Yardia's favorite art materials

Every Yardia product starts out as one of my original watercolor paintings. I've been working with watercolor since I was a child, and it's always been my favorite medium to work with. I love how it has a mind of its own--as much as an artist might want to control it, the best thing to do is to let the watercolor do what it wants to do. Over the years, I've worked with a lot of different brands and materials, and here are my favorites that I've always come back to.
 

Watercolor paint:

Daniel Smith Artist Materials. My absolute favorite art supply company fits in perfectly with Yardia's Pacific Northwest-inspired illustrations. Daniel Smith is a local art material company based in Seattle, and I even worked for them for a brief period of time in my early twenties. I love their paints, and love learning how they're created in their SoDo district factory. Two of my most used colors include Iridescent Jade and Cascade Green. Both of these colors have such interesting ways of reacting with other pigments, so they've become go-to choices for me.
 

Brushes:

My most-used watercolor brushes have been so well-used that all of the brand information has come off of the handles! You can see one of them in my hand in the photo. I wish I knew what they were because I'd love to purchase some new ones. All I know is that they're around a size 4 round brush with soft synthetic bristles.
 

Paper:

I tend to paint on either hot-press watercolor paper or hot-press illustration board. I'm not too picky about the brand, but I like the smooth surface. If you're just starting out with watercolor, though, I'd recommend working with a cold-press paper since it has more tooth to control the paint a bit better.
 

Eraser:

I love these triangular erasers made by Faber Castell--they feel great in my hand and can get into smaller details. I also always have a kneaded eraser on hand as well.
 

Pencil:

I prefer 2B pencils for sketching. They're a bit softer than a standard school pencil, but still light enough to erase easily.
 
And there you have it. These are my favorite art materials to work with when creating illustrations for Yardia cards, art prints, wrapping paper and camp mugs.
 
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