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Wanna find out which drawing pencils, pens & erasers I won't leave home without?! Today, I'm dumping out my travel art supplies bag to show you EXACTLY what I brought on our last trip so I could play in my new toned paper travel sketchbook! If you've got a trip coming up and can't decide how to narrow down your drawing supplies - today's video is FOR YOU!!
Before we continue, super quick announcement: Some of the product links below are Affiliate. I may earn a small commission if you choose to order through these links but by law there is never any additional cost to the consumer for doing so. I thank you for your support! 
So many times in the past when I've brought a travel art bag on vacation, I didn't even use half of the art supplies I brought with me! I kinda got sick of dragging around a ton of stuff, so started challenging myself to bring less.
Sometimes I'll limit myself to paper and a pencil if I wanna go super minimalist - but most of the time, I'll bring a pouch with me and fill it with an assortment of drawing pencils, erasers and gel pens like I'm going to show you today. On my most recent trip I decided to only bring dry media drawing supplies, which means my black stabilo all pencil and my waterbrush had to stay at home! Simply deciding something like "only dry media supplies" is a super easy way to narrow things down when you're trying to bring less. Click over to the video to see each supply and why I've chosen to include it! Here are my top ten favorite travel art supplies for drawing - in no particular order!! I've really been in love with my clicky pens from Pentel lately. I use the .07 nibs for writing and the 1.0 nib for drawing. I LOVE a juicy gel pen for drawing - it's like ice skating on my paper! 
Next, I've gotta have white drawing supplies for adding highlights to anything and everything I create, so there is always a little collection of white posca pens (I'm always afraid one might not work, so I bring at least two!). I also throw a few black posca pens in my bag for outlining!
If I'm bringing toned paper (which I did on this trip!), I'll bring my china markers as well (the white, wax pencil at the bottom in the above picture). They're super opaque and fun to use. If you've never used china markers or worked with toned paper before - I've got a whole series JUST for you!
Normally I'd also bring my black china marker, but was in a hurry and couldn't find it before I left, so grabbed my jumbo jet black pencil (shown above). I buy these at Jerry's Artarama. They also go on really opaque and have a similar feel to a china marker. It's oil impregnated charcoal!
Next, I need my drafting pencils - also from Pentel. These have some weight to them and feel heavy in my hand- which I love. I use the .09 for really bold lines. This one is great for when I'm teaching online because people can see the lines from it really well. I use the .07 and .05 for more detail. They also make a .03- but I find that I don't use that one as much.
When I want to do some shading- I really love my Palamino Blackwing Pencils. I feel like you can do everything with one of these suckers! They're so soft. It's like having an entire pencil set wrapped up in one pencil!! 
Honestly, if I only had a blackwing pencil, a blending stump (below) and one of my white posca pens, I'd be a happy camper (if we're talking bare minimum supplies). Remember with blending stumps - the dirtier, the better!
Next - let's talk drawing erasers. I have two favorites. I use my vanish eraser absolutely ALL the time. It's super gentle on your paper and very effective at lifting graphite off the page.
My next favorite eraser for drawing is by Tombow. It's called the mono zero eraser. It's basically like a mechanical pencil, but an ERASER! It's amazing to chisel out teeny tiny highlights!
I've been loving my Uni-Ball Signo gel pens for quite a while! Sometimes I'll draw with these alone, but typically I'll use them for adding fun outlines and doodles at the end of a drawing. They also work amazing well on top of watercolor!!
Depending on the kind of line weight I want to use in my drawing for outlining at the end - I may also choose to use a thicker, black posca pen as well.
Finally - I WON'T leave home without my beloved pentel pocket brush!
This thing makes the most AMAZING eyelashes and I use it for both drawing and mixed media portraits! If you've never worked with this before- it really has the feel of a paintbrush and can take a little getting used to. Here's a video to help you use the pentel pocket brush for drawing eyelashes in drawings (featured at the end of that video), and one for using the pentel pocket brush in mixed media drawings!
I recently discovered a similar product with an even teenier brush nib at Michael's, so that was in my travel art supplies bag this trip as well!
That's it! I hope you find today's video helpful!! I know it can be such a challenge narrowing down you art supplies when you're traveling - but this list should really help you out!
❤️MY ARTIST BESTIE, LUCY BRYDON & I created a NEW ART MEMBERSHIP together called The Celtic Collective! It's now open for enrollment! Join us before the price increases on August 7.
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Time is flying by! My kids go back to school on Monday (virtually), my 16 year old is 2 weeks away from getting his driver's license (shriek!) and I've just finished up work on Vol 2 of Learn to Draw Art Deco Style. It's a BIG week! Here's a peek at some of the projects inside Vol 2!! I've had many many requests to include more animals so there's lots of furry friends including this next book! Here's a peak at 2! (oooooh make sure you have images enabled on your email so you can see how cute they are!)  And here's one of a super sleek car. Why why WHY are cars not made like this anymore?! I don't even LIKE cars, but cars this sexy are too good to pass up!  But as much fun as the furry friends and cars, I really enjoyed drawing the house furnishings!!! And cocktails!! And handsome mens, oooooh MAN there are sooo many things in this new upcoming book!!! But BACK to mixed media, as this is why I'm writing today! If you're anything like me, you have WAY more art supplies than you actually use. Or need. Or both. Wouldn't it be awesome to know the EXACT bare minimum of supplies to use to make the MOST awesome projects? Well that's what's covered in today's video! It's a list of the most important supplies. I hope this video helps you sort out what you have and also helps determine all that you DON'T need to use OR to buy!! Especially in light of the world's uncertainties. I also hope that it sheds light on how much you can do with so little!! You'd be surprised! I'm also answering a lot of questions I get about managing smear control from highly reactive products like the Stabilo, best surface prep options, sealers, paint markers and MORE!! This really is an info PACKED video so if you have questions about Mixed Media supplies I highly recommend a watch! Click the play button below to be on your way! Does your art room or corner sometimes lay untouched because it's just a pile of a big fat messy disaster??? I know the feeling!! I work in so many mediums, teach so many different lessons, and am working on so many different projects and books that it is WAY too easy for my studio to become a hot, insurmountable MESS. Luckily, the COVID-19 lockdown has me completely organizing my art supplies and I am taking you into my art studio today to show you exactly how I keep all of my materials sorted and stored.  Inks, Watercolors, Acrylics, Oils, Stamps, Stencils, Markers, Pencils and on and on and on we go! It's all in here in today's video, together with my best advice and tips on some great ways to sort YOUR stash! All you have to do is click play! |
Karen CampbellFounder of Awesome Art School. Mixed Media Artist. Author of 18 Instructional Art Books!    
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"Karen is flipping hilarious and she's very real...I like the way she teaches in a way that really gives you confidence, whether you're a beginner or advanced there's always something new to learn!"
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What Fans Are SayingKaren, you are absolutely fabulous! You make me feel like I can draw anything. I have recently retired and finally have the time to do some of the art that I have loved since I was in school. I am really at the beginning of my art journey and I hope to learn as much as I can. Thank you for all you do. |
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