my most used art products

Hi, guys! It's been so, so long! Things have been super busy with college application, but I'm finally ready to get back into the swing of things on here :) In this post, I'll be talking about my favorite art products and why I love them so much.

Recently, most of my art-making has been dedicated to my AP Studio Art concentration which is about my strabismus, an eye condition in which I have poor muscle control of my eyes. Because of my strabismus, my eyes will float without me knowing, and it has been an insecurity of mine since childhood. In my body of work, I wanted to capture and depict my insecurity of how I thought people viewed me, fixating on the orientation of my eyes rather than the human him or herself. Throughout this AP process, I am finding it to be quite meditative and have learned to accept my condition better.

Anyways, here are all of my pieces so far!

Though I did incorporate some experimentation, I mainly wanted to use the media with which I am the most comfortable and confident with. Naturally, I chose my holy grail art supplies, and here they are!

1) PENS/PENCILS

a) Prismacolor Colored Pencils

There is a reason why these pencils are so popular! They're super creamy, and they blend so easily with each other that it's super quick to get that smooth, seamless blend. For all of my pieces, I like to start by sketching everything out with a colored pencil because it doesn't smudge like graphite does when I layer paints on top of it. I also like to use these to layer on top of watercolor to add more dimension and value.

b) Copic Multi Liners

I LOVE these multiliners so much! I actually prefer these over the Sakura Micron pens because the ink flow is much more consistent. Also, I find that the tip doesn't get contaminated by the colored pencil as easily when I go to trace my sketches. The colors that I tend to gravitate towards most are Black and Wine, and the sizes that I use the most are 0.3, 0.5, BS, and BM. 0.3 and 0.5 are used to trace, while BS and BM are mainly used for brush lettering.

c) Sakura Pigma Micron PN-Sepia

I know I just said that I preferred Copic over Micron, but this is literally the only type of Micron pen that I will use. I especially like the plastic nib (fun fact: that's what PN stands for) because it is similar to the Copic multiliners in that the ink flow is not disturbed by the waxy properties of the colored pencil that I am tracing over. I am also in love with this particular color because it is the perfect brown for those pieces where a black outline is just too harsh.

2) PAINTS

a) ShinHan 24 Color Artists' Watercolour

These are my beloved watercolors. I find that I can create every color that I need with just these 24 colors, and I think that it is the perfect starter watercolor kit. They're super pigmented, and they're Korean. How could they get any better?

b) Finetec Artist Mica Watercolor-Pearlescent Set of 24

THESE. If you love shiny things, then you need this. I will admit that they are pricey, but they are DEFINITELY worth the investment. The range and variety of colors that you get is super amazing because you get a matte black for layering and two duochrome colors. The only thing I wish this set had is a lighter gold just because I feel like the golds that do come with the set are so similar.

3) BRUSHES

I'm not too picky when it comes to my brushes. As long as they work and the bristles don't fall out I'm fine, but these are the brands that I tend to use the most.

That's all for my most used art products, and I hope you enjoyed it! I definitely plan on blogging more often in the future :) If you guys have anything that you want me to talk about, let me know in the comments, and until next time!

-Yune Kim