Resources: Poll about art supplies

[mekare]

Hey all, sorry for being so absent last week. I'm back and off to comment on all your wonderful Inktober posts in the next couple of days.
ETA: I decided to make a poll. Sorry if the answer options a kinda dumb, it's my first poll ever.

Poll #18995 Art supplies

This poll is anonymous.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 16

Where do you get your art supplies?

View Answers

local art supply shop
11 (68.8%)

online art supply shop (which?)
4 (25.0%)

get them as birthday/Christmas gifts
3 (18.8%)

a subscription service (artsnacks, scrawlrbox...)
1 (6.2%)

amazon
5 (31.2%)

ebay
0 (0.0%)

other (please put info in the comments)
5 (31.2%)

Where do you get your information about art supplies?

View Answers

Manufacturer sites
2 (12.5%)

Customer reviews in online shops
3 (18.8%)

my local art supply store
2 (12.5%)

Artist friends
7 (43.8%)

Artist blogs (which?)
2 (12.5%)

Review blogs (which?)
0 (0.0%)

I usually just buy and try them out myself
9 (56.2%)

Other (please specify in comments)
7 (43.8%)

sexycazzy mentioned subscribing to one of those art supplies box services where you get a mixed bag of art supplies each month, I think earlier there was a post or a comment about a service like that in the US (and after a brief search I realized there a a lot of services like that out there). So, questions:

1. Who here has (is being) using a service like that and what on earth do you do with the supplies that pile up? Since you don't know beforehand what you'll get, I'm imagining there's supplies left and right that aren't being used.

2. Do you have recommendations for sites where supplies are being reviewed (apart from amazon which is obvious)? Of course, I have my local stationary store I use for the basics (it has reduced price on Schmincke watercolours at the moment which is fantastic). For the rest I use a German online art supplier. Unfortunately its site is pretty light on the customer reviews.I'm guessing I'm looking for your personal experiences with different supplies as well as trusted sites where I can believe the reviewers. That box-service is awfully tempting (and since I'm not a poor student anymore I could probably afford one) but I am hesitant to spend money when I'll have stuff here that's not getting used.

Oh right, I'm looking for ink stuff, pastels, watercolours and brushes mostly. And there probably are a lot of cool special effects tools out there that I don't even know exist.

Comments

[syntheid]

Handful of things re: soggy paper.

First is I second jainas, ideally use a watercolor paper, but at least use something that's rated for 'mixed media' or else it won't be able to handle the wet media at all. Mixed media paper (mine's around 160gsm/75lb) will often still buckle a bit, but it mostly flattens out after it dries. It will also not hold up to much 'scrubbing' or if you keep trying to layer wet on wet, the paper just isn't made for that and it'll start disintegrating.

Second is that water brushes actually are more likely to make things soggy because even if you're not squeezing the brush, gravity pulls the water down while you work and so it's always pushing water (+ink, if you filled it with ink) onto your page instead of running out the way a dipped brush would. If you're dipping the water brush into ink and trying to squeeze water out to lighten it, that's going to end up with too much water. Personally I just decided to make a couple of my brushes dedicated inkwash brushes, and I put some drops of ink into the barrels with the water to get the tone I want, so I don't have to mix an ink wash mix every time, and that helps me get a more even wash and not soak the paper through.

Third, you can try blotting? Keep some paper towels near you, and if there's too much water after you try to do a wash you can gently dab the paper towel to soak it up a little. Keep in mind this will lighten your wash, also, but you can let it fully dry and do another wash if you need to intensify the color.

Fourth, if you're impatient about waiting for layers to dry you can also invest in a heat tool to dry out the page faster. It's kind of like a hairdryer but less intense on the blowing and more intense on the heat.

[olivermoss]

I should try more paper and also use more ink washes. Using the pens just seemed like less fuss, and make it easier to jump in and out of working on something.