LIST OF MY MATERIAL AND LINKS
Finding the right supplies isn’t easy — testing everything is expensive and takes a lot of time!
How can you choose when some reviews are glowing while others completely trash the product? (In both cases, when the feedback isn’t justified, it could come from beginners who either don’t yet have the experience to spot flaws, or on the contrary, don’t know how to use the product properly.)
So, I wrote this article to help you make an easier decision.
Here, I’ve listed the supplies I personally recommend! These are truly my tools — the ones I currently use!
Brands I rarely use or that didn’t meet my expectations are not included.
Important note:
This article is translated from the original French version.
The links redirect to French online stores, so depending on your country, you may not be able to place an order directly.
But you can use the listed references to order equivalent products locally.
Some products may look different now and no longer match my photos, but they are still the same items.
CLIQUEZ SUR LA SECTION QUI VOUS INTERESSE :
SOFT PASTEL
► SOFT CRAYON PEINCIL
► SOFT PASTEL STICKS
► PASTEL PAPER
► PASTEL ACCESSORIES
PAINTING
► BRUSHES
► CANVAS
► EASEL
ACRYLIC PAINT
► ACRYLIC PAINT
► MEDIUM
► VARNISH
► PALETTE
OIL PAINTING
► OIL PAINT
► MEDIUM
► VARNISH
TRANSPORT
► LARGE PADDED BAG
PHOTOGRAHY
► CAMERA
LIGHTING
► SOFTBOX & BULBS
SOFT PASTEL
STABILO CARBOTHELLO • SOFT PASTEL PENCIL
Soft pastel pencil with a smooth and powdery lead.
DERWENT • SOFT PASTEL PENCIL
Versatile soft pastel pencil with a powdery lead.
Some shades in this range are must-haves for animal art.
FABER-CASTELL • SOFT PASTEL PENCIL
Soft pastel pencil with a rather hard lead, perfect for fine details.
CARAN D’ACHE • SOFT PASTEL PENCIL
Soft pastel pencil with a slightly creamy and smooth lead.
The skin tone shades are essential. However, I don’t recommend these pastels for beginners.
CONTÉ À PARIS • SOFT PASTEL PENCIL
Soft pastel pencil with a dry and slightly hard lead.
Not my favorites, but there are a few interesting and essential shades in the range.
KOH-I-NOOR • SOFT PASTEL PENCIL
Soft pastel pencil with a dry and slightly hard lead.
Not my favorites, but there are a few interesting shades in the range.
PASTEL PAPER
Pastel sticks are great for covering large areas, bringing out more pigment purity than pencils, or for working in a more graphic or abstract style…
MUNGYO GALLERY • SOFT PASTEL STICK
Soft pastel stick with a rich, buttery texture — slightly creamy and incredibly satisfying to use!
SCHMINCKE • SOFT PASTEL STICK
Soft pastel stick with a rich, buttery texture — slightly creamy and incredibly satisfying to use!
FABER-CASTELL • SOFT PASTEL STICK
A perfect option for beginners and small budgets!
SOFT PASTEL PAPER
En terme de support papier pour les pastel sec, les blocs sont pratiques, les feuilles sont un bon rapport produit/prix, et le contrecollé est un support rigide qui permet de travailler sur chevalet.
PASTELMAT • PASTEL PAPER
A technical paper specially designed for soft pastel techniques.
PASTEL ACCESSORIES
FIXATIF PASTEL
Used to fix pastel dust (I wrote an article explaining when to use it? and when not to!).
FABER-CASTELL • KNEADED ERASER
I’ve tried kneaded erasers that were stiff or crumbly, but this one is excellent — perfectly soft and pliable!
GLASSINE PAPER
A must-have to protect your artwork during transport, storage, or while waiting to be framed.
You can also cut it into small pieces to place under your hand while working — it helps avoid smudging your drawing.
PENCIL EXTENDER
A must-have accessory when your pencils get too short to hold comfortably.
(Note: Doesn’t fit Conté à Paris pencils, which are too wide.
CUTTING & DRAWING MAT
Essential for cutting your sheets (use the smooth side of the mat), and the side with the grid helps speed up the process of drawing grids for your sketches.
(Don’t forget to tape your paper down first!)
BRUSHES
Il existe beaucoup de formes différentes de pinceaux. Le choix va dépendre de votre sujet et de vos habitudes.
LÉONARD BRUSHES – FLAT
Brushes with a good balance of flexibility and spring. Flat base.
LÉONARD BRUSHES – ROUND
Brushes with a good balance of flexibility and spring. Round base.
LÉONARD SPALTER
Used to isolate and protect the canvas from paint and/or to smooth the surface texture.
ACRYLIC PAINTING
GESSO – CANVAS PRIMER
Used to isolate and protect the canvas from paint and/or to smooth out the texture.
I only use linen canvases. Cotton canvases age poorly and tend to loosen over time.
So if you’re creating paintings for clients or pieces that matter to you, always go for linen! 😉
LINEN CANVAS – I LOVE ART
Quality linen canvas with excellent value for money, but only available in limited sizes.
LINEN CANVAS – CLASSICO and CLASSICO 2
High-quality linen canvas. I use these when I can’t find the right format in the previous range.
Classico: canvas with visible tacks (nails) on the sides.
Classico 2: canvas without visible tacks.
TABLE EASEL
I find it much more practical to work at a table rather than with a large floor easel where you can’t fit your legs underneath.
Unlike other easels, this one can hold canvases up to 1 meter high, and if you place it at the edge of the table, the base can sit below table level — which allows you to lower the canvas and easily reach the top area.
ACRYLIC PAINTING
Fast-drying or slow-drying acrylic?
It depends on what you want to achieve, your habits, and your technique.
Both options have their pros and cons…
GOLDEN HEAVY BODY ACRYLIC PAINT
Extra-fine quality acrylic paint.
Golden Heavy Body is the “classic” version of the Golden acrylic range, with a fast drying time.
GOLDEN OPEN ACRYLIC PAINT
Extra-fine quality acrylic paint.
Golden OPEN is more fluid, easier to work with, and has a longer drying time — ideal for blending and soft transitions.
BLOCKX ACRYLIC PAINT
I tested them and instantly adopted them!
A quality somewhere between fine and extra-fine — the texture is fantastic! Dries quickly.
AMSTERDAM ACRYLIC PAINT
For large flat areas or simple backgrounds — and to save my extra-fine paint tubes — I use this more affordable “fine” quality range.
It does the job perfectly and suits most artists very well. Fast drying.
ACRYLIC PAINTING • MEDIUM
GOLDEN ACRYLIC MEDIUM
The medium is used to dilute and slightly thin acrylic paint for working in transparent layers, while still preserving enough body to maintain strong pigment binding.
ACRYLIC PAINTING • VARNISH
Varnishing a painting is essential to protect it from UV rays (which can fade the pigments), as well as from dust, friction, and other damage.
I personally prefer satin varnish, but that’s just a matter of taste:
Gloss varnish really enhances color depth, but it also reflects everything around — making it very hard to photograph.
Matte varnish avoids reflections but significantly dulls the colors.
Satin acrylic varnish is a great balance between the two!
GOLDEN LIQUID ACRYLIC VARNISH
LEFRANC BOURGEOIS SPRAY OR LIQUID VARNISH
Available in spray or liquid form, suitable for both acrylic and oil paints. UV-resistant varnish.
ACRYLIC PAINTING • PALETTE
WET PALETTE
You can keep your mixes fresh and work over several days without having to remake your colors.
OIL PAINTING
I’ve only listed one brand of oil paint, because the other two I own don’t quite satisfy me — so I chose not to mention them.
REMBRANDT OIL PAINT
Even though I haven’t tested every brand, I do own several — and Rembrandt oil paints are by far among the most enjoyable to work with.
The texture is excellent, and they offer great value for money!
OIL PAINTING • MEDIUM
There are countless additives for oil painting: mediums, oils, solvents, driers…
I’ve put together a selection of the ones I personally use.
LEFRANC BOURGEOIS MINERAL SPIRITS
Used to dilute oil paint — to thin it down like water, to revive colors from the day before that are starting to thicken on the palette, or to clean your brushes.
As for the “odorless” claim… maybe if you’ve lost your sense of smell from Covid! Otherwise, it definitely has a strong odor, so make sure to work in a well-ventilated room and use it as sparingly as possible.
LEFRANC BOURGEOIS OILS
Be sure to read the descriptions carefully to choose the one best suited to your subject and painting technique!
LEFRANC BOURGEOIS ALKYD MEDIUM
Alkyd medium also speeds up drying time, making it easier to paint over with a new layer sooner.
OIL PAINTING VARNISH
LEFRANC BOURGEOIS SPRAY OR LIQUID VARNISH
Available in spray or liquid form, suitable for both acrylic and oil paints. UV-resistant varnish.
TRANSPORT
XXL TRANSPORT BAG
Super practical!! I have two — one for each shoulder!
It’s absolutely perfect for going to exhibitions without spending hours wrapping every painted or framed pastel piece.
I can fit 4 large paintings per bag, or several smaller ones.
85 x 105 x 25 cm.
CAMERA
Creating beautiful paintings or stunning drawings but being unable to photograph them properly is such a shame!
And if you want to make high-quality videos and showcase your art to boost sales, you need reliable equipment!
It’s not top-of-the-line gear (those prices can be astronomical), but it’s already high-quality professional equipment.
SONY ALPHA 7RV 4K DIGITAL CAMERA – BODY ONLY
Having some basic photography knowledge is definitely recommended to make the most of this gem!
LENS
LIGHTING
Voici la traduction en anglais, avec le ton naturel et la typographie respectée :
Light is one of the most important elements in art and photography!
To get accurate colors in your paintings and to take photos that look as close to reality as possible, you can’t just use any kind of lighting…
Softboxes help diffuse and evenly spread the light.
The first softboxes I bought weren’t great quality and got damaged over time,
but the one I’m recommending here (assuming the quality hasn’t changed) offers great value for money and is still in perfect condition.
As for the bulbs, it took me a long time to find exactly what I needed!
That’s why, on some of my social media videos, you may notice flickering — I hadn’t yet found good replacements for the original bulbs…
Because what you need are continuous lighting bulbs (that don’t flicker when filming)!
The bulbs I’ve linked to let you adjust the color temperature (cool, neutral, or warm) and the brightness, which is super useful!
Being able to adjust the temperature is especially handy when switching from a neutral photo of your artwork to a warmer ambient setup.
SOFTBOX
It comes with 2 basic bulbs, but I recommend having a spare bulb just in case.
BULBS
Perfect for artists and photographers.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Did you find this article helpful?
Have you already used some of these paints, pastels, or other materials? What did you think?
The comment section is all yours…
Do you want to improve, feel proud of your work,
and sell your paintings more successfully?
I’m here to guide you through my online video courses!
From beginner to advanced levels?
soft pastel techniques, acrylic painting, and oil painting!
Join the circle of ambitious artists!
FOLLOW ME
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Discover my artistic world through my original paintings:
www.skyzune-art.com
Tag:acrylic, material, oil painting, painting, soft pastel
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