Art Discussion

[Guardian G.I.]

American marker brands (and pencils, and pretty much everything else) are obviously not available here in non-EU Eastern Europe; stuff which is produced elsewhere is ludicrously expensive.
Due to a combination of Schengen customs tolls and the greediness of local retailers, plenty of art supplies, especially those imported from the EU, are ridiculously overpriced. For example, a very small pack of sketching paper by Daler Rowney costs as much as about 10-12 A4 albums produced locally.

[daiseerose]

American marker brands (and pencils, and pretty much everything else) are obviously not available here in non-EU Eastern Europe; stuff which is produced elsewhere is ludicrously expensive.
Due to a combination of Schengen customs tolls and the greediness of local retailers, plenty of art supplies, especially those imported from the EU, are ridiculously overpriced. For example, a very small pack of sketching paper by Daler Rowney costs as much as about 10-12 A4 albums produced locally.

What? That's horrible!

[Laufey]

Would the word you're looking for be opaque? :0

YES, yes that's the word, thank you! Opaque indeed. When it comes to watercolours you can make endless colour variations if you have just a few base colours, but in fact I was considering getting a few more - a cold tone for red and a warm one for blue...

Huh. What's the difference between water colour tubes and the solid block ones?

I can only answer this by experience but... form, mostly, and you can get a bit more intense colours out of the tube ones. Either way you'll end up dipping your brush in your coffee at some point, or worse, take a swig out of the water mug.

[Guardian G.I.]

What? That's horrible!

That's true, I'm not joking.
Oh, another fun fact related to art supplies and shopping in general - PayPal is not available here (Republic of Belarus). If you live here, good luck buying anything from Amazon, Ebay, or pretty much everything that doesn't accept Russian electronic currencies like Webmoney. It's easier to buy goods from China than from Europe or America.

[daiseerose]

That's true, I'm not joking.
Oh, another fun fact related to art supplies and shopping in general - PayPal is not available here (Republic of Belarus). If you live here, good luck buying anything from Amazon, Ebay, or pretty much everything that doesn't accept Russian electronic currencies like Webmoney. It's easier to buy goods from China than from Europe or America.

No PayPal??? How do you get art supplies then?? O.o

[Guardian G.I.]

No PayPal??? How do you get art supplies then?? O.o

There are plenty of art supplies produced locally or in neighbouring non-EU countries which are just as good as the expensive stuff from across the Schengen Zone but much, much cheaper. However, not every shop has all of them, and I sometimes have to look for stuff. For example, the A5 sketchbooks that I use for drawing outdoors are produced in Ukraine and can only be found in a single shop in my city.

[daiseerose]

There are plenty of art supplies produced locally or in neighbouring non-EU countries which are just as good as the expensive stuff from across the Schengen Zone but much, much cheaper. However, not every shop has all of them, and I sometimes have to look for stuff. For example, the A5 sketchbooks that I use for drawing outdoors are produced in Ukraine and can only be found in a single shop in my city.

Wow! That must be hard :/

[viola]

YES, yes that's the word, thank you! Opaque indeed. When it comes to watercolours you can make endless colour variations if you have just a few base colours, but in fact I was considering getting a few more - a cold tone for red and a warm one for blue...

I can only answer this by experience but... form, mostly, and you can get a bit more intense colours out of the tube ones. Either way you'll end up dipping your brush in your coffee at some point, or worse, take a swig out of the water mug.

Ahaha I may have almost done this several times... and then there was the time I fell asleep in my paint. Never paint while jetlagged.

Also is the white one gauche? I have some gauche that is the same brand. I know it's like watercolours but less see through.

At some point I'll have to post pictures of the colours I got in Japan and also my hoard of random art supplies. It'll have to be when I'm at home again though :/

[Curry]

YES, yes that's the word, thank you! Opaque indeed. When it comes to watercolours you can make endless colour variations if you have just a few base colours, but in fact I was considering getting a few more - a cold tone for red and a warm one for blue...

Ahhh that's interesting to know! I have to get some watercolors for my art class this year, actually.

question for all those watercolorists out there! What's a good brand (preferably available in America and all) of watercolors for a beginner that's higher-quality? I have a pretty good budget, but the most expensive is proobably not the best since I'm a smol student and this is for a class.

[mithrysc]

Ahhh that's interesting to know! I have to get some watercolors for my art class this year, actually.

question for all those watercolorists out there! What's a good brand (preferably available in America and all) of watercolors for a beginner that's higher-quality? I have a pretty good budget, but the most expensive is proobably not the best since I'm a smol student and this is for a class.

*points to Laufey's watercolor set*

Winsor & Newton Cotman. For all your student- and whatever- artist needs. Good quality, not horribly extravagant price.

[Alethryia]

The following is what I use for all the watercolors you've seen me post, it is by no means a quality set (just Artist's Loft you can pick up at Michaels) but is suffice for my hobby!  I do LOVE these brushes though, they make me so happy! The brushes themselves are filled with water, so you don't need to bring a pot of water with you when painting and I bought them at a Blick store.

[Laufey]

The following is what I use for all the watercolors you've seen me post, it is by no means a quality set (just Artist's Loft you can pick up at Michaels) but is suffice for my hobby!  I do LOVE these brushes though, they make me so happy! The brushes themselves are filled with water, so you don't need to bring a pot of water with you when painting and I bought them at a Blick store.

These brushes are very relevant to my interests!

[Alethryia]

Oooo, yes Laufey, I LOVE all your watercolors, they are gorgeous!!! I can definitely see the need for warm and cool versions of all primary colors though, it can make all the difference! 

Curry, I am so jealous of your colored pencil hoard- so many colors!!! 

I feel super spoiled now Guardian G.I., I live in a mountain community with basically no quality art supplies, but I just have to drive the hour down the mountain and I have easy access to a plethora of craft stores. 

Yes Feartheviolas, post ALL THE PICTURES! 

Just for good measure ... I am OBSESSED with papercrafts- the amount of embellishments I have is staggering-, so here's a snapshot of my art stuff on the mountain (I may or may not have a ton of art supplies stored in my parents' house down the hill with Trinka... All my acrylic paints/mediums/etc are down there!) The bins are obscuring all my pretties though, I am amazed at the tetris job I was able to pull in these things! (I may actually post pics of specific items if the topic comes up in this thread or I take them out for a project.) Also, I adore my Cricut - limitless card making opportunities!!!

[Curry]

Next up on Curry doubleposts irrelevantly in an art-related thread...

Karma asked me why I have so much art stamina (I've been drawing antiquated fashions in excruciating detail with no middle sketches for literally days) and here's my somewhat-serious advice?? I figured it might help a couple of you guys, or clear up why I'm so motivated.

1. get angry. if you're angry (like i always am) you feel more motivated to crush others with your art

2. look at inspiring things. often i find tutorials inspiring even if i don't need them. don't feel embarrassed if you're looking at tutorials for really basic things like eyes because sometimes they're very eye-opening (HUEHUE) and it's really interesting to see how others think. i also often only find art things inspiring once so if you're going through your inspiration pinterest and not feeling the spark, that is a-ok

3. if you hardcore lose inspiration on something, drop it (at least for the moment), it's not gonna come back within a couple days. im sorry to disappoint you. continuing to try to do it will only make you frustrated and annoyed and you'll lose even more stamina. i'm so sorry

4. just do it. if you're not feeling like anything else do art challenges because you'll get better and hopefully kick some inspiration into your poor, dead hands

5. finish projects while you're still inspired by them because god it's hell after you lose motivation

6. okay i really wasn't joking about the art challenges. for me, if i make it stupidly difficult a challenge, i feel like i'm doing something beneficial with my life and i will continue on until i finish it. even if it is drawing 244 hands in different poses and you split it up into 12 a day whenever you feel like it that's okay just do something you need to work on. worst case scenario, you're still not inspired, but gosh dang do you know the folds of the human hand mighty well

That's mainly how I stay so furious inspired, although I still definitely completely lose motivation on some things reynir comic where did you go and I wish you the hottest of flames for art! >:3c

[daiseerose]

What are some good sketch book brands? I have been thinking about getting a new one soon