Supply
recommendations
Curious about what art supplies and tools I use? Check out my list below! These are all items that I personally use and recommend. I hope you find this helpful!
​
* This page contains some affiliate links, which means if you purchase an item, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
PAINT
WATERCOLOR | Professional
​
Professional sets are more expensive than student-grade, but it has better pigmentation and help you achieve better results. The paint is smooth, beautiful, and vibrant - better than some cheaper brands. I personally use professional paints all the time and recommend my students to buy at least a few colors to experience the difference.
​
​
BeCreative Shop (Dutch):
Winsor & Newton (set of 12 half pans)
(Use the code 'Juliahenze' to get 5% discount at checkout!)
WATERCOLOR | Student Grade
​If you're just start out, I would suggest using the cheaper student-grade paint for experimenting or practice and professional-grade for more serious work. There is a lot of difference in quality of student-grade watercolors. Winsor & Newton's Cotman series one of the best on the market. I use them myself for practicing.
​
Cotman Landscape Set (8 colors)
​
BeCreative Shop (Dutch):
Cotman Landscape Set (8 colors)
(Use the code 'Juliahenze' to get 5% discount at checkout!)
WATERCOLOR | Travel Sets:
As an urban sketcher, my go-to for drawing on location is a compact watercolor set with 12 half pans—a perfect travel companion. It's convenient and ensures vibrant results. For unexpected creative moments, I always have Viviva watercolor sheets in my purse. Whether waiting for a train or a meal, you never get bored and can practice every moment of the day. Viviva watercolors are very vivid and super fun for adding color to your quick sketches.
​
​
BeCreative Shop (Dutch):
(Use the code 'Juliahenze' to get 5% discount at checkout!)
GOUACHE
​
I'm a huge fan of gouache. Gouache has vibrant colors, is very forgiving (so, perfect for beginning sketchers) and is very suitable for drawing at home but also on location. Just put it on your palette and your can use it on the go. On my blog, you can find my several posts on gouache - my favorite colors and how to use and to store gouache. I prefer Winsor & Newton Gouache because it's great quality, beautiful colors and affordable price.
Winsor & Newton Designer's Gouache
​
BeCreative Shop (Dutch):
Winsor & Newton Designer's Gouache
(Use the code 'Juliahenze' to get 5% discount at checkout!)
METALLIC WATERCOLOR
​
Guess what? I use special paint that makes my drawings super shiny and cool! It's called Coliro, and it's like magic in little round pans. There are six awesome colors! Just dip your brush, paint, and watch the magic happen.
​
​
PALETTE
​
Mijello Palette is my favorite. This palette was originally intended for watercolors, but I also use it for gouache. I actually have two: one for watercolors and one for gouache. That's why you see it in all of my Instagram photos.
I love it because it has a large mixing area, has 18 wells for paints, and the lid has a rubber ring which makes it airtight.
Mijello Airtight Watercolor Palette
​
​
​
BRUSHES
TRAVEL BRUSHES
​
For art on the go, I prefer travel brushes to the regular brushes. They are convenient, sturdy and tough to damage. My absolute favorites? Escoda brushes. They are beautiful and of a great quality, making them a reliable choice for artistic adventures.
​
WATER BRUSH PEN
​
I'm not a huge fan of watercolor brushes but they are very convenient for adding some color to your on-the-go-sketches. The one I like and always have in my small purse to use in combination with my Viviva Watercolor Sheets is Faber-Castell water brush pen.
ROUND WATERCOLOR BRUSHES
​
I use 3-4 brushes for most of my watercolor artworks and tutorials. All the brushes I use are synthetic brushes. The largest and the mid-size for painting larger areas are usually a squirrel imitation because these brushes hold a lot of water and paint, the smallest size is a stiffer brush for painting details.
This thoughtful selection ensures versatility and precision.
​
Round Watercolor Brushes:
​
Round Travel Watercolor Brushes:
Escoda Ultimo (Travel 3 brush set)
FLAT GOUACHE BRUSHES
​
When it comes to gouache, my top choice is flat acrylic brushes for larger areas and a small round synthetic brushes for more detailed work. Why? Because they offer unparalleled control. Unlike natural bristles, synthetics are sturdier and less flexible, providing a predictable stroke—ideal for beginners.
​
W&N Flat Acrylic Brush (One Stroke)
PAPER
WATERCOLOR PAPER
Watercolor paper is the most important ingredient for your watercolor sketches and paintings. I personally use cellulose paper for practicing and 100% cotton paper for all my serious work. If you're a beginner, you can start with cellulose paper, but once you tried cotton paper, you will immediately fall in love with and never want anything esle. In my blog post "Hot or Cold Watercolor Paper: Is there really much difference?" you can find all you need to know about it.
​
100% cotton watercolor paper:
Arches (Cold Press, 12 Sheets)
Arches (Cold Press, 20 Sheets)
Baohong (Cold Press, 20 Sheets)
​
Cellulose watercolor paper:
W&N Classic Watercolor Paper Pad
​
SKETCHING PAPER
​
Sketching always comes in handy for practicing and sketching with dry materials like (colored) pencils, ink, markers and fineliners. I prefer thick and smooth paper because it's more versatile and gives me more freedom with mixing different types of materials.
​
MARKER PAPER
​
There are a lot of different options for marker paper on the market but they are not all good. My favorite marker paper is Canson The Wall. I can guarantee that this is the best double-sided marker paper on the market. It's smooth, white and good for blending. I use it for pretty much all my marker sketches. For practicing, I use Winsor & Newton's Bleedproof Paper which is not double-sided but good for blending and making illustrations.
​
SKETCHBOOKS
​
Everyone loves sketchbooks and there are plenty of them on the market. However, over the years I discovered that I don't finish a sketchbook if I don't like the paper. So, I have a lot of unfunished sketchbooks in my drawer but I also have a few favorites. The all filled with100% cotton paper.
​
Etchr Watercolor Sketchbook (A5)
​
Etchr Signature Series 2021 (B5)
(Dutch Webshop)
PENS
FINELINERS
​
I use Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment fineliners in different sizes. It has a great dark color and a good ink supply. The pack has a range of tip sizes, so you can mix up the line weights as you’re sketching. My second favorite is Winsor & Newton Fineliners, especially grey tone.
​
Faber-Castell Fineliners (Set of 4)
​
W&N Fineliner (Set of 5, Black)
W&N Fineliners (Set of 3, Grey)
​
BRUSH PENS:
I use brush pens for lettering but also to add thicker lines, contrast and shadows to my sketches. There are available in different sizes and have different grade of flexibility, suitable for a variety of line work. ​Both, Kuretake Bimoji and Tombow Fudenosuke are of an excellent Japanese quality.
​
Kuretake Bimoji Fude Pen - Extra Fine Kuretake Bimoji Brush Pens (Set)
FOUNTAIN PENS:
Fountain pens are an amazing tool for adding elegance and variety to your lines. The Ellington Pens that I have in my sketching arsenal are absolutely great, they are beautiful, provide good continuous lines, and are very affordable. They come with non-waterproof ink, but there is a converter inside that allows you to put in any ink you want (waterproof, colored, etc.) which can make your drawing experience really special. They have different nibs. The fine nib is the best option for a beginning artist.
​
Ellington Fountain Pens (different colors)
​
Carbon Ink Bottle (waterproof)
​
MARKERS
COPIC MARKERS
​
The Mercedes of the alcohol-based markers. Beautiful colors, amazing range of 358 colors that makes it easy to color and blend. Refillable that makes them cheaper in the log run. Copic Sketch Markers (brush + chisel nib) are markers I use most in my sketches and have refills for all my favorite colors.
​
WINSOR & NEWTON PROMARKERS
​
These markers have also a good range of beautiful colors. This is my second choice especially because it's a bit more difficult to find nice combinations for blending. This is why I made a Color Combinations Chart for Promarkers. With this chart it will be easier for you to choose colors for you set and create beautiful blending.
​
Promarker Architectural Set (24)
BeCreative Shop (Dutch):
Promarkers (different options)
(Use the code 'Juliahenze' to get 5% discount at checkout!)
OHUHU MARKERS
​
These markers are great for beginners. If you don't know if markers are something for you, it's a good way to start. You will have a lot of fun playing with colors and trying out different combinations.
​
BeCreative Shop (Dutch):
Ohuhu Markers (different options)
(Use the code 'Juliahenze' to get 5% discount at checkout!)
​
WHITE ACRYLIC MARKERS
​
They can help you to add accents and highlight to your sketches as well repairing your mistakes. However it's not always easy to find the good white markers. Posca Uni and Edding acrylic markers are my favorites. They both have a very good ink flow and have long lifetime.
​
Posca Uni White Acrylic Marker
​
BeCreative Shop (Dutch):
Posca Uni White Acrylic Marker
(Use the code 'Juliahenze' to get 5% discount at checkout!
COLORED PENCILS
NEOCOLOR II PASTELS
​
These water-soluble pastels are both, very fun to use and great for adding textures and beautiful colors to your sketches.
​
​
BeCreative Shop (Dutch):
(Use the code 'Juliahenze' to get 5% discount at checkout!)
COLORED PENCILS (BEST QUALITY)
​
Caran d' Ache Luminance and Derwent Lightfast are my favorite colored pencils. They are soft and have an amazing color palette. These are absolute the best colored pencils for adding textures and beautiful colors to your sketches.
​
Caran D'ache Luminance (Set of 20)
Caran D'ache Luminance (Set of 40)
Derwent Lightfast (Different Sets)
​
COLORED PENCILS (GOOD QUALITY):
​
Faber-Castell is my other favorite when it comes to harder pencils. Harder pencils are less suitable for adding textures but are perfect for more detailed sketches and sharper lines. These pencils have beautiful colors and very nice hard core.
​
​
BeCreative Shop (Dutch):
Polychromos (Different Options)
(Use the code 'Juliahenze' to get 5% discount at checkout!
GRAPHITE PENCILS
PENCILS & KNEEDED ERASER
​
I recommend using a soft B2 graphite pencil. It's easier to work with and to erase it. Kneaded eraser is something that you may not miss in your drawing kit. Perfect for watercolor paper to prevent the paper from demage but also very convenient for all the other kind of paper when you only want to lighten up the pencil without erasing it completely. Need a regular eraser? Faber-Castell Dust-Free is my favorite.
​
MECHANICAL PENCILS:
Mechanical pencils are excellent tools for sketching, offering precision and consistency in line thickness. They're especially useful for detailed work and technical drawings where a consistent line thickness is desired. I love using them for smaller sketches or to add fine detail to my drawings. And with refillable leads, they can be more cost-effective and environmentally friendly in the long run than traditional wooden pencils. My favorite is the beautifully designed Ellington Mechanical Pencil, which is quite heavy and very comfortable to use.
​
​
OTHER STUFF
WATER CUP:
When I’m painting on the go, I like to use this collapsable water cup. It's compact for in my bag and makes clean-up very simple. Also, the curved edges make it easy to rest my brushes on the rim when I’m painting.
​