Are you looking for the best travel art supplies that you can easily bring with you no matter where you go? We have just the things for you!
Drawing and painting and making art, in general, is not meant to be just an indoor activity. It can also be an outdoor event when you feel the need to breathe fresh air and refresh your senses with new sceneries. Or if you’re a traveler who loves to document your trip in lines and colors.
Picking out your essential travel art supplies can be a bit tricky. Fortunately, we have here a list of the best portable art tools and products for every artist on the go. Keep reading!
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The Best Travel Art Supplies For Your Art Travel Kit
Mini Portable Sketchbooks
Of course, you’ll have to have a trusty and durable sketchbook for drawing or watercolor painting. You can opt for a handy pocket-sized journal or the ever-popular Moleskine journals that are practically synonymous with travel. There are a plethora of sketchbook options available, but here are our recommendations.

Recommendations:
Pens & Pencils
Most artists when on the go just opt to bring their basic pens and pencils for light sketching. Mechanical pens are great for traveling because you don’t need to sharpen them. You just have to bring an extra lead. Here are some good options if you don’t have them already.
Recommendations:
- Copic Multiliner Pens
- Sharpie Felt Tip Pens
- PILOT Razor Point Fine Line Marker Stick Pens
- Koh-I-Noor Mechanical Clutch Pencil
- Uni Ball Kuru Toga Self Sharpening Mechanical Pencil
Colored Pencils
Some people adore making art with colored pencils and while Prismacolor and Faber-Castell are the biggest names in this field, there are other brands that are great to travel with. Here are some colored pencils that are portable and travel-friendly.
Read: The Best Pencils For ColoringÂ

Recommendations:
- Arteza Watercolor Pencils Set
- Castle Art Supplies 72 Colored Pencils Zip-Up Set
- Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils
- COVACURE Premier Color Pencil Set
Markers
If you prefer drawing with color, you’ll need to have reliable colored markers. We’ve listed a couple of the best markers for coloring in another article but here are our recommendations for handy and portable markers with great quality for you to bring within your travels.
Recommendations:
- Winsor & Newton Promarker
- Faber-Castell’s PITT Artist pens
- Tombow Dual Brush Pen Art Markers
- Sharpie Pens
Portable Watercolor Set
Some artists prefer painting and the great thing about watercolor is that they are not liquid paints, unless you prefer the ones in tubes. Otherwise, watercolor kits are easy to carry and you can just wet them with water when you’re ready to paint. Painting with watercolor also does not require you to use so much paint compared to acrylic and oil paints. The brushes for watercolor are also smaller than other paintbrushes so that’s a plus for portability.
Read: The Best Watercolor Set for Beginners

Recommendations:
- Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colour Paint Sketchers’ Pocket Box
- Sakura Pocket Set Koi Watercolor Kit
- DANIEL SMITH 238 Watercolor Dot Color Chart
- Artsy Watercolor Paint Set
Other Tools/Accessories
Here are other tools and accessories that you might also need aside from the items mentioned above.

Recommendations:
- Posca Acrylic Paint Marker in White – To make your illustrations pop, you’ll find having an opaque white marker handy.
- Micro Art Set – If you prefer crayons or pastels, this micro art set can be your new travel kit best friend.
- Travel Scissors – Mini scissors will always come in handy for anyone.
- Folding Paint Tray – This can be useful when you like to mix up your watercolors or other paints.

- Watercolor Brush Pens – These brush pens can come in really handy because you won’t need to have a separate cup of water when you paint with watercolor. This is initially designed for brush calligraphy but you can always use it for quick sketches.
- Paintbrush Organizer – You’ll need one of these to keep your paintbrushes together.
- 642 Things to Draw Book – Artists have their fair share of art blocks and it may be easier said than done but coming up with new ideas all the time is daunting and can be a little bit stressful. You’ll find this handy paperback helpful when those times will come. This sketchbook provides you plenty of ideas to draw and doodle about. This little book will ignite your imagination and let you unleash the creativity waiting inside you.
FAQs
How Do You Pack Art Supplies For Travel?
Pack them carefully, you don’t want them to be damaged in transit!
Select a sturdy backpack or any travel case you use and pack your art supplies securely. If you are bringing delicate pencils and paintbrushes, make sure to wrap them in soft packing materials to make sure that they don’t break.
What Art Supplies Are Allowed on Planes?
Basic sketching materials such as pencils, pens, markers, sketchbooks, and electronic gadgets with digital art apps are allowed inside the plane. Watercolor paint palettes are also safe as they are dry and don’t contain any harmful chemicals.
Acrylic and oil paints contain flammable chemicals so they aren’t allowed, as well as Exacto knives, scissors, and other sharp metal tools.
Whether you are traveling by plane or by car, the best travel art supplies we listed above will come in handy for you.
Making art while traveling is a great thing especially when you get to record your excursions in a journal. The memories will be captured and when you look back through the pages of the journal you filled with sketches and drawings, you will be taken back to that feeling when you were scribbling those lines and colors over the paper. The experience will definitely be rewarding and worth it.
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