Dreaming about paper, crying over sharpeners and laughing at the price of pencils!!

Tools of my trade, this is a breakdown of all the products I use to produce my drawings. I specialise in coloured pencil drawings varying in size from a small 8" x 8" upto 19" x 24". I have tried out many different products over the years but these are the ones I find work for me. 

Paper - Strathmore Bristol 300 Series (Smooth Surface)

The search for decent paper that suits your needs and style of drawing is exhausting. I have often asked what other people use and they vary depending on how they like to draw and how they want the piece to look and feel. I have got quite a soft touch when I draw, I like to layer up colour over and over. This is for one main reason... I draw fur and feathers. Both fur and feathers consist of many colours and tones, so it is important to layer up the colour to add depth and contrast. 

Current I am using Bristol Strathmore 300 series Smooth Surface, I like this paper for a few reasons. 

• it's reasonably priced
• the paper doesn't eat my pencils
• it allows me to layer up in pencil
• good range of available sizes including 9" x 12", 11" x 17", 19" x 24" to name a few. (These are the one I typically buy. 

However is does have it's con's 

• if you want to create a mixed media effect, it will late large amounts of moisture. Water colour is a no no. 
• Sometimes it arrives with a bent edge... Not sure if this has been done during manufacture or during delivery but I do get it fairly often. 

Pencils - Faber Castell Polychromos Colour Pencils

To be perfectly honest I haven't tried many but what I do know is I love these! I bought a couple of black prismacolour pencils a little while back because I couldn't get hold of my normal pencils and it was a complete waste of time. The lead was extremely soft so I couldn't achieve my supper sharp point and the lead kept breaking. I certainly wouldn't recommend! 

I first bought the Faber Castell Polycromo coloured pencils about 2 years ago and I haven't looked back since. I bought a set of 120 pencils and I much have replaced the natural tones about 10 to 15 times since because I just love using them. I do make myself cry through every time they get low but it's worth it. My local Hobbycraft sell these pencils individually and I usually stock up there. Otherwise I get them from eBay or Amazon. 

The bright colours get used less purely because my subject are typically brown but I am forcing myself to use them! So if you have any ideas on brightly coloured birds let me know :-) 

Sharpeners - Faber Castell Trio Sharpening Box

Sharpeners are an absolute pain in my ass!!!!!!! I have been through so many different brands it's unbelievable but I have no found one that I am fairly happy with, it doesn't chew and spit out pencils and it gives me super sharp points... It's the BOMB!! 

Other Tools

Re-fillable eraser in a variety of sizes - I use these to rub out my grid lines once I have drawn out my design 

Tracing paper - for leaning on whilst I draw, I find it doesn't rub too much on the page. 

Ruler - any metal or plastic ruler, I have no preference. (Make sure you keep it clean and don't use pen near it or it will smudge all over your drawing)