Six Art Supplies Actually Worth Adding to Your Cart

Introduction

Everyone loves a shopping list, but art supplies are one of those categories where the price jumps from a single dollar to well over a hundred without much in between. So we put together a progressive haul: every item had to cost more than the one before it, nothing could be something already owned, and everything had to come from Amazon. The final basket landed at just over $1,000 Australian dollars, and several of the picks turned out to be genuinely worth the money. Here are the six supplies that stood out, in the order they earned their place.

Paul Rubens Oil Pastels

Oil pastels were completely new territory, and the Paul Rubens set immediately made the case for why people keep recommending them. The texture is buttery and soft, a completely different experience to chalk pastels, and the colors are impressively vivid. On black paper they performed especially well, sitting opaque and bright where other media tend to disappear.

One thing worth knowing before buying: the set purchased was the pastel-toned range, which means some of the brighter colors available in the brand’s other sets are missing. That is worth checking against the color range you actually need.

They blend easily and would suit anyone who wants detail work with a creamy, forgiving medium.

Caran d’Ache Neocolor Wax Pastels

These are water-soluble wax pastels, which is a polite way of saying they feel like a very expensive crayon, in the best possible way. They are noticeably drier than oil pastels, smell faintly of candle wax, and can be mixed with water to create washes.

A small caveat on the unboxing: the pack arrived as a mix of old and new branding, with labels reading everything from “wax oil pastel” to “permanent wax pastel”. It felt a little second-hand, though the pastels themselves are pleasant to use. They blend well together, and if coloring brings back childhood memories, this amplifies them considerably, just with far better crayons.

Arrtx Jelly Gouache

Jelly gouache is a format many artists have never seen in person, and the Arrtx set looks exactly like what it is: rows of small tubs of jelly-like paint in bright, cheerful colors. The pigment payoff looks excellent once the seal is broken, and the tub format makes it easy to see every color at a glance.

The one practical concern is drying out. Because every pot was still sealed at purchase, they were left closed deliberately to avoid losing paint before a dedicated session. If you buy a set like this, plan to actually use it rather than let it sit.

Karin Brush Markers

The Karin Brush markers were the first of the intentionally planned, higher-ticket items, picked in a mid-tier set rather than the largest one. They are water-based brush markers that blend surprisingly well, which matters more than it sounds: water-based markers are far kinder to coloring books because they do not bleed through pages, and getting smooth blends without alcohol ink opens up a lot of creative room.

Anyone who already owns Tombow-style markers will find these an interesting comparison, and first impressions were strong enough that deeper testing is planned.

Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle Watercolour Pencils

After years of requests to compare watercolour pencil brands, this was the first proper set purchased, and it went straight to one of the most consistently recommended names: the Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle. These pencils work beautifully dry, but the colors genuinely come to life with water, and very little is needed for the pigment to spread.

One practical tip learned the hard way: colors shift slightly when wet, so it is worth swatching before committing to a final piece.

Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolour Pencils

The most expensive item in the whole haul, and the last to be added, was the 120-set of Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils, and it happened to be on sale. The detail that makes this set genuinely exciting: every single color in the watercolour range matches the Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencil range, so the two sets can be tested and used side by side with matched hues.

Together with the Museum Aquarelle set, these two brands came up again and again as among the best watercolour pencils available, and early sketching with both suggested vibrant, easy-working color with minimal water. If you are choosing between the brands, both are defensible; the Dürer set is the investment pick for anyone building a long-term collection.

Overall Buying Advice

A few lessons from the full spree are worth borrowing. First, price history matters: waiting for a sale on a big-ticket set like the Dürer pencils saved real money. Second, smaller bargains are worth grabbing even when they seem trivial; a mispriced single oil pastel order arrived containing several sticks. Third, plan the big purchases rather than impulse-buying everything in the middle of the price range, because that is where most of the forgettable filler lives. Finally, if you spend big on any watercolour pencil or marker set, swatch your colors first. Wet color rarely matches dry.

Conclusion

This haul proved that a sensible art supply order does not need to be entirely premium. A $75 water-based marker set, a jelly gouache collection, and two tiers of Caran d’Ache can sit comfortably alongside a 120-pencil flagship set, as long as each item has a real job to do. The Paul Rubens oil pastels and the Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer pencils are the two picks most likely to end up in daily use, and the Karin Brush markers are the sleeper hit to watch.