Tips and Tricks for getting to know the Art Supplies used in Adult Colouring

In addition to colouring books and colouring pages, art supplies are an essential part of bringing our chosen subjects to life and giving free rein to our creativity.

When it comes to colouring for adults, art supplies can range from simple coloured pencils to felt-tip pens, watercolours, tempera paints, acrylic paints and so on. However, what all these tools have in common is their composition: essentially, every material used for creative purposes consists of pigments, a binding agent and additional materials that enhance its use. Below are some practical tips to help you learn more about painting supplies for adults.

Practical tips for learning more about the use of art supplies for adult colouring

One of the most common questions when you start out and admire the many tutorials on social media is whether you need to buy expensive art supplies right from the start in order to achieve good results when colouring in adult colouring books and pages.

Basically, it is not absolutely necessary to buy complete, often expensive art supplies when you are just starting out. To familiarise yourself with the art supplies, you can start with school pencils. Art pencils often have the advantage that they can be purchased individually. This allows you to buy individual colours as needed to supplement your existing colour palette.

In any case, these tips can also be useful for cheaper sets:

Creation of colour charts

Every time you buy new pencils, felt-tip pens or watercolours, it is advisable to do the following:

• A colour chart of the colours purchased (for watercolour pencils, both dry and activated with water. Activation with water often changes the saturation level of the colour).

• Tables with colour gradients and colour combinations that could be useful for future work. This is also a good exercise for learning how to apply colour or testing possible colour palettes.

• Conversion tables between sets from different brands. If you own several sets, it is a good idea to check whether there are similar colours, even if they are from different brands. (This is particularly important if you are following online tutorials for which you do not have all the colours used, but still want to achieve a similar result.

• Conversion tables between different materials such as markers and coloured pencils. These tables can be useful for mixed media techniques, for example, if you want to add details to an alcohol marker base coat using a coloured pencil in a colour similar to the base coat.

• Tables in which colours are grouped by colour family, from light to dark, or by temperature (e.g. cooler yellows and warmer yellows)

• List of colours used in colouring pages for future reference and color palettes that can be reused for other projects.

Tests to check the performance of materials from various perspectives.

• How do the colours appear on the paper or the support to be used? In colouring books, for example, these tests can be carried out on the last few pages or on pages designated for this purpose.

• Test the materials on both white and coloured paper (e.g. beige (toned paper), black, etc.) to also check the opacity of the colours if you decide to create work on coloured paper.

• The coloured pencils smudge when they come into contact with the warmth of your hand. In some cases, the warmth of your hand on the paint can cause it to dissolve further and create unwanted smudges on the design.

• Is it possible to completely remove the paint applied to the sheet? Some paints adhere permanently to the sheet, while others are easier to remove. The ability to remove paint from the sheet can be important both in the event of mistakes and when using an electric eraser to create highlights by removing pigment from the sheet.

Choose a good sharpener to get fine points that are useful for details or applying colour.

The thinner and sharper the tip, the easier it is to apply colour and the more evenly you can create colour gradients or details. There are different types of sharpeners. I use a classic metal sharpener with two hole sizes, but many people use Derwent's mechanical table sharpener.

Use the correct type of paper depending on the technique you have chosen.

The paper used often makes all the difference, and there is a special type of paper for every colour.

• Coloured pencils: Smooth drawing paper with a weight of 180 g/m² is recommended.

• Watercolour pencils or watercolour paints: Watercolour paper containing cotton to absorb water. These materials can be used in colouring books, but care must be taken not to apply too much water.

• Alcohol-based markers: smooth, low-porosity marker paper that prevents the ink from being absorbed too quickly, making it easier to apply multiple layers of colour.

Tip for anyone who enjoys to express their creativity outdoors

Do not use coloured pencils in high-temperature environments. In such cases, the binder, especially in wax-based pencils, tends to melt on the paper, releasing too much pigment and making it more difficult to achieve optimal results.

I hope this post has been helpful in improving how you use your materials. Now it's your turn to try and experiment as much as possible with what you have available.

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post, please leave a like, a comment, and don't forget to follow me on social media.

Laura