#this tablet is practically Huion's version of the one I tried from XP Pen last year

[galoogamelady]

Promise this isn't an April Fools thing lol

I had a chance to try some @huiontablet products for the first time! This is my review + the usual speeddraw on the side. You can find the finished drawing here!

[kireigin-blog]

Broke Student Art Supply Tips

Are you broke or on a low budget and want to develop your art skills?  If the answer is yes, then this blog post and future posts on this topic are for you. This post is collaborative in nature with Jody- Ann Rene. She is a lovely homo-sapien whose vlog and blog posts highlight the struggles of inner city youths. If you are unfamiliar with the term “inner city youth” as most of the students at our college were; it is a rather loose term to refer to youths who live in ghettos or the projects or areas where most families are in mid-level middle class to lower class economic brackes. These groups tend to have tight budgets at times. I had a lengthy conversation with her regarding the fact that there are many artistic youths  in these areas. Many of whom like photography and digital arts.

As someone who comes from a mid-level middle class family myself I am no stranger to financial dry spells. In this post I have identified some ways in which someone in this situation, a student or someone who is a bit frugal can develop their art skills on a low budget. Please note that some of my suggestions mainly applies to The Republic of Trinidad & Tobago because this is where I live but at the core they may apply to where ever you live.

 As a student, I  rarely have enough dinero to drop for high quality art products to develop my skills with and when I do my heart and wallet shrieks out of sheer horror. So there are four core points which apply to the suggestions in this post that I need to get out of the way:

You do not need high quality art supplies to develop your skills. 

Make use of more affordable or free substitutes.

Sometimes it is not what you are buying but rather where you are buy it.

Don’t have something? Make your own!

Digital Arts/ Graphic Design

Vector Graphics- There are many cheap and free vector graphic programs out there. But if you are on a really tight budget you may want to consider Gravit Designer. This is a browser and desktop based vector graphic program. So you do not have to install it since there is a browser version, you just need an account and you can access your cloud and art anywhere in the world on most computers. So, if you are between computers, you can use computers at the library, school or even at an Internet Cafe to create your art.  I do suggest you invest in a flash drive, so if the internet drops you can easily save your work to the flash. If you have a computer even better for you, you can download the desktop version and use that. I have personally used this program for the past  four months and it has saved me a few times. Here is a list of some free vector graphic programs that I have come across:

Gravit Designer (can be used online)

Vectr (can be used online)

InkScape

SVG-edit

Boxy SVG Editor

Image manipulation- Unfortunately I have not been able to locate a browser based , free image manipulation app. Granted these programs cannot compare in performance and features to Adobe and Corel programs they can work well enough while you are learning. Here are some alternatives to photoshop that I have come across. 

Gimp

Pixlr

SumoPaint (online editor)

Photoshop Express

Lunapic

iPiccy

FotoFlexer

Digital paintings- Applications like Corel Painter allows persons to paint digitally. So here are some free or affordable alternatives.

Krita

PaintTool SAI

Artweaver

FireAlpaca

YouiDraw (can be used online)

MyPaint

Sketchpad (can be used online)

Photography

You do not need a DSLR to learn & practice the core elements and principles of photography. A “point & shoot”camera, smartphone or tablet can work. When it comes to photography you need to know, understand and practice the principles and elements of photography so you do not need a fancy DSLR to get started. For the practicality of today the easiest device to obtain and use while being cost effective might  just be a smartphone. Mind you it doesn’t have to be an expensive brand. There are Blu, Alcatel and Huawei models with good cameras and software. Just keep an open mind in your search and you will find something that works for you.

Tablets

These are not necessary since you can draw on paper and either take a photo of your work or scan it and then redraw/ colour using software and/or  your mouse to create digital art. If you really want a tablet however you can start with lower end models like the Wacom Bamboo(pad tablet). Also contrary to popular belief Wacom is not the only good tablet brand there are many other good and more affordable brands (depending on the model) such as:

Huion

Gaomon

Ugee

Xp-pen

iskn 

 Also did you know you can use a regular tablet as a screen tablet? There are many people opting to purchase an iPad Pro as opposed to expensive screen tablets. Also others like Microsoft Surface, Lenovo Yoga Book and Samsung Galaxy Tablets can be used as screen tablet alternative. Once again keep and open mind, do some research and consider things you normally wouldn’t consider.

Traditional Art

As stated previously you do not need professional grade materials to get started. In Trinidad and Tobago in particular professional grade or higher end brands can torch your wallet, from $60 Acrylic Paint to $1000+ Prismacolor coloured pencils. Here you really have to hunt to find affordable supplies. I will try to help you out in that endeavor as much as I can if you wish. If this aspect of the topic is interesting to you let me know and I will do dedicated posts to art supply hunting in Trinidad. For now I will include a list of some places I go to for affordable supplies and a couple tips to save some cash regarding buying supplies.

Some Places I have gotten some decent quality supplies that didn’t murder my wallet are:

Knowledge Zone ( I kid you not! You need to check these people out)

Charran’s Bookstore

Naipaul’s Bookstore

Arnim’s Framing & Art Supplies

Craft Creators

Art & more

Please Note: While I got affordable things at these stores it does not mean that everything in these stores will be very affordable. It depends on what you are buying and where you are buying it.

Buy in “bulk”

Instead of paying almost $5 per B type pencil ( like 2b - 8b), consider buying them by the box. At Naipaul’s bookstore in Arima I have gotten 12 pencils in a box for just under $20. I tend to buy somethings in bulk like this since my younger relatives also do art and sharing is caring. You can band together with friends or classmates and buy your supplies in bulk and split the times up among each other. My classmates and myself put together and purchased large sheets of illustration board and then divide it among each other also, Mr Arnim was kind enough to cut the board up for us.

Consider mid - low quality supplies

For initial practice avoid buying expensive paints use low to mid quality ones instead. I have seen people online use crayola washable watercolours and do pretty good work. The cheapest watercolour cake set I have come across locally is Winners brand which was just under $10, at Food Basket. I have also seen decent quality Acrylics at Knowledge Zone and Craft Creators (Trincity Mall) for around $40, also I know there are significantly cheaper Acrylic brands but I have not personally tried them yet.

Invest in the long term

Invest in a few good brushes. Yes, the idea is to save money and investing in a few good brushes which can last you almost a lifetime is better than having to constantly buy new brushes. Visit are stores like Art & More and Arnim’s to get good quality brushes. They have friendly staff who will surely help you out.

Brands do not always matter

Instead of always buying high end brand paper pads consider lower end ones. Watercolour paper pads can run you a good bit but you can get a decent quality  watercolour pad (160gsm, acid free, A4 sized, 24 sheets) for just $30 at Charran's Bookstore. In the past couple years I have noticed that Charran’s has been carrying more Asian brands in art supplies and stationery which tend to be cheaper than most other brands you see on the market here and they work very well. Also if you want a thick medium sized sketchbook consider Knowledge Zone because you can get those for $50 as opposed to $80 and up that I have seen at art supply stores.

Use art quality when necessary

Do not use art quality supplies unless you have to. For daily practice like gesture studies or observation ( in some cases) you can use a composition book or plain copy paper. If you want something with a little texture or bit thicker consider card stock or even bristol board. Now, I have only personally seen card stock in Excellent Stores and Naipaul’s Bookstore. At Excellent Stores it was under $30 (if I remember correctly) and there was a decent amount of pages for the price. I will double check the price and amount if I spot it again. Also you can use HB pencils and ballpoint pens for practice, both of which you can buy by the box easily.

Make your own supplies

If you don’t have tool sometimes you can just make one. If you are doing pottery you can dig for clay and prepare it. I once that an individual make their own dip pen from plastic bottles and the you-tuber PeterDraws used it in one of his videos. In terms of simpler items like sketchbooks you can make your own easily. There are many tutorials on youtube and other websites for DIY supplies.  I personally made my own ink last month based on tutorials on how to make walnut ink. It most definitely was not what I expected but I had fun doing it and I am going to make as many pieces as I can using it. 

Education

I am going to stop you right there. Since you are reading this blog post you are aware of the Internet. There are a multitude of free tutorials and open source education resources. So make use of that google and youtube. You can do free courses from recognized universites to develop your skills via online open learning platforms like coursera or the local site knowledge.tt from the University of Trinidad & Tobago.

So you see guys, where there is a will there's a way. Use those big beautiful brains and imaginations of yours, be optimistic and find a way. Heck, if can make my own ink, I am sure you can make something amazing.  Until take care and have fun trying new things.