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Traditional Artwork
Note: Something I want to stress here is that you don't necessarily Need to pop for things that are "Archival Quality" or "Low Acid" if you're just getting thoughts down on paper. It's worth getting into that habit if you can swing it, though. Stuff like that tends to be built for longevity with less risk of color fade or the paper yellowing.
Paper:
- Canson 7"x10" Field Book (Comic Strip work).
It's a nice portable size for me. I can stuff it into a book bag real easy and take it with me. The paper texture feels great, it's a nice cream color and it takes inks like a champ. - Basic Cardstock.
No real go-to brand to suggest here. I do try to look for something with a good texture - not too smooth, not too rough - and around 110lbs weight. That way I can go at it with inks or watercolors without too much trouble yet still use it for printing. - Printer Paper.
Again, no real brand suggestions. It's cheap, it's available and - if you can find a display at an office store - you can find something you like the feel of. The only times I get into the weeds with paper weights and textures is if I need something specific for a project. Most stuff out there will do you good in a pinch. - Scratch Pads/Blank Notepads.
This is my workhorse. I use these generic glue-top scratch pads that you can find in bulk at most office supply places for cheap. They're great for notes, sketches and even projects where you're not planing to use inks or markers on. The paper is both is strength and its weakness. It's tough enough to handle quick tasks with ease and even a fair amount of erasing or shading. Its also thin enough where, if you're heavy handed like myself, you will leave impressions on a good two or three sheets beyond your work page. Not a terrible issue since I've never found these in anything less than a 6 pack and that can last me 30+ images without hitting their halfway point. - Sketchbook.
No real preference brand-wise. I used to carry a sketchbook with me often enough that I developed a fair idea for what suits me. The ones I get are usually around 5"x8.25" and can lay as flat as possible. I like a hard cover book but soft covers work, too. Most places that sell sketchbooks have them out and open (by design or otherwise) so you can see if the thickness and texture are for you. I lean more toward something thick enough to take inks without bleed-through but not so robust that I could use markers in it. That isn't a hard-and-fast rule, just my personal preference. The "Lays flat" thing is if you really want to scan your work without a struggle.
Pencils/Pens:
- Basic Pencils - 4H & HB leads.
This is my most basic of basic tools - Ye Olde Wooden Pencil. My brand of choice is Staedler. It's partly because it's available where I'm at but it also has the most reliable clay to graphite mix of anything I've tried. Other brands tend to be hit or miss - some with sketchy grinds that leave big chunks of straight graphite or hard paper-eating clay - where Staedler seems to run better quality control on their art stuff. That said, a good ol' HB/No.2 pencil is an artist's best friend and will do the job just fine. The 4H is more for being able to lay down light sketches easily. - Mechanical Pencils - 0.5mm, 0.7mm and 2mm lead holder.
This is my travel kit. Mechanical pencils have the benefit of not needing a sharpener and being refillable. Most lead holders have a built-in sharpener in their caps. Find yourself a couple of metal ones if you can swing it as they can take the abuse of travel and can be broken down and cleaned if need be. I use 0.5 and 0.7 so I can have that finer point for detail work. I use the 2mm as a regular pencil and for shading larger areas. I personally roll 4H and HB leads in mine but you can find colored leads for specialized work. - Colored Pencils - Prang or Crayola, Prismacolors in a pinch.
I've been using the same set of Prang colored pencils since high school. It's a harder lead than Prismacolors but it's slightly softer than Crayola. I don't recommend Prismacolor pencils for daily use only because of price. They are on the higher end for supplies and can be worth it as they're soft and blend real easy. It's that softness that is their weakness as you will burn through them quickly. - Watercolor Pencils - Crayola.
This is very much a price and availability based choice. I've used other brands like Staedler and I've gotten fantastic results but, for the money, I run Crayola watercolor pencils. They're colors are great and you can find a basic set just about everywhere. Great for beginners and folks like myself. - Erasers - White plastic and Kneadable.
A good white plastic eraser (usually just the nicer white erasers you find in the with the stationary section) is your Ctrl-Z. Specialized art pencils tend not to have erasers on their ends, mech pencils may but it's usually covering the hole to fill them. Get yourself a cheap pack. You'll never use a pink eraser again.
Kneadable erasers are multi-tools. These gray blobs of moldable rubber let you do everything from fine detail erasing to simply pulling off a light amount of lead from the entire page before you ink. Unlike a normal eraser that leaves bit, kneadable erasers just pull in graphite. I keep mine until they really can't take any more in. Note - They stink like rubber. It doesn't go away. It's their curse. - Pens - 005 through 08, Brush pen.
I swear by Sakura's Pigma Microns. I use them for all of my ink work on Biff and many of my other projects. They're water-resistant once dry and they have yet to fade on me. They can take quite the beating but know that you can split or snap the plastic tips. Bonus: They come in a bunch of colors so there's a good chance you can find that special color for whatever linework you're doing.
Digital Artwork
Note: I mainly run Windows 7 and 10. I do own an old Mac G3 Blue and White and have made a Hackintosh or two. I still have an old Gen2 iPod Touch that... needs a battery but still functions. I also have a number of Android devices and a Note5 that I can draw on. These are all excellent platforms but the bulk of my work is done on Windows machines.
Programs:
- Basic Work - Adobe Fireworks.
It's less complicated than Photoshop and what I learned first back when it was still owned by Macromedia. I use this for the adding text and tones to my comics. I use it for simple color work. It's not the industry standard by any stretch of the imagination but it gets the job done. It also handles PNGs without flattening the files so it has that one small thing over PS. = ) - Advance Work - Autodesk Sketchbook.
Again, it's not Photoshop but it does what I need and it's available on mobile devices. It has a fantastic set of adjustable custom brushes with the tools to make your own. You can even import and export them from the desktop versions. The mobile versions have a nice recording feature for folks who like to make process videos. Best part is that it's (as of this writing) Free. A price that can't be beat. It natively saves in TIFF but can open Photoshop files. - Lineart - Adobe Illustrator.
It is my absolute favorite program for making crisp lineart with the side benefit that those images are infinitely scalable 'cause they're vector files. Can't do that with raster art. It's tricky to learn but, if you can get the hang of stuff like making curves using adjustment handles, you can walk those skill to other programs with similar function. Both Fireworks' and Photoshop's shape tools use handles in the same way as Illustrator does. If you can master that, you're golden. - Equipment - Mouse & Keyboard, Touchscreen Tablets.
Almost all of my digital work is done with a mouse and keyboard. Although I do own a digital tablet, I could never get the hang of the disconnect that comes with drawing on a surface and not seeing that mark under my pen. Thankfully, this has been remedied by items like my Tablet PC and touchscreen devices. With those tools and programs like Sketchbook, I can finally drawn on a screen and have the results under my pen instead of elsewhere on my regular monitor. The prices and quality of things like touchscreen pens with pressure sensitivity are finally within the reach of a less-than-loaded budget artist like myself and well worth checking out.
Miscellaneous
No list this time, just my own personal loadout. My outfit for the longest time used to be jeans with big pockets (and lots of them), a long shop coat or lab coat with big pockets and a backpack with lots of big pockets.
Notice a trend? = )
The reason I love large pockets is I can fit my sketchbook and drawing gear in them all quick like and go. I was my own mobile workstation. I also completely understand that this is Not for everyone.
As time wore on, I outgrew my long coat and had less of a reason to rock a backpack. I still lean toward pants with larger pockets but, thanks to things like the iPod Touch and my Samsung Note, I can carry more in less space. I can now simply grab my phone, my sketchbook, a mechanical pencil and click eraser and be absolutely set to work.
I do still recommend investing in a solid backpack or bag of some sort that can hold your gear safely and is comfortable once it's fully loaded. By "Fully Loaded", I mean with things like snacks and some manner of drinks and things you might use for reference later on. And it doesn't have to be expensive, either. Don't be that person who buys a bag that has just enough space for your art stuff and nothing else. Or worse... a bag that physically hurts you once you've filled it with the supplies you need.
Another benefit to having other items with large pockets is you can distribute the load. I could pop a water bottle in my backpack's side pocket or I could toss it in my pants pocket (weird feeling but doable) or I could toss it in my jacket pocket (weird looking but less annoying than having it in loosely attached to my leg). In this case: Options are your friend.
The last thing you need - and this is an absolute cannot skip thing - is Time. I know it sounds like a bluff or some weird mantra on a cat poster but it is the truth. My greatest tool was the time I put into figuring out how to draw bodies and buildings and objects and all those things you don't want to practice 'cause you want to get to the good stuff. I put in that time, then I put in more by drawing that stuff over and over until things looked better to me. Then I did it all over again.
Don't believe me? Understandable. I didn't when I started out and got that info from others either. What I did do... was keep all that stuff up for folks to see. Proof of where I started, warts and all. You can view the entire version of my older gallery here. -> [Art LinkTastic!]