Art has been a huge part of our family’s life since we began homeschooling in 2012. Unschooling art has taught all of us that there is more to being creative than whether you can correctly replicate a basket of apples on canvas. (Pro tip: I’ve had art on display in MANY gallery shows, including one show where just my work filled the whole gallery, but no, I cannot draw, sketch or paint you a basket of apples.)

That said, realism is a great art form! But collage, and abstract art, and mixed-media work, and surrealism, and any number of other things are also great ways to explore your creative side.

Too many teenagers, whether in public school or homeschool, get the idea that art is something you are “good” or “not good” at. You can absolutely have specific talents in art. But it’s still art when it isn’t award-winning. Art is the process, not the result, and we have a ton of fun exploring even the media we are truly terrible at.

With that in mind, Ashar and I came up with a list of the 100 best teen art supplies. If you’re looking for a gift for the teenager in your life, these make a great starting place! Almost all of these are things we either use now or used in the past ourselves.

(And if you’d like to see other great gift ideas for unschoolers, especially teen unschoolers, check out our gift guide here!)

Workspace organization

These supplies can help you organize and display artwork of all kinds.

1. Kallax – IKEA’s square shelving unit is basically the only shelving we use in our house. At a quick count, I believe we have something like 20 separate Kallaxen (our preferred plural of Kallax) in different sizes. Pairs well with…
2. Drona! – These fabric bins fit perfectly inside the Kallax squares and can hold a surprisingly large volume of supplies, both in size and weight.
3. Drafting Table Art & Craft Drawing Desk – Having a good basic workspace is important. We like this one because it doesn’t need a huge space.
4. US Art Supply Wooden Tripod Display Easel
5. US Art Supply Coronado French Style Easel with 12″ Drawer
6. S. Art Supply Beachwood Sketch Box Easel with Divided Storage Compartment
7. Art Alternatives Marquis Artists Adjustable Desk Box Easel – Most artists have a good easel, and these are great starter ones in a variety of sizes.
8. Washi Tape Storage Box – I’m not saying washi tape breeds like rabbits in our house or anything, but…
9. Art Profolio Presentation Book
10. 24-Inch by 36-Inch Black Student Portfolio – If you have a teen artist, they almost certainly need a portfolio.
11. LED Artcraft Tracing Light Pad – Ashar bought this for himself with his graduation money. He has used it to trace base shapes that he then expands upon!
12. Deluxe Teal Geometric Rolling Papercraft Organizer Case
13. Vencer 5 Drawer Wood Art Storage Box
14. Blue Hills Studio Wide 8-Drawer Storage Cart
15. Crafter’s Companion The Ultimate Marker Storage
16. VonHaus Black 15-Drawer Organizer Cart with Rolling Wheels
17. Craft Paint Revolving Storage Rack
18. Everything Mary Rolling Storage Tote
19. California Home Goods Snapcube Stackable Arts & Crafts Organizer Case
20. US Art Supply Artist Wood Storage Box with Drawers
21. ArtBin Transparent Art Supply Storage Box
22. MyArtscape Paintbrush Holder – Organizer for 15 Long-Handle Brushes
23. Loew-Cornell Multi-Bin Brush Organizer, 49 Hole
24. Tinksky Artist Paintbrush Roll-Up Bag
25. WeiBonD 96-Slot Pencil and Pen Holder
26. ArtBin Clear Marker Storage
27. Creative Mark Rue Art Drying Rack – If I could put an item on this list for “magical device to keep your cats from walking on your art,” I would, but barring that, this is the next-best option.

Paper, canvas and more

28. Legion Paper Tape Binding Watercolor Pad
29. Fabriano EcoQua Notebooks, Large
30. Fabriano EcoQua Notebooks, Small – We LOVE Fabriano notebooks. These are just a couple of our favorites; you can search either Fabriano or Fabriano EcoQua to find tons more options.
31. Strathmore Visual Journals – These make GREAT mixed-media notebooks. I use one as a “collage journal,” which is a ton of fun.
32. Colore ProVisible Graphite Transfer Artist Paper
33. Alvin Lightweight White Tracing Paper Roll
34. Bienfang 20-Yard by 12-Inch Wide Sketching and Tracing Paper Roll – If you want to make something long on paper, this is your best bet.
35. S. Art Supply 36″ Wide x 6 Yard Long Canvas Roll – The canvas version of the long paper roll above.
36. Canson XL Series Watercolor Textured Paper Pad
37. Strathmore Toned Gray Sketch Pad
38. Artistik Canvas Panels
39. Daveliou Stretched Canvas

Things that put color on other things

These are the paints, inks, colored pencils and more that we use to add color to our work.

40. Daler-Rowney Pigmented Water-Resistant Liquid Acrylic Ink Set
41. Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Pens – Cannot say enough good things about these. They’re what we use for almost any kind of writing, both artistic and day-to-day. I use them in my planners as well as a whole ton of crafts.
42. Arteza Acrylic Paint Set, 60 Colors/Tubes
43. Castle Art Supplies 72 Colored Pencils Set
44. Tombow Dual Brush Pen Art Markers, 96 Color Set
45. Woodman Crafts Paint Sticks
46. Copic Marker Skin-Colored Markers, 6-Pack
47. Crafts 4 ALL Set of 12 Professional Paint Brushes
48. Colore Acrylic Paint Set, Set of 12
49. Colore Watercolor Painting Kit, 24 Colors
50. AIT Art Fine Detail 11-Brush Set
51. Jen Manufacturing Poly-Brush Disposable Foam 3″ Brushes, 36 count
52. Bob Ross Liquid White Oil Paint
53. Artists’ Grade Gamsol Oil
54. Plastic Paint Tray Palettes
55. Acrylic Paint Brush Set, 50 pcs
56. CONDA Cotton Canvas Painter’s Apron
57. The Masters Brush Cleaner & Preserver
58. Frjjthchy Stainless Steel Brush Washer – Technically, these last few items KEEP color from getting on other things, but you know what I mean.
59. Wow! Extra Fine Glitter Set from American Crafts – Let’s hope your teenager can keep this neater than I can.
60. EasyInk Temporary Tattoo Kit – One of Ashar’s current career explorations is tattoo artistry. I’m hoping to get him this so that he can see how ink goes onto skin in a less… needle-involved fashion.

Papercrafting

61. Westcott 12″ Personal Trimmer – A must if you do any kind of paper-crafting.
62. Fiskars Paper Crafting Bypass Trimmer, 12-Inch
63. Tonic Studios Tim Holtz 371 Retractable Craft Knife
64. Bira 2″ inch Oval Lever Action Craft Punch for Paper Crafting
65. Bira 3.5 inch Star Lever Action Extra Large Craft Punch for Paper Crafting
66. Bira 2″inch Heart Lever Action Craft Punch for Paper Crafting
67. Cassette Craft Punch Alphabet+number Set 36 Piece – Punches are awesome! Not only can you use these for traditional paper-crafting, but punched-out heavy cardstock is great to add to mixed-media work too.
68. AC Cardstock Multicolor Extreme Value Pack
69. American Crafts DCWV 12″ x 12″ Pastels Textured Cardstock Stack
70. 12 x 12-inch AC Cardstock Pad by American Crafts
71. DCWV Corrugated 12 by 12 Paper Pad
72. ColorBok Cardstock Paper Pad, Delilah
73. ColorBok Cardstock Paper Pad, Marble
74. ColorBok Cardstock Paper Pad, Mint Julip – Cardstock is great for a number of art styles, from scrapbooking to mixed-media assemblage. We just happened to like these colors, but you can go wild choosing any size and color you want.
75. Paper House Productions Paper Crafting Kit, Sun-Drenched – Patterned scrapbooking paper is awesome, and this reminds us of the beach, which we really love.
76. Perfect Paper Crafting Cutting Mat
77. Fablossom Paper Starter Kit to Make Paper Flowers
78. Cactus and Succulent Stencil Templates
79. We R Memory Keepers Twine for Paper Crafting, Secondary Colors
80. We R Memory Keepers Twine for Paper Crafting, Neutral Colors
81. Uxcell Plastic-Handled Scissors for Paper Crafting
82. 40 Rolls Solid-Colored Washi Tape
83. 60 Rolls Glitter-Patterned Washi Tape
84. 48 Rolls Decorative Washi Tape – Remember how I said our washi collection is… ample? These are just a few of the basic styles.
85. VENCINK Real Bone Folder – If you’re not familiar with papercrafting, this may seem weird. It’s not a folder like a thing you put papers in; it’s a thing that helps you fold paper, especially heavy paper, in neat creases.
86. Sizzix Big Shot Cutting/Embossing Machine
87. Silhouette Cameo 3
88. Cricut Explore Air 2 – This and the Silhouette are great for cutting out specific shapes, including some very complex ones; in fact, you can even create your own art and have it cut. The Explore Air also lets you do custom printing and cutting at the same time. They can all be complicated to learn but once you get the hang of them you can do a ton. Some even cut fabric patterns for you, which is just more than I can deal with but very cool.

All things mixed media

This is a little bit cheating, because you can use literally anything as part of a “mixed-media” piece. These items are ones that especially work well when added to other art.

89. Sizzix Thinlits Die Set for Mixed Media by Tim Holtz
90. Tim Holtz Idea-ology Thrift Shop Ephemera Pack for Mixed Media – Laying this down under a thin coat of ink looks amazing!
91. Aokbean Assorted Vintage Mixed Color Metal Steampunk Charms for Mixed Media
92. Lindy’s Starburst Gang Spray Set Embossing Powder for Mixed Media
93. Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamp Set for Mixed Media
94. Fiskars 8-Inch Amplify Mixed Media Shears
95. Andy Skinner Mixed Media Alphabet Spaghetti Stencil
96. Strathmore Mixed Media Roll of Vellum
97. Hibery Mixed Set of 30 Antique Vintage Skeleton Keys, for Mixed Media – Ashar went through a period where he collected anything to do with skeleton keys, so finding ways to work them into art was big for us.
98. 70pcs Vintage-styled Alphabet Rubber Stamps, for Mixed Media
99. Faber Castell Metallic Texture Kit – Mixed Media Paper Crafting Kit

Just for fun

Because who can’t use more Bob Ross stuff?

100. Bob Ross Heat Changing Mug
101. Bob Ross Funko Pop
102. Bob Ross Happy Trees University T-Shirt

Read more

This post is part of the 100 things post series on iHomeschool Network, where a bunch of my fellow homeschool bloggers share their lists containing, you guessed it, something more than 99 things.

See other posts in the 100 Things series here!