Just type "Mono Pencil" in the search field and they will come right up.
Buy them in quantity, because I'm sure you will absolutely love them like I do!
If they ever stop making these, I'll break down and actually cry. They are that good.
Sanford Prismacolor Verithins (set
of 24) These have harder leads than regular Prismacolor colored pencils and are non-toxic, blend-able and erasable.
I really like these. You can get the smaller assortments and then later add colors, but you will spend about 75
cents to a dollar for each pencil, so it's more economical in the long run to just go for the larger assortments.
Sharpeners:
It's helpful to have a good quality electric pencil
sharpener. I was glad when I finally 'went electric,' and I've never looked back! If you plan to work a lot in
Prismacolor pencils along with Verithin or Col-Erase, then get a very inexpensive electric sharpener, because
the waxy 'leads' will cause you to go through a few sharpeners. Some artists use two sharpeners - one for
regular pencils and another for the waxy colored pencils. I use both electric and hand held sharpeners - it's nice
to have a non-electric one for when I'm not drawing at home and/or I don't want to have to sit right by my electric model. I
recently bought a handheld pencil sharpener made by Prismacolor. I thought that maybe it would be something special because
it had the Prismacolor name on it, but it was just a regular hand held barrel type pencil sharpener. It has tended to
jam up with the shavings too quickly for my taste.
You can get a generic brand one for $1.50.
I paid over twice as much for the one with the Prismacolor name
on it.
Mechanical Pencils:
I find that a good mechanical pencil is indispensable for fine
detail areas like eyelashes, eybrows, parts of jewelry, etc. Go ahead and get a good quality one - I recommend Staedtler
Mechanical Penils.. They should last you for years, and the leads aren't expensive to buy at all either! Most of my earlier
artworks were nearly all done in mechanical pencil.
4B, 6B Drawing Pencils (variety of brands,
but I prefer Stadtler-Mars or
Tombow Mono Homograph from DickBlick.com). Do yourself a favor and stay away from 'student grade' pencils. I won't mention the brand name here, but it starts
with the letter 'G.' Graphite pencils are so affordable as far as art supplies go, you might as well get the very best
you can.
Prismacolor colored pencils are the most popular in the United States for good reason.
They are very vibrant, have a wonderful range of colors, are non toxic, and have a smooth and creamy blending
consistency. Downside? Non-erasable. They are waxy. If you make a mistake, you might be able to carefully scrape away some
of the pencil, but that's it. I use a 'test paper' of the same type and shade as the portrait I'm working on, to pre-test
pencil blends before committing them to the final artwork.
You might also be interested in a colorless blender pencil. When you overlay colors and want to blend them
even more than a blending stump can do, give these a try.
I have found that when I do colored pencil portraits on a colored matboard, the blenders can really help give
the colored pencil a blended pastel quality. Something to watch for when using the blenders is that there can be some
inadvertant transfer of colors - if you are working on something red, for example - and then you work on a yellow area,
some of the red may still be on the tip and ruin your yellow. Rubbing it on some paper or wiping it usually helps avoid this
problem. I have tried the blender markers and didn't find them very useful (were kind of messy and I didn't like the vapor
it gave off).
Paper:
Smooth or Plate finish are recommended if you want to do the smooth blended style that I generally do - if
you are working in charcoal or want more of a textured surface, then get the Vellum surfaced papers. The 3 links below
are acid free, wonderful art papers, and the kind I use.
Below is a link for a good economical student pad of Bristol
paper in smooth surface. Note that this paper will not be good for longevity, it's basically for practice. They're
good if you plan to go through a lot of paper and want to save money. However, the Series 400 pads listed above
will be a better purchase over time, because they are acid free (resist yellowing) The Series 400 are the pads of
paper I use.
You can also purchase Strathmore paper by the sheet, but I prefer
the pads because storage is more practical for me. Pads can be kept high and dry on a bookshelf, whereas by the sheet, you
need to have room to roll the paper for storage.
You will want this handy dusting brush to brush off the bits of eraser and pencil gently - it keeps your fingers
off your artwork. Best not to blow the eraser bits and dust off your artwork - if often ends up damaging your work (because
of accidentally spitting on your artwork - argh!) Your artwork is worth the few extra bucks to get this brush. Also,
keep your fingers off the brush bristles, to keep the oil from your skin off them.
YOU MUST use this in a well-ventilated area...ie: outside - and stay away from it until it is dry. I blame
my use of sprays like this for some of my respiratory problems I have now. I really recommend that you ONLY use this if you
feel it is a necessity.
On some art websites, you might see artists say that the spray 'protects' the artwork. Technically, it does
not protect the artwork - what it does do is keep the artwork from smearing. If you are going to be framing
the artwork and you keep it protected from fingers in the meantime, fixative is not really needed. I personally feel
that the fixatives could prematurely brittle or yellow art papers. I would rather protect the artwork from smearing without
use of fixatives in the short term in favor of the pencil portrait lasting in the long term.
Art Sleeves:
I recommend the Crystal Clear bags available at Light Impressions Direct. Light Impressions has recently added
a self adhesive sleeve that has the adhesive on the outside. At first, it doesn't seem to matter where the adhesive
is, but it's better on the outside, so that when you slide the artwork in and out of the sleeve, you don't have to be concerned
with the adhesive making contact with the pencil portrait and possibly damaging it.
For good lighting, I really like my Ott-Light. It gives off a whiter light than most lamps will. The whiter light will
help you avoid eyestrain, but an added benefit is that it allows you to see color more correctly.
(Stuff you don't necessarily have to have, but are really handy!)
Ellipses are great for drawing eyes, but you are bound to find
some other uses for these handy templates too. They can sometimes help in drawing jewelry, buttons, etc.
Covers information and statistics about artists in the United States, nature of the work, conditions, training,
employment and job outlook, earnings and more.
