What Your Art Student Needs for College

For many families with college age students, there are just a couple of weeks before college starts. Freshman, especially, are surely trying to accumulate all of the items they will need for their dorm rooms and their school supply list. I spent several days scouring the Internet, reading message boards and college lists and came up with hundreds of items students need for college. There are so many items in fact, that a simple list won't do them justice. With that said, this list is specifically for art students. Here are the items that an art student needs for college.

You might be tempted to wait until the first day of class to see the teacher supply list before buying anything, and if at all possible, you should check to see if any of the classes has a published list. The last thing you want to do is get stuck with book store prices for art supplies. So, unless there is an art supply school near the college, you will be better off stocking up on the basics.

Art Pencil Set: Students taking any drawing class will need a full compliment of art pencils. A case usually comes in a metal case and are labeled by lead softness. A decent set will include 8 to 12 pencils, charcoal pencils, charcoal sticks, sharpeners and erasers.

Small sketch book: Teachers usually dictate the size of sketchbook that they want to student to have for their class. Still, they will need a sketchbook that they can carry with them at all times. If they draw something that can be useful for their class, they can rip out the page and tape it into their assigned sketch book.

Art Markers: If the student is taking graphic design, they will need high end art markers. You will want to purchase these in advance, with a coupon. A full set of Prismacolor markers can easily cost $70.00 in an art store.

Charcoal: If your student is scheduled for an art class, you will want to pick up a set of black charcoal sticks and also a set of gradient color (includes black, shades of gray, and white) charcoal sticks. These sets often come with blending tools.

Paint brushes: Teachers will recommend different paint brushes for different mediums. It may help to purchase a full set of artist quality brushes in advance, because a set won't cost any more than a few individual brushes. Then the student will only need to add on or two brushes to their collection per teacher instruction.

Paints: Purchase a student quality paint set in the medium the student will study. If you don't know what brand to purchase, you can call the college and find out what brand they carry. This most likely the brand the teacher will recommend. For watercolor, the student will likely need a full set. For oil or acrylic, they will only need primary colors including black and white.

Erasers: Go to the dollar store and stock up on white rubber erasers. You student will likely go through a lot of these, and they will cost several dollars each in the school book store. They will also need a couple of gum erasers which you can get from an artist supply store.

Large Portfolio: Your student will need an envelope style portfolio to carry their art supplies, especially the larger pieces. A leather one will last all four year and will hold and protect their work. After the first year, you may want to purchase a second portfolio for displaying their best work.

Toolbox: When I was in art school I carried my supplies in a cheap cloth bag. That was fine, but it destroyed my supplies faster and was messy. You don' want you pastels, charcoal, and watercolors intermingling. Instead, I recommend purchasing a large tool box with a handle where they can organize their supplies and always have whatever they need handy.