Helloids! Hope you are all well. This is a quick list of things we will need for the course. Do not worry; most things are likely to be available locally or will be things you already have from foundation, other courses, etcetera. I have marked stuff that you might have to order online with a $ sign. There are images at the bottom of the list to help you identify stuff. If you have questions, I am @abhijithkeyaar on Telegram and abhijith@keyaar.in by email.

PAPER
1.1: If possible, A3 Sheets (70–80 GSM copier sheets). 100
1.2: Otherwise, A4 Copier Sheets. 200
3: Cartridge Sheets (off-white, A3-sized or half-imperial or similar). 15 (Don’t worry if you can’t find them right away. We will get to these by the second or third week.) $

INKs
4: Basic fountain pen ink. QTY: 2 Black and 1 Red. (Camlin/Bril/Chelpark is enough. Each bottle is around 25 Rs. No need to buy expensive stuff like Quink.)
5: Poster colour, White. QTY: One small bottle.
6: Drawing ink (black). QTY: One bottle. If you can’t find this, get a bottle of black poster colour. $

BRUSHES, PENS, ETC.
Keep all your brushes from foundation cleaned and handy.
7: Brushes, ROUND: It will be nice to have a big one (something close to size 8 or 10) and a fine one (size 0).
8: Brush, FLAT: Anything you have already is good. Otherwise, get a size 10. 
9: Chisel marker (black). Get a red one too, if you think you will use it later. These come under many brand names. Luxor SuperChisels are affordable. If you can’t find a single black one, buy a box of assorted colours. These are easily refillable, with any water-based ink and fountain inks and should last you some time. $
10: Ice-cream/kulfi sticks, if it is possible to get them.

THINGS YOU PROBABLY ALREADY HAVE
1: A clear (plastic) ruler for measurements. 15 or 30 cms.
If you are buying new, get one with grids on it. Essentially, clear ruler with grids inside for you to align forms and check alignments. They are called quilting/gridding rulers. Remember, anything clear will do.
2: A steel ruler for cutting paper. You DO NOT cut along a plastic ruler.
3: Cutter or pen-knife OR a surgical knife.
4: Glue-stick. Fevi-stick or similar.
5: Small syringe (2.5ml/5ml) and needle for refilling some of the pens.
6: Old newspapers and old rags to clean.
7: Tracing-paper.
8: Pencils and pens and erasers (so you can keep them away).

Harder-to-work-with tools often build character. So, when you are starting out, affordable/not-the-best is perhaps better.

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IMAGES

4: Fountain Ink. This is a Bril one. Chelpark and Camlin are also easy to find.

 

6: Drawing Ink: Either of these are fine. (40 Rs. for a bottle.)

 

9: Chisel Markers. These are the affordable ones. Get black and red.

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THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO GET LATER

This is a list of stuff of the relatively ‘fancy’ variety. You DON’T HAVE TO buy these (below) for the course. Get these when you realise you are really into typography and want to explore further. This section is ordered cheapest to most expensive.

Camlin Brush-pens. Rs. 88 for a set of 6. These are refillable with fountain pen ink or photo-inks.

A loupe. This is a foldable magnifier used for counting threads and some of your textile-designer friends probably already have them. You can use a loupe to look at print and type in detail. Mine is a metal one. There are fancier once with built-in lights. Nice to have. Not necessary at this point. Costs around 400.

Photo-inks or watercolour inks. The set from Camlin is around 500 Rs. These inks are a good step up from water colours. They also work with Parallel pens and some felt-tipped sketch-pens. There are other brands that sell single-bottles.

Watercolour Brushes. Fill them with water or ink and use them for lettering. More expensive than the Camel BrushPen ones and lasts longer. I have Sakura Koi ones and a flat one from Derwent. They all work fine. Each cost around 200-250.

Pilot Parallel pen(s). Start with the 3.8mm (green one) and then see what you would like. I have the 3.8 and 6.0. 3.8 helped ease me into writing at a comfortable size/scale. The 6.0 is good for bigger, free-flowing stuff. Expensive-ish at Rs. 1200 per pen. They are worth the price and you might not need another calligraphy pen for quite a while.

Images for Reference

Brush Pens (Prefilled Variety)

 

A Loupe

 

Photo Inks

 

WaterColour Brushes

 

Parallel Pens