There's so much a person can do or make. A desk with even just a few supplies can keep a person entertained forever. All you need is the imagination to be able to use them!
Lists of Materials
Here are some of my favorites!
Watercolor paints
Acrylic paints
Oil paints
Paintbrushes for each paint type, in numerous sizes
Pastel sticks
Good quality painting paper that won't warp with water
Micron pen set
White jelly pen set
Pencils with good quality erasers
Polymer clay to make small craft items
Raw soapstone for carving
Carving and sanding tools for the clay and stone
Painter's tape for helping keep clean lines
Masking fluid for isolating areas you want to keep clean while painting.
Backlight tracing board
Get more awesome materials from sites like dickblick.com!
How to Set Up Shop
Set yourself up for a great day of creative making!
Clear your space and ready it for use. Declutter, and wipe away any dirt and dust so it won't contaminate your materials.
If possible, have something like a mat or a cover ready to go to save your work surface from damage from water or staining materials.
Set up good lighting. Indirect bright daylight is great, and a neutral-white lamp will show the true colors of your materials.
Lay out your materials so that they are in easy reach of where you're sitting, and organized so that you know what you have. Now is a good time to take stock of anything you're low on, missing, or anything that's run out or damaged so you can replace them soon.
Have water and paper towels or napkins ready to go for thinning and mixing your paints, as well as cleaning your brushes.
Have oil ready to go to adjust the consistency of your polymer clay, in case it has dried out or you want it to have more pliability. This can be a dedicated oil, mineral oil, or even unscented baby oil.
Set up some drinks (keep those away from your paint water!), snacks and music to work to!
