Here are five top quality drawing sets, at a variety of price ranges. Covering a variety of media, these sets are chosen for their useful contents rather than packaging, although all are presented in tins or boxes for convenience and portability, and of course gift-giving.
Conte crayons are a versatile medium, less dusty than soft pastel or charcoal, softer than pencil. This set contains a basic range of conte pencils and sticks with an eraser and blending stumps.
The quality of Faber-Castell pencils is evident in the high ratio of pigment giving reliable rich, true color, free of irregularities. Blend and create wash effects with water on-site or later in the studio, or leave dry. Available in various sets as well as individually - collect your favourites or replace well-used colors.
Want to really impress someone? Don't waste money on a ring or a watch. Get them this stunning wooden case filled with Sennelier's sublime soft pastels. Sennelier use the finest pigments with minimal binder, so these soft, lucious pastels need a good, fine-toothed paper and fixative. For those used to cheaper materials, they might seem expensive, but they deliver unmatched pure color, and occasional good sales prices make them more affordable.
Watercolor is an ideal sketching medium, with its quick-drying, portable color. Winsor and Newton are an English company who make superb watercolors using the finest pigments These travel sets come with mixing palette and brush. For a cheaper alternative, look for their student range, Cotman waterccolors, which are also of a high standard.
Cretacolor's 'Black Box' set contains everything you need to get started with charcoal drawing: willow, compressed, block and pencil charcoal, tortillon, kneadable eraser, as well as 2 'Monolith' graphite pencils and 3 'Nero' pencils (charcoal mixed with oily waxes for gloss and water resistance).
