My Art Arsenal. Drawing and Inking.

I have been getting a ton of questions in regards to what I use to draw.  

I wanted to offer a glimpse into my current collection of drawing tools.
This is just part one, more to follow!

Sometimes I just pick up whatever is around!

Here are the two tins I was given my my good friend and fellow artist Jim Laing. 

He is the lord of cool containers. These Botticelli tins used to be filled with chocolates at Easter. 

Empty, they fit my collection well. My nickname being 'bunny' adds a deeper dimension.

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Here are my tools in order from left to right. 

(Note: Not in order or importance)

PRISMACOLOR VERITHIN BLACK 747

It is great for drawing in finer details because it can hold a very sharp point. It is much darker black than any pencil but works the same way. Note: The shape of this pencil is hexagonal (more like a traditional pencil) so it doesn't get mixed up with the softer more pencil crayon like Prismacolor's.

STAEDTLER Mars Lumograph F - 8B

I have an entire set of these pencils. I mainly use the HB for my preliminary drawing but If I am doing a study I tend to go up all the way to 6B for dark shading. The 8B gets more charcoal like and any number below HB favors a graphite look.

PRISMACOLOR Pencil Crayon PC935 (Black)

Illustrators, creature creators and tattoo artists use these like they are going out of style. They are AWESOME for creating depth, texture and mass/shading on good quality papers......even vellum. Affordable and reliable I highly recommend having these on hand. They erase fairly well on sturdy papers. One thing is they have a soft lead so the tips break often. I prefer a sanding block over anything else to get a good point, I have yet to find the ultimate sharpener.

COPIC SKETCH MARKERS 

Here, in cow town, we have Inglewood Art Supply  which just so happens to have a sale on these markers right now!!! (about $7 each). The best part is they are refillable, they also swear they will last at least 3 years. That's bang for your buck on an under $10 pen. It has two ends, a rubbery tip and a chisel tip. I love these markers, they are great for silhouettes but take some practice handling for other inking jobs. You could ruin everything if you are not confident with mark making with this one.

SHARPIE 

The classic standard Permanent Marker, don't leave home without one.  Yup, they bleed, and most paint wont cover mistakes, it will eat right thru but man, I love these things. Also good for tagging bathroom stalls;) I have a collection ranging in sizes, colors and styles. I like the ones with fine and ultra fine tips, especially when they are new and pointy and rich. After a short while they become good for dry brush technique. I cant remember the last time I threw one of these out.

UNIBALL VISION NEEDLE

I got this ultra fine point waterproof/fade proof marker thru work. It is my primary outline marker. They cost around $3. The ink tends to be a little thin so you have to work fast or you'll get too much ink bleed if you are not careful. I really like to use these to thicken outlines rather than a thicker more uniform tip. That way I get a very hand-made feel.

PENTEL STYLO MLJ20

I got this pen at Mona Lisa Art supply for about $10. It has a hard plastic point that never seems to loose it's sharpness. In fact, the ink usually needs to be replaced before there are any signs of wear and tear. Luckily, the refills are inexpensive and come in a variety of colors. A few years back this was my primary pen, now I have green ink in it so it has become less useful.

PRISMACOLOR PREMIER WARM GREYSCALE

I have an entire set of warm greys. I like the warms but may add a cool grey collection in the future. The set was under $50 and has 10 levels of gradation from 10% - 90% + 3 pure blacks and a colorless blender (Acetone pen). There are two ends on each pen a large chisel tip and a fine felt point. I absolutely love these!!!!! Highly recommended. You can see them in previous posts, like my storyboards. I couldn't make them without these!

CHARTPAK MARKER/BLENDER

The final pen is another blender from Chartpak. They are a single chisel tip marker that cost a few dollars less than Prismacolor. They bleed a lot more and stink !!! For the savings per pen they are worth having a few. I think they are considered PANTONE too. But don't quote me on that one.

ERASERS

I use A STADTLER MARS PLASTIC white  most often, Knead Gum when working in graphite and charcoal (not pictured here). I sometimes use the Blue Pentel Clic eraser (Ze22) However it's not great for covering large areas quickly like the mars plastic. I never use the pink school ones unless it is on the back of a pencil. I find they leave smudges. 




SHARPENERS


As for sharpeners, as mentioned before I haven't found a good one yet but I do carry this metal MAPeD one around, I prefer the metal ones....... let's be honest they either go missing or get stolen all the time! Luckily I inherited an old school hand cranked one. Like this one pictured here, but I don't use it on expensive pencils as they tend to eat them up quickly.