Videos
Quick List
- Canvas
- Ruler
- Scalpel / Stanley Knife
- Long Measuring Apparatus – Tape measure, Measuring tape, etc…
- Pencils
- Compass
- Eraser
- Pencil Sharpener (The important of this item can’t be overstated)
- Marker Pens
- Paints
- Paint Brushes
- Mixing pot for paints
- Silver and Gold Pens
Hanging Options: - Dowling Rod or equivalent (x2 if you want top and bottom, see 21 below) (Hanging Options0
- Saw for wood (Hanging Options)
- String or thin rope (Hanging Options)
- Drawing or Board Pins (Hanging Options)
- Tape for fixing (to table or fixing board)
- Backing / Fixing Board (Optional)
- Candle (Optional)
- Small flat wood or substitute to facilitate fixing at the top of the canvas / Alternative thin dowling rod (Hanging Options)
- Glue which will work on canvas and wood (Hanging Options)
Detailed Information
Backing / Fixing Board
A backing board is useful to anchor your canvas, protect underlying surfaces while painting and can help with mobility of your work and canvas. If your using a backing board you will need some sort of temporary, not permanent, non-destructive way to fix the canvas to your board. Masking tape or medium tape can work well for this purpose.
Canvas
A medium white acrylic canvas is recommended – All other materials in this guide assume this acrylic canvas as a medium.
Check arts and crafts stores for supplies in the UK:
https://www.theworks.co.uk
https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk
https://www.jacksonsart.com/surface/canvas/canvas—type/by-the-metre/canvas—material/cotton
Note: if you can’t find loose, there are many success stories of buying frame stretched canvas and un-framing it to get a loose canvas.
Other materials sources like blinds etc… could also be used and are often equivalent.
Canvas Size:
| Tree/Ladder Size | Surface Size |
| 2021 Course (16mm variant) | 850mm x 300mm White Acrylic Canvas |
Compass
A compass will be used for most of the architectural positioning and layout, the Sephirot, path alignment (if you go that route), and will also be used for some finishing, like the spheres of influence.
You will need to compasses capable of managing all the sizes for your chosen tree/ladder size. This will often mean you need more than 1 compass and up to 3 depending on your compasses and the tree/ladder size your manifesting.
Note your compass should ideally support inserts/pens, ie the compass should allow you to attach pens. This is to support the work we will be doing on this canvas, which will include pencil, pen, and later paint pens (for example the spheres of influence).
You want a compass which holds its position fairly well, but you will also be checking with each stroke if its aligned.
Size guides:
| Size | Compass Must support: |
| 2021 Course (16mm variant) | 4mm, 16mm, 64mm, 80mm |
Rulers
A 60cm or longer ruler is recommended, consider your canvas size and drawing a line from top to bottom. There are alternative ways to get the straight line of course, but a 60cm ruler, with good markings and a clean edge will be useful in most of the tree/ladder building.
The size of the ruler is also dependant on the size of the tree/ladder being manifest, however a 60cm or larger ruler should see you well for most variants, else adjust accordingly.
Pens
A set of black permanent pens is recommended for outlining. A variety of pens tip sizes is useful so that you can find your preferred thickness.
Some options: Super fine, fine and medium (0.4mm, 0.6mm, 1.0mm)
A recommendation if your unsure is 0.4mm (super-fine).
Have 2-3 pens, as they can dry out quickly, and having 2-3 will prevent lost time and disappointment.
For your gold and silver pens you may choose to have thicker or thinner lines. The silver will generally be used for spheres of influence, and the gold may be used for lettering.
Pencil
The pencil is used to layout the tree/ladder before making it permanent, therefore the lighter and thinner the pencil, the better. The only requirement for the pencil is provide the structure for the ink later on.