Best Watercolor & Calligraphy Supplies for Creatives

These are a Few of my Favorite Things!

As a watercolor artist and calligrapher, I get asked all the time what my favorite tools are and where I get them. Coronavirus has me home and playing catch-up, so I finally decided to list them all in one place! All of the items listed below are the tools I use every day as a #girlboss – and as a mama of two. I hope they help you find joy in creating!

Best Watercolor Tools and Supplies

Let’s start with the watercolor basics! Listed below are a few of my favorite brands and vendors, with varied prices based on the projects I work on.

For wedding stationery and watercolor pet portraits, I always use Windsor & Newton Watercolors. You can find a 24 color pack below. It’s an investment, but these tubes will last you a LONG time, even if you paint every day. I’ve also included the link to a 12 count , in case you want the same quality but prefer to start small!

You may already have pencils and erasers at home, but I can promise you these below are worth the investment!! You’ll want a special eraser to get rid of lines on top of watercolor, as a typical pencil eraser can damage your painting.

If you’re not as invested in the high-quality paint and are looking more to dabble in watercolor as a hobby, I recommend Artist’s Loft. I use these tube and palette paint colors for projects with my kids or for projects in my home, and most people can’t tell the difference in quality!

If you do use tube paint, you’ll want a good palette for mixing and storing colors.

And of course, paint brushes! I recommend round brush sizes 1 and 2 for detail work or watercolor calligraphy, and a round 8 for larger brush strokes. I also included a multi-pack we use with the kids, if you’re looking for a lower-cost alternative!

Best Watercolor Paper

Next up, paper! I recommend a cold-press heavy-weight paper (Strathmore is my personal fave!) for anything you really want to have last. I rarely paint on a watercolor block since most of my work is digitized after I paint, but Arches watercolor blocks are great for landscape or portrait work. For practice and doodling or painting with my kids, I use Canson XL Series.

My favorite papers to use for things like hand-lettered vows and framable prints are Neenah Card Stock and Translucent Vellum.

I often cut paper to-size at home, so I need a good paper cutter. This one from Swingline has lasted me years and is still in great shape!

Best Calligraphy Tools

I also get questions on what calligraphy tools I use – and I’m a brush pen gal! I am a huge fan of Tombow brush pens, though I almost exclusively use the thin tips due to the nature of my work. Tombow makes a soft and hard tip combo, as well as a color pack of their Fudenosuke pens – and I’m here for all of it!! Though I rarely get to use mine, I definitely recommend Tombow’s dual brush pens for everyday lettering and practice – the possibilities are endless 🙂

Best Gadgets for your Creative Biz

Alright, time for the heavy hitters! The following items are definitely for those who are serious about investing in their artwork, and I can honestly say each of these items truly take my biz to the NEXT LEVEL y’all. These are my bread and butter, couldn’t-do-it-without-ya necessities.

Just a quick note – if you do invest in an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil (and I can’t stress enough how worth it these are!), be sure to download the Procreate App. It’s a game changer!

My favorite printers and scanner can be found below. These are essential in being able to digitize my artwork and produce beautiful prints and envelopes. I use my InkJet printer for different projects than my LaserJet, which is why I have both. If you’re just starting out, I recommend the InkJet!

And there you have it! I hope you found this product list helpful, no matter what phase of creativity you’re in! Just keep making 🙂