REQUIRED MATERIALS LIST
Note: All students get 20% off purchases at Oregon Art Supply while enrolled in a class… What a great time to try new stuff!
Paper: Your favorite sketchbook is fine, especially if it has a firm back, and is no larger than 9 x 12… you need to walk around with it. Smooth surface paper is best… if the paper has too much texture it is generally too absorbent and will use up your pastels and markers very fast.
If you want to treat yourself to a new sketchbook, here are two very good options:
- Moleskine sketchbooks (size approximately 7.25 x 9.75 inches). The paper is silky smooth and friendly to any drawing media.
- Fabriano Ecoqua. Paper is very similar to Moleskine.
Both of these are slim with sewn or stapled binding, so they are easy to carry around.
Support: If you have loose paper you need a firm support. An office type clipboard works, or any firm surface sized for your paper/sketchbook.
Media:
For the massing/gesture:
You will be using broad marks to capture mass and gesture. Two options are:
Chalk/pastel: Cretacolor pastel: Any subtle neutral is good, mid to light value. Ochre, tan, grey, even soft green or blue can work.
Marker: Broad tip markers are a good option, especially if you want to avoid pastel dust. Because you can’t erase them they can help you let go of perfectionism! Mid to light value neutral hue BROAD TIP markers are best. Copic markers, Pitt markers, Tombo etc. are all good. Some will have a brush tip instead of (or in addition to) a broad wedge tip.
I recommend that you try both! You only need one of each.
Line work: For adding details and definition.
Fine to medium point black pen. Brand/type doesn’t matter, anything you enjoy scribbling with!
And/or: Mechanical pencil 0.7 or 0.9 with 2B or SOFTER lead (not the HB that comes in the pencil). The soft lead is much nicer for good strong line work. The advantage in using a pencil is that you can erase. A mechanical pencil has a good line weight and doesn’t need sharpening. Also… graphite combines with pastel very well.
Erasers: You won’t be erasing much, especially if you use a marker for gesture, but might find these useful:
Click type white vinyl eraser (if you use a mechanical pencil, its built in eraser is fine)
Kneaded eraser (Faber Castell: very soft and tacky, gentle to your paper). This is very useful if you use a pastel for the gesture, as it will allow you to manipulate value in interesting ways.