Are you struggling to find the best time for when you should actually invest in professional quality supplies? 

I’m willing to bet you’ve tried browsing online art shops, but it’s hard to know if you’re actually ready to jump into the good stuff when you might not be as confident in your art skills just yet 

And when you can finally order those yummy supplies, it only makes you feel more discouraged, because let’s face it, they’re expensive and what if you waste them while trying to figure out how to use them?

Don’t worry! You’re not alone. 

One of the biggest challenges people face is finding the balance between when to use the good supplies and when to stick to the cheaper stuff.

It’s hard to stay motivated to take the plunge and create a pet portrait with those Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils when you’re still struggling to achieve realistic fur detail with student grade pencils.

Speaking from experience, realistic artwork takes quality supplies And TIME.

So how – and when – are you ready to try out those Faber Castell colored pencils? Should you do it after you’ve mastered colored pencil techniques? Or should you allow yourself to practice with those pencils and experience first hand what those pencils are capable of?

Keep reading for the pros and cons of each… 

Best Time for Practicing with Quality Supplies: Can you practice without wasting them?

Sometimes you have to just jump in. 

If you’ve seen other artists churn out amazing work with those supplies, then it’s time to start using them

Allowing yourself to use quality supplies while you’re still learning has three big benefits.

•  You’ll get a feel for how the supplies work and what they can or can’t do, and you’ll be able to eliminate the worry that you’re not using the right supplies (because, hey, you’ve seen what other artists have been able to do with them). 
•  You won’t be fighting with those pencils to get good color saturation or fine detail, because they’re professional quality and are ideal for those results. In other words, they’re easier to work with than budget pencils. 
• Practicing with these supplies reduces the possibility that you’ll develop bad technique.

If you’re on a tight budget, investing in quality supplies can be scary 

But, you don’t need to invest in a full set! Since I’m using Faber Castell Polychromos pencils as the example in this post, just go grab yourself a set of 12! I promise, you’ll learn a lot about mixing and blending if you’re using a limited color palette! You can also buy these pencils open stock, and grab a few extra colors that you think you’d use quite often.

Same with those yummy Caran D’ache Luminance pencils! They are known for being extremely pricey, but even if you just grab a white and some cream tones, you’ll be golden!  

Another reason to start practicing with the professional supplies?

You’ll learn faster because you’re not fighting with performance issues that are common among budget pencils. 

 Charcoal supplies are an amazing option

If you can’t afford even a small set of Polychromos, or you’re just way too scared to jump into that level of colored pencil, I’ve got some news for you! Work in black and white! Charcoal supplies are the most affordable supply on the market, and I guarantee, you’ll learn a ton by working in black and white

You just have to take the leap and allow yourself to practice with black and white first. We all know how easy it is to jump ahead right?

For example, if you’re really wanting to learn colored pencil, just buy a black one and practice your shading and values! Or do some studies in charcoal. Charcoal is a fast medium, and you’ll learn quickly

 There’s no one-size-fits-all!

Ultimately, the best time for using professional quality supplies is sticking to what you can afford. And by that, I mean getting a smaller amount of the high quality supplies, so you stay within your budget. It’s better to get a set of 12 professional quality colored pencils than a set of 150 Crayola which definitely won’t work well for realistic drawing

Sure, using Crayola or Artist’s Loft might be good for quick sketches or color studies. But when it comes time to really focusing on improving your skills, you really need the right tools.

Remember, the hardest part is starting. Even if you’re terrified of wasting those amazing Faber Castell pencils, you have to remember that messing up is part of learning!

Get good at working in monochrome! A black Faber Castell Polychromos pencil is a great tool for practicing black and white drawings. 

This cat drawing was created with one black Polychromos pencil and a white Prismacolor

If You’re Determined to work in Color: Grab some Prismacolor

Prismacolor pencils were my first pencil that I started using when I began drawing. They are more affordable than Faber Castell, and they don’t have much of a learning curve. They blend beautifully, and almost do the blending for you.

Prismacolor is a stellar option for beginner colored pencil artists, because you can also get a set of 12, and they come open stock as well, so you can add to your collection over time. They can produce beautiful artwork, so you won’t be fighting with them to get them to perform well.

It’s important to use proper technique with any pencil you’re using. Scribbling with a Caran D’Ache pencil is going to get you a crayon-like result. It doesn’t mean you’ve got a faulty pencil. It means you need to practice your pencil application. 

The above portrait is one of my most recent drawings! My portraits didn’t always look like this though! Check out this blog post here where I explain my epic failure with portraiture a few years ago when I was still in junior high.