There are so many materials out there, what to choose? I would usually buy art supplies depending on what style I am leaning towards. When I wanted to try sketching with ink, with just two colors, I bought 2 ink colors and a refillable water brush (specifically, yellow and blue ink, because they also can mix and make green!). Or I wanted to try sketching to create sketches with black ink and diluted ink washes, so I got a Lamy fountain pen and used a refillable water brush to create ink washes. (Since the ink is not waterproof, it won’t work with the watercolor washes, it will bleed into the watercolor and create a mess!)
If you are just starting out I’d recommend using these supplies:
Simply Simmons Value Brush Set - a great value, good quality, and variety of sizes. It is missing a round brush, so I would either buy it separately or use one from the watercolor set (below) or a refillable water brush set (below).
Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colour Paint Sketchers' Pocket Box, 12 colors and a small round tip brush - when you’re just starting out 11 colors (I am not counting white) are plenty. You can mix them to create additional colors, but when you just starting out, I would suggest limiting your color palette otherwise there is a chance you’ll get overwhelmed with choices! I am not sure why they would include white in the palette, as to make watercolor lighter, you just use more water and less pigment. Basically, you don’t need that color, as watercolor is a transparent medium and the paper is white, so to have white highlights, you just leave that area on the paper untouched.
Another watercolor set to consider is Sakura 12 Assorted Watercolors Field Sketch Set. It has a water brush included and built in mixing palette. Another lightweight and affordable sketch kit to use on the go or at home.
Water brush pens - these are so great to use for the urban sketching/sketching on location since you don’t have to hold a container with water or keep it somewhere near. The water brush pens have a refillable barrel for water, you squeeze it a little, and here is your flow of water! You can use them at home as well, it’s just such a great design.
Pencils, any brand will do, just try to use hard ones (grade H), so that the line is thin and barely visible. Thin pencil marks are ok with the watercolor washes, but not with the thick, dark ones (pencils with grades F, HB, B). But f you want to try sketching just with pencils, then the grades F, HB, B will work as well!
I love Platinum Carbon Pen with the refillable cartridges! I bought one years ago, and it’s no longer available, but this one seems to be the newest version of the one I use. You will need Platinum Carbon Pen cartridges for it. This pen is so great for sketching and its ink is waterproof (which means it won’t bleed when you apply watercolor wash)
Handbook Journal Co. Artist Canvas Cover Travel Notebook for Drawing and Sketching, Pocket Portrait 5.5 x 3.5 Inches, 130 GSM Paper. It is the smallest size of all the sketchbooks out there (as far as I know!) and I thinks it’s the best to start with. It’s easy to put away and it is not intimidating. I also have Moleskine 5.5 x 3.5 inches, but currently Handbook brand is less pricey. If you have budget for it, I’d recommend trying both and selecting the one you liked the most! They both work great for sketching, although the paper is slightly different and watercolor shows differently (but beautifully) in both. This is the one I have.
And the last tool you will probably need is eraser. I recommend using a kneaded rubber erasers. They lift pencil off the paper, without leaving smudges or marks. They can take any shape you give them (and you can create really thin edge) and they don’t damage the paper. Also, you can use them as stress balls.
Below are some examples from my sketchbooks of quick sketches with ink and watercolor washes.
