Building a field sketching kit requires a lot of trial of error and will be an ongoing process as you continue to develop and mature as an artist. It’s important to constantly experiment with art materials so you can discover what’s possible with different combinations of pencils, pens and papers. This is exactly the same as experimenting in the kitchen with new or familiar ingredients when you’re cooking up a meal.
In reality, there’s no perfect sketchbook or magic pencil that will work best in every situation. Unlike being in an art studio where everything from the lighting to the room temperature can be controlled, you’re a spectator when you’re sketching outdoors and have to continually adapt to your ever changing surroundings.
Below are the current art materials that I bring with me when I go outdoors to sketch.
Sketchbooks
1. Robert Bateman “Goatbook” – This 5 x7 inch sketchbook is my go-to when I need to travel light. To keep things to a minimum, I’ll pair it with a black fineliner pen and work within the limitations of this setup.
2. Winsor & Newton Mixed Media Pad – The thick, lightly textured paper in this book can easily handle wet paint and ink. I’ll bring this with me when I know I’ll have more time to work on location. I prefer coiled books like this when I’m outdoors because the paper folds over and remains flat. That’s especially helpful if I’m standing to sketch and have to support the book on my forearm.
3. Denik Mixed Media Sketchbook – My local Dollarama got a small delivery of Denik Sketchbooks and my first thought was: “This feels like the expensive Moleskine and Leuchtturm sketchbooks I’ve used in the past.” For just $5 bucks, it was a no brainer to grab 4 of these sketchbooks on the spot. The mixed media paper can handle moderate watercolour washes without any unsightly buckling and the paper’s thickness prevents images showing through from the other side.
Pens
I do the majority of sketching with fineliner pens. I like to lay down my initial rough lines using either a sanguine or sepia colour pen and then finish it up with black ink.
Microns are synonymous with this type of pen and they contain pigmented ink that’s both fade-proof and waterproof. There are many brands besides Micron, and I tend to gravitate towards Faber-Castell, although I do try other pens like these from Winsor and Newton.
A recent addition has been a white gel pen for adding spots, textures and highlights. It’s also handy for altering line work.
Japanese Brush Pens
Brush pens come into their own when dealing with moving subjects like birds. That ability to get expressive thick and thin lines in a single sweeping stroke is just not possible with a fineliner. Even with static subjects I’ll often work brush pens in tandem with fineliners.
For the past several months I’ve been sketching with the fine tipped Pigma brush pen made by Sakura. It’s impressive and may be the best brush pen available, but I want to sketch with it some more before crowning it the champ. I’ve tried several other brush pens that started off strong, but the tips quickly wore down and left me disappointed.
The Tombow brush pen has been my regular brush pen for sketching, but the Pigma has pushed it to the sidelines. It’s good as a backup sketching pen and for taking notes.
Pencils
During the winter months when the ink inside a pen is quick to freeze, I switch to pencil and ink it afterwards at home. I have many pencils, but favour these Tombows because they’re slightly thicker than a regular pencil and that makes them easier to hold with gloves on.
These are the Mono R range from Tombow. The graphite is a not as silky smooth as their Professional Mono 100 pencils, but the tips don’t wear down as quick, so that’s a plus.
Watercolour Paint
I use watercolour paint when adding colour to my sketches. These splashes of paint are meant to help me remember local colours under various lighting conditions. I find mixing up paint far quicker and more accurate than using colour pencils.
When it comes to convenience, portable water brushes are unbeatable. I’ve been using this Yatsutomo brush since the start of the year and it’s superb. This is a newer generation of water brush which has a button you press to release water into the brush head. I like this better than the older style of brush which was always soaking wet.
Besides the basics I just mentioned, I’ll also pack a hat, bug repellent, snacks and a small folding stool. Keeping things to a minimum means less distractions and it also keeps you light on your feet.
Enjoy sketching in the field!
Alan