Would you like to have a complete, good-quality coloring kit that won’t cost an arm, leg, kidney or plasma, but don’t know where to start?
Here are my quick, cheap recommendations, followed by the longer, more expensive versions, all of which I have, use and highly recommend.
Crayola is my go-to brand because I’m a mom and have kids who like to raid my art supplies, all while I’m working on professional art projects, lol, so it keeps them from destroying my expensive stuff.
Artists can and do produce good artwork using Crayola products, believe it or not!
Surprised? Yep, me too!
First……Go to Crayola.com.
Give them your email, and sign up for their newsletter.
You’ll get an immediate 10% coupon, as well as 15% and 20% coupons from time to time, and free shipping.
Before I buy, I compare prices on Crayola.com, Walmart.com, eBay, and Amazon, then I buy the cheapest.
If you want to get started but have a very, very limited budget:
DOLLAR STORE SHOPPING LIST
- White printer paper, 8.5 s 11”
- Clipboard
- Pacon Art pad, white, 50 sheets
- Correction fluid
- Eraser
- Paint brush pens
- Markers, set, 24-36
- Colored pencils, set of 24-36
- Set of paint brushes
- Paint palette
- Sharpener
- Gel pens, set, glitter, neocon, metallic
- Permanent markers
TOTAL $15, plus or minus
If you have a bit more to spend….
BASIC COLORING SUPPLY LIST FOR ADULT COLORING AND STAMPING
- Watercolor pencils, 24-36 count, $7
- good sharpener, Kum, $3
- erasers – regular (pink), gum, white, eraser pencil fine point for tiny areas, $5
- water brush pen set, Arteza or OOKU, etc., 6 tip sizes, $10
- markers, 36 count or more, water soluble, brush tip are best, $15
- mixed media art pad , #98 or higher, Canson, $6
- clipboard, $2
- white printer paper, 8.5×11”, $4
- #110 white cardstock, 8.5×11”, $5
- white gel pen, $3
- Sharpies, ultra fine point, black, grey, brown, tan, $5
TOTAL $70, plus or minus
You can take a trip to your nearest Walmart and get almost everything you need.
This is where I regularly purchase…
- Canson mixed media pads
- Canson watercolor pads
- Canson sketch pads
- Neenah white cardstock
- Neenah black cardstock
- Neenah kraft cardstock
- Hammer mills #110 cardstock
- White printer paper
- Crayola Colored pencils sets – 50, 100
- Gel pens set of 24, 36 – Scribble Stuff – best, smoothest ink flow of any gel pen ever!
- Crayola Supertips Markers sets – 20, 50, 100
- Crayola Paint Brush Pens
- Oil pastels
- Paint brush sets
- Erasers
- Sharpeners
- Clipboard
USE WHAT YOU HAVE
- baby oil
- petroleum jelly
- mineral spirits
- eye shadow
- Qtips
- cotton balls
- paper towels
- old cloths
- paint brushes, fine, flat, round, medium, large
- old plate or lid to mix colors
- cup for water
Use baby oil, petroleum jelly, rubbing alcohol, gamsol, or mineral spirits to create a wash or blend regular colored pencils with QTips, cotton balls, paper towel, rags.
MY GO-TO COLORING KIT
- Crayola Super Tip Markers, 100, $15
- Crayola Watercolor Pencils, 24, $7
- Crayola Color and Blend Pencils in tin, 50, $15, OR Crayola color pencils, 120, $15
- Crayola water soluble oil pastels in tin, $15
- Crayola pearlescent water soluble crayons in tin, $20
- Crayola metallic markers, $7
- Crayola glitter markers, $7
- Crayola gel pens, $15
- Crayola metallic pencils, $7
- Crayola fine-tip markers, 40, $22
- Crayola Tri-tone Pencils in tin, 12, $15
- Watercolor brush markers, 36 count or higher, $15
- Kum metal pencil sharpener, $3
- Erasers, variety – gum, white, pink, eraser pencil, $5
- Sakura Gelly Roll pens – white for adding highlights, corrections, $4
- Blending pen (water-based, not alcohol), $4
- Blending pencils, $4
- Eraser pencils for fine details to get in corners and create highlights, $4
- Arteza, OOKU, etc., waterpen brush set of 6 tips, set, $10
- Canson mixed media pads – small, medium, large, $6-$10
- Clipboard, regular or larger size for art, $2-$6
- White printer paper, pack, $4
- Cardstock, #110 pound, white, $5
- Cardstock, black, $5
- Cardstock, Kraft paper, $5
TOTAL $200, plus or minus
Note: Walmart doesn’t carry Crayola Tri-tone pencils, oil pastels, pearlescent pastels, watercolor pencils, fine-tip markers, Color and Blend pencils or product lines, or gel pens. However, Walmart.com does. I purchased mine at Crayola.com, EBay, and Amazon.
These are my go-to coloring supplies when I’m not creating on the IPad. I also have the more expensive stuff, but I’m afraid to use it, lol.
DUAL PURPOSE PRODUCT
These Crayola products are all watersoluble and can be used as paint, as well as pencil, markers, pens and pastels, so each one is dual-purpose!
Draw a line, use the waterbrush pen or a paintbrush dipped in water and it becomes a painted line!
I recommend the largest sets of colors in the markers and pencils because you need the full range of tones for skin tones for portraits – pets and people – as well as for shading.
Otherwise, a basic set of 36 colors is a good set to start with, and these colors can be blended to create new shades.
Scribble a marker or pastel on a plastic lid or plate, dip a wet paint brush in the color, use it as watercolor paint on mixed media or #110 cardstock.
DO YOU REALLY NEED EXPENSIVE ART SUPPLIES?
It’s not the product you use, it’s your ability to use it. I can draw with a burned matchstick, and it looks as if I had used a piece of charcoal produced by a well-known art company.
Expensive art supplies DO have better pigmentation, lay down, ease of use, etc., but it really depends on the skill of the user.
Crayola products are so solid in terms of quality, color, vibrancy, ease of use, lay down and cost that it’s a great product for beginning and intermediate colorists.
SAVE MONEY ON PRINTER INK
And while you’re at it, sign up with HP Ink to save money on printing off coloring pages and stamps! $2.99 per month!
Purchasing an HP ink cartridge for our printer runs about $45 for the black and white and color.
For $25, you can buy a new HP printer at Walmart, then sign up at HP.com for their amazing ink savings deal: $2.99 per month for 50 pages. And if you need to print more than that for some reason, it will cost you only $1 per every 10 pages over that.
Go to:
https://store.hp.com/us/en/cv/instantink
We did, and it’s awesome! The printer is great, and so is the savings!
HAPPY ART FOR A HAPPY HEART! 