Things you need for drawing

The quick answer to this is that you only need a surface to draw on and an instrument made of some kind of material that will mark on said surface. To practice my drawing, I have drawn in sand, dirt, on sidewalks, walls and fences, etc... To mark on these, I have used sticks, chalk, soft rocks (similar to chalks) charcoal, pencils, dry-rotting wood, pens and many other instruments. As long as I could hold the drawing intrument at an angle I could work at against the surface I was going to practice on-HEY! go for it. For a drawing that will be kept for any amount of time, look at what you have, and how much you will need to shade, erase, how much contrast you want and so on. I have given pen and ink drawings on end-rolls of news sheeting, plain old typing paper, and fancy art paper. I have also used pencils, charcoals, pastels, colored pencils, pens of black and colored inks, markers, and somethings I can't really recall now. You can get as fancy or as simple as you wish, so start small. I recommend some good graphite (school) pencils, one charcoal, a couple good erasers (if you don't erase, these make great shadowing and smudging tools) and some paper of a slightly rougher texture than typing, then go for it. A good, small pad of sketching paper should only put you back about $5. If that's too much for now. Stay with the graphite pencils, erasers and plain typing paper. And the best teacher is simple practice, practice and more practice. Get going and good luck!

All of the above is just what I would have said... here is the list of what I carry at all times.

My basic drawing kit has 6 pencils, one each 4b, 2b, 2h & 4h and two hb. one good eraser, and eraser shield, two sizes of blending stub, a pencil sharpener that stays in a container for the shavings. A 2 inch square of white felt (for blending). Wet wipes. a compass (for drawing circles, a straight edge, a pair of polarised sunglasses and a portable sketch book. All of which I keep with me in a handy carry all.

In a pinch, a piece of paper and a pencil will do, all the rest just makes things easier.