7 Best Backpacks for Art Students in 2022
Not all the artists tug their brushes and pencils on their ears, or in their buns.
They need not to look clumsy when it comes to carrying their esales or other art material. It is troublesome to carry a large sketch pad, drawing board along with other accessories including painting brush, laptop, mobile, and more.
Investing in the best backpacks for art students is worth it. Specially when it’s designed with multiple pouches, pockets, sleeves, and compartments to keep the accessories organized.
In addition to this, it brings the maximum convenience to carry the art accessories by using shoulder straps, waist buckle, and u-shaped handle.
What Makes a Good Artist Backpack?
Art accessories consist of multiple sizes including art supplies, sketchbooks, cameras, easels, pencils, erasers, paints, brushes, and much more. It is challenging to place all the accessories in an organized way inside a backpack.
The best backpack for art students must be durable and has lots of compartments, pockets, and pouches for all sorts of art goodies.
The major concern of an artist is that the accessories should not get mixed into one another and the paints or oils should not leak into the backpack.
The size of the backpack must be large enough to accommodate all the accessories.
Look for a quality build backpack for durability and high performance. Of course, we invest in the art student backpacks to last for a year, Instead of tearing apart after the use of 2 to 3 times
Another important feature to contribute towards a good backpack is its water-resistant property. Your paintings or sketchbooks can be badly affected by a few drops of rain.
Also, the backpack design must be ergonomic and easy to carry too.
Related:
For Architecture Students
For Middle School Students
For Engineering Students
Does a Good Artist Backpack have to be Expensive?
There is no thumb rule that a good artist backpack must be an expensive one. But the chances are higher that they will value your money.
However, you can find an economical backpack as well with an equally likely performance as that of an expensive one. Our best backpack reviews cover all the most in-demand backpacks in the market.
We evaluate customer feedback, sales generation reports, and surveys to haunt the products that are ready to face day-to-day challenges without burden on your pockets. Scroll down to explore these products better suited to your needs and budget.
Top 7 Backpacks for Art Students Reviewed
Let’s jump into the topic and explore the top 7 backpacks for art students in detail.
1. Tanchen 4K Waterproof Artist Portfolio Carry Bag – High-Performance Backpack

Tanchen is a recognized name for the organizers and portfolios. This model is a high-performance art portfolio backpack due to its thicker fabric and wear-resistant.
The incredible thickening technology makes it a waterproof and rainproof backpack. So, no more worries to travel in rainy weather.
The best part about this backpack is its quality build and premium materials. The backpack is made up of canvas fabric. This art portfolio is soft and light to carry with convenience.
The backpack has great ventilation to carry for hours without any hassle or discomfort.
The art students adore the special design as you can carry this art case in two ways. Use the shoulder strap to hold the portfolio backpack freely. Mostly heightened people use the shoulder strap.
The strap is adjustable for maximum user convenience. The second way to hold the bag is using a hand strap. The handguard is thick, durable, and comfy to hold for long hours.
The compartment organization is just awesome from an art student perspective. The backpack has five compartments each for a special purpose.
The main pocket is for the drawing board or drawing paper, the upper left pocket is for the pencils and other items.
The right side of the big bag has a buckle design for an easel mouth or sketch chair.
Moreover, you can place the color pallets, car keys, and other tools on the lower left side. There is a small pocket in a big pocket to place car keys and accessories.
The canvas fabric smells when open for the first time. You need to place this backpack in the open air or sunlight for a few hours before use.
2. Zuca Art Student Backpack – Moderate Size Backpack

Zuca backpack series hit the market with innovative ideas and stylish designs. Zuca Art Student Backpack is a perfect example of its exclusive design, premium materials, and quality build.
The compartment organization is quite different from other backpacks for artists. It has four compartments vinyl-lined.
The 2 pouches on the left side of the backpack are just like drawers. You can put most of the accessories and tools in these two compartments.
1 large pocket on the right side is perfect to place the easel mouth or sketch chair. Mid Compartment is used to place the sketchbooks, laptops, and more. The backpack has a moderate size that is good enough to accommodate artist stuff.
The above-mentioned model (Tanchen 4K Waterproof Artist Portfolio Carry Bag) is a large-size backpack that may get heavy when fully loaded. This is not the issue with Zuca Art Student Backpack.
Apart from the art students, you can use this backpack for casual purposes such as outings, camping, and more. A lightweight, handy bag for daily use.
The pocket and straps are meshy that keeps the inside space airy and well-ventilated. No issues like the smell of air tightening. The meshy straps let you hold the backpack for hours. The U-shaped handle is secure and safe to hold the stuff.
According to the customer’s feedback reports, this model is perfect for daily use.
However, it has limited space to place the artist’s accessories. Before you make up your mind to buy this model, first evaluate your accessories quantity and volume.
3. Sakroots Artist Circle Flap Backpack – Best Artist backpack for Girls

Girls choose backpacks that are stylish, trendy, and beautiful. They love to hold something that compels everyone to ask from where you got that one. If this is the case with you, then explore one of the best artist backpacks for girls known as Sakroots Artist Circle Flap Backpack.
Sakroots Artist Circle Flap Backpack is one of the most demanding models among girls. Being an artist, it is an utmost desire to demonstrate your taste in your body language and conduct.
A backpack is one of the important parts of your daily life. So, what are you waiting for? Avail this model to shine like a star!
Sakroots is one of the dedicated brands for backpacks in the luggage and travel gear industry. It offers a wide range of bags including wallets, crossbody, backpacks, totes, eco twill, and more. It will value your money in terms of performance and quality.
The compartment organization of this model is 2 slips, 1 zipper, and 3 exterior pockets. You can safely place the laptop inside the slip. Whereas the pockets are large enough to accommodate the other handy tools.
The backpack is made up of 55% jute and 45% cotton fabric. So, it is a highly durable backpack for your casual use. The art student can carry this bag with style.
The limitation of this model is its size as the compartments are quite small to place the large-size sketchbook or other tools. Anyhow, you can hold them in hand if you want a lightweight bag on your shoulder.
Avail Tanchen 4K Waterproof Artist Portfolio Carry Bag for large size accessories to place inside a backpack.
4. Artist Portfolio Case Carry Backpack – Best Artist Backpack for Boys

Hanna is one of the top-rated brands for its innovative designs and quality build. The best artist backpack for boys – Artist Portfolio Case Carry Backpack has gained special demand in the market.
The decent “grey” color backpack will surely help you to look like a handsome hunk! Shine with grace and style in your art school or college.
This backpack is crafted from a top-notch oxford fabric that is highly resistant to wear and tear. The fabric is highly soft and breathable. No sweating, itching, or rashes on the skin.
The compartment organization is great, easy to hold, and large in size. This model has 4 zipper compartments to keep the accessories in organized way.
The Tanchen 4K Waterproof Artist Portfolio Carry Bag comes with 5 compartments with equally likely size and style. So, choose the one that better defines your needs.
The zipper pocket is large enough to accommodate a large canvas board size 24×18 inches, sketchbooks, drawing pads, and other large items.
You can place the color pencils and other tools in the front pocket. The other two compartments can be used to place paintbrushes, pencils, sketching papers, folding easels, and more.
The model is up to the mark, however, the backpack may vary a little bit in design and color due to its different batch production. If you are a perfectionist then be careful about this backpack.
The backpack is beautiful with a Mondrian design that makes it a perfect choice for an artist. The look and feel of this backpack is functional and sturdy. Everyone will surely adore it.
5. Sienna Plein Air Ultimate Backpack – Best Backpack for Outdoor Paintings

Outdoor paintings are really fun for artists. Carrying the painting stuff with you is always challenging. Never miss the fun, as here we have the perfect option for your Plein air setup. Keep your Plein air gear inside the backpack and carry it to your intended location.
The backpack is a perfect fit for a wet panel box, supply box, large pochade box, brush cleaner, and other accessories. The main pocket is divided into three compartments to hold the maximum stuff.
The back of the backpack is padded and thick. You can hold it on your shoulders easily. The straps are durable and can withstand the load of your painting adventure.
In addition to this, the front zipper pockets are perfect to carry brushes, supplies, palette knives, pencils, and more. You can place the solvent in the side pocket. The tripod carrier pouch and strap let you hold it securely. It has a mesh pocket to place a water bottle and a handle to hang the backpack.
The size of this backpack is 18-inches tall, 14-inches wide, and 8 ½-inches deep. The three interior compartments have 16-inches x 11-inches x 7-inches inside.
You can hold it easily using a handle or via waist strap for comfortable hiking. The loop lets you hang the backpack after reaching your spot.
Yet the backpack is durable and sturdy, but avoid the extra load to add more years to its life.
According to the customer’s feedback reports, this is one of the best backpack for outdoor paintings.
6. Welldeal Heavy Duty Art Portfolio Backpack – Heavy Duty Backpack for Art Students

The professionals need a heavy-duty backpack to carry their stuff to the location. Welldeal Heavy-Duty Art Portfolio Backpack is a large-size backpack for art students.
The large-size art portfolio backpack consists of 6 compartments for the proper placement of each gadget.
The backpack has one large compartment to place the sketch pads, drawing pads, panels, canvas boards, and other items.
The backpack has three zipper pockets and 1 mesh pocket to keep the acrylic paint set, brushes, bucket, pigment palette, beverages, and more.
One posture stand pocket is perfect for posters, folding easels, and other long shape items.
Although the backpack is heavy when loaded fully, the manufacturer puts their maximum effort to make it easy to carry. It has wide shoulder straps along with breathable padding to carry it on long tours. The security buckle locks keep your items safe from bumps.
In addition to this, it has a waist strap to hook it tightly for better balance and support.
The portfolio is made up of oxford fabric, that is thick, durable, and wear-resistant. The backpack front pockets have a waterproof liner to protect your paints and brushes.
The holder, straps, buckles, and zippers all are up-to-the-mark. Hold it easily via the handle, shoulder strap, or long strap.
The other two (above mentioned) models in our top 7 art supply backpack that have equally likely design are Tanchen 4K Waterproof Artist Portfolio Carry Bag and Artist Portfolio Case Carry Backpack. You can choose one of them if you find it bulky or beyond your needs.
7. SWISSGEAR 1900 Artist Student Backpack – Best Overall Backpack for Art Students

The swissgear presents an ultimate solution to carry your massive art accessories to the workplace, location, or college.
This model has a simple look and feel, you can find some stylish models in the same design like Sakroots Artist Circle Flap Backpack.
The manufacturer created a place from keychain to laptop in one carry bag. The exterior organization consists of a front carabiner to hook up an umbrella, keychains, or more.
A front organizer compartment to keep the pen and pencils at handy access. It has side accessory pockets with mesh water bottle pockets. On the exterior side, it has a quick access pocket to place goggles or more.
The interior organization is exclusive and advanced. The first compartment consists of a special integrated media pocket with a headphone port. It has a zip mesh accessories pocket and accordion file folder.
In addition to this, the rear compartment has a floating table safe sleeve and a padded 17-inches laptop compartment.
The backpack is made up of highly durable and weather-resistant polyester material. It can withstand harsh weather conditions and rough use.
For maximum comfort & convenience, the backpack has contoured shoulder straps with built-in suspension. The back panel is equipped with venting technology. The heavily padded back panel is comfortable to lift for hours. The rugged molded grab handle is robust to carry your stuff.
Best Backpacks for Art Students – An Ultimate Buying Guide
Here we elaborate on some important factors that you should consider before buying the best backpack for art students to enjoy all of your tools and other important portable accessories in a single backpack.
Storage
The storage capacity is the first important factor to consider. For an art student, the backpack must have a large capacity in the form of multiple pouches, pockets, and compartments to place the small to large accessories in an organized way.
The main compartments should be large enough so that an art student can easily place its pads, drawing canvases, and also easels. Whereas, it must have small pouches and pockets to keep pencils, colors, and other stuff.
Material
We can never neglect the material of the backpack used in the manufacturing. Many professional artists say that a backpack made from premium quality nylon and heavy-duty canvas is very durable and long-lasting as compared to denim fabric. Nylon and canvas fabrics are also waterproof.
The durability and performance of the backpack are a major concern. Of course, we can’t invest every month in a new backpack. Therefore, make sure about the quality build and standard manufacturing procedures.
Carriage
For an art student, a backpack that is easy to carry is more suitable. For this, padded straps to carry or rugged handles are preferable. Padded & meshy material gives a soft feel and easy to carry your back for a longer period without any shoulder pain.
Price
Another factor to consider is the price of the backpack. The price will determine either the selected backpack is in your budget range or not. So, it is very important to determine the budget before you go out to buy the backpack. This will also save you time.
Maintenance
Maintenance of the backpack is the cleaning. If the backpack has too many small pockets then it is difficult to clean. Regular cleaning of the backpack will remove all the small dirt or debris and make your backpack look as new.
Waterproof
Your backpack should be made from waterproof material. If the backpack is not waterproof, then minor liquid or water may spoil your drawing canvas, color pencils, and other tools. According to experts, a waterproof backpack relaxes you in case you have been caught by an abrupt rain.
Conclusion
So, what are you waiting for? Grab the best backpacks for art students to keep the accessories well organized and at handy access. No more messy backpacks.
Avail the convenience and comfort of the latest art portfolio backpack. Carrying the artist stuff was never so easy!
The editor’s choice is Tanchen 4K Waterproof Artist Portfolio Carry Bag due to its thick and waterproof fabric. The compartments, size, and design are ready to fulfill the needs of an art student.
Put your hands over the best backpack for an art student for easy transport.