This post is completely my opinion, and does not contain affiliate links. I was in now way discounted or reimbursed for reviewing the items below.
Hey everyone! I'm finally getting around to showing you all the art supplies that I ordered from Dick Blick about a month ago. Dick Blick has some really great prices, so I was able to get a bunch of stuff for way less than if I'd bought it at Hobby Lobby, Micheal's, or even Guiry's art supply store.
Quite a lot of stuff, huh? Let's take a look at the drawing pencils and blending stumps, first.
I got a pack of 12 blending stumps, with 3 stumps in 4 different sizes. When taking the photo, I didn't realize that there was a fourth size of stump, but there is! It's just between the largest one and the medium one is size.
So far, I've found the stumps very useful for smoothing out and blending lines in my drawings. I also ordered a sandpaper block for cleaning and sharpening the stumps. I use it when switching from blending a dark area to blending a light area and when switching colors in a colored pencil drawing. Both the blending stumps and the sandpaper block can be found here.
I also got a basic set of drawing pencils, which I love! The hardness goes from 6B to 4H, which is just about right for me. The 6B pencil is nice, dark, and soft; the 4H pencil is light, clear, and hard. These Derwent Graphic Pencils really make drawing easier!
So far, I've found the stumps very useful for smoothing out and blending lines in my drawings. I also ordered a sandpaper block for cleaning and sharpening the stumps. I use it when switching from blending a dark area to blending a light area and when switching colors in a colored pencil drawing. Both the blending stumps and the sandpaper block can be found here.
I also got a basic set of drawing pencils, which I love! The hardness goes from 6B to 4H, which is just about right for me. The 6B pencil is nice, dark, and soft; the 4H pencil is light, clear, and hard. These Derwent Graphic Pencils really make drawing easier!
My absolute favorite item from this haul is the set of Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils! I got the set of 24, and so far I love them. They go on the paper quite smoothly, and blend nicely when wet. They do change color a bit when you wet them, which threw me at first, but once you know how they change, it's easy to adapt. I ended up making a color chart to help with that.
I also got a couple small tubes of watercolors (white and black), and a pad of Canson watercolor paper. I haven't used my white watercolor paint yet (it's actually technically a gouache because it's opaque), but having some black is really nice. I used to mix my own from ultramarine blue and burnt sienna paints, using up too much of those particular colors. The Cason watercolor paper isn't super high-quality, but it's great for practicing on! It does warp a bit, though. I guess that's expected - I never tape down my edges.
I also got a nice, lightweight, collapsible easel! Since the legs are telescoping, it can be used as a tabletop easel, or a full-sized one. It also has a handy brush holder and palette holder (yes, I use paper plates as paint palettes - they're disposable, what else can I say?) . It came in a nice little carrying case, along with simple instructions to help me put it together.
The oil painting pads, brushes, and black sketch books were all for one of my sisters and a brother. The oil pads looked nice for practicing on, but I don't think my sister was a huge fan of the middle brushes. Apparently they shed too much. The other brushes and the sketch books were decent, though.
Keep your eyes open for a new post containing some work done with my new materials! Consider subscribing below to be notified of new content.