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Definitely get him a wacom tablet, any will do. Wacoms website has all the software for any tablet you get, no matter how old or new. The wacom Intuos series is probably the best, even the older ones are great. A medium sized tablet is probably the best, or a large if your sons desk is big enough (Though he can just use it in his lap if he wants). They aren't horribly expensive but they are great quality, the cheaper tablets from other brands stop working and are generally unreliable. (the 30$ range)

amazon.com/dp/B079NWPZTG/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_ilqZBb55VQXMD
(if the link shows up, this should be a good one to get.)

It would be hard to spend 500 dollars on one tablet haha, but I would reccomend having some drawing software for him to use.

I love Paint tool SAI, it's great for line work, they don't have a physical copy however. You have to buy it off of the website (systemax.jp) for around 55 bucks (5400JPY) although you can only use it on Windows operating systems.

Photoshop is a great software for digital art, however it is extremely expensive, and Adobe wants to get people into paying yearly for it, which is dumb. You might as well pirate it if you really want it bad, which it's not really a necessity.

For software that is similar to photoshop, manga studio/clip studio paint is great. It's like a combination of paint tool sai and photoshop, and works on Mac and Windows.

I'm sure your son knows how digital software works and with tons of tutorials online he'll get the hang of it in no time.

amazon.com/dp/B01F70HHBC/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_MvqZBbGCS2PVV

(if this link shows up, this is clip studio paint EX, and is a good choice.)

The links I put in would be the easiest things to get for your son, and would be easy to give to him and he will be able to figure it out with the instructions and such, if he knows how to use computers/technology. (what kid doesn't at this point lol) I hope he has fun! c:

Happy Birthday to her to begin with!

Very briefly, your safest option is to buy sketchbooks. An artist might already have their choice of tools to draw and paint with. But they can never have enough papers and surfaces to work on. Your girl has no experience in tools so you can also introduce some to her, but let her have the joy of going through art shops and feeling the brushes with her hands and all. I recommend buying canvas to her. However, if you buy a few pieces of large canvases to a complete beginner she will be fazed by those. It's quite intimidating to start painting on a large canvas if you never did it before. Luckily there are artbooks that are made of very thick papers especially recommended for painting on. Those you can rip out and crumble if you want there will be still more and it's not so traumatising then to mess up and start over. It never feels like you wasted a full canvas. (Actually you can always cover up a messy canvas with white paint but for light watercolor you'd want a clean, fresh and empty piece to work on.) Let me recommend you some sketchbooks and tell you about it so you can make your own decision.

Check this link. It leads to Canson's Watercolor sketchbooks. These are especially made for using watercolor on it. It's because the papers inside are thicker than regular printing paper and absorb paints better without drenching the table under. You can tell it's good for watercolor by the number on the cover. It says 160g which means that each paper weights that much. Size doesn't matter, like a huge canvas can be 160g while a napkin sized sketchbook can be 160g and they will be of the same kind of paper. This sketchbook will most likely be her favourite from these 3 I'm showing you.

Check this link. It leads to Canson's entry level artbooks. These are for very regular pen and pencil sketches. Perfect for travel. Perfect for drawing in it with ink pens. These papers are like your regular printer paper. You can do whatever you want with them but they are in a sturdy form that fits in your pocket. I carry one with my usually in my coat or backpack. Ball-point pens glide really well on the papers. These are to thin for painting though.

Check this link. It leads to another Canson sketchbook. These pages are 300g heavy. They have also have a texture many don't like. Compared to printer paper these are almost like cardboard but no. These papers are god tier for painting on. They are for paints thicker than watercolor. They'll hold heavier paint like oil also. For this paper you need paints that you push out from a tube as a paste and spread. 300g was the heaviest I ever bought and used and I used very watery ink on it. Watercolor will show the parallel lines of the paper underneath it. Some like it, some don't. Let you girl find out if she does or not.

All in all, I do recommend Canson's papers as I have used them for years now and they never failed me. Get different weights for your girl and she will choose what she likes. If she wants to take up art she is in the experimenting phase and you can help her experience more by getting different kinds of stuffs to use. Alternatively, you could take her to a store and let her browse then pay for it but that's not so gifty. One learns the most from mistakes so if you get her different kinds of things to use and experiment with she will learn a lot. She'll learn why paint won't work on one kind of paper and why a pencil won't work on another.

Tell me if you have any more questions.

Paint: There's no shame in starting out with a nice basic paint set. Liquitex will do just fine. That texture look (impasto) can be done with modeling paste and then painted on top of. He might have fun experimenting with it.

Palette: If you want something disposable, gray palette paper will work with both acrylics and oil paints if he plans on experimenting more later on. Otherwise a sheet of beveled Plexiglass or plastic will work as a palette. (Personally I just use old plastic ice cream lids and plasticware.) If acrylic paint dries on these you can chip it off or heat it with a hairdryer and then peel it off. For the love of everything in this world, do NOT buy him those plastic palettes that have all the goddam paint wells from hell.

Brushes: 3-5 Nice brushes are better than a cheap set of brushes. (IF he's going to take good care of them.) If he's planning on using heavy body acrylics without thinning them out, you'll want the bristles a bit rougher. I would stick with brush sizes between 12-24. Large brushes are your friend. I'd get him a nice flat, angle, and round. If he finds himself favoring a particular type it'll give him insight for buying his next brush. Edit: have one of these brushes be softer. Story here is that variety is the spice of life and he's going to figure out what he likes best.

Canvases: Buy a pack of canvas paper along with 1 pre-gesso'd canvas of whatever size and shape you'd like. Make sure your canvas paper is a decent size (at least 11x14), since he can always cut the paper down.

Easel: Do yourself a favour and don't buy an easel. Let him pick it out if he wants one.

I just had a similar discussion with a client!

Depending on what you wanna spend There are a number of choices.


For a sketch artist I'd steer clear of brands like Cross(Luxury writing utensils. Great products just not everyday art friendly)

I'd suggest a 2mm lead holder, some lead refills(4b, 2b, hb, 2h, 4h), a lead pointer, and a kneadable eraser or two.


Rotring makes some great products and even the more utilitarian Staedtler is a bifl and a great gift for an aspiring artist.

Edit: Also as a suggestion from an artist-Never anything in white if you can help it and a box of those foil pack Fingerbowl/wet wipes are quite a boon if they're a artist on the go. ;)

Since she’s been doing this for a few years, she might be interested in higher quality watercolors. Daniel Smith is a well loved quality brand, and they have a decently priced intro set.

The tubes are kind of small, but worth it. I’ve personally used it and learned a ton about color mixing using just the 6 colors. Blick carries this set and a ton of open stock colors, but recently my local Michaels also started carrying the sets as well.

If she paints with metallics at all, check out Kuretake paints. Really well reviewed!

Good luck!

Here is a great watercolor kit for a beginner, good quality for a good price

This is a very late reply, but this is the best book on painting I've ever read https://www.amazon.com/Hawthorne-Painting-Dover-Art-Instruction/dp/048620653X

Take a look at Pentalic products. I'm in love with their Traveler journals, and have bought a few pencil sets but haven't had a good reason to use them yet. They seem decent quality though, and I believe they have a few different sets. Highly recommend the journals.

Edit:
To answer your specific requests:

Micron pens are the industry standard for fine line pens, though there are a million similar.

Scholar drawing pencil sets for regular pencils (by Prismacolor).

You might look at Scholar color pencil sets too, it seems to be Prismacolor's cheaper sets.

HERE is a pretty good option. When I worked at a frame shop, people would come in with their cross-stitch and we would use self-adhesive boards like this. If I were you, I would find a self-adhesive board that is approx 1" smaller than your paper, so the edges of the paper would still show. Alternatively, you could just custom cut a piece of foam core and use white glue.

Either needle tip bottles, or this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D6JTSPX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use this a lot now and love it

I’d get one of those that telescopes like a tripod. They come on bags that you can throw over your shoulder.

Still need a board or a pad with a thick backing.

Artist Easel, Ohuhu Aluminum Field Easel Stand Carrying Bag Table-top/Floor, Art Easels Adjustable Height from 21-inch to 66-inch, Back to School Art Supplies https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0148F5TRQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_csKSBbGXPV73J

I am talking about this style of pen:

https://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Pocket-Brush-Refills-GFKP3BPA/dp/B002LJRKN8
Will checkout Molotow thanks

Try Sakura Gelly Roll pens. They have metallic colours that are glittery.
https://www.amazon.com/Sakura-57370-10-Piece-Assorted-Metallic/dp/B001LXK5HS/ref=sr_1_7?crid=24ZCBIPRP9N3L&keywords=sakura+gelly+roll+pens&qid=1567477254&s=gateway&sprefix=sakura+gelly%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-7