Advice on getting started with Digital Art?

[TurnipBell20]

Recently I‘ve been interested in Digital Art. I don’t want to spend too much money at first to see if it’s really for me. Can anyone please give me some advice on how to get started? ^^

 

[Croconaw]

I personally use the app ibisPaint. It’s free to download and pretty simple to use.

 

[-Mars-]

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[Chris]

@BungoTheElf and @Blink. put together a list of art program recommendations that we keep pinned over in The Museum. They highlight price, platform, and ease of use for each recommendation and also include images.

I personally use Procreate on my iPad. I bought a cheap tablet pencil (because the Apple Pencil isn't compatible with my ancient device) and it does the job well enough. I mainly use it for drawing those sillier banners you see on TBT event threads when our good artists aren't available.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

I'm a big fan of Procreate on the iPad. I started out with just my finger for a stylus, but if you can upgrade to an Apple pencil it is so worth it. Procreate is quite affordable too! And there's many free Procreate brush packs on the internet. Lots of good tutorials too.

 

[Aquilla]

I can highly recommend Krita for starters. I used it for nearly a year before switching to procreate. I used krita in conjunction with a cheap huion tablet (about 30€) and while it took a while to get the hang of it coming from a traditional art background, I soon really enjoyed it. I still miss it sometimes now, especially some of the brushes. Krita has tons of free brush extensions as well.

Unless you already own an ipad + apple pen, I’d recommend to start with something not too expensive in order to get a feel for it and if you really want to stick with it.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

you can use basically any phone/tablet and a reasonably priced stylus to draw with, those would be sufficient if you're just starting out. I def recommend a stylus with a precision tip, like this one (it's not the exact one I have but it's very similar). I've seen people recommend ibisPaint and Krita, I would personally like to also recommend Medibang which is free and works pretty well and it's available on Android (some apps like Procreate are only on iOS).

 

[Flicky]

Since you're just trying to get a feel for it right now, I'd like to recommend FireAlpaca. It's completely free, and has a lot of different brushes and options. You can also install your own brushes if that's something that interests you! I've been using it for a few years, and haven't felt the need to purchase any other programs right now. I've found that it's pretty good at emulating some of the more expensive programs out there, just as long as you have a basic understanding of the different options and FireAlpaca's equivalent.

If you're not looking to buy a drawing tablet/stylus, FireAlpaca also works well with a regular old mouse. I'm probably in the minority for finding it easier to use a mouse when I'm drawing compared to the pen, although I do concede that the pen pressure makes certain types of art look nicer with a stylus.

 

[ZeldaCrossing64]

I would say getting a free digital art app so you do not have to spend any money, some users here have already gave some recommendations. Remember that when you start out you may think your art is bad, but if you keep practicing you will get better. Those fantastical artists with the best art styles? I am positive that they didn't start out like that. You can also watch some tutorials on YouTube, things like human anatomy is really difficult to draw, but having a professional artist explaining it will help. I cannot say that I'm the next Pablo Picasso, but I find that creating art is a very fun hobby for me. If you find out that you like making (digital) art, great! If you don't, that's okay! The important part is that you tried something new.

 

[TurnipBell20]

I would say getting a free digital art app so you do not have to spend any money, some users here have already gave some recommendations. Remember that when you start out you may think your art is bad, but if you keep practicing you will get better. Those fantastical artists with the best art styles? I am positive that they didn't start out like that. You can also watch some tutorials on YouTube, things like human anatomy is really difficult to draw, but having a professional artist explaining it will help. I cannot say that I'm the next Pablo Picasso, but I find that creating art is a very fun hobby for me. If you find out that you like making (digital) art, great! If you don't, that's okay! The important part is that you tried something new.

I am pretty good at traditional art. I‘ll insert a picture (already posted it in another thread). I drew it about 4 years ago, and haven’t drawn since.

Spoiler: Drawing

I was just wondering if digital art feels very different. It probably does, but I‘ll give it a try.

 

[dizzy bone]

I recommend any of the programs mentioned above. I personally only use Procreate on my iPad. No matter what program you use, make a file just to test out brushes, blend modes, and other things your program offers - treat going into digital art like you would use a sketchbook learning a traditional medium. If you like to work in a more painterly style, test out what brushes work for you and the tools you can use to smudge, blend, etc. If you work more graphically, learn the different ways you can manipulate shapes using tools like pen tools and lassos. But my best advice is to try and switch your brain into working in layers, and try to get into the habit of being somewhat organised with them. Before I started doing digital works, I looked at my traditional works and dissected them to see how I could convert how I would normally draw but into a digital format. For me, this meant keeping each unique colour on its own layer and working with blend modes to achieve the look I wanted. Imo, the switch to digital isn't that different from traditional if you know what tools to use, and this all differs depending on the artist.

 

[michealsmells]

Oh my gosh YES what Dizzy said about working in layers. When I first began to do digital art, I drew essentially the same as I did on paper- only difference was that I didn't work in layers (I also didn't know what sketching was yet, in either medium). Layers help a ton!

But I will also say, digital art has its pros and cons. I draw digitally sometimes and traditionally other times, it just depends on what exactly I want to draw. If I feel like finishing a piece, I'll do it digitally. If I want to conceptualize or doodle or sketch, I typically pick traditional. Its a personal preference that changes around plenty, but know your own limits. I know if I try to force myself into digital art I won't feel happy, and vice versa. This is just a general warning but still one to keep in mind.

Oh and tablets! I think tablets are necessary, IMO, but people can make amazing things with a good ol' computer mouse (I am not one of them). There are plenty of cheap options available online for tablets. The biggest issue is that most of them are small and not re-programmable (so you cant change their buttons to different bindings). Starting out though, I think its worth it. Especially since they can be as low as like... $30-$50 from what I've seen. Compared to 100s.