For paper uses I use Strathmore Bristol (Vellum) or Daler Rowney Acrylic pads.
For Pens I use Pigma Microns.
Pencils you'll want to find what suits your hand first. You can't draw right if it doesn't feel/weigh right. In sizing tho, I suggest getting both a .7 and .5 mechanical(drafting) pencil.
Here's one thing I suggest too. Get a Brush so you can brush away all the eraser leavings without smudging your picture.
Which leaves erasers... Go for Kneaded and Magic Rub, these won't leave that nasty irremovable pink streaks you get with "#2's".
Me 2 bits,
-CJ
Oh, and your not gonna find most of these at your local "Wal-Mart" or "Crafts" store.
Find an Art store in your area and scope it out. Don't be afraid to ask questions cause that's what they're there for.
-CJ
For pencils I use plain ol' mechanical bic pencils. For paper, if I'm doing chibis I'm using Strathmore 400 series smooth bristol. I experiment around sometimes just to see if I can find something that works better. I used a plain Strathmore sketchpad for the TA comic I just finished.
For pens, after much experimenting I've settled on a cheap ol' Papermate 1.2m pen you get for a dollar a bag. I like the thick lines but you have to let it dry before you erase on top of it. I'm about to get some brush pens, which work better for REALLY thick lines (for large black areas I use a black marker 
).
For coloring, I have a set of Prismacolor markers and a set of Prismacolor pencils. My watercolors are Grumbacher and Winsor & Newton and I have a set of sable brushes.
I second the kneadable erasers, they rock (and they're fuuuun).
I usually buy all of my art supplies from Dick Blick since they're almost ALWAYS the cheapest, but sometimes I run to Hobby Lobby if it's an emergency.
Hope this helps!! 
For pencils, I use Derwent "Sketching" pencils - either 4B ("Medium Wash") or rarely the 8B ("Dark Wash"). I buy then in boxes of 12 from DickBlick online:
http://www.dickblick.com/zz204/04/
Ditto to Crimson_Jimson's mention of both kneaded rubber and "Magic Rub" erasers.
For Ink - I use many, many different markers - various size "Shaprie" permanent markers, Staedler "Lumacolor", Prismacolor designer color markers, Pigma "Micron" of various sizes, others whose names escape me...
For paper, just about any brand pad labeled "Drawing" or "Sketching" - (I think the drawing is usually like 70lb weight, and sketching's lighter, maybe 50lb ?)
I either get this at an "Art" store or online from places like Dick Blick.
I use a standard 0.5 mm hb pentel mechanical pencil for all my sketching. I have blue line pro comic bristal boards I use when I am doing nicer stuff, otherwise (as bad as this may be) I use heavyweight general purpose paper for most of my 8 x 11 stuff. I do have some blue sketch pencil that I will use when doing bristal board work. I have experimented with a brush and/or sketch pen (the stylus style) and Higgins india ink (not very good with those yet though).
After sketching, I do the rest of my work in photoshop after scanning. I use a wacom Intous 3 tablet in photoshop.
Oh, yeah. I can not forget my trusty grey kneadable eraser. They last forever and are invaluble. It is also helpful to get an eraser shield a little peice of aluminim with cutouts in it. This help erase in tight areas where you want to preserve certian things. It is also helpful to have simple geometry item like a protractor, ruler etc, and circle and oval templets.
A regular Pentel .5 mechanical pencil with .5 lead. Sometime use Derwent series sketch pencils, depending on whether I'm going to shade the piece or not.
Erasers I'm unsure about, I just use the ones that twist out of the mechanical pencil. Can never get enough of those. I have an Artgum block, but I wouldn't recommend it as I rarely use it. I should probably get a kneaded eraser.
Any paper works for me. It's usually plain sketchpad paper.
Getting a small wooden manikin you can pose should help a bit. They don't pose fully, but they helped me learn human proportions early on, and help with some miscellaneous angle work.
Grab a ruler for the more complicated stuff that requires straight lines, too.
Ty guys!^.^
I'll look at some of the sites and products tomorrow in the morning!
Scarf_Girl�s Official Kid Brother!
I actually prefer drafting "leadholder" pencils. They work differently than a normal mechanical pencil. You use a sharpener, but because there's no wood, the sharpener works by extending the lead out from the pencil body and inserting it into the sharpener where it's run against a metal file inside, grinding it to a perfect point. It actually produces finer lines than a .05mm mechanical pencil.
My preferred model is the sanford turquoise but there are other models.
These things are really hard to find, you have to find a GOOD art store, or buy them online.
Lucky for me there's a really great art supply store near me.
I second the recommendation for kneaded rubber erasers. I love mine. It erases more cleanly and thoroughly than other erasers, with less damage to the paper.
It's also more versatile in that you can sort of "dab" the paper with it to just fade areas without completely erasing them. Great control.
I also second the recommendation for an erasing shield.
However, the kind of paper I use is actually drafting vellum. Most people don't like it for fine art because it's thin and lightweight, but I love the smooth texture. I don't like paper with much tooth at all.
Have you noticed how personal pencil and paper choice is yet?
I really think you need a kneaded eraser AND a Magic Rub. They really do different jobs.
*hides normal .5 mechanical pencil and copy paper under newspaper*
errrmmm....what they said. 
~
...the sword is truth...
~whiteperegrine~
[ QUOTE ]
I really think you need a kneaded eraser AND a Magic Rub. They really do different jobs.
[/ QUOTE ]
I've just never had a need for a Magic Rub. Not to mention that rubber and plastic erasers make waaaay too much of a mess on the paper. Kneaded erasers really don't produce the eraser "bits" that other erasers do. And that's actually a big deal, because every time you brush off the eraser crumbs you end up smudging your work some, so the less you have to do that...
Speaking of which, you should really get a drafting brush so that you smudge as little as possible when you do have to brush eraser crumbs off your paper.
I use... uh... A set of basic drawing pencils (4H to 6B in range); a white eraser, uhm... some printer paper; oh and my new art pens who's names I have not yet thought about enough to figure out <,<;;
<'x'>
A Warrior's Friend: ID 335212 - Help Infernal save Valkyrie from Battle Maiden.
Above Mars Part 1: The Wellington: ID 159769 - Save Mars by destroying a monstrous battleship from the inside!
>.> My DA page, where I attempt to art.
Here's what I like when I did do work traditionally:
Borden and Riley Paris Bleedproof Paper For Pens - A great paper, and while not as thick as traditional bristol or vellum, it has a great "white" quality to the page, and not that slightly cream tint some pads have. It also absorbs color beautifully, and is amazing for ink if you use a brush that is...
Marker Sketchbook - I use to use a soft bound sketchbook by Canson, but those are hard to find, and I snatch up 3 or 4 whenever I see them. This example is by Copic who seems to make the leading industry standard right now, while I haven't use it, it does make me salivate...
Sakura .005 Micron Pen - I specified the size, because I really like fine lines for detail and this will do it. The point however on this pen is so delicate you could sneeze and snap the bloody thing off, so if you get one treat it like you have the Ring from Gollum, "the Precioussssss".
Mid-Size Price Range Watercolor Set - the reason I'm not suggesting real watercolors, is because I believe they'd be a lot to handle for a novice. And in fact are a whole other artform and way of thinking than what you would use them for here. You need only look at Graver's Art and know that he has a painter's background and training, and is not your typical doodler.
With a mid-size price range set, you have the benefits of good color that won't run and mud up on you as a cheap set would, and these sets are travel friendly! If you get tubes, then you have to have palettes and various brushes... ugh, it's a process and believe me I know, watercolor is my middle name.
I had a great set no longer made by Pelikan that someone left in a store I use to work in, I gave it to my best friend when he finally wanted to learn to paint, it's lasted both of us nearly 15 years.
Black Magic Ink - The name says it all, use it and you will encompass all the powers of the dark arts, okay maybe not all of them, but you'll get that jet black sheen on your lines, that those other girly man diluted with too much water inks wont' give you!
Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Pointed Round Series 7 - This is the ONLY brush you will ever need. Not only does it make an amazing thin to thick to thin line, it was MADE for watercolor. I'd get both a 0 and #1 and keep them close to your Microns in a chest with a lock.
Without going further, if you don't get yourself a Kneaded Eraser it will be the difference of making art from the stone age vs the current timeline. It's that important, it will improve you that much. Think about it, how much time do you waste erasing, possibly ripping through your paper, or ruining the whole thing because you've smudged it with a broken down pink eraser.
A kneaded will terminate that mistake like the Governator, you won't even believe it was there, they're THAT good!
For pencils, I do like mechanicals (.5mm or .7mm), however watch your leads, the refills come in various degrees of softness.
Here is a great link on Pencil Lead Ranges, read it and then try some at your art store. I've never been partially to harder leads, but they make perfect straight lines, while the softer B leads make darker and more flowing lines. You be the judge, mechanical pencils also have better lead refills, so look for those.
As for sketching, you should always keep a sketchbook, and fill it from corner to corner, back and front, heck I use to doodle on the cover in ball point pen. Sketchbooks are for sketching, NOT finished work, if you can afford to buy sketchbooks just for finished work, then heck I need a grant from you asap, no in fact we all need them!
Get a sketchbook with perforated pages, so you can easily tear them out and either put them on your scanner, or color them better without worrying about the blanks pages under it.
Well I hope that helps... but again these are my personal choices, oh and here's an example of
my older work when I did use all this stuff...
LJ
[ QUOTE ]
As for sketching, you should always keep a sketchbook, and fill it from corner to corner, back and front, heck I use to doodle on the cover in ball point pen. Sketchbooks are for sketching, NOT finished work, if you can afford to buy sketchbooks just for finished work, then heck I need a grant from you asap, no in fact we all need them!
Get a sketchbook with perforated pages, so you can easily tear them out and either put them on your scanner, or color them better without worrying about the blanks pages under it.
[/ QUOTE ]
Wait, I'm not sure if I am understanding this part...
So, for sketching, I should get a sketchpad...Then for finished art, what should I get...and by finished art, do you mean like the example above? If so, if I was mainly going to be drawing CoH characters for the boards (at least for now) could I use a sketch book for those?
Thanks for clarifying.
BAS
Scarf_Girl�s Official Kid Brother!
Michael's or Hobby Lobby should be fine for now (Although it will be a tad bit more expensive). Just get a sketchpad, some pencils and a kneadable eraser and work at drawing your little heart out.
If you're thinking about color or ink, get a cheap set and fiddle with it until you decide if it's something you want to continue with. (before I invested in a set of Prismacolor markers I doodled around with a set of Crayola ones just to make sure it wouldn't bore me after a day or two).
As you draw you'll start to want better things, or you'll find yourself thinking, "I wish my pencil made thinner lines", or "I need an eraser that takes off those smudges on the sides", or "This paper isn't smooth enough". Once you start thinking stuff like that you can go out and buy things you'll use to take you in the direction you want to go. While the old adage "You're only as good as your supplies" is true in most instances, you also don't want to get bogged down with a lot of watercolors or markers when you learn your true love is in black and white inking!
Good luck!!!
Edit: You changed the post on me!!! 
And to be honest, I'm not sure what LJ means by that. I sketch in my sketchbook AND I do some finished work in it (although I usually use Bristol Board for my chibis my Windfallen was done in my sketchbook on ordinary sketch paper). My sketch pads cost me $4 online. *shrug*
It's too early in your drawing career to be worrying this much about what we think about supplies. While the right tools will *help* you improve, it's important that you focus on actually DRAWING, no matter what you're drawing on.
Basically what I meant, your sketchbook is perfect for hammering out any and all ideas that come to you. I don't suggest it for finished work, because those you should place in a portfolio seperate from your sketches. Yes you can take a sketch and finish, but you should get in the habit of seperating the two physically.
Also anything you can draw once, you should be able to do again. So for instance if you've worked on muscle groups in 1 sketch, faces in another, then putting that all down on some really quality paper (in another book or seperate pad or sheets) is what you want to work towards.
It's different with computers, you can always clean up a sketch and scan it, or viceversa with Photoshop, and then do your color finish digitally. But if I read you right, and you're just starting, you may want to work "old school" and keep 1 book for sketches, and another of finished quality pieces.
I guess I'm talking more in portfolio terms.
Hey whatever works, just something to think about is all...
Particularly helpful is a pocket sketchbook. A lot of people don't like to work that small, which is fine, but it's nice to have one because you can keep it in your pocket at all times, and be able to draw on the spur of the moment, no matter where you are.
And the more you draw the better you get (That's really the only hard and fast rule about learning to draw... Differences in learning style, how your brain processes images, etc, mean that various methods of instruction may or may not work for you... But the drawing constantly = improvement is true for everyone)
[ QUOTE ]
Edit: You changed the post on me!!!
[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, I'm sorry...I do that a lot...But thank you for all the info! Thank you to everyone else also!
Scarf_Girl�s Official Kid Brother!
Hey y'all! I was wondering, what do you guys use for:
Paper, pencils/pens, coloring, inking, erasing, etc? And where would I get these items? If any of these items are for special things, could you tell me what you use them for also?
I know I am being kind've generic but I was just wondering. Right now, all I use is a #2 Pencil and its eraser. Is this what lots of people use or what?
Thank you very much for the help!
Have a good one and thank you,
~BAS~
Scarf_Girl�s Official Kid Brother!