Best New Art Supplies for 2026!

This year in 2026 I had the opportunity to go to Creativation by Namta held in St. Louis Missouri and Toy Fair in New York City. While at both events I was able to visit with many brands and see all the new items that will be offering this year. I have complied the list number 1 to 26. Check them out and let me know which one is your favorite. I will provide links as soon as they are available.

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Coming in at NUMBER 1 is 20 new colors of Polychromos colored pencils from Faber Castell. Available now. These pencils look like really pretty colors and will compliment the current 120 pencils available. I was surprised at the cost of the pencils. A set of 24 original pencils is about 48 dollars, a set of 36 are 61 dollars and these are close to 70 dollars! I think my local art store is getting these in and I'll be getting them there.

Here are all the colors without the packaging.

And here are all the colors; Arylide Yellow 202, Perinone Orange 210, Thulite Red 211, Thulite Reddish 213, Quinacridone Magent 325, Tyrian Purple 339, Fra Angelico Blue 150, Dark Ultramarine Violet 350, Aquamarine Blue 348, Lazadite Green 204, Bohemian Green Earth 372, Green Jasper 261, Red Jasper 286, Golden Ochre 285, Thulite Yellowish 215, Light Zircon Red 216, Thulite Brownish 214, Slate Green 238, Amethyst Grey 337, and Serpentine Grey 237.

Coming in a NUMBER 2 are the Copic Multiliners. Available now. The reason these score so high are they are refillable, affordable, come in lots of sizes and the nib is replaceable. I have already picked a set of each color and size. The black multiliners come in 10 sizes and the other colors; cool gray, warm gray, sepia, brown, wine, cobalt and forest. These replace the SP multiliners that are at least double in cost.

Here is how the bottom of the Copic multiliner comes out to replace the ink. There is a specific tool to take it out, but I was able to do it with my fingers.

Here is how the nib comes out of the Copic Multiliner. I will definitely be taking advantage of being able to replace the ink. That is my biggest gripe about fineliners the ink runs out, but these can be replaced.

Coming in at NUMBER 3 is another revolutionary item Daniel Smith Ground which turns any surface into a paintable surface. The best part about this is the grounds are AP certified. Available now.

Here are some surfaces that have been painted with this ground. It can turn cardboard into a paintable surface.

Coming in at NUMBER 4 is this beading needle from Beadalon. I love making bracelets and this makes it super fast because the beads go on the needle and can be transferred to the stretch cord easily. Whatever helps make bracelets faster for me is so worth it.

Coming in a NUMBER 5 is Holbein Watercolors and gauche. Available now. I have gotten more into watercolors this past year and if I could I would get the entire Holbein watercolor collection, but it is so expensive. This year there are new chromapearl and chromashine watercolor paints. Chroma pearl can be added to paints to give them a pearl effect and the shine will change colors based on the angle.  and some amazing idori gauche collections.

Coming in at NUMBER 6 is 19 new colors of Posca Brush. Available Now. Posca sees all these companies coming for the acrylic paint marker market and is responding positively to the challenge. Posca Brush is revolutionary. It is the only brush marker that is pumped to get the ink out. The additional 19 new colors will make it hard to beat.

Coming in at NUMBER 7 is Zebra Fine Point Mildliners. These highlighters contain the traditional fine point end found on a Mildliner, but then there is an even finer point on the other end. This year they also introduced a new color only available in the fine for right now, Deep Gray.

Coming in at NUMBER 8 are new LEGO art sets; Japanese Cherry Blossom, Claude Monet over a pond of water lilies, mona lisa and Hodusai the Great Wave. I love how Lego has delved into the art world the last few years and it does not appear that they will be stopping. Any of these pieces would be amazing to have and build.

Coming in a NUMBER 9 is Staedtler’s release of 24 Pigment pens, Available now to add to their existing 36 box. The 24 colors came out last year but they were only included in a box of 60. I know because I looked. This year they came out with a set to complete the 36 count box and I am so excited to finally complete my set!

Coming in a NUMBER 9 is Hello Kitty supplies from Pentel. They come in RSVP gel pen, Energel, mechanical pencil and erasers. There are ten different characters. 

Here are all the Hello Kitty items.

Coming in at NUMBER 11 is Copic Acrea new colors. This is an acrylic marker from Copic. They had 24 colors before and are doubling the offering. Part of the reason that Posca has dominated the market for so long is their color choice availability. This makes Copic a real contender. The one thing lacking with Copic right now is they only have one nib size while Sharpie has 3 different nib sizes and 36 colors available. 

Coming in a NUMBERS 12, 13, and 14^th place are Liquitex, Fabercastell Multimark Paint Markers and Crayola Acrylic markers. Many companies are making a foray into the acrylic marker scene. Sharpie did a couple years ago and Fabercastell did last year with Shake and Paint that were not great quality and not a good color palette. These orginally tied because I was not able to play around with these markers to accurately judge the markers, but I did get some of them. 

There are 60 colors for Faber Castell, bold and fine tip.  One on one side on on the other. These markers are soooo much better quality then their Shake and Paint.

I ended up buying these markers from England because they were available there. There were some available in the US, but not all of them and they were pricier then buying from the UK. I was so glad I did not have to pay a tariff when they arrived. I think there was some extra taxes/duties when I bought them but they were cheaper than I could get in the US at the time. I will say it was super frustrating that these were hard to buy every color. There was not an economical way and I ended up having duplicates.

Crayola has 12 colors in a brush and bullet tip. Available now. They scored higher than the Liquitex because they have an AP symbol on the back and are pretty good quality. The one drawback to these are there are no color names. Why Crayola???

Liquitex has three nib sizes, 58 colors in the small nib, 16 in the medium, and 16 in the larger size. I have not tried them out because I would feel like I would need to buy them all and I did not want to spend the money. Available now.

Coming in at NUMBER 15 was Ohuhu new design of their marker along with the redesign of their color system. They changed the graphics on the alcohol markers to be more fun and include the AP symbol. They also changed the color moved the location of tab on the cap to be more ergonomical. The new color system is organized by color family, saturation and brightness. Ohuhu may have only come on the scene a few years ago, but they are making some amazing strides in their products. 

Coming in at NUMBER 16 is Color Pop from Fashion Angels. This is a company to watch. I would have picked more. They had some make and takes at their booth everyday and I was so excited to go back every day and create with them.

Coming in at NUMBER 17 is Cartonic 3D Puzzles which are puzzles constructed from carboard to make awesome 3D Sculptures from animals to objects to musical instruments to anything you can dream it. They can make it for you. Available now.

Coming in at NUMBER 18 is Masterpiece Spirograph where the artist creates famous paintings from history using a spirograph. Mona Lisa, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Claude Monet Bouquet of Flowers and two Dancers by Edgar Degas.

These would take so long to make but would be so satisfying when completed.

Coming in at NUMBER 19 is Sakura Sketch Books that are lined and dotted and come filled with black paper also. They come in three different sizes, 2 are pictured here and lots of different color notebooks. The paper is high quality, can take lots of mediums and the price is very affordable. I made a junk journal with my time at Creativation withe one of the sketchbooks. Available now.

The paper is 140gsm and is super durable. I was able to glue things in it and write/paint with lots of mediums. 

Coming in at NUMBER 20 is Lego Clocks from Santoki. These clocks would be super cute to put up on the wall and change every so often by changing the Lego bricks around it.

Here is a Lego clock with a floral design.

Coming in a NUMBER 21 is Crayola Alcohol Makers. This is the first time that Crayola is making alcohol markers ever. They come in 4 8 count themed boxes; Garden Harvest, Pastels, Sand and Sea and Sunset Glow with an MSRP of 9.99. They will also come in 20 count with an MSRP of 29.99, 40 count with an MSRP of 39.99, 60 count with an MSRP of 56.99 and 120 count with an MSRP of 104.99. These are available now. The color names are a mix of fun and traditional names. The colors do include dandelion. The markers would have scored higher, but they are not refillable, sold individually and their color system is all over the place. Crayola is late entering this market and it will be interesting to see if they can catch up. Available now.

Coming in at NUMBER 22 is Make it Real Bracelet Maker Swift Twist. They have a Swift Clicks which I am going to demonstrate this year for beads, but this takes string and twists it to make cute bracelet designs.

Coming in at NUMBER 23 is new earth tone Le Pen colors; steel blue, matcha, cocoa, terra cotta, coral peach and beige. I think I want to try out Le Pen this year. Available now.

Coming in at NUMBER 24 is a stabilo red highlighter and new highlighter colors. I have not seen these available in the US yet. They made a highlighter to match their company color and have more new colors. And now there are 35 colors of Stabilo highlighters. I thought there were only 20. I can’t wait to try them all.

Coming in at NUMBER 25 is Sumi Metallic Ink from Yasutomo. Sumi Ink is a traditional Japanese ink, but Yasutomo is bringing metallics to it this year. Available now.

Coming in at NUMBER 26 is the Pebeo Lino line that is making it’s way to the States this year. It’s a Canadian company. It is a print based archival ink that has a long open time. It takes about 4 days to set before it becomes impenetrable to water. It comes in about 30 colors and makes super cute prints. Available now.

What was your favorite find from Creativation this year? I have tried some of these and I can not wait to try them all.