Studio Supplies: Master List

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+ TOOLS OF THE TRADE +

Welcome to my constantly evolving archive of studio supplies — from traditional drawing tools to digital software and equipment, this list showcases all of the products I use to make my illustrations.

Traditional Tools:

  • Micron Inking Pens: Sakura Pigma (005-08) or Faber-Castell PITT (XS-M)
    Both have excellent pigment, control, and are archival.

  • Brush Tip Pens: Faber-Castell PITT (SB)

    Brush pens aren’t essential to my iprocess, but they can be useful for filling large flat black areas and sketching.

  • White Pen: Sakura Gelly Roll 08

    A super opaque and precise white medium, smooth application and surprisingly archival.

  • Opaque White Watercolor: Daler-Rowney Pro-White Paint

    A more versatile white medium applied with a brush, great for covering larger areas or textured effects.

  • Brushes for White Paint: Any Synthetic Brand

    All of my current brushes are thrift. I use white paint sparingly, so it’s not my forte.

  • Matte Fixative: Krylon

    An easy way to seal and preserve dry media art. *Always use in a well ventilated area, ideally outside.

Surfaces:

  • Strathmore Toned Tan 400

    My favorite toned paper, works well for finished illustrations but also affordable for sketching.

  • Canson Watercolor Pad (140lbs)

    A current daily favorite- affordable, nice cold-press texture, and durable pad binding.
    Great for most finished drawings & drawings intended for digital color finishing.

  • Strathmore Vellum Bristol 300 Pad (100lbs)

    An old favorite, and still a great daily alternative.

  • Strathmore Vellum 500 Bristol Pads

    My favorite premium surface - 100% Cotton 2-Ply Paper, worth the investment.

  • Global Arts Hand Book Artist Journals

    A step up from your standard travel sketchbook. Great variety of sizes, steady elastic closure, internal pockets, and very stable paper. Holds up well with dry and wet mediums and looks beautiful — more of a luxury purchase but worth the quality.

  • Repurposed Chip Board & Scrap Paper

    My favorite way to start initial sketches is on some form of scrap paper- plain paper or reused thin cardboard from cereal boxes and other packaging. This takes some of the pressure off of creating and allows me to relax without the intimidation of a “perfect” sketchbook or fear of wasting higher quality materials. Some are stored in bins, some taped into sketchbooks.

Software & Other Equipment:

  • Adobe CC: Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, & Premiere

    Photoshop is the software I’m most comfortable using, but I dabble in other Creative Cloud programs as needed for different projects.

  • Flatbed Scanner

    Ideal for high-quality capturing of artwork, but you can also photograph your pieces. I always scan at 600dpi for both JPEGs and TIFFs.

  • Tablet/Drawing Pad: Wacom Intuos 3

    Yes, I still use my old Wacom from 2004. It’s not fancy, but it gets the job done and is very durable. You can still find them for around $30 second-hand!

  • Portable A4 Light Box

    An easy way to use a light box for transferring sketches onto better paper in my studio and while traveling.

  • Blue Snowball USB Microphone

    A step up from using phone audio with surprisingly good quality for the price.

  • iPhone XS

    I currently use my phone for all of my photoshoots and videos of my work. Second-hand iPhones have great quality cameras and versatility, especially if you’re not ready to invest in other equipment.

Hello and welcome to my first blog post on my website! I’m Sara, a freelance illustrator and owner of my own art business, Inclement Illustrations. I’m no stranger to blogging, having shared my art process on DeviantArt and Tumblr since 2011, but I’m excited for a fresh start on my own personal website. My goal with this blog is to share my art process and a variety of art and small-business related content to build a closer community with all of you!

Thank you for taking the time to check out my work, see you soon! -Sara