Here’s our favorite arts and crafts supplies based on years of experience. The best art supplies for painting, drawing, sculpting and more!
Updated July 2023
We get asked for recommendations for kids art supplies all the time. Questions such as, “What paint should I buy?” “What are the best watercolors for kids?” “What markers do you recommend?” and “Where do you get your paper?“
We have done so many different art activities and used so many different art supplies over the years with family, friends, and all of the different kids art groups and classes we’ve attended and taught.
So we’ll share what we consider the best kids art supplies in this post.
That said, we haven’t tried everything out there. And they are always coming out with fun new art supplies for kids, so if you have a favorite to add, please do so in the comments!
Please note: You don’t need everything on this list. But if you’re looking to stock your art supply cupboard, this should help you get started. And if you are already well stocked with kids art supplies, then maybe this list will give you some new ideas to try.
You can also visit The Artful Parent Amazon shop for even more of our favorite art materials!
And, bonus! If you’d like a list to print out and save, you can get our free printables on the top art materials by age (toddlers, preschoolers, big kids).
Best Art Supplies for Kids
Note: This list has been updated to reflect evolving favorites as well as new art materials that are available and others that are no longer being manufactured.
Art Supplies for Painting
1. Poster Paints
Tempera paint
is a staple for kids’ art activities. It’s super versatile, inexpensive, washable, nontoxic, and readily available.
We also love and use BioColor Paint from Discount School Supply. It’s so shiny and vibrant! BioColor pain Plus, it adheres to more surfaces. If you’re looking for a metallic paint, BioColor metallics these are awesome.
Additional reading: For more of our favorite paint recommendations see The Best Paints for Kids.
2. Watercolor Paints
If you haven’t tried liquid watercolor paint yet, you need to! We use it for painting, all kinds of craft projects and science experiments! (This set is our favorite!)
For a watercolor paint palette, we have used quite a variety including OOLY’s Lil’ Pods watercolor paint set and their fabulous neon palette!
This Pelican watercolor paint set is another option that’s high quality and long lasting with rich paint coverage for watercolors.
3. Tempera Paint Sticks
There are many brands out there, but Kwik Stix are always a top favorite. We also love these neon and metallic sets from Discount School Supply. Paint sticks are a low mess, easy clean up way to invite your child to paint. Paint dries in 90 seconds! Perfect for those moments when you’re just not up for major cleanup.
Art Supplies for Drawing
4. Oil Pastels
We don’t have a clear favorite brand for these and like Crayola Oil Pastels for chunky/sturdy oil pastels, Pentel for a finer version, and Faber Castell’s version for a cheap, but very high-quality oil pastel.
We also really like Faber-Castell gel crayons which are somewhere in between crayon & oil pastel with easy coverage. The added case is a nice feature for supplies used on the go. Be sure to check out the neons as well!
5. Markers
Our go-to markers are the ever-present Crayola markers (skinny, thick, washable, non-washable — they’re all good). We’ve also had good experiences with Magic Stix and Stabilo markers, both of which don’t dry out if you forget that marker lid!
Sharpie permanent markers are great for work on different surfaces (leaves, pumpkins, Easter eggs). Use only when confident your kids won’t draw on other surfaces! The metallic Sharpies are one of our favorites for doodling on leaves and rocks and for working on top of black.
6. Crayons
Crayola crayons work just fine for drawing so if you’re on a tight budget, get those and spend any extra money on some paints.
But if you’re okay with spending a bit more, we recommend Faber Castell beeswax crayons.
Kitpas are another favorite all-purpose crayon that can write on glass, become a watercolor paint, or regular crayon. These go on buttery soft, more like an oil pastel.
7. Colored Pencils
Colored pencils are the underappreciated workhorse in our house. They never seem to be as coveted by our kids as, say, foam paint or googly eyes, but get used for drawing regularly just the same. We’ve used and liked a variety of brands, especially Lyra, Prang, and Faber-Castell World Colors.
For younger artists, Stabilo Woody 3 in 1 pencils can be used for window art, watercolor paints (just add water) or as a crayon/colored pencil. The chubbier pencil means your toddler can grow with these for many years (they last a LONG time)!
8. Paper
White art paper and colored construction paper are musts.
Sketchbooks or art journals are great for portable art or for anytime. (Plus they make great gifts when paired with some drawing materials!)
Watercolor paper and poster board are good sturdy surfaces for watercolor paint or any other paint.
Big paper such as easel paper rolls allow kids to work big and use their whole bodies, whether at an easel, a wall, or the floor.
But all you really need is some plain white paper. Or recycle bin paper. Or cardboard.
Additional reading: If you want even more information on paper, we have a whole post on choosing paper for children’s art.
Art Supplies for Sculpting
9. Playdough
Homemade playdough is by far our favorite and here is a great no cook playdough and cooked playdough recipe.
But if you’d rather not make your own, try this set of soft playdough (also good for kids with allergies besides gluten). Crayola dough is easy to find and gets the job done. Their playdough now comes in bigger buckets, purchased by color, a nice plus.
We love this set of playdough tools from Alex Toys. And how about these adorable Forest Friends Stampers from Discount School Supply?
10. Clay
Real potters’ clay is messy, but good. Our kids LOVE sculpting with clay. We just let it air dry, but if you have access to a kiln, all the better.
We also use Crayola air dry clay quite a bit, because, you know, air dry. Plus not as messy.
Plastilina is a wonderful modeling clay that NEVER dries out and keeps basically forever. A must have if your child loves to build and sculpt! We especially like the Jovi brand for its soft, moldable quality.
Model magic is another air-dry modeling material that is super fun, stretchy, and squishy. Not exactly a must-have, but fun every once in a while.
More Arts and Crafts Supplies
11. Glue
Glue is a must for so many reasons. It makes SO many kids art activities possible and little kids especially just love squeezing the glue bottles as an activity in and of itself. Glue sticks are handy for paper collage, of course.
And a glue gun makes gluing sculptures or structures (wood, cardboard, etc) a lot quicker and easier. (If you’re worried about kids + glue gun, see Teacher Tom’s tips here. You can purchase a low heat glue gun as well. Or, if you have the Artful Parent book, see the advice he gives on page 181.)
Glue is also a staple if your kids are into making slime! Try glitter glue or glow in the dark glue!
12. Scissors
Around age 2-3, kids can begin practicing making small snips with scissors on paper (with supervision, of course). These blunt tipped Fiskars are perfect for the task. Once your child enters elementary school, these pointed tip scissors are a better fit.
13. Tape
We’re tape happy! Besides colored masking tape, we use lots and lots of regular Scotch tape, and we have a bit of a love affair with washi tape and other printed craft tapes.
14. Stickers
Our kids have a sticker fetish. Maybe yours do, too? We use all kinds, including colorful dot stickers, foil stars, and other office supply stickers. Eye stickers and a good supply of more commercial, image-based stickers.
If your kids love stickers, you might consider a sticker club such as Pipsticks or Mrs. Grossman’s for fun gifts.
15. Ink Pad + Stamps
This rainbow ink pad by Melissa & Doug is our favorite as it’s large, washable, and it has all the colors we want in one place. We use this with our fingers for fingerprint art, with stamps, and for stamping household objects.
16. Chalk
Everyone uses sidewalk chalk! But we also recommend chalk for indoor art, both on paper and on a chalkboard in the house (which we highly recommend, even if it’s simply a chalkboard wall decal).
Liquid chalk markers and these Wonderstix (chalk/crayon combo that writes on anything!) are pretty awesome, too.
17. Foam Paint
Foam paint is a lot like shaving cream, the all-time sensory art and play favorite. But it is formulated especially for art, doesn’t smell, and is supposed to be environmentally friendly. It’s more expensive but worth trying 2-3 colors sometime. Our kids and their friends LOVE this stuff.
18. Droppers
Eye droppers or pipettes (we use and like both; the bigger droppers are easier for toddlers) are a favorite for lots of fun art activities and science experiments that involve liquid watercolors or even food coloring.
19. Colored Tissue Paper
Colored tissue paper is great for suncatchers, collage, and papier mache. You can apply it to contact paper for colorful suncatchers, glue it onto anything, or apply pieces directly to wet poster paint.
Bleeding Tissue Paper is a tissue paper that will bleed through to another surface when wet. A fun alternative for many process art adventures!
20. Transparent Con-Tact Paper
Go with the name brand Con-Tact paper for sure. You can find it at most drug stores or grocery stores with the shelf-liner paper. (It’s also called sticky-back plastic). We use it for all kinds of suncatcher and stained glass projects as well as some collaging fun.
21. Collage Items
Some of our favorite items for collage include googly eyes, stickers (mentiod above), colored tissue paper (also above), rainbow feathers, buttons, colored pasta shapes, tape, pom poms, yarn, fabric scraps.
22. Sculpture Items
Pipe cleaners are good for manipulating, for building sculptures, for threading beads and pasta, etc.
Wood craft sticks are great for building, sculpture, crafts, catapults, everything. And wood scraps, either from a carpenter friend or a box of wood bits, are fun for making wood sculptures.
23) Coffee Filters
We use white basket style coffee filters for all kinds of arts and crafts projects, like snowflakes, buntings, spiderwebs, and collage. And check out this larger size, perfect for extra-large snowflakes! Coffee filters are easy to cut, yet are very sturdy. You can also buy the same kind of paper cut into different shapes such as leaves.
24. Glitter
If you’re okay with glitter (some parents we know are all about it; some hate it), it makes a fun addition to many arts and crafts projects and something most kids love. Pretty much all the brands we’ve tried have worked great.
25. Cardboard
Don’t throw away those cardboard boxes! Or paper towel rolls or egg cartons either, for that matter.
Recycle bin cardboard can be used for so much! Art activities, kids crafts, homemade toys, pretend play, construction, and more. Cardboard is the best!
So that’s our list! If we don’t stop now, we might end up with another 10-15 art materials…
By the way, we think art materials make great kid gifts for all occasions from birthdays to Christmas, Easter, and more. Sometimes bundling 2-3 related art materials together makes the best gift.
Did we miss one of your favorite kids art materials? What would you add to this list?
More of the Best Art Supplies for Kids
- The BEST Baby Art Supplies
- The Best Art Materials for Toddlers
- The Best Kids Art Tools for a Successful Experience
- The BEST Art Supplies for Preschoolers
- Choosing Paper for Children: The Best Papers for Kids’ Art Activities
- 40+ Homemade Art Materials for Kids
- Kids Art Supplies on a Budget
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