Our subscriber base has grown so much since we first started eight years ago, that most of you have missed all our earliest recommendations. The best of these are still valid and useful, so we’re trying out something new — Retro Recomendo. Once every 6 weeks, we’ll send out a throwback issue of evergreen recommendations focused on one theme from the past 8 years.

Quick art painting

I used to draw and paint a lot, but I never mastered the control of colors. I’ve renewed my interest in making art by getting an iPad with an Apple pencil and a $13 app called Procreate. Procreate is the intuitive graphics program that I always wanted from Illustrator and Photoshop but they were too complicated. Procreate is fast, obvious, crisp, revolving around the natural gestures of holding a pencil or brush. Its built-in smartness let me find and fill colors as if I were a pro. It has the expected layers and undo functions, but also enough simplicity that it is also perfect for sketching lines in black ink. It’s a joy to use, inspiring me to do a painting a day. — KK

Sketch pad for all media

My art student daughter has been using these spiral-bound Canson Mix Media 7×10 drawing pads. I started buying them for myself, too. The heavy paper easily handles ink pens, watercolor, and Copic markers, and has a nice texture for pencils. A 60-sheet notebook is only $14. — MF

Pocketable watercolor kit

This small, watercolor kit by Sakura is perfect for the occasional wannabe artist like me. It comes with a brush that stores water, so you can always be ready to paint. It was so easy to incorporate this into my journaling/sketching routine. — CD

High quality drawing pens

The Sakura Pigma Manga Basic Set comes with 5 pens: 4 Pigma Microns (sizes 005, 01, 05, 08) a black brush pen, and a white ink gel pen. The ink is waterproof and very dark. At $10, it’s a good deal. — MF

Free online drawing mannequin

Set Pose is an online drawing mannequin that you can adjust and use as a 3D model reference. There are presets like running, sitting, playing sports and combat poses that you can select, and even some props like a sword, bike, and chair. This is perfect for me because I always have trouble drawing dynamic poses. — CD

Blendable color markers

For sketching and painting I favor alcohol-based markers. They let you blend colors like a watercolor brush, but with the convenience of a felt marker. The preferred premier markers are the extremely expensive Copics. An inexpensive equivalent for blendable markers with dual tips (fat or point) are Bianyo. I can paint quickly easily in a notebook using a travel set like these 72 Bianyo markers. — KK

09/8/24