The Essential Art Equipment for Drawing Painting

The Essential Art Equipment for Drawing Painting Pencils, Paint Brushes and Canvas: The Essential Illustrator Tools ChaptersThe Best Graphic Tablets for Illustrators and CartoonistsOnline Interactive White BoardsFor Those Who Prefer the PencilFirst You Sketch, and then You PaintPaint Brushes Need CanvasThe Cost of Framing a Portrait...Art lovers don't stop at visiting museums to enjoy their favourite canvases; they also take brush to hand to impose their imagination onto canvas or sketchpad... or computer.Expressing oneself artistically has many benefits, one of them being a calming effect: drawing and painting can reduce stress.While sketching, the artist detaches from the strain of today's ultra-connected world.Artistic endeavours work the right side of the brain, improve hand-eye coordination, and can even lower blood pressure.To effectively render art, one must observe nature and be able to faithfully reproduce it, without letting your left brain influence artistic vision.Right brain? Left brain?To fully grasp how the brain's hemispheres influence perception and artistic ability, you should ch eck out Betty Edwards' book: Drawing on the Right Side.As fascinating as the topic of the human brain is, our interest lies elsewhere, at least for this article.While art can be made of just about everything, drawing anything, be it the human form or a rose, requires certain implements.From graphic tablets to charcoal and colored pencils, we now discuss the logistics of art creation.Wacom is generally considered the leader in graphic arts Source: Pixabay Credit: NinjaBeavermodels can even connect wirelessly.It is a pressure-sensitive pad that comes equipped with a stylus; and that is where the resemblance to a graphite pencil and drawing paper end.It can be disconcerting, at first, to trace the tip of the stylus along, with nothing appearing under your hand, as it would if you were sketching on paper.Producing art on a graphic tablet calls for an evolution of your hand-eye coordination. Using this equipment, you would see lines and contour appear on a computer screen, unless you inv est in an LCD tablet, which has a display built-in.Also, whereas traditional artists use an eraser â€" a completely separate tool from the pencil, for shading and blending, graphic tablets have a totally different utility for that purpose.And, while a purist might have a pencil case full of implements of different thicknesses and composition for varying the darkness and broadness of pencil strokes, a graphic artist needs only to press harder on the sensitive pad to make a thicker, darker line.Selecting a graphic tablet comes down to your needs: are you taking a Drawing for Beginners class, and your art teacher requires you to furnish a tablet?Are you a professional portrait artist, ready to modernise your studio?Do you just like cartooning, or drawing cool things?If you are ready to make your mark (pun intended) on the graphic arts world, here is what you should look for in a tablet:the size of the tablet (the area available to draw in)the resolution of the tabletthe stylus and pad sensitivitysoftware compatibility (with your computer's operating system)You can find such tablets at a range of prices, depending on the features and resolution you are looking for.Entry-level ones start at around £50; high-grade tablets can run into the hundreds of pounds.In art circles, the Wacom tablet is generally recognised as the leader in the technology of digital drawing.Online Interactive White BoardsIf you are not quite sure of where you artistic aspirations might lead, you may want to hold off on investing in a digital painting device.Interactive white boards online is an alternative to purchasing a graphic tablet.In an IWB, as such applications are known, you have a collaborative visual communication tool that allows you to create art drawing online.You can share your work and invite your friends' or colleagues' input on the art project.IWBs have been taken out of the boardroom, where they were originally used to brainstorm, mind map, and cultivate ideas.Online, they h ave seduced a wider, more diverse audience, including schools, and individuals who are learning how to draw.These web-based white boards, while great to hone your drawing skills, also suit as:element integrators: you can add photos, music, voice and video to your artistic expressionchat  gateways to other artists; great for developing your drawing techniquesexport portals for your sketches: you can upload them into your blog or other social media outletan open document sharing marketplaceNaturally, each IWB has its own properties. Some permit step by step drawing among a group of artists while others forbid collaboration.Most sites allow basic drawing lessons in  figure drawing with only a login; others demand a fee to access their sites' premium features.If you want to try your hand at perspective drawing or three dimensional art online, here are a few sites to try:FlockdrawDeekitAww appPixiClipWorking on these sites, and perhaps benefiting from drawing tutorials by an established illustrator, makes having a go at these easy drawing pages worth your time.The top names in pencil manufacturers also make quality coloured pencils Source: Pixabay Credit: HolihoSeven different brush heads permit painting anything from the finest of lines and expressive faces to realistically texturing clouds. Absolute beginners would be best served by purchasing a full complement of brushes, ones that come in a packaged set, rather than individual implements. At least until they have decided whether they prefer rendering portraits in oil, as opposed to still lifes in acrylic.For artists ready to graduate from coloured pencils to paint, there is a variety of media to choose from Source: Pixabay Credit: BodobePaint Brushes Need CanvasAs long as you have settled on paint as your medium, you should consider what you will paint on.How should you choose your canvas? And how much will it cost?Any artistic endeavour requires investment: of time, of passion, and, of course, of money. Depend ing on the type and size of canvas you select, your cost can vary significantly.Types of canvas include linen, cotton and synthetic cloth. If you are particularly adept at portrait drawing, you may even invest in what is called portrait canvas: fine-woven linen.Synthetic canvas is relatively new on the art scene. In spite of traditionalists mistrusting this untested material, it is a cost-effective solution to more expensive weaves. Regardless of type and quality of your canvas material, size plays a big part in pricing your art canvases. Canvases are sized in two formats: landscape and portrait. Under each header exists assorted dimensions, ranging from just a few inches square to wall-sized tableaux. If you would like to draw a cat playing with yarn, a suitably-sized canvas will cost substantially less than should you want to depict a realistic drawing of a battle.The Cost of Framing a Portrait...or anything else you draw. After all of your investment in drawing materials and art lessons; learning how to use negative space to highlight your subject... guess what? Unless your medium is online drawing, you should invest in a quality frame to display your work.And, why not? Doesn't your particular brand of realism deserve display?It should come as no surprise that, the larger the frame needed, the more expensive it will be.You can trim your cost by selecting a metal frame â€" suitable if your art follows the style of contemporary artists; or a less ornate wooden frame. In either case, you should opt for an intermediary between the frame and your two point perspective: either a marie-louise or a passe partout. These are a type of mounting that subtly  highlight your painting and help protect it.For oils, it places a barrier between frame and canvas; for oil pastels or mixed media, it keeps  your work off your frame's glass cover. You might know that professional framers, artists onto themselves, are notoriously close-mouthed about the price of framing artwork. H owever, most offer free quotes: take them up on that! Request several, and then choose the best price. Now, you have a general idea of what it take to pursue art as a vocation, or just as a pastime.Unless you are unusually gifted in the field, it will most likely be of no use to watch art videos. Why not take online drawing lessons? Or sign up for an art instruction class at your local community centre? With Superprof you can find drawing courses London, art classes in Bristol or Sketching lessons in Glasgow. The world is your oyster!You can learn shading techniques, how to add texture to your portrait painting; everything from crosshatching to caricature. Once you have masted the basics, you can move on to more complex, exacting work: drawing the human form, accurately draw hands, and even toss out a Chibi Totoro! Surely, you don't need anyone to tell you what to draw...