My Favourite Art Materials For Sketching

I use a variety of different materials to produce sketches, patterns and also my products. Anything I make as a product to sell will start off in my sketchbook or on scraps of paper. I print out stacks of images to inspire me mainly for colours and patterns or subjects.

Today I thought I'd write a post about the materials I use to make work in my sketchbook. I hope the photos are ok, there is no natural light in my studio.

First off is my sketchbook, which is just an A4 one from Paperchase I got in the sale. I usually like to use either the WHSmith A5 ringbound ones or Seawhite of Brighton A4 as I really like the quality of paper but this Paperchase one is nice too. I'd buy another one for sure.

Secondly is my pencil case. I bought this 10 years ago at the London Transport Museum shop when they just started making products out of the same Moquette they use for the seats on the Tube trains. It cost me £11 which is a lot of money for a pencil case but its lasting the years so worth it I think!

Next up is my pens of choice! I didn't include my pencil as that's a bit boring an standard but I prefer to use 2B pencils, proper ones not mechanical pencils. I like to use Sharpies for thick and thin black outlines, though the nibs on the standard ones dull quite quickly. I also like to use Posca pens on top of ink or permanent marker because of their opacity. On the stripes of purple ink in the picture above I have used a Posca over the top.

I like to use graphic markers for colour in patterns or to fill in areas of colour on illustrations. I also use these twin Kurecolor markers to draw on shrink plastic to make my teacup and wool badges and earrings. However some colours smudge if you try and varnish over them which is really annoying.

I recently got a whole pack of these ZIG Wink of Stella pens which are glitter. They aren't like any other pens i've used that have glitter in them, they're just like felt tips. I also got a clear glitter one so you can make any line glittery. I love these and need to use them much more.

Lastly, I love stickers and geometric shapes, as you've probably noticed by now. I particularly like to use stickers to add to my patterns and sometimes cut them up and create more work out of strips of pattern. These day glo pink and green stickers are from Staples and Rymans and the other glittery ones (oh yes!) are from The Range. I think they're meant for card making and scrap booking but I use them for patterns. Below are some examples showing all these materials used together.

So there we have it! Next i'll do a post about the materials I use to make different products. 

Thanks for reading!