This is the short list I give to friends who ask what to buy first. It is not a big haul. Everything here is cheap, easy to find, and enough for your first few months.
For drawing
- Two or three graphite pencils, such as an HB, a 2B and a 4B
- A plain sketchbook with paper that isn’t too thin
- A kneaded eraser and a small sharpener
- One black fineliner for going over your pencil lines
For color
- A basic set of 24 colored pencils, student grade is fine
- A small pan set of watercolors with a few brushes
- A pad of watercolor paper, because ordinary sketchbook paper will buckle
Nice to have later
- A drawing board or clipboard
- A pencil case you actually like
- One good pencil or paint you chose yourself after trying the basics