Do you like to experiment? Then this combining art supplies exercise is great for you.
I am always curious about what art supplies you can combine. Can you combine ink with watercolor or colored pencils and alcohol markers?
You might want to try out a few combinations before you use them on a large drawing or painting. This exercise is perfect for that. We will be combining art supplies, but because the purpose is just exploration and not creating a masterpiece, we use simple balloons to test this.
This way there is no pressure at all and you can just have fun trying out new combinations.
You can try this exercise with whatever supplies you have. Be as adventurous as you’d like.
Have fun with this exercise! Please let me know which combinations you’ve tried.
You can find a small video of this exercise on my Instagram @thecreativecooldown
Supplies used:
Bristol paper (Winsor & Newton), waterproof ink (Ziller), straight pointed pen, alcohol markers (Ohuhu), watercolor (Winsor & Newton), gouache (Holbein Artists’), Silver gelly roll pen (Sakura), colored pencils (Faber-Castell polychromos), paintbrush no. 2 (da Vinci), water brush (Pentel), mechanical pencil (Pentel), Copic fineliner.
Alternative supply suggestions:
For this exercise, you can use whatever supplies you have: watercolor, colored pencils, markers, crayons, etc. Make combinations you’re interested in.
Instructions:
Please note that this is a free exercise and you can combine whatever supplies you’re interested in. The steps below serve as an example.
1. Draw some simple balloons on your paper with pencils. Use your first art supply. I used waterproof ink to draw the outline of the balloon and added some lines.
2. Combine your second art supply with the one you used in step 1. I combined my ink with green watercolor. I didn’t like how this combination turned out. The ink is indeed waterproof, but with watercolor on top, the gold didn’t look so shiny anymore. I didn’t want to try it the other way around, because the watercolor will make the paper less smooth and it would be harder for me to go over it with my pointed pen.
3. Now it’s time for your second combination. Choose two supplies you can use in steps 3 and 4. I started with blue watercolor and filled the second balloon with this color.
4. Then I used blue gouache to add stripes to the balloon. I loved how this combination turned out. You can use gouache to make details stand out more in your painting.
5. Now we get to the third balloon. Choose 2 new supplies to combine. I started with a pink alcohol marker.
6. Then I decided to combine it with a silver gelly roll pen and add an outline and a swirly pattern to the balloon. This is another great combination. The gelly roll really makes it pop and does not clash with the alcohol marker as some other pens do.
7. One more balloon to go. Choose 2 art supplies for this one. I started with an alcohol marker again, yellow this time.
8. Then I combined it with some yellow colored pencils to give it more texture. This is by far my favorite combination. The colored pencils really add something extra. If you work with alcohol markers, I can really recommend adding some texture with colored pencils at the end.
9. (optional) Add some strings to your balloons and you’re done with the combining art supplies exercise!
If you liked this exercise, you might like my Mindful circle pattern exercise as well.
