A starter kit for someone who has never drawn
A starter kit for someone who has never drawn
The hardest part of buying for a beginner is that beginners do not yet know what they like. Somebody who thinks they want to draw portraits may turn out to enjoy botanical work, or lettering, or nothing at all. A first purchase should account for that rather than bet against it.
The case for the all-in-one box
Boxed sets get dismissed by experienced artists because they contain a scatter of media at modest quality rather than one medium at high quality. For a first purchase that is a feature, not a fault.
A box with pencils, coloured pencils, pastels, a few markers and a pad lets someone find out what they actually enjoy within a fortnight. That information is worth more than a premium set of one medium they turn out not to like.
The right time to buy a good set of one thing is after that fortnight.
What a beginner genuinely needs
Something to draw with
A basic graphite range — something soft, something medium — covers everything. Enormous graded sets are unnecessary at the start.
Something to draw on
A medium-tooth pad of reasonable weight. This is the item most worth not skimping on, for the reasons in our note on paper.
A way to remove marks
A kneaded eraser lifts graphite without abrading the paper and can be shaped to a point. It is a small item that changes how drawing feels, because mistakes stop being permanent.
A sharpener that does not eat pencils
A poor sharpener breaks coloured pencil cores repeatedly and gets blamed on the pencils. A decent hand sharpener with a sharp blade is worth having from the start.
What can wait
Fixative, blending stumps, expensive brushes, a light box, a full grey marker range and a hundred-plus pencil set can all wait. None of them helps until there is a habit to support.
An easel can wait too. Most people draw at a table for a long time before they want one.
Buying for a child versus for an adult
For children, the relevant details are the manufacturer’s age guidance and the size of the barrels — small hands manage thicker pencils better. Washability matters more than pigment quality.
For adults returning to drawing after years away, the useful thing is a set with enough range to explore and a pad big enough not to feel precious. A tiny sketchbook makes people careful, and being careful is the enemy at the start.
Setting it up so it gets used
The practical determinant of whether someone keeps drawing is whether the materials are visible. A box in a cupboard is used once. The same box on a shelf near where the person sits gets opened.
Sets in a wooden or hinged case have an advantage here that has nothing to do with the contents: they are pleasant to leave out.
A reasonable first list
- One all-in-one boxed set covering several media.
- One medium-tooth pad, larger than feels necessary.
- A kneaded eraser.
- A decent hand sharpener.
- Somewhere to keep it that is not a cupboard.
That is a complete beginning. Everything after it should be bought in response to something the person has actually found they want to do.
Where this sits in the shop
Everything discussed above comes back to one part of the shop: Coloured Pencil Sets, which currently holds 3 listings between $9.99 and $26.09. The whole of it is picked and packed at Rudy's Hobby & Art, 35-16 30th Ave, Long Island City, NY, during Wed–Sat 11am–6:30pm, closed Sun–Tue — so anything written here can be checked by phoning the counter on ((718) 545-8280.
From our shelves
- Art Supplies 120 Colors Colored Pencils Set for Adults Coloring Books with Sketchbook — $26.09
- 80 Colored Pencils Set, Oil-Based Soft Core for Adult Coloring Books, Professional Color Pencils Art Gifts for Artists, Beginners and Adults — $9.99
- KALOUR 72 Count Colored Pencils for Adult Coloring Books, Soft Core,Ideal for Drawing — $12.99
What we get asked about this
Is my card safe?
The card form belongs to our PCI DSS compliant payment provider. This website never sees a full card number.
How do I reach a human?
Email [email protected] and you will get a reply within 1 business day, or call (718) 545-8280 during shop hours (Wednesday–Saturday 11:00–18:30 · Closed Sunday–Tuesday).
Read next
- Oil-based or wax-based coloured pencils: what actually changes
- Blending coloured pencils without a solvent
- Choosing your first set of brush markers
Ordering from Rudy's Hobby and Art
Orders of $49.00 or more ship free anywhere in the United States, and a flat $5.99 covers everything below that. Handling takes 1–2 business days and carrier transit is normally 3–7 business days. Unused items can go back within 30 days, and if the mistake was ours we pay the return postage.
Questions about anything above go to [email protected], answered within 1 business day, or call (718) 545-8280. Full detail is on the Shipping Policy and Refund and Returns pages.