What's in my Daily Urban Sketching Kit

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 What's in my Urban Sketching Kit

What is a Daily Sketching Kit?

A daily sketching kit is an assortment of tools and materials that an artist brings with them regardless of where or what they are doing. Keeping a kit of your go-to sketching tools on standby at all times is a great way to make sure that you are never without the ability to create when inspiration strikes. Every artist will carry a different mix of materials that fit their needs. This post is not telling you what to bring sketching but simply showing what I bring and maybe giving you inspiration as to what you could bring with you.

The Kit Itself

I've been carrying my supplies in a Five Star "Stand 'N Store Pencil Pouch for quite some time now and have had no issues. The pouch fits a 3.5 x 5in sketchbook, and many pens and pencils. I also like the fact that this pouch is built in such a way that allows for it to stand on its own (although heavier materials can unbalance it and mess this up).


Micron Pens

For anyone creating pen and ink work, Micron pens are the go-to. These pens allow you to create consistent lines with little to no variation. Another big plus to these pens is that the ink they use is archival, waterproof, and quick dry (for those that do ink and wash) I personally carry a black, dark purple, and brown pen. I have found that those are the colors I use most. For the black version, I carry a .05 as well as a .005 but for the rest of the colors, I only use the .005. 



Waterbrushes

For laying down larger washes tone quickly I use water brushes. Waterbrushes are refillable brushes that can be filled with water ink or a mixture of the two. I use five different mixtures of ink and water, from just water to just ink, and at intervals in between. I bought a two-pack of water brushes from Dollar Tree and have not been disappointed. Although I primarily use these brushes for ink, I have found that they work okay for actual watercolor. The only difficulty is that I don't feel quite as in control as I do when working with full-size brushes with separate water containers.



Fountain Pens
Whether for writing or sketching, fountain pens have been my favorite pens. Because there are so many options for nib size shape. The pens (from top of the image to bottom) I carry with me are: Lanbitou 3088 (EF, Red ink), Crocodile 215 (EF, Brown-Black ink), Jinhao x450 (Fude, Black ink), Jinhao x750 (Flex, Black ink). This mix of pens allows me to make many different marks from fine scratch thin lines to thick blocks of ink.


Pencils
I carry a small selection of pencils for the rare occasion that I use them. Typically I am only using pencils for a preliminary sketch or for textural effects in paintings. When I do drawings with just a pencil, I use an 8B pencil and a blending stump. For mechanical pencils, I use a Papermate ClearPoint in .5mm and a pencil I purchased from Aliexpress also in .5mm. 


Unconventional Materials

Here are a couple things that I carry in my sketching kit. First, a protractor, this allows me to get very straight lines for days when my hands are shaky or when the line is too long to do freehand. Next is a gel highlighter. I keep this for the occasional bright spot or touch of fluorescent light in a sketch. Next is a white gel pen. This can be used for drawing in highlights or for drawing on the toned or colored painting. Last is a gum eraser. I have found that gum erasers work the best for what I need. Gum erasers also leave very little dust.


The Sketchbook
The sketchbook I have been carrying is a Daler Rowney 3.5 x 5.5 in sketchbook meant for pens and pencils. Even though this is not a watercolor sketchbook, there are sketches where I will use a bit of watercolor and some ink washes. I keep many sketchbooks, but the one shown here is kept in my pen case at all times. The only (and I mean only) issue I have had is that the corners of the cover have been peeling from the repetitive movement of the book in and out of my pencil pouch. Aside from that I have had no issues with feathering or even bleeding

Overview
The important part of Urban Sketching is not what supplies you have or how many pens you can collect, but the important part is to just find time to enjoy sketching and creating art at any chance you get. Let me know what you think about the materials I carry and let me know what you bring for sketching.

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