Drawing for Beginners: Must-Have Supplies

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Hi friends!

A little while ago, I wrote a post about my favorite acrylic painting supplies for beginners. It’s one of my most popular posts to date, so I thought I’d share a similar post today. (:

I’ve been into drawing ever since high school, and I’ve used so many different supplies for it!

There are tons of expensive pencils and sharpeners and sketchbooks out there, but are their prices always worth it?

Sometimes.

But I’ve found many less expensive alternatives to them that work perfectly fine. And when you’re just starting out on a new hobby, you usually don’t need to waste money on all of the expensive items when you’re still new to it.

For these reasons, most of the items on this list are SUPER affordable and of great quality – perfect for beginners and experienced drawers alike.

So, here are my favorite must-have drawing supplies for beginners (plus some extras!)

– A set of pencils + eraser + sharpener.

This is an obvious one, but a good set of pencils is essential for drawing. When you buy a set of drawing pencils, you’ll get different sizes and varying degrees of hardness and softness. Here’s a little graphic from The Virtual Instructor that shows the difference.

A simple set like this is definitely more than enough to get you started. Plus, this set comes with erasers, sharpeners, and more. These pencils are high quality, at a decent price, and perfect to start your drawing supplies kit!

– A sketchbook.

The next absolute must-have supply is a sketchbook. Really, as a beginner, any notebook or paper will do. But it’s always nice to have a sketchbook dedicated to your drawings. And if you plan on coloring your work, a sketchbook is definitely necessary. You don’t want colors to bleed through the pages or anything.

I have a bad habit of not finishing a sketchbook before I get a new one. So I have about 4 that I’m using right now, haha. But I love mixed media sketchbooks and if you’re a beginner who wants to try different mediums, I recommend the same for you. Here’s a great, inexpensive sketchbook that you can start out with!

Colored pencils.

If you plan on coloring your drawings, then colored pencils are one option for doing so. I’ve bought many packs of colored pencils and I keep them all in a Hello Kitty lunch tin, haha. But while there are many different brands out there, Sargent Art colored pencils are one of the cheaper brands that still offer good quality. I think they’re perfect for beginners!

Markers.

If you don’t want to use colored pencils for your drawings, then markers are another option. Alcohol markers are the best for this, in my opinion. They provide a smoother, more even look than other markers. They also have more vibrant colors, and you can blend them. They also come in SO many different colors! Alcohol markers can be expensive, but there are sets out there (like this one) that are on the cheaper end but still work really well.

Other helpful supplies:

A good pencil case is super helpful. There are a lot of fancier ones out there but this simple one should be big enough to hold your supplies!
This one might get overlooked, but a place to hold your drawings (if you tear them out of your sketchbook) is always great. My choice for storage is an archival box like this.
If you’re going to be making more sketches, instead of illustrations, then blending stumps will be your best friend. They’re good for smudging or moving material around on the surface. I have this set here – super inexpensive!
If you’re trying to make straight lines or create guidelines for your work, a simple transparent ruler is always helpful. You’ll probably want to make sure it’s transparent so it doesn’t block your view of your work!
If you’re looking for art prompts or ideas of things to draw, my book 365 Art Prompts is perfect for you. It provides you with a year of drawing, painting, or writing prompts plus a space to create each day!