Materials

Buy the essentials and nothing else until a module asks for it. A small kit is a kit you’ll actually carry.

Item	Essential	Nice to have	Notes
Pen	Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen, fine or medium (pigment ink, waterproof)	Platinum Carbon Desk Pen with Platinum Carbon Black ink	The ink must be waterproof once dry, or washes will smear it. In one sketcher’s test, Platinum Carbon was fully waterproof after 60 seconds. Buy it from a pen specialist, because fakes turn up on marketplaces. De Atramentis Document ink is a waterproof alternative made in the EU. Clean pigment-ink fountain pens regularly.
Sketchbook	Stillman & Birn Beta (270 gsm) or a Hahnemühle watercolour book, A5 or smaller	Stillman & Birn Alpha (150 gsm) for line-heavy pages	Beta takes watercolour on both sides. Alpha takes only light washes. Zeta is smooth and heavy if you prefer a fine pen.
Paint	A three-colour set: a warm yellow (Azo or Hansa), a crimson (Permanent Alizarin or Quinacridone Rose), Ultramarine, plus Burnt Sienna	Cobalt Blue, Indanthrene Blue, Carbazole Violet	You don’t need the paint until Module 4. Artist-grade half pans from Schmincke, Daniel Smith or Winsor & Newton. Ultramarine with Burnt Sienna gives every grey and dark you need.
Brushes	One round brush, size 8–12, with a good point, plus one water brush	A travel brush	Use a bigger brush than you think you need.
Other	Pencil (HB–2B), eraser, card viewfinder, water pot, clip, rag	White gouache, folding stool	The pencil and eraser come in at Module 3, for setup lines only.

All of these are stocked by the main online art shops in Spain and the UK.