RECOMMENDED ART SUPPLIES
When you are just starting out, it is always a challenge to find the right art supplies. We have done a lot of research on affordable art supplies that are good quality but that will not break the bank. To save you some time and some disappointing purchases, we created a list of the art supplies we use. This list also includes some higher end options for when you are ready to take your art to the next level and willing to spend a bit more on quality supplies.
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FolkArt Acrylic Paint
FolkArt acrylic paint is a bit higher quality than Apple Barrel but still very affordable. They have a good pigment load and are a bit thicker. We like the ease of having a good range of colors ready to use. This 24 bottle set is a great start!
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Liquitex BASICS Acrylics
This paint is higher quality. It's more full bodied and is highly pigmented for great coverage. We recommend a set of smaller tubes with lots of color options for easy creating without too much need for color mixing to start out.
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Liquitex Slow-Dri Medium
Acrylics dry fast. Some of the more fluid acrylics provide enough time to blend, however, Liquitex basics is thicker and dries very fast. Add in some Slow-Dri medium for more fluidity and longer drying time!
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Liquitex BASICS Gesso
If you are painting on canvas or board, you have to prepare your surface by applying gesso. It makes your surface more stiff and slightly textured to better accept acrylic paint.
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Liquitex Acrylic Medium Set
This starter set is great for trying out different mediums. It includes gesso, gloss medium, modeling paste, iridescent medium and course texture gel. Combines well with Liquitex Basiscs Acrylic Paints
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Apple Barrel Acrylics
We like this acrylic paint for experimenting, we use it in our classes. It comes in a wide variety of colors and is very affordable. It is fluid, which makes it easy to blend and it takes a bit longer to dry so you don't need to add medium.
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Bamboo Art Board
Taping your work to a board is very helpful! It makes it easy to move your work around and easy to move aside while it's drying. This bamboo cutting board is a great option!
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ARTECHO Watercolor Set (100 colors)
This is a great watercolor set for beginners. The colors are rich and vibrant. We use this set in our classes. It has 100 colors that include 35 metallic and 10 candy colors. Very fun for experimenting!
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Watercolor Brushes
This brush set is our favorite for watercolors. It is affordable and has a great variety of sizes and they hold up really well. Unlike many of the cheaper brush sets.
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White Gel Pen Set
We've tried quite a few white gel pens. These flow nicely and have a high opacity and come in a set of 6!
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Masking Fluid
This natural latex masking liquid is an easy-to-peel formula that can be applied to artwork to mask areas that require protection from paint and ink splatters.
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Micro-Pen Fineliners
These pens are great for drawing neurographic lines or to doodle with. They are non-toxic and waterproof, although we haven't tried applying a lot of water on top of the drawings.
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