Erasers, Pencils, Pens, Paper
Unless you have a good art supply store near your home, you will have to buy on-line. I recommend 2 suppliers, Mr. Art and Dick Blick. I have Dick Blick's huge catalog, but have yet to order from them. I have ordered from Mr. Art several times. There are other suppliers that I am unaware of, so if you have a supplier that you are happy with, please do not feel like you have to switch. You do not [or may not] need every item that is listed.
I have scanned some of the things that we use.
Erasers
You will need erasers. The erasers that are shown in the image
have been used on charcoal drawings. I haven't opened my kneaded
eraser yet, but I have an old one that we use.
The kneaded eraser picks up, not rubs off, and that means after a while, it becomes full. When it makes marks instead of removing marks, replace it.
The children liked using the pen-type erasers, [also called tube eraser]
Pencils
You will discover a wide assortment of drawing pencils when you
shop. The ones shown in the image are mostly charcoal pencils. There is often a number and letter on the charcoal and drawing
pencils, look for the following when you buy:
Charcoal: 6B, 4B, 2B, HB, 2H, or S, M, H
Drawing pencils: Soft<-- 6B, 4B, 2B, HB, 2H, 4H -->hard. Experiment with your drawing pencils to see the range of shades each one is capable of.
Vine charcoal, soft and medium, do not buy hard
Compressed charcoal sticks: 2H [hard], HB [hard], 2B [medium], 4B [soft]
Conte crayons, get black or sanguine (reddish brown)
Ebony pencil- all are soft
Related: Shading Scale Example shows examples of pencil hardness in example.
Pens
Calligraphy
I've not done calligraphy in ages and I am not familiar with current calligraphy supplies. In the past, I've used two types, the dip type in which the nib is dipped in a bottle of ink and the cartridge type in which the pen holds an ink cartridge.
Artists Pens
We use Faber-Castell PITT artist pens.
Paper
Drawing Journals
Journals differ greatly in quality. My daughter has used journals for
several years and her favorite ones are the black hardbound books with
smooth paper. She numbers her journals and is currently on #13. She uses them to graphically develop her cartoon characters, which includes sketches, notes, and color pallets for the characters.
Journals have different types and qualities of paper in them as well as being bound differently. The paper varies from being thick and rough to thinner and smooth. The thick rough paper is almost like drawing on construction paper and the smooth paper is like drawing on printer paper. Find out what type of paper your children prefer before buying a journal.
Drawing Pads
Two common paper sizes are 9" x 12" pads and 18' x 24." We used both sizes, the 9 x 12 size was used the most. Pads usually describe the best use on the cover, such as watercolor, sketch, pastels, some labeled sketch also say heavy enough for water media. Look for paper that is acid free and most of it is.
Other
If you use charcoal , you will need some spray fixative [clear].
