Artist on a Budget - Why using inferior tools can be okay

You should always use the highest-quality tools available, right?
Very likely you would be surprised to see what I work with sometimes. At the moment I am partially using Faber-Castell Colored Pencils (the ones for school kids) of inferior light-fastness on store-bought $15 paper.

How come?

These pencils have generously been gifted to me. A year ago I moved to the other side of the world, taking only one suitcase with me. I gave away almost all of my art supplies prior to the journey. I soon missed drawing, but was not in a financial position to buy pencils. All I had were some graphite pencils. A friend stepped in and bought me the highest-quality pencils she saw in the store. Since then I have been doing a lot of studying and practicing. I am saving to invest in a more professional pencil set, but for the time being these pencils are what I use every day and for some drawings. The same goes for the paper. I bought a pad from the supermarket, because it was what I could afford at that time. It has mainly been used for sketches and practicing. Now that I am at the last page, I will have to upgrade to artist-grade paper soon.

I believe that your financial situation should never stand in the way of your artistic progress. And sometimes the money for high-quality tools is just not there (maybe all those starving artists are starving because they recently bought colored pencils - just look up the price of these!!!).

Here are some tips on how to get through a rough patch, and how to even make some money for better supplies:

- Use your lowest quality tools for practicing. Reserve the highest quality materials for your finished works. After all, practicing with an inferior tool might even give you a head start when you switch to better tools!

- Sell prints, rather than originals. Get the best possible photograph or scan of your artwork. Instead of selling the original, which may be of inferior light-fastness, sell archival prints. Or sell merchandise: Have a look at joining websites like Society6 or Fine Art America to sell fun items, like bed sheets, laptop sleeves and the good old mug.

- Lastly, be honest. Don't lead your customer to believe that they are purchasing a high quality archival original artwork. It will come back to haunt you!