What supplies might we need or want?

We will be focussing on ink and watercolour techniques in this class, but my style of sketching is loose and approachable - requiring only a small selection of supplies.

As such, the required and suggested supplies are quite minimal and very flexible.

Minimum Suggested Supplies

There is a basic list of supplies that I think is flexible and more than sufficient to create your ink and watercolour landscapes. This I call the ‘minimum suggested supplies’. You can also check the supplies tab on SketchLoose.co.uk/supplies - here I keep it up to date with what I’m using at the moment.

• Surface

  • Student grade watercolour paper, 300gsm (140lbs) in weight, A4 (UK) or Letter (USA) in size. I prefer cold pressed paper. This paper might be in loose sheets, or in a sketchbook

• Drafting implement

  • Any pencil, any eraser

• Sketching implement

  • A waterproof fineliner, or a sketching fountain pen (a cheap option is a 'Platinum Preppy')

  • Look for the words 'permanent' or 'waterproof' on the fineliner

• Waterproof Ink (if using a fountain pen) - such as platinum carbon X ink

  • Important note here - not all waterproof inks are fountain pen safe

• Watercolour paints

  • A student grade starter set is an affordable option and plenty to get started

• Watercolour brush

  • As a minimum, I would suggest student grade size 6 and 12 round brushes. These sizes are approximate and just a guideline

Recommended Supplies

For those of you more confident in your artistic direction, there is a slightly ‘enhanced list’ of recommended supplies. These are not necessary, but you may begin to appreciate there is a quality difference as you progress your techniques and style.

• Surface 

  • Professional grade watercolour paper, cold pressed, 300-450gsm (140-200lbs), A4/Letter in size, 100% cotton

  • My preference is for sketching on gummed 'blocks' of watercolour paper

• Drafting implement

  • 0.5mm mechanical pencil, such as a Rotring Tikki, and a putty eraser

  • I actually very rarely use a pencil, but that doesn’t mean you can’t

• Sketching implement 

  • My favourite sensibly priced option are the TWSBI pens (ECO or diamond 580, with an extra fine nib)

• Waterproof Ink (if using a fountain pen)

  • Platinum Carbon X Ink is still my favourite

  • Important note here - not all waterproof inks are fountain pen safe

• Watercolour paints

  • I enjoy having 10-14 colours, mine are presently exclusively from Daniel Smith simply because I trust and understand them

  • In the course is a link to a YouTube video that explains how I chose my current palette

• Watercolour brush

  • Flat brushes, large Chinese brushes, and mop brushes can add some flexibility to your painting processes

Then, in this course, we have some mixed media! This is very light touch, and you can consider the mixed media to be ‘enhancing’ the watercolours. In any video where I use ‘mixed media’ I will also explain to you what it adds, and how to get the same effect with watercolour paints. The mixed media I will be using includes:

• POSCA pens - or other fine tipped (0.7mm) acrylic paint markers

• Alcohol Ink Markers - such as Windsor Newton Promarkers

• India Ink Markers - such as Faber Castell Pitt Artists Pens

Things I’m not using but are worth experimenting with include:

• Gouache or even watered down acrylic

• Watercolour pencils

• Inktense pigments

• Graphite and water soluble graphite