As a professional of 9 years, and a hobby artist of over 2 decades, I’ve done a lot of drawing and tried a lot of different gear. Here are my recommendations for the best art supplies for anime.
Pencils:
Lead Holder Pencils
It’s a pencil that can be any grade of pencil. There’s a button you press on the back to easily switch out to a different grade of pencil lead.
Lead Holder Pencil
The Staedtler Mars Technico is probably the most common one you’ll see. It’s just about industry standard. If you’ve ever wondered what kind of blue pencil that guy doing the speed art on YouTube was using, it was probably this one.
Lead Holder Refills
In most cases HB leads will be ideal. If you want to mix things up a little, 2H is also a very common lead for anime work. My preference is HB, but both will give you nice, clean lines.
Pencil Sharpener
A sharp pencil is a happy pencil, for which you’ll need a sharpener designed for lead holder pencils.
Mechanical Pencils
Pentel GraphGear 0.5mm
The main difference between a mechanical and lead holder pencil is you don’t have to sharpen the mechanicals. If you only want one pencil, get the 0.5mm. That’s the most utilizable size. The graphgear pencils have a mechanism to retract the lead back into the pencil, which is great to control how much lead is exposed.
Pentel GraphGear 5 Piece Size Set
Though you can get a lot done with a 0.5mm pencil, a set is, obviously, the better option. Having the range of 0.3mm to 0.9mm gives you a lot of artistic flexibility from details to thick lines.
Mechanical Pencil Refills
And don’t forget your reloads. You’ll need them eventually. Mechanical pencils generally use HB, which make cleaner lines than a 2B (2B is your usual yellow, school pencil). Make sure you get the right size for the empty mechanical pencil. If you try and put 0.9mm lead into a 0.3mm pencil, you’re gonna have a bad time.
Wood Pencils
Pencil Set
You usually see most professional artists using either mechanical pencils or lead holder pencils, but you can still be a great anime artist using classic wooden pencils. If that’s what you like, there’s no reason not to. Staedtler makes a great, affordable set of pencils that easily qualifies for some of the best art supplies for anime.
Set of HB Pencils
You may also want to get a set of only HBs, 2Hs, or whatever pencil you like. Because you’ll probably burn through a pack of HBs before you finish that single 8B pencil. And don’t forget a pencil sharpener.
Erasers:
No matter how good you get, you’ll still need erasers. Trust me.
Retractable Erasers
Retractable erasers are great for spot erasing, if you don’t want to smudge everything else accidentally.
Electric Eraser
An ingenious way to erase pencil. The upside is it’s very accurate, efficient, and fun. Downside is it needs batteries and some people say its wobbly.
Regular Erasers
Just like at school, except now you’re using it recreationally. The go to for having to erase large areas of pencils. Staedtler makes decent erasers too.
Kneaded Eraser
Now these are fascinating erasers. They change shape, and you can tear pieces off. Kneaded erasers are good because you can decide how much you want to erase in a particular area depending on how hard you dab. The harder you press, the more particles it pulls away. These are great for lightening up a loose sketch before doing a more detailed pencil sketch – to keep things clean.
Paper:
Heavier Sketchbook
Regular A4 paper has a weight of only around 20 lbs. It’s easy to rip, tear, and damage. It’s definitely functional for drawing, but not ideal. You’ll have a much better time with some heavier paper. I like using sketchbooks with a paper weight of around 70lbs.
Bristol Paper
If you want to do any inking or marker work, you should get an even heavier paper. Bristol paper is fantastic for this. Make sure you get the smooth kind. Don’t get vellum. Vellum is designed for things like charcoal and pencil crayons. It has rougher texture to pick up dry media better. If you use ink or markers on it, it can bleed a little and create messier work.
Markers:
Pigma Micron Markers
I’d say industry standard for linework. You want the best art supplies for anime? Well, these things are fantastic. It’s not included in this particular pack, but I recommend a pigma “brush” as well. The brush mimics a traditional ink brush, which will save you time when it comes to inking large areas.
Alcohol Markers
If you want to create images in traditional 2d that look like how anime shows look (cel shaded), you’ll need markers. The best of the best is the Copic brand. They are amazing, but can be on the expensive side. If you’re looking a good brand that’s considerably more budget, I suggest Ohuhu markers.
Tablets:
Wacom CTL Intuos
If you’re just a hobby artist and want to draw anime for fun digitally. You really don’t need anything more than a small tablet like this little Wacom. It’s not even a 100 bucks. And Wacom is the big name in tablets for a reason. These things are simply quality. I’ve got one Wacom tablet that I’ve been using for nearly 10 years now and it’s still perfectly functional. Check it out on Amazon.
XP-Pen Artist
If you want a tablet with a display, but don’t want to break the bank, this thing is amazing. It’s just as good as the comparable Wacom Cintiq version, but for 30% less money. And the hotkeys on the side are a great touch. I know the Cintiqs can be a little lacking for hotkey buttons. The difference between the 11 inch and 13 inch is about 50 bucks, so if you don’t mind a slightly smaller screen that’s a pretty good deal for how good this thing is. Check it out on Amazon.
Programs for Digital Art:
Photoshop
There are 2 programs I’d recommend.
Adobe Photoshop
First is Photoshop. This program has everything you need to draw digitally. I pretty much live in this program. The two cons are is it has a bit of a learning curve to it and it’s 30/mo for a subscription to Adobe. But, I’ve tried a few different programs and I just keep coming back to photoshop.
Clip Studio Paint
While a little simpler than Photoshop, Clip Studio can hold its on. And given it’s functionality at only a 60 dollar price tag, I would say a very good deal.
That concludes what I think the best art supplies for anime are. Now, this is all of course just my opinion. Doesn’t hurt to go try things out for yourself.