One thing I enjoy the most when visiting art and stationery stores is looking around for tools. Usually, I purchase tools I’m not so familiar with and try them. That alone, helped me know the difference between pens and markers, pigments and tube paints, and the difference between papers too.

With practice, I started building confidence about my future choices too. I no longer have tools I don’t need by my side. It’s quite the opposite. I know exactly what to look for. And nowadays, more tools are being created providing more choices to choose from.

For instance, I’ve always been familiar with watercolor palette. But from practicing Botany and Chinese art, I discovered there are tube watercolor paints! And from there, I noticed whenever I search for watercolor paints, I find other options than the watercolor palette. Different paints give different textures. Same goes for papers.

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Writing tools on the other hand are no different. I used to purchase random pens and markers without realizing exactly the difference between them. Gradually, I started noticing the size and number of each marker. Fine liners, are not similar to comic markers. Hence, their uses are way different. Nowadays, I rarely have a fine liner by my side. I find them too thin for my work. As for my normal writing, I prefer either 0.5 or 0.7. They are clear and easy to write with. From this, I found myself learning more and more about calligraphy.

Calligraphy tools are not similar to the normal writing tools. They still can be used, but the result won’t look as professional in my opinion.

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