In the beginning, I struggled with figuring out the things that I needed to be able to do artwork.  I went through many phases of buying materials that others suggested and sometimes it just came up short.  I muddled through using mostly student grade, because that is what I could afford at the time and recently began buying the professional grade, just less of it.   This has been a boon and if there is one suggestion I will make, always buy the best, even if it means buying fewer.  It will save you fighting with the tools.  

So since I have had this experience, I thought putting down the information for others might be helpful.  So here is my list.  There is the qualifier that everyone's list will be different and you really do have to figure out what works for YOU.  



Supplies:

1. Ames Lettering guide - this will help with the ruling for calligraphy
2. T square
3. Straight edge - two kinds, one should be a cork backed metal ruler, the other should be a plastic see through.
   
4. Pencils – some prefer mechanical pencils, some prefer #2 pencils, drawing pencils.  I like mechanical pencils and that is what I use, but again, use what works for you.
   
5. Black Ink – recommendation Higgins Eternal, although I am trying out a bunch of different ones
   
6. 3 good brushes in different sizes.  I prefer 00, 02, 03, natural hair preferred.
   
7. 3 older brushes for mixing (the best are often labeled "one stroke")
   
8. White plastic eraser
   
9. Crow quill pen
10. Dip Pen handles for variety of nibs and variety of nibs (2-3).  I have had very good luck with Mitchell nibs.
    
11. In place of dip pen, the best calligraphy pen you can buy.  I suggest Rotring Art Pen.
    
12. Color wheel
13. Eye droppers (2)
14. Windsor Newton or Holbein gouache watercolors – at least the primary and secondary colors.  If you are just starting out buy Ultramarine, Cadmium red purple, ivory black, permanent white, burnt umber, permanent green.
    
15. Paint tray
16. Small glass jars for water for adding to paint and for rinsing brushes
17. Papertowels, or rags
    
18. Toothbrush to clean paint trays
19. Blue painters tape
20. Sandpaper
21. Scissors
22. Chinese fan brush to use in brushing off eraser leavings
23. X-acto knife
24. Drawing pads
25. Scrap paper

If you want to do some gold leaf, you will want the following:

1. Gold leaf (once you begin gold leaf)
2. dog tooth burnisher
3. glassine
4. tweezers
5. miniatum or miniatum ink
   

Paper – the best that you can afford – sheets of Hot press are smoother, sheets of cold press are rougher surface.   At least 140 lb (such as Strathmore 400 series – which is student grade).   Your best bet is Pergamenta.   You should try out different papers to see which one you like best.

For drawing – conte crayons, pencils, chalk, charcoal

And where do you get all these things?

Online:  Paper Ink and Arts  http://www.paperinkarts.com

Scribblers  www.scribblers.co.uk

John Neal Books   http://www.johnnealbooks.com

Jerry’s Artarama     http://www.jerrysartarama.com

Dick Blick    http://www.dickblick.com

 I also shop at Utrecht art stores in person because sometimes you want to touch and see what you are buying.



Ask questions if something isn't clear and I can help direct you to the right place.  Happy arting.

So I did some experimentation while I was at the recent Southern Region Scribal. I had some blue paint and used period brush next to a modern brush of approximately the same size to see how they react.

Two observations:

1.  The opacity and complete coverage was higher for the period brushes.  Looking at the paint done by a modern brush there is a fading on the edges.  Not so with the period brush.

2.  When you made a brush stroke, there was some blobbing (technical term) and uneven lines or breaks.  I am not sure if this is the fault of the brush or the artist, because this is the first time that I am taking these out for a spin. 

I did feel that the ability to have such a large amount of paint and a very long tip made for some interesting flow as seen by the Z and A at the bottom.

Action plan: period pigments with period brush vs period pigments with modern brush on velum and paper. A much larger image is below so hopefully you can see some of the details.

I made some period paint brushes, shown below.

Instructions : Sources used: "The Craftman's Handbook, Il Libro dell' Arte", Cennino d'Andrea Cennini, and picture of artist done by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Painter and the Connoisseur. c. 1565. Drawing, 25.5 × 21.5 cm. Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna.  Portraits of artists from Workshop of the Bedford Master, French about 1440-1450, and portrait of painter Thamar in miniatures of the Boccaccio manuscript.

Tools and materials: Wood and bamboo, waxed cotton thread, fox pelt, feather quills from variety of birds. Cennini on Page 40 of "The Craftman's Handbook, Il Libro dell' Arte" mentions using minever (short tailed weasel) or  hog bristles, using the tails of the minever.  I used available pelts of fox.  Cennini mentions use vulture quills, goose quill, hen or dove's feather.  I used available variety of quills. Cennini mentions using thread or waxed silk, I used available waxed cotton thread. Cennini mentions maple or chestnut or other good wood, I used maple wood, and dropped small branches available in my native area of New England because they were available and bamboo.

Procedure:  Using Cennini as a guide, I wet the pelt, tied the waxed thread in a bow around it, wrapped it four times.  I then cut the hair from pelt and continued to wrap it with the waxed thread.  I cut a quill and formed it around the hair and continued to wrap it with the waxed threads. I put a hole in the wood and placed the bristles there, continuing to wrap the hair and the wood until it was affixed.  I then mixed up a batch of rabbit skin glue (I'll explain in a different post) and adhered the hair, thread, and quill onto the whittled stick.
 
Things I might do differently in the future - I'm working on getting hog's hair, as well as a substitute for the tail of a stoat or minerver.  Someone suggested buying a hog's hair brush from a commercial outlet and then just taking the paint brush apart.  I'm concerned that there may be some things done to the hairs in the manufacturing process that will effect the outcome, but I'm going to think about it.  I'm also going to see about getting some fish glue, because that might hold up better than the rabbit skin glue.