My favorite art supplies

Here you will find a selection of my favorite art supplies! I always do my best to find art supplies that are vegan. Sometimes this is easy because a brand is very open about not using animal or animal-derived ingredients, but most of the times brands are not very transparent about their ingredients. Always do your own research if you want to be sure the supplies you’re using are vegan.

Some of the links on this page are affiliation links. I will earn a small commission if you buy something (at no extra costs for you).

If you use a Jackson’s Art link and it is your first time shopping at Jackson’s, you will get 10% discount on your first order.

Some of the products mentioned here are also available at Splendith in the Netherlands. If this is the case it is mentioned. You can click on “Splendith” and go to their website.

Paint

Let’s start with paints. I used to work a lot with watercolors, but lately my interest has shifted towards acrylic paints and gouache.

Watercolors

When it comes to watercolor, I am a big fan of Daniel Smith. Their watercolors are beautiful and vegan. I prefer tubes so that I can fill my own palettes or pans.

 

Gouache

  • Miya Himi gouache.
    This gouache is amazing for my shitbook sessions. It’s affordable and does the job! You can find this gouache on Amazon but also at Handlettering Doen We Zo (Dutch website). Handlettering Doen We Zo also sells the refills!
  • Acrylic gouache
    I am slightlty addicted to the beautiful Holbein acrylic gouache paints.
  • Holbein Acryla gouache (Splendith)

Acrylic paint

I use a mix of different acrylic paints. My latest obsession are the vinyl emulsion paints by Lefranc & Bourgeois.

Brushes

Watercolor brushes

Watercolor brushes are often made with animal hair, but there are some amazing alternatives. My favorite watercolor brushes must be Princeton’s Neptune brushes (beautiful synthetic squirrel brushes).

To all Princeton watercolor brushes at Splendith

 

Acrylic paint brushes

When I first started to paint with acrylic paints, I went to the hardware store and bought a few cheap brushes. When I decided that I really wanted to work with acrylic paints more often I started to invest in some great synthetic brushes.

Paper

Watercolor paper

When I first started out with watercolors, I had no idea that a lot of paper brands use gelatin sizing. Here you will find a few of my favorite brands (and their paper) that don’t use gelatin.

 

Acrylic paper

 

Sketchbooks

Or as I like to call my sketchbook; Shitbook. These are two of my favorite shitbooks.

Pastels

Ooohhhh how I love oil pastels! I use them everywhere to make marks, whether it’s paper or canvas.

Pencils

Colored pencils

I don’t use colored pencils as often as paint or oil pastels, but when I do I am very picky. So there are obviously way more great colored pencils, but these three

are my absolute favorites!

 

Graphite

Mediums

An acrylic medium alters the paint. Some mediums control a paint’s transparency, fluidity, texture, sheen, etc. Other additives control how long a paint stays wet and workable. There are so many mediums and additives, but I will list what I use.

Varnish & Fixative

Pigments

Books

I love collecting (art) books. This list is truly never ending. I am sure I am forgetting a whole lot of books. And I am also sure that this list will keep on growing.