I love old paperbacks, especially their great hand-lettered titles. I grabbed a few from my shelf to show you what I mean:
Not many books feature hand-lettering, but there are still a number of people who keep the tradition alive. Ivan Castro, a graphic designer in Barcelona, Spain, is one such craftsman. He teaches lettering in design schools, and his book, The ABC of Custom Lettering is a beautiful and practical guide for the aspiring letterer.
Here are some sample spreads:
The iconic Rotring 600 is on sale on Amazon today for . Unlike the 500 (which I also like) the 600 has an all-metal body, which a lot of people prefer. At current prices on Amazon the 600 is cheaper than the 500. Read the rest
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens come in a 2-pack for on Amazon. They look like pens, but instead of a nib they have a brush, which allows you to draw lines of varying widths. They’re a lot of fun to use. Read the rest
I don't have this particular LED tracing light box, but it's super cheap on Amazon when you use code HC37AVDP. (If you don't know what a light box is, you probably don't need one.) Read the rest
Seed's latest eraser is the Clear Radar, and the result of five years of work.
【今、読まれています】消しゴムは透明の時代 老舗が５年かけ開発 文字が見えて消せる「クリアレーダー」https://t.co/uU3jhnBV6c#神戸新聞 #兵庫県 #消しゴム #クリアレーダー pic.twitter.com/tcI287Evt2
— 神戸新聞 (@kobeshinbun) November 25, 2019
(Via Mulboyne.) Read the rest
I got this set of 7 fountain pens last year for my daughter, who is studying art in college. She's been incorporating them into her work. The pens have a stainless steel nib and come in seven different ink colors. I just ordered set for myself. Read the rest
My daughters have been using Sakura pens and I ended up getting a set for myself. I just bought the 8-piece set on Amazon that includes a brush pen (so you can vary the line width) and a graphic pen (for thick lines). The ink is very black and doesn't smear when you erase pencil lines below it. And at $10 for the set, it's a good deal. Read the rest
We got the Ohuhu 48-color colored pencil set ($(removed) on Amazon) so we could review the coloring books Carla gets for Wink. They are a lot better than I expected, especially for the price. The pigments are rich, and shading and blending effects are easy to achieve. They don't look waxy on paper, like cheaper pencils.
As for a sharpener, nothing beats the classic Brass Bullet. Read the rest
On Saturday, my 13-year-old daughter and I spent a couple of hours sketching, which is one of our favorite activities. I was copying out of a book called Rendering in Pen and Ink, and Jane let me borrow her Micron pens. I loved using these pens. The ink is very dark and was perfect for practicing cross-hatching and the other techniques described in the book. They are inexpensive, too. A set of six Micron Pens, with line widths ranging from 0.20mm to 0.50mm, costs less than $(removed) on Amazon. I just bought a set for myself.
My kids and I like to sketch together on the weekends. My older daughter and I also frequently go to a weekly figure drawing session here in LA. For me, using charcoal sticks is more fun than pencils or pens, because it's faster and I can work on shading.
The Royal & Langnickel Small Tin Charcoal Drawing Art Set ($(removed) on Amazon) has a good selection of different kinds of charcoal for drawing. My daughters are starting to like charcoal, too, so I bought sets for them. If you enjoy charcoal drawing, you should also get a white stick for highlights.
Here are a couple of my sketches:
Living in a place where my daughter frequently has to find creative ways to entertain herself provides me with endless entertainment. Luckily, if I keep her well stocked with art supplies, I get a constant flow of awesome, cute constructions, paintings, drawings and sculpture. Modeling clay is always a win!
Hannah made this tiny sculpture of herself, a penguin and she tells me that sheep looking thing is Nemo. I think she went seriously abstract on the dog. Also, please note the tons of pet hair on everything in our home.
I hope my daughter enjoys it as much as I do.
ALEX Toys Artist Studio 24-Piece Rainbow Modeling Clay Set via Amazon Read the rest
