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🎨The Ultimate Art Supply List🎨

Purple Star emoji 23 items
By
Liz
My personal art supply picks for beginners and hobbyist creators — sketchbooks, markers, and drawing essentials sourced from Amazon. All affordable, all quality-tested. ⚠️ Affiliate disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a...
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Must-Have Starter Supplies

The first supplies any beginner artist should grab — all available on Amazon with Prime shipping.

 
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The go-to sketchbook for beginners and pros alike. 100 sheets of smooth, medium-texture paper perfect for pencil, charcoal, and ink. Start every project here.
Strathmore 400 Series Sketch Pad 9x12 100 Sheets
 
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48 rich, vibrant colors with soft wax cores that blend like butter. These are the colored pencils I reach for every single art session — worth every penny.
Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils - Set of 48, Assorted Colors
 
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12 grades from 2H to 8B in one tin. The industry-standard pencil set for sketching, shading, and detail work. Lifetime go-to for every artist from beginner to professional.
Faber-Castell 9000 Graphite Sketch Pencil Set – 12 Grades
 
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Erases graphite and colored pencil cleanly without smearing. Won't tear the page. A must-have in every pencil case — cheap and lasts forever.
Pentel Hi-Polymer Eraser – Soft, Smudge-Free Erasing
 
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🎨 This beginner watercolor set is a DREAM. Vibrant pigments, easy to blend, and the travel case makes it perfect for painting anywhere. Comes with everything you need to start — brushes included. Under $20 on Amazon.
Beginner Watercolor Paint Set - Amazon.com
 
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📸 Stop painting on scraps of paper. These 5x7 canvas panels are the real deal — pre-primed, acid-free, and great for acrylics and oils. 24-pack means you can practice without guilt.
5x7 Canvas Panels 24 Pack - Amazon.com
 
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✏️ From 2H to 8B — a full range of drawing pencils to master shading, line work, and sketching. These Arteza graphite pencils are quality tested and loved by beginner artists everywhere.
Artist Drawing Pencils Set - Amazon.com
 
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🧹 The eraser every artist needs. Kneaded erasers lift graphite without tearing paper, let you create highlights by dabbing, and never leave crumbs. Faber-Castell quality, under $5.
Kneaded Erasers - Amazon.com

Art Supplies

Core drawing and painting supplies I actually use and recommend for everyday creative practice.

 
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Hands down the best site to my art suppplies
Best Arts, Crafts & Sewing
 
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I love these types of art books, the pages dont rip out
Top Spiral Sketch Book, 100 Sheets, Art Pad
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🖌️ 24 rich, highly-pigmented acrylic colors that work on canvas, wood, fabric, and more. Non-toxic, quick-drying, and amazing quality for the price. A must-have for any beginner artist.
Artkey Acrylic Paint Set 24 Colors - Amazon.com
 
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🖌️ 20+ professional-grade brushes in one set — flat, round, filbert, fan and more. Perfect for acrylic, oil, and watercolor. Comes with a case. Under $15 and wildly underpriced for the quality.
Art Paintbrush Sets - Amazon.com
 
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🎨 Blend graphite and charcoal like a pro. These tortillon blending stumps smooth out harsh lines, create gradient shading, and take your drawings to a new level. Underrated beginner tool.
Tortillons Blending Stumps - Amazon.com
 
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🌈 Bold, creamy, zero-mess oil pastels. These blend beautifully on any paper and the colors are SO vibrant. Great for beginners who want to try color mixing without watercolor setup.
Oil Pastels Set - Amazon.com
 
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🎨 72 rich, smooth colored pencils perfect for blending, shading, and layering. Great for adult coloring books, illustrations, and portraits. Pre-sharpened and ready to use right out of the box.
Colored Pencils For Artists - Amazon.com
 
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⚫ Soft, medium, and hard charcoal pencils in one set — perfect for dramatic shading, portraits, and expressive sketches. Smudge-friendly and easy to blend. A must-have for any drawing kit.
Charcoal Pencils For Drawing - Amazon.com
 
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🎨 Keep your paints organized and your workspace clean. These mixing palettes have deep wells to hold pigment, prevent drying too fast, and let you mix custom colors like a pro. Essential for acrylics and watercolors.
Amazon.com: Paint Mixing Trays
 
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💡 Game-changer for artists! Trace, copy, and transfer designs perfectly with this ultra-thin LED light box. Adjustable brightness, slim design, works for sketching, calligraphy, animation, and stained glass. Under $30.
Tracing Light Box - Amazon.com
 
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🎨 Washi tape is an artist's secret weapon! Use it to mask borders for crisp watercolor edges, create geometric patterns, or decorate your sketchbook. These art-print rolls are gorgeous and reusable.
Watercolor Washi Tape - Amazon.com

Markers

My favorite markers for sketching, journaling, and content creation — from brush pens to fine liners.

 
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Sharpie S-Note art markers with dual tips — brush on one end, chisel on the other. Perfect for journaling, doodling, and mixed-media projects. Vibrant and blendable.
Art & Drawing Markers
 
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Oil-based paint markers that write on almost any surface — paper, canvas, wood, glass, rocks. Waterproof when dry. Perfect for bold outlines, lettering, and mixed-media art.
Paint Markers
 
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✍️ Ultra-fine 0.2mm tip for detailed drawing, journaling, and Zentangle art. These fineliner pens won't bleed through paper and come in a multicolor pack. A sketchbook game-changer.
Fineliner Pens - Amazon.com
 
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🌈 48 watercolor brush pens that blend, layer, and create gorgeous effects on paper. No water cup needed — the brush tip does all the work. Perfect for lettering, illustration, and adult coloring.
Watercolor Brush Pen - Amazon.com