15 Amazing Gift Ideas for Artists and Creatives

Are you looking for gift ideas for artists this holiday season? It can be challenging to shop for the artist in your life. There are so many products and options it can feel overwhelming.  

Today I’m going to simplify this process for you. I’ve included 15 of my favorite supplies that I use constantly in my creative process. Whether working in an art journal or on a canvas, these quality products will make fantastic gifts for both professional and novice artists alike!

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1. Helix Circle and Angle Maker

Do you know an artist that loves to create mandalas or uses circles in their work? The Helix Circle and Angle Maker is the perfect tool for them! This is a circle tool that not only draws circles, but also provides angles and angle degrees. This makes it quick and easy to make circles up to 4” and create a variety of angles quickly.  I’ve heard from so many of you how useful this tool has been to your creative practice!

But if you’re looking for circles larger than 4”, the circle ruler is a must have! This tool works in a similar manner but creates larger circles. The only downside is that it doesn’t have an angle tool.  But they can be used together very effectively to streamline your drawing process.   For more information on how these tools work, check out this article: Choosing the Best Circle Tools for Drawing

2. Iridescent Paints and Inks

Looking for some subtle shimmer for your projects? If you like to work with inks, check out the Lisa Horton Crafts Cloud 9 Pigment Inks. These fabulous inks can be applied to create one color on white and a completely different color on black. I love these inks for their versatility and the beautiful color shimmer. This is one of the few inks that work amazingly on black paper, so it’s a must have for any art journal practice!

If you don’t like to work with inks, pick up some Golden Fluid Acrylic Iridescent paints. These work beautifully on dark or black surfaces as well. They even have a slight color flipping component to them. Depending on the angle of the light and the color of the paint, this can let the shine appear and disappear on the surface.

These are different from the iridescent inks because they don’t provide color on white paper, but instead they create unique shimmer, which I like to use in my acrylic paintings and projects.  

Come visit me next week where I’ll be sharing a user guide on how to use these beautiful paints and inks!

3. Caran d’Ache Technalo RGB Pencils

Do you know an artist who loves to draw and sketch? A truly unique gift is the Caran d’Ache Technalo RGB Pencils. These aren’t a watercolor pencil, they are a true graphite pencil. When used on paper, they have a typical graphite appearance. But when water is added to the graphite, they color shift to red, green, blue or black depending on the pencil.

There are a professional water-soluble graphite, so they write and shade beautifully on a range of different papers. This is a very unique gift for the person in your life that likes to draw and sketch. To see these pencils in action, check out this article: How to Use Water Soluble Graphite

4. Watercolor Paints

I think every artist should have a good set of watercolor paints. There’s so many brands and colors out there, so how do you narrow it down to a good set?

If you are purchasing a gift for a professional artist, I can highly recommend Daniel Smith Fine Watercolor paints. If you are purchasing for someone who already works in watercolor, instead of purchasing a kit or set of colors, purchase individual tubes of color. This will be more useful to someone who already has a good collection of watercolors.

If you are purchasing for a hobbyist that is looking to get a better set of paints, consider a set of professional paints as it’s a less expensive way to get access to good quality watercolor paints.

For professional paints, I recommend Daniel Smith, Sennelier, Mission, Holbein, and M. Graham watercolors in tubes.

Student Grade Watercolors

If you are looking for a more economical paint, I always recommend the Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolors in tube sets of either 10 or 20 colors. These have great pigment, not quite as brilliant as the professional watercolors, but you will get great color for your projects. Just make sure to purchase a palette with these watercolor tubes. Tubes will give the artist a lot more color to work with than pre-made watercolor palettes.  

If you are looking for a truly portable watercolor set, especially for a hobbyist, check out the Sakura Koi Watercolor Sketch Box. This one is a must have for me when traveling and working away from my studio. Check out this article where I go into more detail about different options for watercolor paints: The Best Gifts for Artists that Love Watercolor and Acrylic Paint

5. Paint Pens and Markers

For any mixed media or acrylic artist, the perfect gift is a set of Posca paint pens! These pens have highly pigmented acrylic, don’t clog, and write smoothly every time. To see my full paint pen review, check out this article: The Best Acrylic Paint Pens: A Paint Marker Comparison.

If you are looking for less expensive paint pens, especially if you are buying for a new artist, there are several brands that I recommend. My favorites lately have been the Tooli Art and Artistro paint pens. For my full review of inexpensive paint pens, check out this article: The Best Acrylic Paint Markers

6. Tabletop Easel

If you don’t want to commit to a full-sized easel, the table top easel is a good choice. These easels can be found in a few different sizes. I have both a small and large tabletop easel. The small tabletop easel is 16 ½” by 12 1/8”. The large tabletop easel is 19 ¾” by 29 ½”.

There are great if you don’t have room for a full sized easel or are working in an art journal or on paper because of the lip on the easel.   

I love using an easel when painting because it keeps me from dragging my hand through my wet paint. It’s also a lot more ergonomic. When I’m concentrating, I tend to hunch over my artwork.  If you have neck, back or shoulder issues, being able to work at an easel can help with posture.

What’s great about these easels is that they can be set up at a slight angle or fully upright. This makes them useful for sketching as well as painting.  

7. Brush Rests and Wraps

If you know an artist who takes classes, a brush wrap is one of the best tools you can have. It’s a great way to protect your brushes for transport, or for storing your favorite brushes.

A brush rest is another great tool to use, whether you are a watercolor or acrylic painter. This helps keep your brushes from rolling and protects your finer bristle brushes as you work.  Instead of them falling or having the bristles squished, the brush rest keeps them stable and organized in your space. Plus, they come in so many unique designs that they are a fun gift for any artist!

8. Art Journal

Journals come in so many shapes and sizes and are a fantastic tool for sketchbooking, art journaling, and urban sketching.

For the watercolor artist in your life, getting a good quality journal with professional paper in it can make a fantastic gift. I love the Strathmore Softcover Watercolor Journal that comes with 400 Series watercolor paper. This is a heavyweight paper that doesn’t buckle when water is added to it and takes color beautifully.

If you know someone who loves to draw and work with dried mediums, a Bristol journal is a great choice. The Strathmore Visual Journal with Bristol paper is a great choice for drawing and light watercolor work.

For a mixed media artist, I would suggest a good watercolor or mixed media journal. I tend to go between mixed media paper and 140lb watercolor paper in my journals. One of my absolutely favorite sketchbooks is the Pentalic Nature Sketch journal. I have created a full article for a deep dive into my favorite art journals and the things you should consider when purchasing a journal. Check the article out here: Choosing an Art Journal for Your Creative Practice

9. Gelatin Printing Plate

A gelatin printing plate is a fantastic tool for anyone who enjoys print making, collage or mixed media. A gelatin plate (or gelli plate) is a reusable plate that will let the artist create a huge range of unique, one of a kind prints with inks, paints and so many other mediums.

The two brands of gelli plates that I use and have had excellent success with are Gelli Arts and Gel Press gelatine plates. These come in a range of sizes from very small ones in a variety of shapes to large square gel plates. To see the Gelli plate in action, check out the full playlist of my YouTube vidoes for gelli printing here.

10. Printed Tissue Paper & Collage Papers

If you are purchasing a gift for a collage artist, collage paper and printed tissue paper is a great choice. As a mixed media artist, you can never have enough beautiful paper to choose from! You can get these in rolls or sheets, depending on the manufacturer. Here’s a selection below from Amazon.com, but I also enjoy using Dina Wakley Tissue Paper as well as the Tim Holtz Ideology Tissue Paper.

To see how tissue paper can be used in an art journal page, check out this tutorial: Art Journaling with Tissue Paper Collage

You can also find a variety of books with collage papers. These are often copyright free and are perfect for those who are new to collage or junk journaling and are looking for easy images to use. These images can be cut right out of the books and used in your projects! Here’s a few examples just from Amazon that are great picks!

11. Permanent Black Pens

A good permanent black pen is a staple for many artists, including myself. My favorite sets of permanent pens are the Faber-Castell Pitt Pens and Sakura Micron and Microperm pens.

These are all fantastic drawing tools and can be used with watercolor, inks and in mixed media art journaling projects. These are the pens I use for most of my drawing and they have a very long life. I even found a few old Sakura Micron pens from 20 years ago that still work! To see my full article on choosing the best permanent pen, visit this article: The Search for the Best Permanent Pen

12. Kneaded Eraser

The kneaded eraser is a very simple and inexpensive gift, but it’s a super versatile and fun eraser. A kneaded eraser can be made into a lot of different shapes so that color can be removed easily from a surface. To clean it, just knead it!

13. Brusho Crystal Colours Pigment Powders

Brusho Crystal Colours are a beautiful watercolor pigment powder. Unlike conventional watercolors where pigment is mixed with gum Arabic or honey, the Brushos are a watercolor crystal. This means that they can be used very differently in artwork than traditional watercolors.

Sprinkle them on and mist them for unique color combinations. Mix them directly with water to make watercolor paint. Use them to tint mediums and pastes. These highly pigmented high-quality powders are an inspiring product for any artist! To see a project using brusho crystal colors, visit this article: 3 Ways to Use Brusho Crystal Colours

14. Watercolor Markers

Whether you are new to art or an experienced artist, watercolor markers are an extremely versatile coloring and drawing medium. They come in many colors, are very portable, and is a great way to add color down on a project quickly. My two favorite brands of watercolor markers are Tombow and Graphix, but to see my full review of watercolor markers, click here.

If you’d like to see watercolor markers in action, check out this article: Creative Techniques with Watercolor Markers

15. Color Wheel

The color wheel may seem like a strange gift idea for an artist, but it’s a useful reference tool for any artist to have. Each color wheel often has information about color relationships that are useful for reference. Whether you are a beginner artist or experienced artist, I think this is a tool every artist should own. To see the color wheel in action, visit this article: How to Use a Color Wheel to Create Unique Art Journal Color Combinations

Any Questions?

It was hard to limit this article to only 15 gift ideas for artists! There’s so many amazing products out there, but I hope that this gives you some great gift ideas for the artist in your life!

If you are a creative or artist who is reading this article, leave a comment below on what you think I should have added to this list! I’d love to know what your favourite art mediums are and what you would like to get as a gift this holiday season!