My Virtual Studio: Drawing and Sketching

Basic drawing is a relaxing way to spend an afternoon or evening! Whether doodling or working on an amazing art project, pencil and paper can help to relieve stress, polish the skills, and make your insides smile – all at the same time!

Pencil sketching requires very little – a number two pencil and a piece of computer paper make a great pairing. But if you’d like to take that to the next level and get a range of pencils – they come in soft and hard, and a range between. A set gives you the ability to create darks and lights just by changing pencils. Staedtler is the brand I’ve used since college, and now that I’ve grown up, I let myself draw with Caran d’Ache Grafwood pencils. The Tutto3 is a pencil that’s at my side for everything I do nowadays – it has 3 different leads in one pencil – and it’s pretty magical!

• Staedtler Lumograph Drawing and Sketching Pencils (set of 12) BLICK
• Caran d’Ache Grafwood Pencil Set BLICK
• Tutto3 Pencil, black or silver body
• Caran d’Ache Graphite Sticks BLICK
• Aquabee Super Deluxe sketchbooks BLICK (nice and inexpensive)

Charcoal, charcoal pencils, and charcoal sticks are another step up from pencil, offering more blendability, striking contrast, and of course messiness! You may start to want some fixative when using dry pigments that move this much so I’ve included a Sennelier fixative – be sure to do that part outside, it’s deadly to breathe in! You can use tons of different sketchbooks – I’m a fan of Stillman and Birn toned sketchbooks, adding some white for highlights to create some dramatic drawings, as the giraffe above.

• Blick brand Charcoal BLICK
• Pitt pencils white BLICK
• Conte pencils black BLICK
• Conte pencils sanguine BLICK
• Delacroix Fixative BLICK
• Stillman and Birn heavyweight white – AMZ
• Stillman and Birn Grey toned sketchbook – BLICK
• Stillman and Birn tan toned sketchbook – BLICK
• Stonehenge Spiral Sketchbook – BLICK

Pen and ink sketching is another fun type of drawing – and you don’t have to use a dip-pen to do it! I do lots when out urban sketching, but in 2019 drew the entire month of October in sharpie drawings (plus some Copic airbrushing). Sharpies are inexpensive and easy to find! I also occasionally use my Pentel pens, they now have two sizes and promote them for sketching…coz they know I’ll buy them. LOL. Sketchbooks for these – I love Pentalics to leave me the ability to add watercolor if I want to. Both sketchbooks here don’t bleed pen through the paper at all.

• Sharpie markers, waterproof AMZ
• Micron pens, waterproof BLICK
• Pentel Arts Hybrid Technica pen set, water resistant BLICK
• Pentalic sketchbooks BLICK
• RENDR sketchbooks BLICK

Other drawing supplies

• Kneaded Eraser EH or BLICK
• Stick Eraser BLICK
• Electric QuietSharp  DB | AMZ
• Handheld Prismacolor  EH | DB | AMZ 
• Handheld yellow one because….yellow BLICK
• QuickComp grid BLICK
• ComposeIt grid BLICK
• Tsquare BLICK
• Triangle BLICK
• Divider BLICK
• Alvin Rolling Ruler BLICK
• Sketchbox BLICK

Join our creative community! Our Student Facebook Group is for all classes here …and while there are no finished projects in this class, you’re welcome to join the group and get an idea of what kind of beautiful works can be created from learnings in classes on this website!