(Just what I have actually used)

methods:

Intro:

Certain groups specify a limited range of acceptable materials so all members start from the same place. Example: The Colored Pencil Magazine Facebook page.
Others are most concerned with "is it lightfast?" or "is it archival?"

Stored in the dark in a humidity controlled (not too humid) environment on archival paper will preserve most art. I always scan my work into my computer (heavily backed up) as further way to preserve. Very few materials will survive a fire or flood. Best to have a copy of some kind off site. Just in case.

Traditionally, artists use whatever works, "Express Yourself!"

NOTE: while I am not a fan of AMAZON, I have included links here to them and others so you can read more about a book or material. You are still better served (knowledge and recommendations) by local independents. Ask yourself, who would you want to be around a year from now. In most cases it will be the local shop. Buy from them if you can.

Holbein Acryla Gauche

This is my favorite paint to work with. I love the matte finish. Mixes well with a large range of colors (though you are better learning how to blend and avoid the 'paint by number' trap). The JetBlack is REALLY black and I have used this in making cameras light tight. Most of the 'painted' work in the Slide Sets uses this paint. Unlike regular gum arabic guache, the acrylic binder here makes the result more water resistant.

see: Botanical Painting with Gouache - by Simon Williams.

Amsterdam Acrylic Ink

A permanent easy to use ink for dip pens and ruler pens (my choice). Great for touch-up and fine lines. With a ruler pen you can make sub-millimeter lines easily and consistently.

Ruler Pen from 1894. Still available, though you will want to
sharpen the tip for finer lines.

Colored Pencils

My current favorite (individual pencils available locally) is the Caran D'Ache Pablo colored pencils. These make a perfect compliment to the higher priced Caran D'Ache Luminance line. The Pablos are harder and able to do finer detail w/o resharpening as much. The Luminance have GREAT color and blending ability, but the high price can be a turn off. I have also used Derwent, Prismacolor and Faber Castell. All good pencils and you can work with any of these successfully. Even Crayola can be used for sketches and non-serious work and are VERY cheap (and if kids get a hold of them, no great loss, also non-toxic). [Use a better white pencil though.]

Useful Books:
The Joy of Botanical Drawing - by Wendy Hollender. Our 'Bible' during colored pencil class. Basic lessons you need to master first.
The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling - by John Muir Laws. Make drawing and observing nature a daily habit.
Colored Pencil Painting Bible: Techniques for Achieving Luminous Color and Ultrarealistic Effects - by Alyona Nickelsen. Easier to just use a camera?
Drawing Realistic Textures in Pencil - by JD. Hillberry. Realistic textures bring your work alive!

A simple chart of how Luminance, Polychromos and Prisma colors compare

materials:

Paints

• Holbein Acryla Gauche - I love the matte finish. Waterproof after drying. Sets and individual colors/sizes. (107 colors)
• Holbein Watercolor - Good range of colors, less expensive than Daniel Smith / Windsor Newton. Start with the (18) set and add as needed.(105 colors)
• Golden Fluid Acrylics - Easy to work with. Can be loaded into a dip pen. (83? colors). the interference colors are fascinating.
• Lumiere Acrylics - sometimes you just need the extra punch. Lightfast too. (33 colors)
• Koh-i-noor Watercolor pans - nice compact travel selection. (24 colors)

Inks

• Amsterdam Acrylic Ink - work great in a ruling pen or calligraphy pen. Permanent & waterproof after drying. DO NOT use in a fountain pen! (56 colors)
• Sakura Pigma Micron Pens - disposable, but less mess than a technical pen. Archival. Variety of widths and colors.
• Yasutomo Sumi Ink - THE classic black ink in fluid and stick.
• Tombow Dual Brush Pens - fast and easy. Takes practice to do blending and shading. (110 colors + blender) Blender also works well with colored pencils
• Pentel Pocket Brush Pens - Black, Gray & Sepia with replaceable cartridges. Nice drawing brush pens.
• Noodler Inks - Lots of colors for fountain and drawing pens.

Colored Pencils: current favorite media. links to Blick, Amazon similar.

• Prismacolor Premier - relatively inexpensive. Lead tends to break because of off center cores. (150 colors)
• Prismacolor Verithin - harder core. Great for detail work, but not as intense as Premier. (36 colors)
• Faber Castell Polychromos - my first 'pro' set. Does not blend as easily as some others. (120 colors)
• Faber Castell Albrect Durer - watercolor pencils. Easy to blend with a water brush. (120 matching colors to above)
• Caran D'Ache Luminance - intense, easy to blend, expensive. (76+2 colors+blender)
• Caran D'Ache Pablo - harder core, great for detail work. My go to pencil. (120 colors)
• Derwent Drawing - light fast 'earth' tones. Soft core blends easily. (24 colors)
• Derwent Inktense - watercolor pencils. As the name suggest, INTENSE. (72 colors)
• Tombow Irojiten - much more subtle. (90 colors as 3x30 color sets)
• Crayola - CHEAP ($17), but actually still work. Avoid the white. Electric sharpener works better. (100 colors)

Papers

• Grafix Dura-Lar Matte - a plastic paper with 'tooth' that colored pencils can draw on. Blends amazingly well. Watercolor version also.
• Fabriano Black and White - very fine archival papers. Excellent for colored pencil work.
• 110lb card stock - from stationary stores. A cheap bulk drawing surface that allows good detail. Can be used in an inkjet printer.
• Bienfang Bristol Board Pads - very smooth grain for detailed colored pencil work.
• Colored Papers - rougher surface is not great for detail work. More for charcoal and pastels.
• Hobby Plywood - sturdy surface that when sanded is easier to work with than 'canvas' with less surface artefacts. 1/8" is easiest to work with. Can be primed with gesso for paint work. Found at hoppy and hardware stores.

Sculpting

• DAS Modeling Clay - a modeling clay that can be air dried and then painted. (Stone, Terra Cotta, White)
• Creative Paperclay - very light weight once dried. a sort of solid paper mache. once dried can be painted, etc.
• Super Sculpey Firm - baked in an oven to be made permanent. Polymer clay that can be painted once hardened. (they also have softer versions)

None of the above require a kiln. Art ONLY, they are not waterproof, nor can they be used for food/cooking.

Misc Supplies

• Ruling Pens - a 19th century tool for marking lines on paper and applying masking fluid. Sharpen the tips for a finer line. Easier to clean than a tech pen. Adjustable width lines.
• Calligraphy Pens - allows for a variety of nibs for different effects.
• Koh-I-Noor Technigraph - the holder and a selection of (6) colors makes for a very compact travel kit. 2mm lead.
• Erasers - I rarely use them as they tend to either not work and/or destroy the paper.
• Wax Paper - placed over an area of colored pencil you wish to remove and then burnished from behind. Better than an eraser.
• Masking Fluid - messy stuff that tends to hurt the paper. I rarely use.
• Brushes - a nice wide 'lens' brush is great for sweeping off pencil fines. And of course a selection for painting
• Pentel Water Brushes - used with water color pans to make a nice travel kit.
• Graphite Pencils - sketching ideas before moving to paints/inks/colored pencils.

Suppliers

• Imagine Arts - our only local art supply store. Great advice on what works best for what you want to do.
• Dick Blick - discount store (with actual stores in San Francisco). Watch out for the shipping charges.
• JetPens - all about pens and inks.
• Amazon - evil empire. Use only as a last resort.
• Craft Stores - sometimes you don't need the BEST materials and they have cheaper alternatives.

Software

• Adobe - EXPENSIVE! subscription model sucks. Other alternatives that are not as 'industry' standard.
• Corel - poor person's alternative. Also a subscription model.
• Irfanview - FREE bitmap viewer and helper. Great at converting between formats, resizing, color/contrast/etc. Windows only
• Open Source - FREE. Usually works well. Can be a steep learning curve with fewer books/instructors. Some YouTube help. Mac/Linux/PC
• - Libre Office - FREE office suite with writing, drafting, spreadsheet, presentation. Can export/import PDF.
• - GIMP - FREE bitmap editor
• - Inkscape - FREE vector map editor
• - Krita - FREE bitmap editor/creator. Has tools I have not seen anywhere else.
• - OpenShot Video Editor - FREE and works
• - Blender - FREE 3D drawing program. HIGH learning curve. YouTube videos available.
• - Ubuntu Studio - FREE OS with a lot of the above already present or easy to install. Great for an old laptop.

Digital Hardware

• Operating System - Apple is generally more 'user friendly' for the tech challenged, BUT definitely more expensive (a.k.a. the Apple Tax). Windows has the most software available, but is less friendly. Linux (100s of flavors) tends to need less resources in terms of memory/processor/hard disk space and I usually load it onto 'hand-me-down' machines at no cost. Not for the computer phobic though. In all cases, do get at least 8GB of RAM, better at 16GB if you do video. Definitely a SSD hard drive (4x faster) and portable drives (up to 1-4TB, does not need to be SSD) to back everything up regularly. How often do you back up? If it is important and took you longer than an hour to do, back it up. Generally daily is enough unless it is mission critical (or legal stuff). I use small flash drives (16GB) for frequent smaller backups.
• Scanners - I have an Epson V850 Pro, but I also do large format film photography. If you are doing only flat art, a 1200 dpi scanner is good enough and can be had fairly cheaply for all OSs. My printer has a scanner built in and I could do with just that for flat art. I have used both Epson and Canon scanners with good results. READ REVIEWS before deciding.
• Printers - I like both Epson and Canon printers. Does it need to be archival (you are selling the output directly to clients for display)? Or is this just for proofs? I have an Epson Ecotank printer and it saves A TON on ink cartridges. Archival printers have up to twelve cartridges and cost a fortune for ink, but are essential in the 'selling' trade as a reason to buy your work. Archival printers are available in up to 60", though 24" would suffice for most users, and even smaller (all my work in letter size or smaller). I love small intricate work, but larger does display better on a wall or gallery. You can always take a piece of work to a pro print shop for the occasional large print. Inks do go bad sitting in a printer too long (especially w/ printers using replaceable cartridges instead of refillable 'ecotank'). That can get to be expensive if you are not printing enough to justify your purchase.