Art Tools

Hello! Are there any fellow artists out there? Either working on your craft or working professionally?

Well, the one thing we all have in common is the search for that perfect tool. For some of us, that ‘perfect tool’ is not just 1 tool, but the one that is steady and reliable each time you get ready to make your mark(s).

These are the ones I’ve used over the last 20 years (crap, 20??) and have proven very much worth-while in my exploration of art. I must say though, these are not the end-all-be-all of tools. Find your way.  Art is very much an exploration of the kinds of marks you want to make. I am merely making suggestions. 🙂

Brushes.

The Scharff series 3000 #2 or #3. You can get them here. 

This is the brush I’ve used the most, it’s extremely reliable and gives you a great tip and a lot of bounce. The only reason I don’t use them anymore is because they have doubled in price.

The Raphael 8404 Kolinsky Sable #3. This s the one I use currently, they are great.

The Windsor & Newton Series 2 #3.

There are varying sizes with each brush, find the one that works for you. To each they’re own. 🙂

Quills/Nibs

Hunt 102

Gillott #659 as recommended by @1JohnLivesay over on Twitter.

Markers.

There are all kinds of markers out there today that do some pretty damn good work. In my time coming up (a LONG time ago) markers were frowned on because of their inferior ink and brush tips. Time and technology have changed. There are some damn fine markers out there to work with.

Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens. There are 2. The Blue one and the Green one. The blue one is the hard tip. The green one is the soft tip. I used the crap out of the green ones when I was on Star Wars Doctor Aphra and they were a godsend. If you get a good green one you can get great brush-like lines out of them. The blue ones are great for technical work. Both are even better for very simple and effective dry-bush techniques, if that’s your thing. HIGHLY recommended.

Uni Pin Pen Brush. This is a wonderful marker that gives you very thing, almost real brush like lines for feathering.

Kuretake Disposable Pocket Brush Pen – Extra Fine. Almost as good as the Uni Pin. Almost. Still a good marker brush brush though, especially for sketches of all kinds.

Copic Multiliners of varying size.  I use the .1, .005, .003.

Faber-Castell S and XS. The smallest tips they make.  Great for small dry lines.

Rapidograph Tech Pens.

Sizes .13, .25, .50, and .80 or more for panel borders.

These were the first things I ever inked with. I was very wrong to do so, but, nonetheless, they were first. These are increasingly hard to find and expensive. Not to mention very difficult to maintain as they require a lot of cleaning. Once they get clogged up they are useless. They have lots of uses, still but they only offer a very dead flat line. Which is great for tech work, buildings, cars, you get the idea. But they offer very little in the way of an organic flowing line. Still useful if you need them and can afford them.