Art Supplies for Kids
Basic Art Supplies for Creative Kids
As an art teacher, I am asked what to include in an art kit for school-age children. Which markers, colored pencils, and paints do you need? What about paper and brushes and something to carry them all in?
This lens will give you some ideas for quality art supplies for your children and some ideas for how to organize them once you have them in your hands.
Start with the basics and then add some of the fun stuff as you can afford them! Quality art supplies are always a great investment and give great results.
Basic Drawing Supplies - See the Amazon links below for more details.
Here are the basic items to include to get your child started.
- Drawing pencils
- Kneaded erasers
- Sketchpad
- Tortillion
- Watercolor colored pencils
Why Buy Quality Art Supplies?
I like to buy higher quality supplies so they last all year and the results tend to be better. The initial investment is well worth the extra dollars. Training the children to respect the art supplies is part of the process of learning how to draw.
Storing your art supplies properly and keeping the accessible are both important aspects of getting the most our of your quality art supplies.
In our family I usually have a small art supply budget that I will divide between buying something new to try with the children as well as restock our favorites. Year by year our art supply closet has been stocked with a wide variety of art supplies that we love and know how to use well.
Creative Space
Creating a Space for Creativity - Tips for Organizing Your Art Supplies
- Creative Spaces for Older Children
Lots of ideas and images to help you get started. - Creative Atmosphere in Your Home
Tips and links for creative ideas to try in your home.
How to Use a Tortillon (Blending tool)
Question from a reader answered.
Tortillons are made of paper and they are used to blend pencil, charcoal, or pastels for shading and shadows. You use them like you would use your finger to blend as you draw. After you put down your pencil, use the tortillon to smudge the graphite to blend and shade.
Al alternative to using a tortillon is to use a kneaded eraser or your finger. The paper tortillon is just another choice that artists can have on hand and children love to play around with them. They are so inexpensive that you can have several on hand at all times.
Quality Markers From Prismacolor - Artist Quality - Double-Ended for More Options
These are our special art markers that we use for art projects. If you train your children to use them properly, they will last a long time.
Two different tips on each marker stretch the variety of lines and shades you get with these quality markers. This means you get twice as many options for your money well spent. Be careful though, these will bleed through your paper so don't attempt to draw on both sides of a sheet.
This set will give you great results right from the start.
Markers Can Be Used With All Ages - Art Copywork for Edward Hopper with Markers
My sons enjoy recreating great artwork with markers. In fact, they enjoy using Crayola Brand markers for most of their projects. The artwork above was done with Crayola Silly Scents linked above. Read more about art copywork on my blog Harmony Art Mom.
Playing With Color
Colored Pencil Tutorial - Here is one of my video tutorials.
Fun Stuff Beyond the Basics
These are a great starter set for young hands. I highly recommend them for working in color. They are perfect for working in Dover Coloring Books inside the small lines of the more complex coloring pages.
Watercolor Colored Pencil Tutorial - My Prismacolor Tutorial on YouTube.com
Painting Supplies - Just a few Ideas
Look for all these sorts of products at your local art supply store. Try Hobby Lobby or Michael's or Joanns for the best prices. I always use a coupon!
These particular paints in the set are our favorite to take on the trail for our nature journals. They have lots of color and are easy to use.
Keep Your Supplies Handy!
Watercolor Crayon Demonstration - My Own Watercolor Crayon Tutorial on YouTube.com
A short demonstration showing how to use watercolor crayons.
Oil Pastel Demonstration - My Oil Pastel Tutorial on YouTube.com
Short demonstration showing beginners how to use oil pastels.
Oil Pastels for Young Hands
This set will give you lots of color choices for art projects with your children. These are a little messy but the blending ability of the oil pastels makes them a great choice for beginners.
Oil Pastels or Cray Pas - Artist Reproduction with Oil Pastels
Degas is the perfect artist to recreate with oil pastels. You can see how they do a great job of blending and covering. Give these a try with your next art project.
How To Sharpen Prismacolor Colored Pencils - Short Information Video from DickBlick.com
You can find the featured sharpener on Amazon.com.
Related
I love to hear your comments!
This is a very informative lens and very helpful for kids. Thanks for sharing. Take Care :)
Thank you for all of the great ideas! I personally love Prismacolor pencils and kneaded erasers, but will have to try some of these others too!
Great information on art supplies for kids. I've added this as a related lens on my lens regarding art easels since it has a lot of added value for my visitors.
love this web page now because it give me lots of ideas of art by your fan Ally
I wish more kids were into art these days rather than Xboxes and Nintendo Wii's. How can they develop a creative outlet from video games?
Wonderful....,Awesome products.!
Wonderful post! I really enjoyed it. A lot of useful information and very inspiring. Squid-Liked!
This is a really great lens with tons of information. How about some SquidAngel dust as I leave. Have a great year.
good article
Great lens!
Awesome products. I love art. Nice lens.
I saw this lens on Squidoo's front page and was attracted to it because, like your son, I think kids' art supplies are wonderful source of creative fun, even if you're not a kid. It's great that you've featured such easy to find and economical choices. Congratulations on the front page feature for a terrific lens!
Great list, art is a great way for kids to explore and learn =)
Great resources here. My son has just started to enjoy drawing so I am always looking for more supplies.
My kids love to draw -- nice collection of art supplies!
You have a great resource here. My 5 year old loves art. *~blessed~*
See the color of 7 colour, the person's mood is changing for the better.
I love having all sorts of art mediums and materials at home. I bought a very nice set of pastels once, but never got to use them. When an artist friend's house burned down I knew why I'd bought them. For her to begin her collection again. I'd still like to learn to use pastels.
Thank you for your hard work that you put into this lens. Great information on art. Nice job.
Nice lens
Great ideas for art for kids!!!! (and grownups, too)... :) Blessed!
Great ideas for art for kids!!!! (and grownups, too)... :) Blessed!
Great lens, thanks for the info!
My daughter is very artistic as well. Thank you for sharing such a great lens. =)
My daughter is always finding something creative to do.
My kids would go nuts for a collection like this.
Thanks for sharing.
I have a niece who really likes collecting pencils and she likes to draw too.
Beautifully done. I keep a lot of art and craft supplies around for my girls. New Year's Blessings
Depriving kids of the arts is a terrible, terrible thing. Great lens to help people get kids involved!
Exquisite! Really love it! Thanks!
Came back today to leave you a blessing on this very nicely done art supplies page!
Great lens with a great subject and information, well done ~a d-artist Squid Blessing~
My kids love their art supplies. They have so many and it is so much fun to watch them being creative and bringing out their artistic talents. They are not quite as good as you yet though lol.
Exploring art is important for children. They need to explore that aspect of their nature.
nicely done. ~blessed~
Very cool lens, I also homeschool & really value good: like this lens! My own kids prefer creating digital art the moment so I've let them open a store on zazzle just like mommy..:) which is great as it's proving to be a truly productive project for them.
Very cool lens, I also homeschool & really value good: like this lens! My own kids prefer creating digital art the moment so I've let them open a store on zazzle just like mommy..:) which is great as it's proving to be a truly productive project for them.
What an awesome lens so much great information...
So I've got it all planned out. Your boys can come here for some outdoor fun, and then we'll come there for some art! ;-)
I always enjoy your art lenses so much! Love the youtube demonstrations!!
I love your lens! You found some great supplies!
You're right about quality supplies making a difference .. they can help motivate one to get even better!
Love the clear totes and rolling cart for organizing the supplies...clever idea!
Good lens here. It really is amazing how often good supplies in young hands can improve results dramatically. Thank you for the information.
This is a wonderful lens! Thank you so much for creating it. I particularly appreciated how you expressed the importance of getting quality supplies for children. To instill the joy of creating art requires proper tools...cheap products just end up in unhappy and frustrating results.
Wow! Thanks! I love to draw!
Thank you so much for this great list. I really appreciate it!
FIMBY
47