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How much are you willing to spend to get started?

Painting doesn't have to be an expensive hobby at all, so if you wanna just try it and see if you like it then here's what I would do:

Canvases

Go to a craft store like Michaels, Joann Fabrics, Hobby Lobby (I actually DON'T shop at hobby lobby for political reasons, but I want to list all the stores I can think of for a rounded example) and look for sales on canvases. They almost always have some size that is 1/2 price or buy one get one free. I prefer stretched canvases, and you can usually find ones sized 12x16 or so for a couple bucks (You might need to buy a 3-pack or something to get a good price...really depends on the store and the day) if you wanna go REALLY cheap you can get canvas-boards. The one thing I would say is don't buy something too-small or too-big until you REALLY know what you want to use it for. Trying to come up with something on a 3'x4' canvas will leave you feeling exhausted and frustrated and trying to make something nice on a 8"x5" can be really hard for a beginner. I would look for something around 9"x12" up to 12"x16" to start with. (for reference, a "regular" sheet of paper is 8"x10")

You can also shop online for canvases, but in my experience you can usually find a better deal at physical stores. However, here is a link to Amazon just to get an idea of the kind of [canvas to look for:] (https://www.amazon.com/Artlicious-Pre-Stretched-Cotton-Acrylics-Painting/dp/B01FOYPERU/ref=lp_12896241_1_14?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1484149402&sr=1-14) Higher quality canvases can get really expensive so don't be daunted if you go in and only see $30 canvases...look for the cheap ones.

Paints

For a beginner, I would stick to acrylics. I have actually only used oils a few times and there is a lot of cleanup, waiting, and in general I find them a lot harder to work with. (I also haven't given them much of a chance so if anyone disagrees with me I won't put up much of a fight.) I actually PREFER the cheap acrylics that are a bit liquidy. (Apple Barrel, or CRAFT.... here's a link just to get an idea of what container they come in: Apple BArrel Set They are usually about 1$ apeice for a 2oz bottle. You should also get a bigger 8oz or 16oz of black and white as you will probably use those a lot more than others. (If you end up painting a lot you will probably want to get 8oz sizes of your basic colors too..) For starting, I would avoid the acrylic tubes...they are more expensive, smaller usually, and (I think) a little harder to work with texture-wise. IF you don't know what you want to paint yet, or if you just wanna try a lot of different stuff, that color set I linked to is a decent palette to start with and there's enough there to mix in order to make just about any color you want. (That set does NOT contain black or white though...so if you go for that be sure to also get black and white).

Brushes

Here's the one thing I WOULDNT cheap up on. Get a decent set of brushes. Get at least one or two TINY brushes, then 3 or four of intermediate size up to about 1" wide. Any bigger than that is useful for covering a lot of canvas, but not REALLY necessary. I don't have any real tips about which brands to buy...if you go to a physical store, just look at them...if they look like super soft, furry, cheap, "kid" brushes, I'd avoid them. Look for ones with firmer bristles..clean crisp points or lines. Sometimes you can find a nice set...I think I usually spend $2 or so apeice (depends on the size) and then I have a few nicer ones I like, but it will take a while to get a feel for what your personal favorite brush size is so don't bother getting better quality until you know you will use it. I like to pick up an extra brush every time I head to the store, so I have a ton now of all sizes but at first expect to spend ~10$ to get an okay set.

Inspiration

I like to do a google image search based on a generic word. Then in the advanced image search tools you can search by color...I find a lot of interesting things that I will then either paint, or use as inspiration for a painting. I think everyone finds inspiration differently, but this is just my own way. I would avoid starting with any people/portraits/etc as the human brain is SUPER critical of any errors we detect in faces, bodies, hands, etc.. YOU can paint a car that is 95% accurate and it will look AMAZING but if you paint a face that is only 98% accurate it will look like a hideously deformed mess. (Im making up these numbers...I dont even know what a percent accuracy would mean for a painting, but I think the general idea gets across).

Technique

Whatever works for you...youtube videos, just trying it out, taking a class...I dont know! I'm self-taught and Im sure I've picked up a LOT of bad habits, but a few things I do that might be helpful that arent obvious:

• Feel free to draw lightly with pencil on the canvas for a start, sketch out your basic shapes and proportions. It's a lot easier to erase (or ignore) a pencil line than it will be to rearrange your picture once you start painting it.
  
• Paint the background/sky/etc first. Even if you have a big foreground object, it will be a lot easier to make a nice sky with a fluffy cloud or whatever that is then partially covered by your cool sailboat than it will be to try to paint the cloud JUUUUST up to the sailboat's sail, and then fill in the little bit you can see between the mast and the sail and then continue the cloud on the other side, than it would have been to just paint the stupid cloud first, and then paint your awesome sailboat over the top of it.
  
• Don't get attached to a part of your work. (This is the hardest thing...) If you are painting a face, and you paint this AMAZING eye, but once you finish it you realize its kind of too far to the left...you can't keep it...you need to move the eye. IF you are painting to LEARN, then you need to rework this in order to gain good skills. IF you are painting to make AWESOME ART then you need to rework this because the eye is wrong and it wont be awesome! (Hey! Why are you painting a face in the first place?! I told you not to do that at first!)
  
• Whiskey
  
  All that said, good luck! Hope you like it!
  

So a mix of cartoonish mix with realism.

Personally oils or acrylics is what she wants, I'm 90% sure group of seven used oils, but it might be easier to use acrylics instead.

If she has a few hours off everyday to spend painting, oils would be best since it takes hours to days to dry.

I'd she doesn't have time, acrylics would be best since it has easy clean up, quick drying, and is cheaper.

oils: long drying, rich colors, thick paint, takes paint thinner to clean.

Acrylics: fast drying(i.e. 30min), mass amounts of colors, butter like paint consistency, takes water to clean, safe for health.

What to buy:

Michaels, is a great place to buy canvases and oils, and acrylics, plus coupons. There are many in North America.

Hobby lobby, variety of synthetic/natural hair brushes,
Some in norther US.

Some websites:

http://www.dickblick.com

http://www.bobross.com

/r/happytrees

/r/art

/r/oilpainting

/r/painting

__

Some useful items:

If she'd be interested in bob ross style, I'll be happy to help
http://www.bobross.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SOMKC


https://www.amazon.com/Tangkula-French-Wooden-Portable-Folding/dp/B01DW0A4FA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1503600866&sr=8-3&keywords=French+easels

____

Feel free to ask me anything, and hopefully I can help

Wow, thank you!

I work in a pretty traditional way, blocking out everything with flat color, then building things up in layers. The block-in is dry when I start working details...for this one I did a lot of glazing and wet-on-wet work - no retarder medium on this one, though I don't hesitate to use it when I need to do smooth blending in large areas, like a sky during sunrise - to build up the volume on the stones. In a couple places to get some colors and values right, I used glazing or gel mediums to add some transparency.

To get the colors to pop, I try to carefully select my palette. Some of those yellows are actually quite dull, but look brighter because of the colors they're next to. I try to coordinate my colors, paying attention to complements and temperature (the shadows, for example, are very warm, using a warm blue mixed with burnt sienna...that makes the lighter blue glow a bit more, plus it is a sort of purplish-black, which complements yellow and so makes that stand out, too). I also have learned that it's important to pay attention to the opacity of your pigments. It's easier to get the sharp edges using opaque colors as opposed to transparent ones.

The other thing to keep in mind with edges: it's easier to make defined edges using contrast.

Sometimes for lightening colors, I will use a zinc white or unbleached titanium as opposed to titanium white. Titanium white can pastel-ize your colors easily. Zinc white or unbleached titanium can lighten your values without washing out the hue. It'll make a red a light red as opposed to a pink, if you know what I mean.

For paints, I use full body acrylics. For this, most everything was done using Liquitex Heavy Body paints, but I have a lot of student-grade paints that I intermix freely: Liquitex Basics, Daler-Rowney System 3 (a very underrated brand, imo...avoid their Simply... line, but System 3 is great and inexpensive) and even some really cruddy ones I found at my local Ocean State Job Lots. I wanted to use the pro-quality stuff on this one because I was concerned with lightfastness...I'm pretty sure he's got UV lights on that aquarium and I didn't want anything to fade.

Hope that helps! And thank you again. I'm humbled that you like my work.

ETA: My favorite books on the technical aspects of painting (so far) have been Painting in Acrylics: The Indispensible Guide by Lorena Kloosterboer and How to Paint Fast, Loose and Bold by Patty Mollica. Both of them have lots of information on color mixing and value, and I'm still working my way through applying the lessons I've learned from them.

Further edit: for what it's worth, I've never been able to use oils effectively at all. Acrylics are just a medium that speaks to me more...I might be coming to you for tips one day if I try to use oils again!

Edit3: I have a process pic gallery here to give you an idea how I did this one: https://imgur.com/a/yn1EiUZ

I'm assuming you're talking about freelance illustration since you mentioned art directors. Conferences are only helpful if you can actually have a face to face conversation with an art director. Yes, it's great to hear them lecture, but that won't do you any good in terms of developing a professional relationship. The best way to start with freelance illustration of a book that is published and updated every year : "The Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market" This book is an absolute must, and make sure you get the most recent edition. There's often times turnover at publications, and you don't want to send an email to someone who doesn't work there anymore. The book is great because it lists every single publisher, agent, magazine, etc. that hires illustrators and it has the names of all the people to contact, along with specific information talking about what topics each person is interested in. The book also has articles throughout from writers and illustrators giving advice for how to develop your career.

You can also target specific publications you want to work for, and usually with a lot of Googling, you can find at the very least the name of the art director. Sometimes you can't find their email, in which case the second best thing is to snail mail them a postcard of your work with your contact info on the back. You should be doing that at least 1-2 times a year anyway to promote your work.

Hi there! I think Acrylic paints are a great starting point for anyone as they allow experimentation with layers and dry really quickly, in around 10-15mins actually! Here's a small list of starting equipment I think would be best:

• Set of basic acrylic paints containing at least the primary colours. This should be fairly cheap to pick up.
  
  
• A starter pack of half decent paintbrushes. Make sure they're of good quality as fraying brushes are a nightmare for detailing. There are some good sets on Amazon for around £10-£15.
  
  
• A pack painting boards or canvas. Painting on paper with acrylic causes it to warp and curl when it dries so boards or canvas are the best. You can get a pack of 5 quite cheaply.
  
  Other from those basic things there are a few other supplies needed which you may already have such as; jars or cups for water and a ceramic plate or plastic pallet for mixing the paints.
  
  I've included a few links to brushes and things below. Have fun and good luck my friend!
  
  Brushes
  Paints
  Boards

I think it depends on her age / level of knowledge about painting; can she be responsible with tube paints, for instance?


The Cotman set mentioned already would be a good bet, it's once of the nicer student grade paints. Just a warning that you can get it on Amazon for significantly cheaper than michaels / hobby lobby etc. Just search for Cotman - theres several different styles (tiny travel size, bigger pans, etc).


My recommendation however if she is as you say not quite a beginner, and can be responsible with tube colors, would be to get her some artist quality paints. These are expensive to jump into; about $10-12 per tube of paint. However, each tube should last her a very long time. You'll also want to get her a palette of sorts to put them in, she'll squeeze out paint to the wells and allow them to dry, that way all the colors are easy to access. Watercolors can be reactivated with a dab of water.


There are many brands, but I love Daniel Smith, M. Graham, and Holbein. You'll want to buy these from dickblick.com, cheapjoes.com, or jerrysartarama.com - these places are a few dollars cheaper per tube and that really adds up over time. The exception is usually 'sets' - some brands sell sets of paints that compliment each other, and these seem to be cheaper on amazon.



As for what colors you should grab if you choose to buy tubes, there are A LOT, you'll at least want to get the basic colors that will allow her to mix most other colors. This however can be a really personal choice (what colors you want in your palette) All Daniel Smith unless stated otherwise:


Essential shades:

• Hansa Yellow Medium
  
• Quinacridone Gold
  
• Carmine
  
• Ultramarine
  
• Phthalo Green
  
• Burnt Sienna
  
  
  Nice to have:
  
  
  
• Moonglow
  
• Quinacridone Rose
  
• Naphthol Red (M. Graham)
  
• Azo Yellow (M. Graham)
  
• Undersea Green
  
  
  M. Graham has some really nice sets:
  
  
  https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_asi_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Am.+graham&keywords=m.+graham&ie=UTF8&qid=1483228508
  
  
  Have a look here to see what she could mix with the essential shades only:
  
  
  http://janeblundellart.blogspot.com/2014/06/just-6-colours-lovely-limited-palette.html
  
  
  She may feel really limited if she's not sure how to mix colors yet.
  
  
  And so she has somewhere to put them:
  
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Martin-Mijello-Airtight-Watercolor-18-Well/dp/B002664868/ref=pd_bxgy_201_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B002664868&pd_rd_r=KGKTV5R413WMN7JM49ED&pd_rd_w=27A37&pd_rd_wg=coxt7&psc=1&refRID=KGKTV5R413WMN7JM49ED
  
  
  
  And, incase you wanted to get her a whole "Artist Quality" set to get going with, maybe grab some paper:
  
  
  http://www.dickblick.com/products/fabriano-artistico-extra-white-watercolor-blocks/
  
  
  (I'd recommend cold press, and whatever size she tends to like to paint at - 9x12 feels not too big, not too small to me, personally)
  
  
  Brush recommendations:
  
  
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00512C1VS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  
  
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BN7R9E/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  
  
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00409JAEY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  
  
  http://www.dickblick.com/products/escoda-versatil-brushes/

Working cools vs warms is a little complicated. I recommend buying some painting books and color theory books to really know what I'm talking about. Basically decide what is going to be the structure of your painting, value or warm/cool shifts. So lets say you decide value (basically you'll find a lot if values, strong darks and lights). Warm/ cool shifts in this context could mean: most of the shadows will feel cooler than the lights (or vise versa). The way you mix that would be: shadows made of violets, greens, blues + a slight neutralizer (the opposite color) or a shade like black, or grey and the lights with bright versions or the hue shifted to things like red, yellows, oranges. (Know that context determines whether a color feels warm or cool. blue can be warm if surrounded by certain neutrals etc etc) However, instead of painting the shadow of on an arm brown, paint it violet. Warm cool shifts work best when there is little value. So if the shadow is Waaaaay darker than the highlight, don't push the violet too much. But let's say you decided to have little value in a painting and wanted space to be formed through warm/cools then make the highlights from red tints and the shadow from violet with no change or little change in value. You see this type of painting Impressionism to contemporary work and prior to Impressionism most painting is value based (due to pigments and the color theories of the time). Extreme values make an easy read for a work, while warm/cools play tricks on the eye and are visually unstable, which makes a painting visually develop over time (stand in front of some Rothko works and you'll know what I mean). It really depends on what you're going for. Also paint from life. Photos flatten things out tremendously and you'll see a lot more color and dimension from actual observation.

Color theory book I recommend: The Elements of Color:

1. A Treatise on the Color System of Johannes Itten Based on His Book the Art of Color
   http://amzn.com/0471289299
   
   
2. Interaction of Color: Revised Edition
   http://amzn.com/0300018460
   
   
3. Interaction of Color: Revised and Expanded Edition
   http://amzn.com/0300115954
   
   Painting technique book I also recommend:
   Portrait Painting Atelier: Old Master Techniques and Contemporary Applications
   http://amzn.com/082309927X
   
   Sorry I'm on mobile and 3:30am so I am a but too exhausted to make those clickable. I look forward to seeing more of your paintings :)
   
   A Cezanne portrait where his colors in the face do what I'm talking about (using color to make planar shifts or space) http://www.canvasreplicas.com/images/Paul%20Cezanne%20Self%20Portrait.jpg
   
   A Degas based on warm cool shifts: http://uploads3.wikipaintings.org/images/edgar-degas/the-pink-dancers-before-the-ballet-1884.jpg

I think that you should sit down and give serious consideration to what you want to do in the future. I have a BFA in painting, and I worked for other people in various, non-art jobs for about 10 years before getting back to art. I find that the patience and creative problem solving I have developed from my art practice have served me well in these roles. But I'm a bit more analytical than many of my art friends :-p

If you're 18-20 years old I know it might be tough to sit down and map out the future, but I suggest taking a weekend to do just that. Start by reading 'What Color is Your Parachute' and do the flower exercise.

Here are some other thoughts:

• Passion is important, but it doesn't pay the bills - much less create or maintain a standard of living you can be proud of. And it certainly won't fund any kind of retirement. I know so many creatives in their 50's and 60's who will never be able to move away uninspiring work that makes money instead of traveling and / or creating personal passion projects.
  
  
• Build / maintain relationships with friends and professors now. That way it isn't weird to ask people in leadership roles for advice or letters of recommendation later.
  
  
• Start showing work wherever you can so you can learn about the finer details of doing so long before your exit show. Cafes are legit. It all counts.
  
  
• Read business books or do online training with people like Cory Huff. You can't expect your school to teach you about business, so why not start looking into it now so you're ready when you graduate.
  
  
• I don't agree that an MFA is necessary for a career in the (non-collegiate) art world. Especially as the economy gets worse, and it's harder for people to justify that amount of debt.
  
  
• Talk to as many people as you can about your projects / career goals. All opportunities start as an idea in someone's head and you only see opportunities in the classifieds when someone hasn't figured out a way to ignore or solve a problem on their own. How can you be a problem solver? How can you create win-win scenarios?
  
  
• Remind your family that nowadays there is no pipeline to success for any major.

I also just started out in acrylics. I'm not sure of a good set that has everything in one, but I can share what I got to get started. For Christmas I got the basics, i.e. Red, Yellow, Blue, White, and Blank paint (Premiere acrylics), some canvases (8x10 and 12x16), a set of 12 different Royal and Langnickel brushes, and a wooden table-top easel.

Additional items I went back to AC Moore and bought:

--Silver, Gold, Brown, Green, Orange, and Purple paints

--A sta-wet palette which keeps your paints from drying up while you are working.

--Palette knife

--Canvas panels

-- Liquitex Gloss medium & Varnish

-- Brush Cleaner (same as this one on Amazon)

Basically I was having trouble finding an All-in one kit, so I got everything separately. One thing I would have done differently is buy a multipack of the paints with more colors to save time mixing. If you want to go pick stuff out in person then AC Moore or Michaels, as JT suggested, are great. Otherwise, everything seems to be on Amazon and the reviews tend to be pretty helpful! I actually made my shopping list by looking up things on Amazon and then went to the store because I was too impatient to want to wait for shipping.

I kept seeing this post pop up all day, and I kept refraining from commenting because I figured someone would eventually come along and point you towards a specific book, and that was really what you were asking for. But since no one else has commented, here's my advice: The most important and useful thing you can do is practice. If you want some practical tips, go to the library and take out some books about techniques, but I've never actually found any of those helpful. The only book that I've ever found useful was this but it doesn't tell you how to do anything, it just tells you what every material is and basic information. Actually, I learned a lot from it. Aside from that, practice a lot, pay close attention to what artists that you like do, and experiment with the paint a lot. Hope that helps.

One book that was surprisingly helpful for me was Art School: How to Paint and Draw. I actually got it in the bargain bin at a book store.

A couple other helpful books are Problem Solving for Oil Painters and Color and Light.

Also, if you have an art studio around, sometimes they have cheap beginners classes. I've found those to be quite helpful starting out.

Buy Golden Acrylics Extra Heavy Body Gel. It's insanely good, dries with way more clarity than other brands (won't affect dried color it does affect the color of the wet paint unfortunately) and it's thick like room temp butter.

Hey thanks! Acrylics are so different. You might try getting a gel medium that makes the paint thicker and more textured. The one I use is Golden Acrylics Extra Heavy Body Gel. Another thing to try would be to use different tools than paint brushes. Each tool gives different textures, and my favorite is a palette knife. I've resorted to kitchen spatulas, sponges, finger painting, etc. to get the right texture!

If you're looking a book that's about color overall, definitely look at James Gurney's Color and Light.

It is THE resource every artist should own regardless of skill. As for mixing colors and paints, I can't provide too much there, but try Jeff Miracola. He's a fantasy painter who does mostly acrylic work, but he's got a lot of tutorials and walkthroughs that may be of assistance.

Color theory and application can be difficult to master, and hopefully these resources can get you on a path to other resources that may be valuable.

another greeat book to get would be The artist's handbook by ralph mayer. reviews everything one could want to know. also a color wheel is another great thing you could get her.

link to the book: https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Handbook-Materials-Techniques-Reference/dp/0670837016

link to color wheel: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002J4OPEM/ref=asc_df_B002J4OPEM5271826/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B002J4OPEM&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167148482147&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8189816881818029176&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009892&hvtargid=pla-310385990598

Oh cool, you'll have fun with color theory then. I recommend you check out James Gurney's book Color & Light. You should also study up on perspective. This is the only book I can recommend that won't make your life hell.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0740797719/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1449100517&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=james+gurney&dpPl=1&dpID=51cGHRQjifL&ref=plSrch