Mixed Media for Quick Sketching

Or, How to Build a Mixed Media Kit that Works for You

Conventional wisdom says an urban sketcher should have the smallest possible sketch kit. But how small? While I sometimes carry just a pocket-sized book and a single pen, I usually want more options to keep me happy*. (More on building a happiness-based kit later in this post)

There’s no one set of supplies that’s right for everyone. So while I’m happy to share what’s in my sketch kit, it’s more important to share how I use it. And perhaps you could use the same principles to build a kit that works for you.
Here is what I’m carrying around right now (besides a container of water and a sketchbook) :
Water-soluble colored pencils, water-soluble crayons, a tube of white gouache, a graphite pencil, a fountain pen with black ink, a watercolor palette, and a brush.

Why? While I do some quick, single-media sketches, I love doing maximalist, full-color sketches too. So my kit needs to accommodate it all. Do I use all my supplies in every sketch? No. Time is one of the big factors in how I might work. Knowing whether I have 5, 10, or 20 minutes for a sketch makes a difference to how I work. To illustrate that, I went to my local coffee shop today and did three sketches, the first one in 5 minutes, the next in 10 minutes, and the third in a little under 20 minutes. Here they are.

5 minutes calls for the simplest, quickest of tools. Pick a tool you know well and are comfortable with. I’m the fastest when I’m working with my fountain pen, so that was the first tool I picked. Adding in a graphite pencil lets me quickly build in some details and values.

10 minutes means I can introduce some color if I stick to dry media. Give me 10 minutes and I usually want some color. Colored pencils or crayons let me do that without watercolor. I love water-soluble pencils and crayons because they are super-versatile: they can be used dry like this or as I use them in the next sketch.

20 minutes? Enough time to go full-color! What is especially nice about knowing that I will work in mixed media is that I can use each medium for what it does most naturally. Here, I started with a quick block-in with watercolor not worrying about the colors leaking into each other. I know I’ll add colored pencils and pen later and they both do “control” much more easily than watercolor does. This is why I use water-soluble pencils: to get this sketch done in 20 minutes I draw over a damp watercolor base, where regular colored pencils don’t work.

Here is that spread of sketches and everything I used.

If you’d like to build a mixed-media kit that works for you, here is how I work through building mine:

START HERE
• What is the most common mix of media you use in a 20-30 minute sketch? Collect it together.
• Does this set of supplies have redundancies? Can you lose some of them? (My mixed media kit has crayons and colored pencils. If I must pare down to a more compact kit, I lose the crayons.)
• Are there more versatile supplies you can use to get the same results? (My fude pen replaces having pens of different line weights since it can do variable line, and carrying water-soluble colored pencils gives me a medium I can use wet or dry)

THEN FIGURE
• A sketchbook style and size. I use a mixed media book because it’s versatile enough to handle any media I throw at it. Most watercolor paper makes my colored pencil and pen skip too much for my liking.
• A bag to carry your supplies. This one is about personal preferences. If you pack everything into a backpack but don’t like carrying one every day, you’re not going to have your supplies with you all the time, which means losing many everyday opportunities to sketch.

NOW ASK YOURSELF, “How does this feel?”
*This is where the happiness bit comes in. You have a sensible sketch kit assembled. It works for you 99.9% of the time. Maybe that’s perfect. But if you’re like me, it might feel too sensible.

Now’s the time to make space for fun supplies. You might have a lot of supplies you want to experiment with but don’t add them all together. Add a couple at a time before substituting with something else.

When you pack for travel sketching, (as opposed to packing for sketching every day), travel is the “new” bit, not the supplies. Don’t anxiety-pack a whole bunch of supplies you have never used! Keep to your basic kit of stuff you have used and love.

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WORKSHOPS

Below is a list of workshops. To keep it short, all workshops are listed in more detail on this page. Some of you asked which workshop suits your level and interests, so I wrote this blog post that might help.

HAPPENING SOON:
• (ONLINE): Mixed Media For Urban Sketchers (you can join this one live or through a recording.)
• (ONLINE): 4-session People Sketching Workshop (join live or through a recording) More details here. Last passes left, get them here.

2025 WORKSHOPS:
• (IN PERSON): Gateway to India sketching adventure in India. FULL. Email suhita@gmail.com to get on the 2026 interest list.
• (IN PERSON): Mixed Media Workshop in Santa Fe with Maru Godas, and Suhita Shirodkar Last spaces left. Details here.
• (IN PERSON): Watercolor Sketching in Provence. Early Bird Discount ends soon. Details here.
• (IN PERSON): Sketching Adventure in Vietnam. People sketching, food, and adventure! Details here.

2026:
• (IN PERSON): Mighty-Fine-Workshop-On-The-River-Rhine
with Shari Blaukopf, Brenda Swenson, and Suhita Shirodkar
Sign up here.

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Prefer a Casual Sketching-Together Group instead of a Workshop?

Here is a sampling of some of the wonderful pieces created in an open session in October.
If you’d like to join a session like that one, upgrade your membership to be a paid member to access monthly sessions all year round for just $60/year.
Our November session is on Friday the 15th and we will work from a mix of photos and video. A link with references and Zoom details will be sent to you, as well as a recording of the session.

Upgrade to join the Sketching-Together group

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Stuff I’m Loving

- The Netflix documentary, Will & Harper and, (yeah, I’m a late arrival) the Hulu show, The Bear
- The book, Drawing from Within by Nick and Diane Meglin