Good quality pencils and an eraser are good for lightly sketching out the beginnings of your artwork. Pencils can be used directly on the canvas.
Whether painting with acrylics or oils, eight basic colors are needed. Six primary colors are required to be the base for mixing other colors: reds---cadmium red and crimson alizarin, yellows---cadmium yellow and lemon yellow, and blues---cobalt blue and ultramarine blue. Titanium white and ivory black are required for tints and hues.
A selection of brushes of different sizes and shapes is necessary. Artificial brushes are great for beginners, but authentic animal hair brushes will give a much better finish to the painting. A disposable or washable palette is good for mixing paints on with a palette knife.
Mediums change the consistency and appearance of paint. Thinners such as mineral turpentine and other solvents make the paint less viscose. Oils such as linseed and poppy seed are used to thicken paint. Varnishes are the final stage of a painting, giving a picture an overall matte or gloss appearance. Impastos and texture pastes are used to build up textured surfaces.
Acrylic paint is water soluble, so it can easily be removed from brushes with water and a clean rag. Use turpentine to remove oil paint from brushes and other surfaces.