| Tutorials |
| What Materials do I Need? |
 |
 |
| Sure, you could just use any old pencil or eraser there is, but these are the materials I recommend: |
 |
| Sketchbook |
| Of course regular plain paper is fine, but a sketchbook binds together all the pages in one conveinent book. I strongly suggest to buy a hardcover sketchbook; the ones with the paper covers tear very easily. Also, you don't need to pay a fortune for a sketchbook, either. Some hardcover ones at a great price for the quantity of paper can be found at just about any common grocery store that sells office supplies (such as Fry's). Also, most of the sketchbooks sold at common stores tend to not have a design on them (if they do, it's not a very ammusing picture). There are sketchbooks out there sold that have fancier pictures on it such as one with a Naruto cover I recently saw, but they tend to go at a higher price because of their extra design (one of my sketchbooks with a Skellanimals cover is $10.00 at Hot Topic). |
| AVOID USING LINED PAPER!!! |
| It's not a sin to use notebook paper, but I've come to learm that the finished drawings don't look as satisfying with all those annoying red lines streaking through my art. Notebook paper is also very delicate and can be torn apart by an eraser. |
|
| Pencil |
| Well, this is a no-brainer. The good, old-fashioned pencil is really the best way to go when sketching something. It doesn't matter what type of pencil you use, actually. I use a mechanical pencil all the time. You can use a regular one if you please, but like I said, it doesn't matter too much. |
|
| Hi-Polymer Eraser |
| I don't recommend using a regular eraser, as they do a poor job the darker your lines are. Hi-Polymer Erasers, however, are very useful. They are designed specially to erase pencil, and do a swell job. They last long, too. I found my High-Polymer Erasers at Fry's in the office supplies; you can get a three-pack for only $1.27. Their wrappers they come in clearly state that they're High-Polymer. |
|
| Straightedge/Ruler/Protractor |
| I know many don't know what a straightedge is. I admit I don't use them, really. Their name implies: they have a straight side so you can make accurate lines on your paper, and allow you to draw a 90 degree angle. But don't stress getting one, as a ruler or a protractor works fine. A protractor is especially nice since it has angle measures, and that can help with marking off where to position certain objects in a picture. |
 |
|