“You should be able to make art even with a napkin.” “There is no magic pencil.” “Use what you have.” We all heard these quotes from teachers at the nature journaling conference. However, some teachers also required specific materials and certain techniques were impossible without the right art supplies. That brings me to today’s problem…
What do I need for that class?
The main thing that could have been better at Wild Wonder this year was the supplies lists and resources for the classes could have been made available sooner. Some teacher’s lists were not available until the same day as there class. Even when the teacher’s provide lists in advance it can be challenging because they are in different locations.
Below I have tried to summarize some of the most important supplies from required class lists as well as supplies that were mention during the classes and not on any list. I’m starting with ones that seemed mentioned the most. I have also included amazon affiliate links for most of these. Buy from a local art store if you can.
Only Five Tools for the Whole Conference?!
If I could only have five art supplies for all the classes at the conference here is what I would choose. With these you would be able to benefit from 90% of the classes.
- Stillman and Birn Sketchbook Multimedia paper, wire bound to lie flat on your desk. Smooth surface for note taking, ink, watercolor. Either epsilon series or Alpha series.
- Fude Brush Pen by Tombow Good for notes, drawings, can have watercolor over it. Versatile line and easy to use.
- Pentel Waterbrush Medium This set will get you through most watercolor needs. More specialized uses might require one of the traditional brushes below.
- John Muir Laws Watercolor Palette Not cheap, but worth it. If you want a more affordable one check out this one.
- Mechanical Pencil. Several classes require planning in pencil before committing to ink. I usually try to go straight to ink in my nature journaling but many of the classes benefit from pencil.
Drawing Tools
Inktense water soluble colored pencils. If you want to do Rosalie Haizlett’s class you will want these. However, it would actually be possible to follow along with her class just using watercolor instead!
Vine Charcoal. If you are doing Maggie Hurley’s class you need this type of charcoal!
Kneaded eraser. You probably already have one of these, if not try one out. They came up in several classes and there were a few cool tips for using them too! Here is a good one with a small case. This is a very versatile tool that lasts forever and is CHEAP!
Mono Zero Very Precise Eraser! This eraser came up in several classes.
Posca Markers. It was surprising that these came up in several classes. They are a fun tool and can be used to great effect with toned paper and to write on the covers of your journals. They also work on Rite in the Rain waterproof paper. I like the metallic colors and pastel colors.
Fountain Pens!!!
Sailor Fude Demanen. This pen came up in several classes and can be very fun!! If you want to do watercolor on top you will need to get the convertor and the waterproof ink listed below. The pen is affordable and gives you a HUGE variation of lines.
Lamy Safari. The other main fountain pen that several people used and is always a classic is this one by Lamy. This is the Yellow one that Nishant Jain uses in his famous sneaky artist sketches!
Carbon Ink. Everyone that tries this ink loves to say how black it is. Luckily, it is also waterproof so you can paint watercolor over it with ease and joy.
Convertor. This little trinket allows you to put any ink you want in the Sailor Fude Demanen.
TWSBI ECO Fountain Pen I have not tried this fountain pen yet but Robin Lee Carlson recommended it and therefore I ordered one! It has a bigger capacity and easier loading system than the Fude Demanen I just hope I can get the fun line variation.
Watercolor and Goauche
Eradicator or scrubber watercolor brush this brush came up in several of the watercolor classes and there were lots of questions about it. Because of the name probably… It is used for erasing watercolor no less! Here are several sizes to look at.
Arches watercolor paper Several of the classes used techniques that definitely turn out better on fancy watercolor paper. This stuff is not cheap but can be very fun to work with. It was essential for the sky painting class, the monochromatic mountain class, and I also used it for the color theory class and the lush garden blooms class. Here is the 140lb that lots of people use. If you get the 90lb you can also run it through a printer! That is what I did for the color theory class and I printed the worksheet onto the watercolor paper! (this weight is not that common so you might need to look at stores near you.)
Hahnemuhle zigzag sketchbook This is such a cool idea! The sketchbook folds out like an accordion. Not on any of the supplies lists but mentioned by Sushma Hegde in the lush garden blooms class.
Etchr Watercolor Sketchbook Several teachers including Anastasiia mentioned this A6 sketchbook with watercolor paper. I think this is what she used on her travel sketching trip through Southeast Asia.
Dagger Brushes. Robin Lee Carlson likes them a lot so I guess that means I should try them 🙂 They allow for a lot of line variation when painting with watercolor. Plus the name sounds cool right?
Filbert Brushes. If you want to paint watercolor flowers like Sushma Hegde you are going to find it a lot easier if you get a size 2 and size 6 filbert brush. Also known as an oval or a cat’s tongue.
Yellow Ochre Watercolor One thing I learned in the sky painting class with Brooke Morales is that yellow ochre can be blended into the horizon of a blue sky to add warmth or a smoggy note without it turning a weird muddy green color! Here is a Yellow Ochre by Daniel Smith if you want to try that out.
Synthetic Pointed Round Watercolor Brushes??!! One big ah-ha moment for me was during Claire Giordano’s class about painting monochromatic mountains. She mentioned how she prefers cheaper synthetic watercolor brushes to expensive natural hair ones. “Natural brushes often get overloaded with water and pigment.” I looked down at the one fancy watercolor brush that I have ever owned and realized that it might be my problem whenever I try a more traditional style of watercolor painting. Based on her advice I recently ordered this brush and will be trying it out soon.
Art Toolkit Palettes Many instructors at the conference use Art Toolkit palettes. You can learn about them on their website here.
Miscellaneous
Polaroid Snap Instant Digital Camera! I have not tried this yet but it was mentioned in the conference and could be a way to incorporate scrapbooking techniques into your nature journaling. Learn more about those techniques in my post here.
Mono Multi Glue this is one of the main glues that I used in my scrapbooking class. Combined with some scotch tape, a pair of scissors and access to a basic printer will give you a lot of cool options for making the most of the conference. You can print out the schedule, cut it up and paste it into your journal.
