Hey! I figured this could help some people new to art or even more seasoned artists who want to try something new, so here’s a page that lists my tools!
Traditional Media
Pens:
- Rotring Rapidographs – .25mm, .5mm, .7mm
- Kuretake No. 40 Brush Pen w/ Kuretake black pigment ink cartridges
- Kuretake Zig Clean Color Brush Pens – #022, #068, #043, #063
- Uniball Signo White Gel Pen
Brush and Ink
- Kuretake Zig Menso Cartoonist Brush – Kolinsky (small)
- Deleter Black 4 Manga Ink – This ink is a really nice matte black that dries quickly. It’s expensive, but it does the job really well.
- Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen-White Ink – I poked around JetPens looking for a reliable white ink to use and this one seems like it holds up the best. I’ve had good results with it.
- Winsor & Newton William Collection Ink
- Liquitex Professional Ink! – Muted Collection
Watercolors
- Pentel Waterbrush – This is what I mostly use when I travel or am doing quick sketches
- Princeton Neptune Brushes – These and the Velvetouch are really nice, from what I’ve used so far. As of this post, I haven’t done many illustrations in a while, but I found these to be rather nice for a synthetic brush.
- Princeton Velvetouch Brushes
- Paints – I use a combination of Winsor & Newton Artist’s Colors and Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor Paints
- MEEDEN 24 half pan watercolor palette
Paper and Sketchbooks
- Strathmore Aquarius II Watercolor Paper
- TheBestSketchbook sketch book
- Global Art Materials Hand-Book sketchbook – I use this for quick watercolor and ink sketches because it’s less expensive than a watercolor sketchbook and holds up really well with light washes
Digital Works
- Aseprite – This is my favorite pixel art software. The interface looks confusing at first, but there are tons of tutorials and it’s a very intuitive software.
- Paint.net – I use this for image editing and color adjustment when I scan things in
- GameMaker: Studio 1.4 – I got a license for more modules in a Humble Indie Bundle, and overall find it to be fairly intuitive to use. Plus there’s lots of tutorials and classes for it.
- Monoprice 10×6.25in drawing tablet – This thing is great for the price and works well for the pixel art I do. The drivers can be fiddly to get set up, but honestly I prefer them because they don’t wipe your settings every update like some other brands do these days.
Closing Notes
So, you probably don’t need to spend crazy amounts of money on what you’re using if you’re starting out – getting a decent brush or two, a couple bottles or tubes of primary colors, and you’ll be all set for learning the basics of how everything handles.
I buy the materials I do because they last me a long time and are reliable. I’ve never been a fan of materials that have to be thrown away after a couple weeks of use. But that’s me — you don’t need fancy Rapidographs to do good line art. Same for that Kuretake No. 40. You could get away with a Pentel Pocket Brush and do just fine. It’s all in what you’re using them for.
Anyway, I hope this page helps! Feel free to hit me up on Twitter if you have any questions.