My Favorite Art Supplies

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I often get asked about the art supplies I use, so I’ve gathered my current favorites here. These are supplies I personally work with and recommend, and I hope you find the list useful. ❤️ Iva

Quick jump:

Paint

Gouache Paint

  • Holbein Artists’ Gouache lays down smooth, richly pigmented color that mixes without dulling. It dries to a stable matte finish and layers well, making it a dependable choice when you want true color and strong opacity.

  • Irodori builds on Holbein’s Artist Gouache with a distinct set of traditional color tones you won’t find in the standard range, giving you broader mixing and creative choice.

Holbein Artists’ Gouache lays down smooth, richly pigmented color that mixes without dulling. It dries to a stable matte finish and layers well, making it a dependable choice when you want true color and strong opacity.

Irodori builds on Holbein’s Artist Gouache with a distinct set of traditional color tones you won’t find in the standard range, giving you broader mixing and creative choice.

Acryla Gouache Paint

  • Holbein acrylic gouache lays down rich, opaque color with a matte finish and dries water-resistant, so layers stay clean and easy to build.

Holbein acrylic gouache lays down rich, opaque color with a matte finish and dries water-resistant, so layers stay clean and easy to build.

Watercolor Paint

  • Tubes
  • Vibrant, affordable watercolor tubes that deliver smooth, clean color with quick activation and fun specialty options like pearlescents. Ideal for artists experimenting with new palettes or adding playful accents without investing in premium lines.

  • Tubes
  • Finely milled pigments and no ox gall create flawless control and crisp edges.

    Perfect for illustrators and painters who want clean, even washes and predictable behavior in detailed work.

  • Tubes
  • The gold standard for consistent, trustworthy watercolor paints with smooth handling, clear labeling, and superb lightfastness.

    A dependable choice for professional studios and client work where predictability matters.

  • Tubes
  • Known for its wide pigment range and beautiful granulating colors that add life and texture to washes. A top choice for expressive painters who want to explore depth, personality, and the widest possible palette in the best professional watercolor paints category.

  • Pans
  • A consistent student line that allows beginner artists to learn watercolor techniques without frustration. Perfect for beginners and traveling artists who want reliable color in a compact, refillable tin.

  • Pans
  • Smooth, creamy traditional Japanese paints that rewet instantly and deliver glowing color. Ideal for illustration, calligraphy, and mixed-media work where you want a soft, opaque charm.

My Budget Pick
Tubes

Vibrant, affordable watercolor tubes that deliver smooth, clean color with quick activation and fun specialty options like pearlescents. Ideal for artists experimenting with new palettes or adding playful accents without investing in premium lines.

Value Pick
Tubes

Finely milled pigments and no ox gall create flawless control and crisp edges.

Perfect for illustrators and painters who want clean, even washes and predictable behavior in detailed work.

Professional
Tubes

The gold standard for consistent, trustworthy watercolor paints with smooth handling, clear labeling, and superb lightfastness.

A dependable choice for professional studios and client work where predictability matters.

My Professional Pick
Tubes

Known for its wide pigment range and beautiful granulating colors that add life and texture to washes. A top choice for expressive painters who want to explore depth, personality, and the widest possible palette in the best professional watercolor paints category.

My Budget Pick
Pans

A consistent student line that allows beginner artists to learn watercolor techniques without frustration. Perfect for beginners and traveling artists who want reliable color in a compact, refillable tin.

My Budget Pick
Pans

Smooth, creamy traditional Japanese paints that rewet instantly and deliver glowing color. Ideal for illustration, calligraphy, and mixed-media work where you want a soft, opaque charm.

Palettes

Brushes

Brushes for Gouache & Watercolors

Brushes for Acrylic Gouache

Pencils & Pastels

Colored Pencils

Budget Pick
Value Pick
Mixed media textures
Mixed media textures
Most popular brand
For professional artists
Budget Pick

Best for: sketches, drafts, animation underdrawings, adult coloring and beginners/young artists who need mistakes to disappear.

Erasable colored pencils with hard leads and attached erasers

Value Pick

Best for: speed, blending, large fills; a reliable pick for everyday art studio work.

Creamy wax cores for lush blends and fast coverage; fantastic value and massive color range.

Mixed media textures

Best for: velvety textures, smudging/erasing, mixed-media washes on toned paper.

Pastel colored pencils for velvety textures, smudging, and partial water effects; great on toned papers.

Mixed media textures

Best for: detail passes, cross-hatching, and mixed-media layering without mushy edges.

A hard lead, oil-based control with excellent coverage; ideal for detail work and mixed media.

Most popular brand

Best for: maximum control, archival projects, and deep layering without haze.

A gold-standard in point retention and layering; most colors rated maximum lightfastness.

For professional artists

Best for: premium archival work, portrait neutrals, opaque highlights.

The colored pencils benchmark for lightfast, creamy coverage when archival permanence is non-negotiable.

Pastels

Markers

Sketchbooks

Cases

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