Vegan and Cruelty-Free Art Supplies

Are All Art Supplies Vegan?

Traditionally, fine art supplies aren’t usually vegan, but we work to offer many supplies that are! We have compiled a list of some vegan supplies we offer for artists, children, and gift-givers who want to make animal-friendly choices. These are items that we have identified in our inventory that are indeed vegan—but this list is not comprehensive of what we can offer! At Anne & Arthur Fine Arts Supply in Hillsborough, NC, we often special order supplies for our customers, so if there is a category of product you are interested in purchasing but want a safe, vegan option, don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our associates and allow us to help you find the right supply.

There is not currently a universal body or designation for art supplies that identify a product as vegan (also seen as cruelty-free) as there is in the beauty or health industry. We have scoured our products and researched individual brands to best identify which items do not use animals or animal products in their production.

Vegan Art Supplies at Anne & Arthur

Watercolor Paper

Glue and sizing can be made with animal products, here are some synthetic vegan options!

• Speedball Fluid 100

• Strathmore (except Gemini 500)

• Hahnemühle

• Fabriano (except Romo, Esportazione, and Secolo XIII)

• Bockingford

• Canson Heritage, Montval, Moulin du Roy

Drawing Paper

• All Strathmore sketchbooks

• Canson XL

Canvas

• Winsor & Newton Professional Cotton Canvas

Watercolor paints and gouache

Non-vegan paints can have honey, animal/insect parts, or ox gall.

• Daniel Smith (except Sepia, Ivory Black, Joseph Z’s Neutral Grey and Payne’s Gray)

• Holbein watercolours (except Ivory Black)

• Winsor & Newton Designer Gouache (except Ivory Black, Raw Sienna, Winsor Green, Spectrum Yellow, Intense Blue, Sky Blue, Purple Lake, Prussian Blue, Linden Green, Flame Red, Burnt Umber, Bengal Rose, Primary Blue, Lamp Black, and Spectrum Violet)

Acrylic Paints

• Golden Acrylics (except Bone Black, Jenkins Green, Prussian Blue Hue, Terre Verte Hue, and Neutral Gray 2 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8)

Oil Paints

• Gamblin Artist Oil Colour (except Ivory Black, Van Dyke Brown, Terre Verte and Asphaltum)

• Holbein Duo Aqua Water-Mixable oil paint (except Ivory Black and Sepia)

Inks

Look for shellac, sepia, oxgall, or bone char when trying to find vegan-friendly inks! These are ingredients derived from animals or insects.

• Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bombay India Ink

• Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen Cleaner

• Speedball Water-soluble Block Printing Ink and Fabric Block Printing Ink

Pencils

Glue that holds pencils together can be casein glue, which is made from milk. Luckily, Faber-Castell is an all around vegan friendly brand!

• Faber-Castell

Pens

Ink can contain oil from animals or insect parts, here’s an option that doesn’t:

• Uni-Ball

• Sakura: Pigma: Micron

• Sakura: Gelly Roll

Colored Pencils

Colored pencils sometimes contain beeswax, animal or insect-based pigments, and casein glue.

• Faber-Castell

Crayons

These options do not contain beeswax, stearic acid, or color pigments from insects!

• Caran D’ache Aquarelle

• Faber-Castell

Markers

Other brands could contain beeswax, bone char, dairy, gelatin, honey, or insect shell.

• Copic

• Kuretake Zig Brush Pens/Markers

• Tombow Dual Brush

Glues

Non-vegan glues can contain collagen and gelatin

• Elmers

• Gorilla

• Uhu

• Modge Podge

Gesso and Grounds

Rabbit skin glue can be found in alternative gesso and grounds.

• Golden GAC 100 Acrylic Polymer

• Daniel Smith Watercolor ground

Pastels

Oil pastels usually contain animal fat or beeswax. Most soft pastels are vegan, but always check individual brands and specific colors.

• Caran D’ache

• Faber-Castell

Gel Printing Plates

Unsurprisingly, Gel plates usually contain gelatin, but Gelli Arts is a gelatin-alternative option!

• Gelli Arts