Hello there! You’ve found Kanjon’s big page of art resources.
With a couple noted exceptions, everything on here I’ve personally tried and can recommend for others. But you don’t need everything up front, if at all. Use the supplies you have, the references you like, the tools you already enjoy. This page isn’t going anywhere and you can come back later when you’re ready to explore more.
Art Courses
At least in terms of staying motivated, perhaps the most important way to learn is by practicing what you know you need to improve on. Bad at anatomy? Find practices and lessons on that. Want to develop shading skills? Shading studies. Use an art course like this when you’re just starting out, or when you don’t know what you should practice next.
Most of these courses can be approached with zero prior art skill. A few towards the end I note as “intermediate”; you can try these up front, but I recommend learning some of the foundations from Drawabox or Love Life Drawing before going too deep.
Drawabox
- For beginners
- https://drawabox.com/
- Free; optional subscription for guided feedback
Where I got started! The core fundamentals of how to make lines on paper, approach perspective, tackle construction. Don’t make this your ownly drawing activity: respect the 50% rule!
Drawabox is a long course, and a lesson is something that will take you quite a while to complete. You don’t have to finish all of Drawabox to branch out into other areas.
Love Life Drawing
- For beginners
- https://lovelifedrawing.com
- Free starter course; paid study group and additional options
Love Life Drawing teaches the aspects of figure drawing, essential to creating characters. This also can build the foundations of understanding anatomy by beginning with simple forms.
Proko
- All skill levels
- https://www.proko.com/
- Paid course library with free sample lessons to try
A wide array of courses available for all kinds of art subjects. Video-led, sometimes guided feedback available. Instructors are energetic and fun to watch. Often has coupon codes and sales.
New Masters Academy
- All skill levels
- https://www.nma.art
- Subscription-only course library
A subscription “school” with a similar array of content as Proko. Buying a subscription here is often cheaper than committing to a full course on Proko and some other sites, though, and they often will have the same instructors in some courses. NMA is also how I learned about FORCE drawing (below), so you can check this out here too. NMA also runs coupons and promotions. I often see coupons for this on the Drawabox website, above.
FORCE Drawing
- Intermediate skill
- https://www.drawingforce.com/
- Paid courses and some physical books available
If you’re interested in tackling the concept of “gesture”, which usually involves drawing characters, I’ve not found a better resource than this. Michael Mattesi explains things very simply in a way that will make you go “OH! I get it!”. It’s a bit expensive though! As an alternative, check out NMA above as some of his content is in their course catalog.
Aaron Blaise
- Intermediate skill
- https://creatureartteacher.com/
- Paid course library
Aaron Blaise provides a huge library of his own art lessons and pretty much always has it on sale. As the website URL hints, this is largely focused on creatures, but also gets into landscapes, animation, and broad fundamentals. This is one of my fun fallbacks when I don’t know what I want to practice.
Study References
Whether you are searching for a specific photo reference, or you just want a collection to practice when you don’t know what to draw, it’s good to have a set of references readily available. Often a single reference pack will have hundreds of photos included, and they go on sale pretty often.
Grafit Studio
Grafit Studio is an art studio that has a vast collection of very clean, dynamic reference packs. Great for pose references and general anatomy. Favorites of mine:
- Daily Sketching Reference: A nice collection of poses. (Search their shop for other “daily sketching” packs too.)
- Dynamic Male Character Poses: A ton of different action poses with great lighting. You may see these in some of my videos.
- Male Anatomy Reference: Poses with a model that show a lot of muscle definition.
- Hyper Angle Reference: If you want unusual perspectives and actions, there’s a lot of fun stuff here.
Satine Zillah
Satine Zillah has another vast collection of references. I often find more thematic scenes and bold lighting in these which can be great practice. Some of my favorites:
- Samples Pack: An inexpensive little-bit-of-everything bundle. Some fantastic study references and ideal for starting to branch out.
- Hands: One of the hardest subjects to draw! If you can draw these you can draw anything.
- Beasts of Prey: A bundle of three packs with links to each inside. Great for animal studies.
- Rocky Nature: Fantastic for background inspiration and long-distance photo study.
Art Supplies
Traditional
Nothing beats making art the old fashioned way. No drivers to mess with, no calibration to get in your way. It’s the purest connection from you to art and the best way to build your skills.
Essentials
Paper, pencils, sharpeners, erasers. The best supplies are ones you already have. If you run out of scrap paper, or want to try something a little different in your work, here’s a few of my favorites.
Paper
Let’s start with paper! Any paper will do, but you might find two types useful. First, cheap smooth newsprint:
This stuff is typically pretty cheap — check your local art shop, but here’s an Amazon search too. Make sure you get smooth newsprint; rough is not fun!
And if you don’t have any lying around, a sketchbook:
The Strathmore sketch pad I show in the video. Plain sketch paper, 100 pages.
An equivalent sketchpad by Canson. Get whichever one is cheaper!
Pencils
Sweet. Now for pencils, any HB / No.2 pencil is fine! If you want some “art” ones, check your local art shop, but here’s a few I’ve liked:
Pencils! I don’t really have anything exciting to write here. They’re pencils.
If you wanna try different hardnesses, here’s an small pack. But you probably don’t need more than HB, really. (It’s weirdly hard to find non-variety packs on Amazon. Check your local art shop!)
Sharpeners
Can’t have a pencil without a sharpener!
Good, cheap.
Kinda neat because you can adjust the angle for a different kind of point. Not too expensive when on sale, but don’t spend a lot if you don’t need to.
Lead Holders
The fancy mechanical pencil version with thick leads.
Love this lead holder. It’s got a little indicator that you can change so you know what kind of lead is inside! And it feels nice to hold.
Note the lead diameter: 2mm is probably what you’re after.
Some HB refills. Yay!
A tiny little sharpener. Don’t lose it!
Fineliners
Nice art pens! Search around for more.
These are usually only sold in packs online. Check your local art shop for smaller quantities!
Erasers
Nothing too fancy here.
Basic eraser. Does the job.
Kneaded eraser. Does the job slightly differently. The case helps keep the eraser from drying out and sticking to things.
Permanent
Brush Pen
One of my top art supplies. I use this a lot! Check your local art shop for refills.
Water-Based Brush Pens
The prices on these can vary wildly over time — try clicking around between different color sets, because they go on sale at different times.
Alcohol-Based Markers
Luckily these come in big sets that aren’t too expensive! Just be aware that these won’t wash out of clothes or drawing surfaces.
Paint Pens
If you want to try those fancy paint pens, here they are — but usually you know you want these in advance. Prices can vary wildly.
Fun Extras
Small sketchbook
Just like the bigger sketchbook, but uh… smaller.
Charcoal Pencils
You can really get any kind of charcoal pencil / blending stump; check your local art shop. Here’s a set for convenience, but by no means do you need any specific brand.
This set has a few pencils and some blending stumps! I like charcoal pencils over sticks because they’re less messy.
Big Lead Holders
The one I use and like the most, but the price can vary a bit.
A variant of the above that is just as chonky and usually a bit cheaper. Longer too, in case you don’t like how short the Kaweco is.
Digital
Got a start on some traditional skills and want to try out digital? Here’s what I like.
I’ve made a whole video series about the stuff in this section! It’s called Digital Dabbles. Some of the videos are linked below, but for full context, see the whole series.
PC-connected tablets
Please do not impulse buy! Buying a drawing tablet is an expensive thing. Try some out in person if you’re able, and sleep on it before buying anything. Buy from a store that has a decent return policy, so that you can safely return it for something else if you’re not happy with what you’ve got.
Screenless Tablets
I’ve got this one! Medium feels like a good size. I’ve tried small before and it was too small to draw on for me. Large honestly sounds huge! But maybe it’s nice.
It’s got some finger-touch support, too, which is kinda neat to pan and rotate your canvas. However, I’ve not used that feature that much, preferring to use my pen to pan/zoom/rotate with keyboard shortcuts.
While I don’t personally have experience with Huion models, friends rave about them. Dig into reviews, watch some more YouTube videos, see if these are what you’re after.
Screen Tablets
Note: I’ve not personally tried these myself, but I have friends that continue to recommend them. Be sure to choose what works well for you and see if you can try one out before buying.
Wacom makes high quality hardware, and the Cintiq is no exception if you want the best. But be prepared to pay a premium.
Huion makes a bunch of these in different sizes. Here’s the 13” one. Similar to the screenless section, these are way less expensive than a Wacom, but try some out in person if you’re able.
Standalone Tablets
iPad
Probably the best pick of the bunch. You don’t need the Pro unless you’re 100% certain you need the pro.
The 11”. But BIGGER. 11” is more portable, 13” gives you more space. Try both out in a store, if you can.
The newest iPads work with the Pencil Pro or the first-gen Pencil, but not the second gen. Confusing. But the Pencil Pro is quite nice.
Galaxy Tab
The one I used in the video. Pretty impressive for the price! Comes with the S Pen.
More coming here soon! As of November 2025, I’m still actively writing this page. Expect thoughts on art software, books, and more tools.