Sketch Material Wish List for 2023

 

Uglybooks: Please put all these colors in one book!

One of my favorite year-end posts is this one in which I whine about describe the art materials that I would ask Santa for – if such materials existed. From a picky sketcher like me, it’s often a tall order, and yet it never hurts to ask – a few times my wishes have eventually been fulfilled (most notably the one for bicolor watercolor pencils). Last year the only thing on my list wasn’t even a product – it was just a few additional colors within a product line. If my list is that short, I guess my sketching life is pretty good.

This year my list is almost as short – just two items (and granted, they are fairly esoteric and idiosyncratic, but isn’t everything when it relates to favored art materials?):

I have been tickled to pieces about Uglybooks, my spectacular sketchbook discovery this year that has given me so many more color options for toned paper than I’ve ever had. I’ve been using them in many ways, including the more typical midtone with black and white and lately as “underpainting” colors. As happy as I am with Uglybooks, you’d think I’d have nothing to ask for, but I do: I want an Uglybook edition containing multiple colors! A variety of cool and warm midtones plus black (or another dark hue) bound into a single book would be ideal. (Yes, I’ve already asked them to do it. If I’m patient, this one might have a chance of being fulfilled!)

So many Bic 4-Colors available, yet none with Xtra Bold points!
(I typically go outdoors to take my "bouquet" photos,
but it's snowing as I prepare this blog post.)

Taking France Van Stone’s crosshatching courses during InkTober this year really pushed me to explore a technique I had been wanting to practice for a long time but had never made the commitment to do so. At the same time, her extensive use of Xtra Bold point Bics brought me to a new level of appreciation for these ballpoints. A Google search will bring up gazillions of types of Bics, including  my favorite Bic form factor and body type, the 4-Color. It comes in many different iterations of ink color, body color and even those covered with velour – yet the point sizes seem to be limited to standard medium or fine. I want a Bic 4-Color containing 1.6mm Xtra Bold points, which is most commonly found in the Cristal and Velocity bodies. I have searched high and low, even among Bic fans in France who have access to Bics that don’t get distributed in the US. A 4-Color with bold points doesn’t exist. It would be so convenient to have four Xtra Bold colors in a single pen to crosshatch with! I bet France would want one, too!

Here are my wish lists from previous years:

2021
2020
2019

If you could ask Santa for an art material or tool that doesn’t yet exist, what would you ask for?