# art materials noob questions



## wayward bob (Sep 25, 2011)

can anyone help me out? i have no idea what most of these things are  i can produce my list at the art shop and get fleeced a month's food money  but if anyone can point me to cheap alternatives/sources for any of these my kids will grow up ever so slightly healthier 

drawing board clips
spray diffuser
gum tape
dip pen/nibs
black prince pencil
bamboo pen - fine/broad
black foundation pen (should this be "fountain pen"?)

tia


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## boohoo (Sep 25, 2011)

Blimey!!! That's a bit of a posh list - will you need all the bits?

I would suggest to wing it a little - nothing worse than buying the £6 pantone marker you only use once.

Gum tape is useful for doing watercolours- you have a drawing board, wet the paper, put it onto board, then wet tape and put around the edge of paper. When it all dries the paper is tight and less prone to wrinkling when you paint on it.

You can also use gum tape in screen printing.

Spray diffuser  - my dad used one to spray a sealant on pastels and charcoal drawings ( hair spray does the same job!)

Dip pen and nibs - does similar job to bamboo pen - looks like you will be doing lots of pen and ink work.

Put this list in the recycle forum - people must be sitting on old art equipment.

Don't know what a black prince pencil is??


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Sep 25, 2011)

wayward bob said:


> can anyone help me out? i have no idea what most of these things are  i can produce my list at the art shop and get fleeced a month's food money  but if anyone can point me to cheap alternatives/sources for any of these my kids will grow up ever so slightly healthier
> 
> drawing board clips
> spray diffuser
> ...



Wow that brings it all back.
You would have thought it was all robots, computers and jet packs now.
Back in my day (am I really typing this?) we got it all given to us at art school.


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## wayward bob (Sep 25, 2011)

i've no idea if i'll need all the bits - these are just the things on the list i don't already have/know wtf they are  i have gum tape on the way anyway so that's good i can re-use it. fixative spray is also on the list/i already have/ so i still don't actually have a clue what spray diffuser is.

i've learned a small lesson already from life drawing classes - buying everything on the list and using most of it once/never  hence my slight panic now they reckon we need it all for next week 

as - there's robots and jet packs and photoshop and laser cutters and everything now  but they _still_ reckon we need all this drawing stuff


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Sep 25, 2011)

wayward bob said:


> i i have gum tape on the way anyway so that's good i can re-use it.


Er, really?


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## boohoo (Sep 25, 2011)

I remember the cost of the equipment list - at the end of the day, they'll be techniques you love to play around with and develop and things you won't want to see in your life again.

Is your course an art foundation?


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## wayward bob (Sep 25, 2011)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Er, really?



well not RE-use it, but i have it for other stuff and should have enough left for whatever-it-is-they-think-i-need-it-for


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## wayward bob (Sep 25, 2011)

boohoo said:


> I remember the cost of the equipment list - at the end of the day, they'll be techniques you love to play around with and develop and things you won't want to see in your life again.
> 
> Is your course an art foundation?



no, textiles, but drawing is a big part of it.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Sep 25, 2011)

wayward bob said:


> well not RE-use it, but i have it for other stuff and should have enough left for whatever-it-is-they-think-i-need-it-for



Stretching paper? What else do you use it for?


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## wayward bob (Sep 25, 2011)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Stretching paper? What else do you use it for?



*arty* stuff


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## boohoo (Sep 25, 2011)

wayward bob said:


> no, textiles, but drawing is a big part of it.



so gum tape should be useful again! On reflection, I really enjoyed my art courses -  feel natural to be creative.

Have you done much pen and ink drawing? Is it something you like? I have done stuff with a bamboo pen and ink. You can't make too many mistakes with pen and ink so it's something you'll like for the lines and the movement of ink or hate because it's likely that many might not be right!


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## boohoo (Sep 25, 2011)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Stretching paper? What else do you use it for?



Screen printing! You use it on your screen!


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## wayward bob (Sep 25, 2011)

boohoo said:


> so gum tape should be useful again! On reflection, I really enjoyed my art courses - feel natural to be creative.
> 
> Have you done much pen and ink drawing? Is it something you like? I have done stuff with a bamboo pen and ink. You can't make too many mistakes with pen and ink so it's something you'll like for the lines and the movement of ink or hate because it's likely that many might not be right!



i've never done a pen and ink drawing in my life


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## Hocus Eye. (Sep 25, 2011)

Some drawing board clips earlier. It is the flat bit that goes on top contrary to what many think.

I have no idea what a Black Prince pencil is - sounds like their art list originated in medieval times and they haven't updated it. As boohoo says, spray diffusers can be replaced by hair spray if you can stand the smell of several people using it at once, or unscented artists lacquer spray which is dearer. This is used to 'fix' pastel and charcoal drawings.


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## wayward bob (Sep 25, 2011)

Hocus Eye. said:


> As boohoo says, spray diffusers can be replaced by hair spray if you can stand the smell of several people using it at once, or unscented artists lacquer spray which is dearer. This is used to 'fix' pastel and charcoal drawings.



i'm not sure that _is _what it is though? fixative spray is also on the list...


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## Hocus Eye. (Sep 25, 2011)

wayward bob said:


> i'm not sure that _is _what it is though? fixative spray is also on the list...


That is because they are expecting you to buy it in little bottles into which you put the spray diffuser and blow until your face goes red. If your buy the spray in aerosol cans it is a bit pricey, like all specialist items.


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## wayward bob (Sep 25, 2011)

ah well, i guess i can just add that to the list of embarrassing noob questions i have to ask my tutor


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## Mrs Magpie (Sep 25, 2011)

Get this stuff from somewhere like
www.artdiscount.co.uk/
www.fredaldous.co.uk/
Don't pay too much.


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## Mrs Magpie (Sep 25, 2011)

Hocus Eye. said:


> spray in aerosol cans it is a bit pricey


...and often not allowed in schools and colleges because of asthma issues etc
Also those little spray diffusers are good for using for paint effects and all.


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## wayward bob (Sep 25, 2011)

Mrs Magpie said:


> Get this stuff from somewhere like
> www.artdiscount.co.uk/
> www.fredaldous.co.uk/
> Don't pay too much.



i may have left it too late for mail order


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## Mrs Magpie (Sep 25, 2011)

They're pretty fast in my experience. Or look for an art shop close to the college, they often offer student discount.


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## Hocus Eye. (Sep 25, 2011)

Wayward bob, doesn't the college have a students' supply store where they buy in bulk the things on their kit list and sell them cheaper?


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## Stanley Edwards (Sep 25, 2011)

Spray diffuser is a little hinged pipe you blow ink through. Should be dirt cheap.

e2a; Never used one for fixative ???


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## Stanley Edwards (Sep 25, 2011)

Mrs Magpie said:


> ...and often not allowed in schools and colleges because of asthma issues etc
> Also those little spray diffusers are good for using for paint effects and all.



Didn't see this 

I'll shut up now.

*WTF is this squashing posts up thing about - to easy to miss when scrolling fast*


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## Hocus Eye. (Sep 25, 2011)

Stanley Edwards said:


> Spray diffuser is a little hinged pipe you blow ink through. Should be dirt cheap.


If they are being used with ink you don't want to be in the same room as the person using it. Their main use is for fixative spraying. I think schools stopped using them for health and safety reasons - transfer of spittle from pupil to pupil. This may explain why they don't feature in many art supplier's catalogues.

Edit, Mrs Magpie got there first although she is talking about the spray cans. You use them out of the room preferably in a wind less courtyard or verandah.


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## wayward bob (Sep 25, 2011)

Hocus Eye. said:


> Wayward bob, doesn't the college have a students' supply store where they buy in bulk the things on their kit list and sell them cheaper?



they do for some stuff - mostly drawing books and undyed fabrics - but otherwise we're on our own.


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## plurker (Sep 26, 2011)

wayward bob said:


> i may have left it too late for mail order


if you're london-based atlantis art in hanbury street, E1 will be a good place to go. You can spray things on the walls and pretend you're a bona-fide streetartist while you're there too...


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## boohoo (Oct 1, 2011)

so which equipment did you actually use?


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## stuff_it (Oct 1, 2011)

Spray diffuser looks like one of those little 'airbrushing' mouthpieces you had in art class at school - http://www.artifolk.co.uk/catalog/p...ories/artists_spray_diffuser.htm?r=googlebase






The good news is they are pretty cheap.


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## wayward bob (Oct 1, 2011)

boohoo said:


> so which equipment did you actually use?



i didn't buy anything extra, just used what i have  found i like working with ink so have since got a bamboo pen, got a spray diffuser too, although i'm still not entirely sure what to do with it


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## stuff_it (Oct 1, 2011)

wayward bob said:


> i didn't buy anything extra, just used what i have  found i like working with ink so have since got a bamboo pen, got a spray diffuser too, although i'm still not entirely sure what to do with it


'I found I liked working in biro, especially the ones you can half-inch from betting shops'


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## wayward bob (Oct 1, 2011)

stuff_it said:


> 'I found I liked working in biro, especially the ones you can half-inch from betting shops'



or argos ones


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## boohoo (Oct 1, 2011)

wayward bob said:


> i didn't buy anything extra, just used what i have  found i like working with ink so have since got a bamboo pen, got a spray diffuser too, although i'm still not entirely sure what to do with it



I love the ink and bamboo pen!! You learn not to be precious about the drawing but enjoy the outcomes.

Here's a pen and ink and photoshop - I got my sister to strike different poses and I drew the image on top of each other.


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## wayward bob (Oct 1, 2011)

how did you get the varying line? pressure or more/less ink?


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## boohoo (Oct 1, 2011)

wayward bob said:


> how did you get the varying line? pressure or more/less ink?



Probably more or less ink - bamboo goes from one extreme to other - so either big blobs or grey lines. throw in some white chalk or charcoal over the ink (when dry) and move the lines with your thumb or use a rubber. Starts to vary the texture and can subdue any over enthusiastic ink!


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## wayward bob (Oct 1, 2011)

boohoo said:


> Probably more or less ink - bamboo goes from one extreme to other - so either big blobs or grey lines. throw in some white chalk or charcoal over the ink (when dry) and move the lines with your thumb or use a rubber. Starts to vary the texture and can subdue any over enthusiastic ink!



i may try this today


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## wayward bob (Oct 1, 2011)

well i tried the bamboo pen today and lets just say i need a _lot_ more practice


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## boohoo (Oct 1, 2011)

wayward bob said:


> well i tried the bamboo pen today and lets just say i need a _lot_ more practice



You'll get there!!


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