Traditional Art Media I Use
Posted on August 19, 2024 by Aywren
In the previous post, I talked about my daily sketchbook habits where I’m nudging myself to practice using more traditional media for artwork. Today, I want to take a look at the specific media I’m currently working with.
The picture above is a sample of the kind of art I’ve made with the following media. In fact, I think every piece of media I list in this post went into making that picture.
Pentel Graphgear 1000 Mechanical Pencil
I love mechanical pencils for getting down the initial sketch. I have a really nice mechanical pencil that Syn gave me years ago, which she bought in Japan. But recently, I heard about the Pentel Graphgear 1000, and decided to pick it up at the local Target when I was out shopping.
I’ve seen videos touting how neat this pencil is, and it is a good pick, especially for the price. What I like best about it is the retractable tip that helps save your led from unexpected breakage when you’re not using it.
Micron Pens
I have used a set of Micron pens for years and years and years for almost all of my inking needs. In fact, I’ve used them so much that I tend to wear them out and need to buy replacement packs.
I don’t know what to say about them other than they are just great pens and they have never let me down. If you check out the link above, you can see over 50K reviews with an 86 percent 5-star rating. I think that’s all that needs to be said about that.
Ohuhu Alcohol Markers Skin Tones
I wanted to get into markers, and Ohuhu – despite the funny name – is a quality marker brand for a lower price than the competitor. I also have a set of Ohuhu water color markers, but I decided I like the alcohol-based markers better.
I picked up this particular set because it’s so hard to color good skin tones with the lack of colors that a general marker set provides. I wanted a set that focused on a variety of colors specifically for skin tones, and this absolutely did not disappoint!
ArtBeek Alcohol Markers
As I noted above, I do have a set of Ohuhu water-based markers, but I discovered I like the alcohol markers better, but I didn’t want to drop a lot of cash on another set. I heard about the ArtBeek brand markers in a YouTube video, and caught them on a very good sale, so I picked them up.
So far, I’ve been very pleased with their performance, especially the blend-ability. I know some people might prefer the fine point rather than the brush, but sometimes the brush tip has its good points, too.
In terms of color and vibrance, you can see the art at the top of this post as a sample of what they can do. For the price and the number of colors (I got the 120-count set), you just can’t beat it! Would buy again!
Acrylic Paint Markers
This set of acrylic paint markers didn’t really have a brand, but they have been great for what I’ve used them for. I originally picked them up just to draw the design on my sketchbook, but since then, I’ve used them for all sorts of things in art.
I especially like that they offer gold and silver pens. The white pen gets a lot of mileage out of me, too – you can see that in the sample art at the top of this post!
Definitely glad that I picked up a set of these. They were cheap, but they do the job!
Uni-Ball Signo White Gel Pen
Having a good white gel pen is a must, especially when working with black inks and markers. While the white paint marker helps for some of the larger linework, sometimes you need a good white pen to do some detailed inking.
I did some research when looking for good white pens, and the Uni-Ball Signo pen was high up on someone’s list. I picked it up, and sure enough, it’s now my go-to for a white fine gel pen!
Eventually, I do want to explore more with the water-based markers I have, but for now, these are the media types I’m exploring and practicing most in my sketchbook.