9 Essential Art Supplies that Your Child Will Love!

Remember when you wanted to buy some painting materials for your child? There are so many options, how do I choose? Buying art supplies is a hobby of its own, I know, I practice it all the time :). And because of that, I’ve learned how to be practical with my purchases. The first thing you need to know when buying art supplies is; every expensive colour has a budget friendly substitute. There are also some mess free products but those might be harder to find. Finally, you can make your own safe, economic, and bright paint at home.

Paint

Every child loves painting with a brush. For that activity, you can buy poster or tempera paint which are child-friendly paints. You can choose the colours you like or buy a complete set of smaller containers. Why is this better than acrylics? It comes in bigger bottles, which means less trips to the store. It’s less expensive than acrylics and younger children will never know the difference.

Watercolours

It’s easy for a child aged 4 to learn how to use watercolours. Choose student quality watercolours that come in trays not tubes. Some great brand names include Stadler, Faber Castell and Milano. You can also buy generic colours which are more economical for children. And a little tip for your little ones who love bright colours; add more water to the brush! The more water they add to the powder colours, the brighter the results.

Brushes

You can’t use paint without a brush! But there are so many types out there, it’s confusing! Let’s make this easy then. Look for soft bristle brushes and choose flat or round brushes. You can buy a small, medium and large brush of either shape (flat and round). Or you can make things easier, ask for watercolour brushes that come in a pack of different shapes or sizes.

Paper for paint

You go to a stationery store to buy paint and paper, only you don’t know what type of paper to buy! Sounds familiar? There are too many options to choose from. Here is the one thing you need to be looking for, though. Always buy heavy weight paper to use with paint! How will I know? You can ask the store attendant or look at the cover of the sketch pad you’re buying. If it says the paper is suitable for acrylics or watercolours, you’ve made the right choice

Paper for dry materials

Oil Pastels

You mean the fancy version of crayons? Sometimes! But the biggest difference is, they contain oil while crayons contain wax and colour. They are great for all ages and there are techniques for each grade level. You can also use them on almost any surface. They give bold, bright colours that all children love. They are mess free. They also double as drawing and painting tools! So you can take them with you anywhere and keep your children entertained.

Mess free options

We all know painting is messy! it gets on their clothes, their hands, hair and all the surfaces around. While these suggestions are not guaranteed to be 100% mess free, they do come very close. Here are three types of art supplies you can buy that are fun to use, no mess!

Paint Markers

Paint markers are usually sold in individual colours. The best thing about them is, they give your children the desired effect of painting. They can also use them to add details to an artwork that are too difficult with a brush. You can take them with you anywhere and they will only need a paper to create a beautiful artwork.

Chubby paint

Chubby paint is not as common, and we found it only at Alwan. This marker gives the effect of watercolours. Your child can even mix colours while using it. You can also use it with regular paper, although heavier paper would be a better option. You don’t need water or brushes to use this, and children of all ages love it

Paint sticks

Paint sticks are not commonly found in Egypt. So why are they on this list? because if you have the chance to buy them elsewhere, please do! They are so much fun to use. They are paints in the form of a stick, so they give all the benefits of painting without any of the mess. Children love them, and you can get them in different finishes too. So you can buy the metallic, or neon colours or the basic colours. Whichever choice you make, this is a life saver for children who love to paint, but don’t know how to control the mess yet.