Coming from the Philippines, I get most of my tools from our local bookstores, office and school supply stores and, if I get the chance, some of the rarer art-supply stores.

It's actually a bit of a hobby of mine scouting around branches of National Bookstore, looking for where they tend to stock up on the good stuff. I haven't had much time to do that lately though.

Main Arsenal

I try to keep my number of drawing instruments to a minimum. So I have this staple set, though I always have my supplementary tools (like markers and extra pencils and stuff) in my drawer.

0.5mm Mechanical Pencil

I normally don't use the traditional wooden pencils when I sketch and draw. I suppose this is a tendency of mine from my earlier years of drawing. I've always thought of drawing in manga styles as requiring sharp and clean lines, which is better achieved by mechanical pencils.


I'm not too particular with the type of mechanical pencil though. I know there are things like barrel caliber, materials and make. They can affect the way you can control it because of how it fits into your hand and how you'll have to work with its weight and weight distribution. I suppose that it's a matter of getting used to it.

I do make it a point to choose the ones that have a retractable tip for the mechanical pencil that I keep in my pocket. The ones with the metallic tips that don't retract tend to poke holes into my pockets and eventually ruin them. These, I just keep on my table.

In more recent years though, I tend to use wooden pencils normally just for covering more area when I'm shading. I've also found the harder leads (3H and 6H) useful for adding the more subtle tones, especially around the torso and face when I do some more detailed natural-media rendering. (Gosh, I make it sound like I'm doing such fancy things.) My biggest problem with them though is dulling them out. It's hard to shade with the hard leads properly when they're too sharp, especially when they tend to scratch the paper too much. Maybe I should go look for someone with an electric grinder…. Hmmm….

I also (even more recently) discovered the joys of using graphite sticks and *fully lead pencils? * I use Creacolor Graphite Stick and Creacolor Monolith

Dong-A XQ - 0.5mm 2B lead

The choice of 2B lead is mainly because I like the feel of how it glides on the paper compared to the harder leads. It's also easier to erase compared to the harder ones which tend to scratch the paper. I also use B leads from time to time though.

Why Dong-A? Well, it's not really a technical matter for me. I just feel safe with the brand. It's a Korean brand (they make a bunch of other writing instruments too) and it's relatively inexpensive. I do try other brands from time to time though.

I have this suspicion that the local Best Buy brand has been repackaging the Dong-A leads for National Bookstore though. You can find the Best Buy leads in cases of 30pcs (unlike the Dong-A ones in cases of 12pcs) and the case looks the same. (It also says 'Made in Korea' on the sticker. LAWLSZ.)

Stabilo also makes these longer leads though (they're 7.5 cm long instead of the standard 6.0 cm). The quality's not bad. I've noticed their 2B is slightly harder than the 2B's of other brands… but that's really up to you if you like the feel.

Faster Dust-Free Eraser

Some artists like erasers that don't rub everything out totally so they prefer those kneadable erasers. I suppose those are useful for blending. I don't use those though.


I find the Faster black eraser is really effective. I first discovered it in National Bookstore (in 2007, I think). It makes me wonder what it's made of. I've been scouting around for other Faster products and it's weird 'cause one of their products (I forgot which one) says it was made in Malaysia, while I found a pack of Faster leads which says it comes from Korea.

Stabilo makes "dust-free" black erasers too under their "Exam Grade" branding but I've noticed that the quality of recent stock has gone all weird. If you look at it closely, it looks a bit grainier than their older stock from last year. More importantly, it turns into a real mess when you erase with it and it even lets out this really weird smell. I mean, it already smells weird even before you use it but the smell spreads when you start rubbing.

I've also been historically fond of Maped's erasers. Can't say much about them except that they erase much better than the cheapo ones. Maped has some unique (and occasionally useful) mechanical erasers and eraser holders though. I dunno if you're into that whole thing. I'm not.

Faber Castell has also recently been selling some gray erasers that perform as well as the black erasers.

PaperOne COPIER Premium Paper (A3 ,70gsm)

I used to be really picky about paper. For some reason, I've lost that sensitivity. This was back when I was in high school though, and when I did the majority of my drawings in ruled notebooks. That really sucked.

I do still try to pick paper that goes well with my leads… even when I use B. It's really the whole gliding feeling thing. It helps me sketch freely.

I used to exclusively draw on letter-sized printer paper. But I've been drawing on A3 sized paper since 2009. The larger size is great. I tend to waste less paper this way 'cause I normally leave these larger sheets of paper on my desk(for the lack of a better place to put them) and I tend to leave it there 'til it's filled with notes and scribbles and doodles.

But the main reason I chose to switch to A3 is that I like the effect of how it makes my larger drawings look smaller. Since they look smaller, I now tend to draw larger, which, apart from helping me learn to do proportions on bigger pieces, also allows me to put in more details and have finer lines relative to the size of the drawing.