• *Staedtler Noris Colored Pencils - These might just be my most used art supply, though I don't use them how you would expect! I rarely use these colored pencils to color anything in as they are pretty faint (though sometimes I do if I want a more muted, pale look), however, that's exactly why I like them! I use these for sketching out my drawing before coloring it in with whatever my medium of choice is at the time: watercolor, marker, etc. Because they are pretty faint, even when I add watercolors you can't really see them underneath. Plus, they erase easily, unlike other colored pencils, making them the perfect tool for sketching. I also like using the gray colored pencil as a substitute for regular graphite pencils because it doesn't smear. Overall, I find them pretty versatile! 

• *Prismacolor Premier Illustration Markers - I recently switched from my trusty Microns to these fine liners and I think I can safely say that I've been converted! For fine liners, I have used Faber-Castell Pitt artist pens, which I didn't like because they ran out so quickly, and then microns, which I did like, and lasted me quite a while. But when my microns started to die out, I decided to try another brand just to try something new. I'm so glad that I tried these because I am in love with them! I had no issues with Microns, but these Prismacolors are soooo smooth. I would compare it to changing from a normal pen to a gel pen - they just FEEL nice to write/draw with. I have only had them for a month or two so I can't say how long lasting they are yet, but I honestly don't think I will ever switch back regardless.

• *Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Pocket Plus Set of 24 Half Pans - What can I say about my trusty Winsor & Newton Cotman Pocket Plus set? Truthfully, I've yet to try any other high quality watercolor brands besides Winsor & Newton so I can't say if there is a better brand. I only used cheaper sets from Artist's Loft, Daler-Rowney, and Reeves when I tried out watercolors for the first time. Nonetheless, I do like this set because it's pretty high quality, but still more affordable because it's the Cotman series. You get a good amount of colors and a free, quality brush. If you are sure that you want to work with watercolors, I think it's worth skipping the cheaper brands and just investing in this set from the get go because it's pretty much got all that you need. This set covers all of my watercolor needs except for the lack of pink (which for me personally, is a color that I use all the time!), so I just bought a small tube of *Opera Rose from the Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolors line to supplement.

• *Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers - Lastly, are my Spectrum Noir Markers. I was sent a bunch of different Spectrum Noir marker sets from Amber of Damask Love (Thanks so much Amber!) when I collaborated with her on her Blank Space Challenge and I really love them! I was previously using the TouchFive Markers that I talked about in a previous post, but those tend to feather a bit and have ridiculously hard to remove caps on some of them. I love the Spectrum Noir markers because they don't feather, are super vibrant, and seem to have a better bullet tip that allows thinner lines.

• Make sure that you have a good amount of water on your brush
• Work quickly - if your colors start to dry, then they won't mix to make that pretty and subtle gradient effect.
• When working with different/multiple colors make sure to have them all mixed and ready to go before you start painting because if you put one color down and then have to stop to mix colors, your first color will dry (see previous point).

3 Ways to Create Watercolor Gradients