Hi, I am Sneha and this is my first blog!
I am very excited about this, not just because this is my first blog but as an introvert artist like me, blog is wonderful way of communication to the world through storytelling, sharing knowledge, experiences and much more..
Before I move ahead, I would briefly introduce myself.
I am Sneha, a watercolour artist and a surface pattern designer who is now venturing out into pet and wildlife portraits. I make custom watercolour graphics for website graphics, wedding invites, greeting card illustrations, packaging, art prints, postcards and much more. Also surface patterns for fabrics, wallpapers and stationery.
You can read about me and view my portfolio here
I like watching videos where other artists show how they paint, sculpt, make an art piece. And this gave me a thought of starting a Youtube channel where I can show my painting process and communicate with other like-minded people about this skill. And, often I am asked about the materials I use to paint. Even on my Instagram page, inquisitive minds do ask me about what materials I use to paint.
This gave me an idea to create a guide of resources which I use for my work, and that is the reason of why I am writing this blog too!
Let’s dive in…
Since I am preparing a reference material, I decided to put the information in two categories; Painting resources and video making equipments.
Painting Resources
This list is not very extensive in terms of using different company products. Papers, brushes, pencils, pens, markers, fine point pens, colours, brush pens are the tools which I use to make my art.
Watercolour Paper: In terms of paper, I tried few papers which are locally available for few weeks. During this time I ordered Canson Montval watercolour 300gsm coldpressed paper from Amazon. It has texture on both sides and works good, especially for watercolours where layering method is used. There are too many options available on the internet and local shops, so experimenting with paper is necessary before settling down with go-to options.
Brushes: Brushes are so subjective to individual comfort and capacity to hold the water/ paint. Through my style of painting and my artwork size, I realized that I need fine tip brushes, especially smaller number brushes. So I have a very few brushes numbered 6, 8 and other consist from 0 to 3. Again, this is a personal choice and depends on artist’s requirement.
I use Rehtrad fine tip brushes
Watercolours: I have used Fabercastell tube watercolours which are very pocket friendly and very good at beginner level. But slowly I moved from FaberCastell to Winsor and Newton’s half pan watercolours. These are amazing. They blend and spread very well on the paper and I love the using the. The other good part is that the colours are available individually so one can buy as per the needs. Like in my case whn I was transitioning from one company to another, I bought the colours accordingly. So I made my own palette!
Gouache: Bustro’s gouache set is awesome and the quantity of the colours to the price is amazing. The colours are easy to work
Box to keep watercolours: Since I use half pan watercolours, I was searching for a option of a box which can keep all of them together without they mixing with each other. And voila! I found Bustro’s metallic box which is perfect to house the half pan watercolours in one box.
Pencils: There is nothing specific as a brand but I prefer to use Apsara pencils especiall H and B. Since I use watercolours to paint, I need a pencil who leaves less graphite marks back on the paper and so these two grades do their job wonderfully.
Fine point pens: Inking the sketches is my favourite part and I feel it is a meditation for me. Uni pens are amazing and I usually use 0.1, 0.03 and 5 number point pens. What tip numbers you need depends upon the style of sketching and inking.
Brush pens: This was a new concept for me and I had never used any. There are two types of brush pens; first in which you fill up clear water/ paint water and use. Other is which comes with the ink. So I use Camlin’s set whose pigment is excellent and looks good.
For palette, I use small ceramic dishes which I got from local shop or the metallic box comes with it’s own palette too!
Other things like erasers, tissue papers, measuring tapes, other basic tools are part of my painting resources.
So now let’s talk about the tools which I use to record my videos..
Recording device: I use my android phone to record. Sometimes if needed, I take another phone to record from a different angle if necessary. Presently, I do not own a camera but my phone does a good work.
Phone holder: Since I use phone, I needed a holder which can be near to me so that I can start and stop whenever I need. Also a holder is necessary for a mobile, otherwise mounting a phone needs things like a stack of books, etc which eats up the space on the table and making it uncomfortable to paint. So a minimal holder with a flexible neck work for me!
I also found a mini holder which can be placed on the table and its angle can be adjusted.
For voice over, I use this mic which is very easy to use and gives a clear sound
So these were the materials and equipment’s which I use to for creating my artwork and videos. Hope this is will be useful
PS: None of these links are affiliate links.
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