Art is amazing, and creating art is one of my favorite things to do. But boy, can it get expensive! Between the canvas, line markers, watercolors, alcohol markers, erasers, and specialized paper you'd be surprised how quickly the money piles up. Art should be accessible to everyone, so I am going to give you 5 tips to hopefully help keep art affordable.
Use magazines
Magazines can be found in all types of places. Most people have a couple of magazines lying around, so if you have one and aren't too attached, it can be used for your next art project. All you'll need is some glue and scissors, and you can create a collage.
If you'd rather focus on a more educational aspect, you can trace the pictures from the magazines. This is a great way to experiment with angles, anatomy, and lighting. I worked on this tracing and then I sketched it about 3 months ago. The sketch still doesn't feel quite right, but I've never been horribly good at anatomy.
I feel like I've grown a lot as an artist since then and magazines have helped me a lot with body positions. Even though I still have a long way to go with perspective and body anatomy, having a magazine that I can draw over has inspired me to keep trying.
Pens and pencils!
Pens and pencils will be your best friends while drawing. You can make amazing art just with a pen or pencil. Pens and pencils are usually just lying around and have so much more potential than people realize. While sure, it's fun to experiment with colors and paints, you can make a dynamic art piece just with a pencil or pen.
Pens and pencils are usually given out for free at random events, so don't forget to stock up. You can never have too many pens. Also, I always love finding pencils and pens on the ground. The possibilities for making art with a pen or pencil are practically limitless. This sketch to the left was the first sketch I did in my sketch book over three years ago and only involves pencils. Don't underestimate the art that pens, and pencils can create!
Creating your own paints
Nature has beautiful pigmentation and can create some colorful paints. This will take some experimentation, as not all berries, petals, or leaves make the best paints. I experimented with 4 types of berries, and one worked super well! The others made a sticky mess. It's also going to be a bit easier scavenging for paint supplies in the warmer seasons.
I got lucky with these berries, but you'll never know what colors you'll find! If you are going to try making your own paint, know that it will be a very messy process and some berries stains, so your hands might be purple for a few days after.
I created this piece just using a paint brush and some berry juice. I grabbed the berries, mashed them up with a spoon and was able to get a large amount of liquid out of them. The paint was a bit strange to work with, as it sometimes had small chunks of the berry, but I was usually able to avoid that by using the spoon to crush them instead of tearing them apart.
It's exciting to experiment with diluting the paint and seeing how that affects the color. The paint appeared bright pink, but it usually dried a muted purple (it looks more purple in real life compared to the picture). DIY paint is difficult and not everything will turn out the way you want it to. This was my third piece using this paint and I just barely got the hang of it.
Experiment with cardboard and other scraps
Next time you have a cardboard box lying around, don't just recycle it. The texture that cardboard has can result in some creative pieces of art. Doodling on carboard is an interesting experience. The different textures of cardboard keep you on your toes because you're never sure what will poke a hole through the cardboard. This piece of cardboard in particular was coffee cup sleeve and it didn't work fantastically with a pen, but I liked the way the pencil looked on it.
Cheap art supplies I recommend
If you still want to add a pop of color or flair to your artwork, but you just can't justify spending a huge amount of money on art supplies, then I have a few in mind that might help.
Metallic Markers
The first store I recommend visiting is the dollar tree. You'd be surprised at the quality of dollar tree art supplies. For only a $1.25 (stupid inflation), you can get metallic markers that will add a shiny quality to your art (and who doesn't love shiny things). I've had my gold one for three years and it hasn't run out yet (fingers crossed). There are a couple problems, as it will smudge if you use it on a glass like surface (even though it says to use on glass), whereas the sharpie one won't, so depending on what you are planning on using the marker for, you may want to get a more expensive option.
Another metallic option is the pen and gear metallic markers you can buy at Walmart. These markers come in a pack of four and cost around $1.97 (which is about 50 cents per marker). These markers will work in a bind and it's a great deal for four of them, but some ran out quickly. I used one for a poster and it completely died. I still have two out of the four and I've had them for about two years, but the metallic part has worn off and I'm left with a purple and yellow marker instead of gold and metallic purple. I love metallic markers and feel like they add pizazz to any art piece.
Acrylics
If you're a fan of acrylic paint, you are in luck! There are so many affordable acrylic paints you can find at your nearest Walmart. There are the Apple Barrel Acrylic Craft Paint 8 fl oz bottles that are $2.50, which is 31.25 cents per oz. I would suggest getting colors that you use all the time for these and for the rest you can get the smaller ones that are 2 fl oz. I got the Apple Barrel Acrylic Craft Paint 2 fl oz pack of 12. I haven't used them in an art piece that I have with me, but I know the brand and did a swatch test. The set cost me $6.12, which comes to 51 cents per bottle and 25.5 cents per oz. The set doesn't come with a purple or orange color, but I can always blend two colors together if necessary. I love acrylic paint and plan on using these paints in the future.
Watercolors
There is also the Daler-Rowney Simply Watercolor Set at Walmart that is $5.84 that I would recommend. The paints aren't the highest quality, but it has a good pigmentation. The blending is just okay and there are some paints that look very similar color wise, but hey that's what you'll get for $6. It comes with 36 colors and a paint brush, but I'd highly recommend buying a better-quality paint brush. I've used this watercolor set in most of my social media posts.
Art can be super expensive, but I hope I've given you some tips on how to lower that cost. Art should be available to anybody, so don't let cost prevent you from creating, because at the end of the day... all you need is a pencil, creativity, and a little bit of heart. Now go out and create!
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