Since Christmas is coming up I’ve created the ultimate Christmas gift list full of creative gifts for the artist in your life!
Not only do I know 100% that the receiving artist will LOVE one of these gifts, but I’ve also asked my followers and thousands of website visitors, who are all artists, what they’d love to receive in 2022. They’re all added to the list.
Keep reading to find out which gifts are worth giving (I’ve only compiled the most popular and mid- to high-end brands in the industry) and also learn how to find out which kind of art gift your giftee likes.
This article may contain affiliate links at no extra cost to you. AF links help support this blog so that it can exist and expand for years to come!
1. High-end paper
What is the one thing that all artists of every discipline need? Paper! Whether your gift-receiving artist works with paints, pencils or inks, paper is what they’re always in need of.
And let me tell you that the Arches brand is the Lamborghini of paper.
If your giftee works with wet media like inks, watercolor, gouache etc. it’s best to buy Arches watercolor paper.
They come in two main variants: hot- and cold-pressed. Hot pressed means that there’s no texture: the paper is completely smooth. Cold pressed paper means that the paper is roughly textured.
Arches hot-pressed paper:

Arches Watercolor Block – 8′ x 10′, Hot Press, 20 Sheets
What I’ve seen is that most artists prefer cold-pressed paper. So I’d recommend buying that one if you want to play safe.
Arches cold-pressed paper:

Arches Watercolor Block – 9′ x 12′, Cold Press, 20 Sheets
If your artist uses dry media, like (colored) pencils, then you want to buy this one:

Arches Drawing Paper Block – 10′ x 14′, Extra White, 16 Sheets
2. Budget-friendly paper (but still good enough to sell artwork)
If you think that Arches paper is bit out of your budget, you can opt for Canson paper. Canson paper is a well-known and trustworthy paper brand.
I actually own a few paper packs of it as well. I even sell art I made on Canson paper, so it’s definitely not a low-end brand.
Like any other brand they have multiple variaties of paper, but to be safe you can get one the following ones:
Canson XL Bristol pad Smooth:
This one is excellent for pencils.

Canson XL Bristol – Pad, 14′ x 17′, Smooth, 25 Sheets, Tapebound
3. Toned paper
Toned paper is paper that has color to it. It’s usually a warm brown/beige or grey. Toned paper is very popular among colored pencil artists.
They make the colors pop!

Canson XL Sand Grain Dry Mixed Media Pad – 9′ x 12′, Gray

Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Pad – 19′ x 24′, Vellum, 20 Sheets
Strathmore toned paper
Whenever I post a video or picture using this kind of paper most of the comments are questions about which paper I use. Strathmore is, I’d say, a little more high-end than Canson.
This is the one I reccomend everyone:

Strathmore 400 Series Recycled Toned Sketch Pad – 18′ x 24′, 24 Sheets, Warm Tan
4. Sketchbooks
Sketchbooks either have a spiral to keep the pages together or they have the pages glued or bound together like a regular book.
Here are some of the most popular mid- to high-end sketchbooks out there:
Etchr cold pressed landscape sketchbook:

Etchr Mixed Media Hardbound Sketchbook – A4, 8.3′ x 11.7′, Cold Press, Landscape
Strathmore toned paper sketchbook:

Strathmore 400 Series Recycled Toned Sketch Pad – 12′ x 9′, 50 Sheets, Warm Tan
Winsor & Newton Spiral Sketchbook:

Winsor & Newton Spiral Sketchbook – 10′ x 7′
Canson watercolor sketchbook:

Canson Montval Field Watercolor ArtBook – 14′ x 11′, Cold Press, 20 Sheets
Copic sketchbook:

Copic Wirebound Marker Sketchbook – 7′ x 5′
5. Colored pencils sets
Let me introduce you to the 3 main brands for colored pencils:
- Prismacolor Premier pencils
- Faber-Castell Polychromos
- Caran d’Ache Luminance pencils
Prismacolor Premier pencils:
The Prismacolor premier pencils are the cheapest of all three brands. They are wax-based, which means that the pencils go down creamy and very smooth.
I actually own this set and I’d buy them again if I had to.
This is Prismacolor’s biggest set with all of their colors:

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils – Set of 150, Complete Set
Faber-Castell Polychromos
This brand of pencils is the direct competitor of Prismacolor. They are a bit more expensive.
The biggest difference between the two is that these are oil-based and not wax-based. They are pretty much equal in quality but they can achieve more crisp detail as the pencils aren’t that creamy.
This is Faber-Castell’s biggest set:

Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencil Set – Wood Box, Set of 120
Caran d’Ache Luminance colored pencils:
These pencils are the most expensive of all of them. But they are used by a lot of professional artists. Your giftee will definitely love these!

Caran d’Ache Luminance Colored Pencils – Assorted Colors, Set of 100
Smaller sets of Prismacolor, Faber-Castell and Caran d’Ache
If you find that the full sets of these pencils are out of your price range, here are smaller sets:
Prismacolor Portrait set of 24 (a very popular set!):

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils – Set of 24, Portrait Colors
Faber-Castell set of 36:

Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencil Set – Assorted Colors, Tin Box, Set of 36
Carandache set of 40:

Caran d’Ache Luminance Colored Pencils – Assorted Colors, Set of 40
6. Alcohol Markers
Alcohol markers are markers with alcohol-based ink in them. If you buy any ink markers, always make sure they are alcohol-based, not water-based!
Copic markers
Copic markers are the Lamborghini of alcohol markers: no other marker brand comes as close to their quality, and they know it. That’s why they’re rather expensive… but oh so worth it.

Copic Ciao Double Ended Markers – Assorted Colors, Set of 24
Tip: Copics also come in a few variations. Always go for the Ciao ones: they are the cheapest, refillable and they have a brush tip. Brush tips are what most artists prefer!
Winsor & Newton Brush Promarkers:
Winsor & Newton is an art brand with a respectful reputation. I own their Promarkers and have used them as an alternative to Copics.

Winsor & Newton Promarker Brush Markers – Vibrant Tones, Set of 12
7. Paint Markers
Paint markers are markers with paint in them. It’s usually acrylic paint.
Posca paint markers:
Posca’s are one of the most popular acrylic paint markers out there. They can be used on almost every surface: paper, glass, plastic, rock… you name it.

Uni Posca Paint Markers – Basic Colors, Set of 16, Medium Tip, 2.5 mm
Arteza Acrylic markers:
Arteza is a popular brand among the younger crowd (although I know a lot of adults who use them too, like me!). It’s mainly because they advertise through social media like youtube.
Chances are your giftee has heard of them and wants to try them out!

Acrylic Markers – Set of 40 / Arteza
8. Acrylic paint
Here are the top brands for acrylic paints:
Amsterdam Acryclic paint:

Amsterdam Standard Series Acrylics – General Selection, Set of 72, 20 ml Tubes
Liquitex acrylic heavy body acrylics:

Liquitex Professional Heavy Body Acrylic Paint – Set of 24, Essential Colors, 22 ml, Tubes
Winsor & Newton Acrylics:

Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Paint – Set of 20, Assorted Colors, 12 ml, Tubes
9. Gouache paint
You can see gouache as a mix between acrylics and watercolors. Gouache has been gaining lots of popularity in the last few years.
All in one Arteza gouache set:
This set includes 60 colors + a drawing pad.

Gouache Artist Bundle / Arteza
Winsor & Newton Gouache:
This brand is well known for its excellent gouache.
An introductory set:

Winsor & Newton Designers Gouache – Introductory Set, Set of 10 Colors, 14 ml Tubes
Holbein Gouache set
Another high-end brand for gouache:

Holbein Artists’ Gouache Set – Set of 24, 15 ml tubes
10. Oil paint
Winsor and newton:

Winsor & Newton Winton Oil Paint – Set of 20, Assorted Colors, 12 ml, Tubes
Senellier Oil paints:

Sennelier Artists’ Extra Fine Oil Paint- Plein Air Landscape, Set of 8, 40 ml tubes
Just keep in mind that when you gift oil paints, and the receiver doesn’t have oil paints already, you must also gift a paint thinner (for cleaning and thinning the paint).
Otherwise, they can’t work with it!
11. Watercolor paint
Winsor and newton high-end watercolor:

Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolor – Field Pocket Set, Set of 12 Assorted Colors, Half Pans
Arteza watercolor drawing bundle:

Watercolor Drawing Bundle / Arteza
Schminke watercolor set:
This high-end brand gives you a paint tin plus 6 tubes of watercolor paint:

Schmincke Horadam Aquarell Artist Watercolor – Set of 6, Assorted Colors, 5 ml, Tubes
12. Soft pastels
Rembrandt Soft Pastels:

Rembrandt Soft Pastel Set – Set of 30, Landscape
Winsor & Newton soft pastels:

Winsor & Newton Soft Pastel Set – Set of 30
Unison Portrait pastels:
This is a high-end brand.

Unison Handmade Pastel Set – Portrait Colors, Set of 18, Full Stick
13. Paint brushes
Princeton Neptune brushes:
I own some of these and they are my favorite synthetic brushes.

Princeton Neptune Synthetic Squirrel Brushes – Set of 4
Princeton Select brushes:

Princeton Select Brush Set – Brush Set No. 22, Set of 6
Angelus synthetic brushes:

Angelus Synthetic Paint Brush Set – Assorted, Set of 5, Short Handle
14. Water cups
Masterson Rinse Well:
Such a unique art gift!

Masterson Fresh Water Rinse Well
Paint puck:
Very popular on social media.

Paint Puck Ultimate Rinse Cup – Blue
15. Art Organisation
A must for markers:

Spectrum Noir Marker Storage Trays – Clear
Paint storage tray:

ArtBin Paint Storage Tray
The famous designer bag mogul Kate Spade also makes desk accessories. A need? No. A want? Definitely. So, perfect as a gift!

Kate Spade New York Strike Gold Acrylic Desk Accessories – Pencil Cup
16. Art Books
If you know which animated or CGI movie your giftee likes, chances are there’s a concept book full of concept artwork.
You can find a lot of concept books on Book Depositary.
Here are some popular art books that your giftee might like (click the image to buy):
17. Art Prints
Lots of artist love and support fellow artists by buying their art prints. They put those prints together to make their own inspirational corner, or wall.
Find out which artist is currently your giftee’s favorite. At the end of this article, I’ve listed some tips on how to find that out.
Buy your giftee an art print of their favorite artist! Almost all artists have some prints of their artwork, either listed on their own website or on their RedBubble.
Simply go to their social media and look for a link in their bio.
18. Art Gift Cards
If all else fails, just get them a gift card
- $55 Gift Card“>Dick Blick Gift Card $55