No Art Supply Brand Names, No Affiliate Links: A Neutral Space to Learn

We have all done it, opened a browser, went to Google and searched for”[ art supply brand names ] review” or “best [ insert medium ]”. Sometimes we might add for beginners to that query. That search yields a long list of not only the “best of” type sites, but also YouTube videos, blogs and websites that have a list of brands they recommend or feel are the best for an artist to use.

The vast majority of art specific places you look at also have reviews of different brand name mediums, paper, and accessories. Often these are paired with an affiliate link explaining how they get a small payment if you use them and are supporting the site if you do.

I understand why all of this is the case and how it can help a lot of artists, especially the beginner. Back before the internet, yes I am that old, if you wanted to find out about art supplies, you went to a big box store and bought what they had or if you were lucky enough to live near an art supply store you asked them what to get.

The internet has opened the door to art in ways unimaginable in the latter part of the twentieth century. This is a good thing! One problem has arisen because of this availability of information. Everyone has an opinion, many are monetizing it, and one never knows where the line is drawn between those.

Why I Started Down This Road

Back when I started my art journey in 2021, I did the same searches, looked at some of the same blogs and videos. I did the same searches on Google that people still do today. What I found; what I described above and art supply brand names. Nothing told me what to look for about a medium or what qualities are needed to create art.

These videos, blogs, and websites gave me lists of brand name supplies I needed to buy to draw, color, or paint. I got conflicting information about what I needed as a beginner as well as differing opinions about the brands to buy. My solution, as I have revealed before, buy it all. Buy all the brands. This was a big mistake and didn’t actually help me in the ways I wanted.

This is the real reason this series on Art Supplies For Beginners is being written. I wanted to know, not the brand list, but how to determine what I should get. As an example fine-liners: I wanted to know which nib sizes to buy. Instead I was told to go buy a set of brand A by multiple sources. Because the information I wanted wasn’t available I did what all those people said, I bought a full set of brand A and hated them.

I intentionally do not recommend specific brands for any medium. Well, I try not to at least. Sometimes to get a point across I must use a specific brand name. I want to give the beginner knowledge of a medium, not buy brand A or B. This is more about how much to buy to get started or try out a medium. The very information I could not find.

The Battle of the Art Supply Brand Names

Creating art of any kind is a very personal thing. How any medium performs is just as personal. There is a reason why there are so many reputable professional quality brands available for most mediums.

Here are a few art supply brand names that come to mind:

• Faber Castell
• Caran d’Ache
• Prismacolor
• Winsor & Newton
• Da Vinci
• Holbein
• Princeton
• Derwent

Depending on the medium you want or do use, I’m sure you recognize some of those too.

Some art supply brand names offer a wide array of medium types: graphite, colored pencils, markers, ink. But some of those review sites you see will tell you that brand A’s graphite is amazing, but don’t buy their colored pencils. Talk about confusing, I guess brand loyalty isn’t a thing anymore or better yet undeserved.

Another thing that convinced me a new type of beginner art supplies series was warranted is the battle of the brands. You watch video 1 and it says “only use brand A, you can’t get good results with anything else”. Then you watch video 2, they say the exact same thing, but it’s brand B. How in the world is a beginner supposed to be able to navigate all the conflicting information?

I swear I have seen different videos recommending different art supply brand names and they literally used the same descriptors to explain why:

• It’s like butter
• It produces beautiful colors
• You can blend it better than others

How can two different brands both be the best at the same thing? The answer: because how a medium performs is personal.

A brand name, your favorite artist, or some best of website cannot tell you how a tool will react to your unique hand pressure, your speed, or your style. Your ideal brand could be one that your favorite artist says is the worst or that is never on a best of list. This is ok and the very reason why so many brands exist.

A Word About Affiliate Links

I spoke earlier about affiliate links. Many people use these as a way to:

• Help offset the cost of running a channel, blog, or website
• Ensure you get exactly the product being recommended, saving you time and preventing you from accidentally getting the wrong thing
• Take advantage of a program that’s available and provide a source of income

I do understand this; it can get expensive to do what they are doing. The vast majority claim their opinions are entirely their own, but I can’t help but ask: can you be completely impartial when you are getting paid? I don’t know, and I am not judging anyone. I will wholeheartedly admit that, while rare, I have seen video reviews of items sent to a content creator for free where they still gave an honest, negative review.

Using affiliate links is not inherently a bad thing, it is a personal or business choice made by each individual.

However, I personally will not use affiliate links here at Line & Blossom Design. I want you to be able to completely trust what I am trying to teach. I do not want you to ever have to wonder if a specific brand is paying me behind the scenes. My ultimate aim is to maintain a neutral space where you can learn and gather information without ever feeling like everything is about a sale or money.

A Quick Note on My External Links (Let’s Be Completely Transparent)

If you dig through my earlier posts, you will see an external link. For instance, in my very first post, I linked directly to a Blick Studio sketch pad. I’ve also shared links to a specific book and the digital illustration software I use.

Let me be crystal clear about why those links are there:

• They are purely informational, and I do not make a single dime if you click them
• There are no tracking codes hidden in those URLs
• There is no hidden affiliate system paying me a commission behind the scenes

I linked to that sketch pad because it was the exact ground zero of my own journey and it is genuinely a wonderful inexpensive sketchbook. I linked to the book, software and other things because they genuinely helped me and I wanted to be sure if you were interested you would find the exact thing I was discussing.

If I ever share a link with you, it is because I am pointing you toward a helpful resource, never because I am trying to peer into your wallet.

Both of these choices, no brand recommendations and no affiliate links, come from the same place. Nearly every art blog, channel, and tutorial you’ll find operates differently, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But I wanted Line & Blossom Design to be different. I wanted a space where nothing I tell you is shaped by what earns me money, only by what actually helps you. That’s not a marketing angle, it’s simply how I choose to run things here. I personally feel all of us deserve a neutral space online, to chill, read, and learn.

What This Means for the Series Going Forward

My goal with this series is to provide you with the information you need to be able to try out a medium, to know the characteristics that are offered, and what makes brands different from each other. My goal isn’t to help you build a collection of brand-name boxes that sit unused on your shelf because they didn’t suit your style.

Instead, in the upcoming posts of this series, I am going to throw the art supply brand names out the window. I am going to look strictly at the anatomy and properties of the mediums themselves. I will give you an idea of what and how much of mediums to buy to try them out to see if it is the right medium for you.

I want to give you the joy of finding your medium, your style. I want you to love the process of experimenting without breaking the bank. I want to give you the knowledge to walk into any art store, whether it’s a high-end boutique or a big-box store, look at any random bottle, tube, or pencil, and know exactly what or how much to buy or better yet leave on the shelf.