Online Drawing Class Materials List

The Art Museum and the Arts Council of Princeton have partnered to provide free online drawing classes taught by artist-instructor Barbara DiLorenzo. Participants can join live from their home computers, tablets, or phones. Techniques emphasize drawing with pen or pencil on paper. Each week’s lesson features works from the Museum’s collections.

Optional Materials Lists

Paper (choose either colored-pencil paper or Bristol paper):

Colored pencils (sets of 24); any of the below sets will work well:

Specific Colors

  1. Violet
  2. Alizarin Crimson
  3. Permanent Red
  4. Cadmium Orange
  5. Cadmium Yellow
  6. Lemon Yellow
  7. Spring Green
  8. Grass Green
  9. Light Phthalo Green
  10. Bluish Turquoise
  11. Pthalo Blue
  12. Cobalt Blue
  13. Light Cobalt Blue
  14. Prussian Blue
  15. Ultramarine Blue
  16. Raw Sienna
  17. Burnt Sienna
  18. Raw Umber
  19. Burnt Umber
  20. Warm Gray
  21. Cool Gray
  22. Ivory
  23. White
  24. Black

These materials are suggested by the instructor but not required. Any pencil, eraser, and paper will work well.

Paper: For the demonstrations, I use Discount School Supply White Sulphite Paper (12 x 18", 50 lb.). My personal sketchbooks include Moleskine, Strathmore, and a variety of others that have different textures and thicknesses. Everyone has their own preference, so I recommend trying out different papers to see what you like!

Factis Mechanical Eraser: This eraser is helpful for pulling graphite and bringing highlights back into your drawing. It can also be used similar to a pencil, making long strokes of white (erasing the graphite) that add texture to a drawing. 

Tombow MONO Zero Erasers: Round & Rectangular: I use the small, round eraser for the tiniest erasing details. It saves time to have such a small eraser on hand, and creates beautiful moments of light.

Faber-Castell Drawing Pencils: Although you can purchase a set of pencils in varying grades, for the drawing demo I'll be using 6B so that people can see the dark marks better. I am not a fan of anything in the H grade, as the graphite is too hard and light for me to sketch comfortably. I love a 4B or 6B pencil, but that is entirely personal preference. 

General's Pure Woodless Graphite: These pure graphite pencils are a lot of fun to draw with. I usually add them to a pencil lengthener so that I can hold them like a paintbrush. Big, loose marks can be even more fun to draw with—so if you have the ability, give this a try!

Koh-I-Noor Pencil Lengthener (I add the woodless graphite to this): This pencil lengthener was first introduced to me in art school. My drawing teacher would use compressed charcoal in the extender, and hold it like a paintbrush. It allows an artist to draw with a loose hand, moving the entire arm to create curves and gestures. Without it, sometimes a small nub can be harder to hold onto or can limit the range of motion. 

Pastel Paper  

Different papers offer various surface textures for the pastels to grip onto. Choose what you want to experiment with, from traditional pastel papers to cold-pressed or rough watercolor paper on which you can create an underpainting before using pastels on top. Pastel boards are also fun to use.  

  • Canson Mi-Teintes Pastel Pads (9 x 12 in.) for $9 at Jerry’s Artarama
  • Ampersand Museum Series Pastelbord (5 x 7 in. sampler of 4) for $11 at Jerry’s Artarama 

Pastel Colors 

We will use soft pastels for these classes. Oil pastels and hard pastels are also options you can choose, and it's absolutely fine if you choose to use what already you have instead of buying new soft pastels. Soho Urban Artist Soft Pastel Half Stick Sets from Jerry’s Artarama start at $40 for 48 half sticks, which is great to begin with.  

Additional Supplies (Optional) 

  • Blending stumps or tortillons
  • Small hand towel (old) or chamois cloth
  • 2b pencil and sketchbook
  • Bulldog clips or artist tape (similar to masking tape, but with less tack)
  • Drawing board
  • Fixative or reworkable fixative (to set the pastels when done) 

To participate in the watercolor pencil series, artists can use any set of materials that suit them. If an artist already owns plenty of standard colored pencils, purchasing just a few individual watercolor pencils can be a nice addition to an art toolbox.

Paper (choose either colored-pencil paper or Bristol paper):

· Strathmore colored pencil pad (30 sheets, 9" x 12") ($9)

· Strathmore Bristol pad (20 sheets, 9" x 12") ($8)

Watercolor pencils (set of 24) with brush:

Cezanne watercolor pencils ($12.99)

Color pencils (set of 24); any of the below sets will work well:

· Raffine ($10)

· Prismacolor ($29)

· Derwent ($35)

· Faber Castell ($41)

· Caran D’Ache Luminance 6901 Colored Pencils (set of 20) ($56)