Sarah’s Favorite Things
You asked…
…what supplies I’m using to create all of my work! Want to know what I use every day to make art? Check out the supplies below for all my favorite pencils, erasers, sketchbooks and more!
**Just so you know, this page contains some affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase any of these items, I may get a small commission. This costs nothing to you, and you don't have to do anything special, but I'd feel weird not telling you about it. Plus it's the LAW.
Pencils & Erasers
Prismacolor Col-Erase Color Pencils
These are awesome erasable color pencils. I love to lay into a watercolor drawing or just draw with them regularly!
A cult classic, this pencil gives a beautiful line quality. The eraser is replaceable and extendable and they just look awesome!
Smear-proof, smooth and available in a range of weights. Love these pencils!
Kneaded erasers are one of my favorite art supplies ever. When you "knead it" the eraser cleans itself!
Kneading erasers also helps you to get the right shape you need for whatever you are erasing in the moment. Both of these brands are great!
Pens
This is a brush-style pen that I really love that it has cartridge refills. The ink is water-fast which makes it a great choice for if you want to fill your ink drawing with watercolor later.
If you don’t want to mess with thick and thin lines and just want a clean straight line, Tombow Monos are the way to go!
Another brush pen! Can you tell that I love brush pens? This is a great cartridge-less option that I find easier for certain projects.
These pens are MAGIC and a cult fave. I love them for adding color. Bonus, you can combine these with water for washy colorful fun!
What I love about these pens is that you get a pointed tip with which is great for thick and thin lines!
Sketchbooks
This paper is very smooth! That makes this book great for pencil and ink. Can handle gouache too but I’d skip it for most wet media.
Handbook Journal Co. Travelogue Drawing Book
This is my personal favorite sketchbook. I love the different size formats available, the paper, and the pocket and strap make it a must!
Handbook Journal Co. Travelogue Watercolor Book
If you’re looking to use wet media in an on-the-go sketchbook, this is an amazing option!
Legion Stonehenge Aqua Cold Press
This 150lb block is NICE. I love this for working on final drafts of a piece.
Not too expensive but is still nice to handle a bit of wet media. Need I say more? You can never ever go wrong with a Canson XL.
Alpha series, like you're in a wolf pack! Jk, but for real, these are amazing mixed media books. I love them for ink and watercolor.
The 140 lb cotton pages are fantastic for working with wet media. Bonus points for storage for watercolor sheets and a water brush!
Loose Paper
300 lb Cold Press. This is definitely the cream of the crop, best of the best. It is also the most expensive.
Strathmore Cold Press Watercolor 300 series
140 lb Cold Press. This is my standard if I am not working on a nicer finished piece. And much more affordable than the Arches. I typically use Strathmore and the Canson pad mentioned below for my ink drawings that I bring into Photoshop.
Strathmore Cold Press Watercolor 400 series
The 400 series is just a little nicer than the 300, but I use both all the time.
Canson Montval Watercolor Block
140 lb Cold Press. This is another more affordable watercolor pad that I love to use. I typically use Canson and the Strathmore pad mentioned above for my ink drawings that I bring into Photoshop.
115-280 gsm Cold Press. I love, love this paper just as a luxury item for fun to draw on. It's like velvet and takes so many mediums well. It also comes in toned versions which are my favorite to use. These come in big sheets, but I will show you how to easily cut them down. I love the grey!
Other Supplies
Customizable felt tile design for walls. Use code SWATTS10 for 10% off!
There are a bunch of different kinds of glues that you can use to collage things into your sketchbook. I've even used a regular old gluestick in a pinch.
These are super cool. It's watercolor laid out on a substrate that you can just reconstitute on the go and get painting!
I've seen lots of these types of carts everywhere but what I really like about this one is all the extra hooks and pegs for washi tape, frog tape, and extras.
These pens are another great tool for adding water on the go. I like to use them with Tombow Dual Brush pens to turn the Dual Brush ink into watercolor!
These are similar to the Peerless Watercolor Papers.
This is a compact little set of watercolors. Each cake set includes 4 metallics and 8 fluorescents and the 24 color set features an additional 12 pearlescent colors exclusive to the set.
Something similar to this handy little guy showed up in my Art Snacks Subscription box and I wish I had known about if for years. It would have saved so many of past me's brushes!
Princeton Neptune Series Brushes
These are mid-range synthetic squirrel brushes that I love for both watercolor and gouache. They're thirsty and hold a lot of water. Exactly what you need for these mediums.
This is a whole craft room in a box. With a price tag to match. I don't have one yet. But one day I'm going to sell a kidney and it will live in my basement studio.
If you wanted to get started with acrylics this brand is a fantastic jumping off point to your next masterpiece.