but it does go into the different types of paper depending on what you wanna use http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/3698/520/. But assuming you just plan on drawing with a pencil and paper, any sketchbook should be fine. My art teacher one year gave everyone a 20 lb (basically printer paper) sketchbook, and it was perfectly adequate.
So for now I think I’ll just look for a set of pencils with tin and just a regular pad or something for drawing anything without lines for now. Maybe add some velum for tracing later on