What To Buy Beginner Drawing Reddit

A detailed post with links to other helpful resources and art tutorials with advice on how to approach digital art every bit a beginner–from hardware, to software, to workflow. Learning how to draw tin can be daunting, but hopefully this guide streamlines your study.

Digital Art hardware – cartoon tablet and keyboard

The purpose of this guide is to assist beginners navigate the broad sea that is digital art (painting). Looking for traditional art? I created a a beginner's guide to traditional art.

Hardware for Digital Artists

I recommend you invest in a graphics tablet. You don't need a cintiq or something, but a bones one without a screen will do. If you want to get a Cintiq, go for information technology though! There are also many decent competitors in the graphic monitor space! Bank check out the Graphic Monitor Drawing Tablet Review: Artisul D13S if yous're interested!

You lot could also get a pen tablet PC (Surface) or an iPad Pro. I tried a inexpensive tablet pc, merely the micro USB thing bankrupt off pretty rapidly, then I recommend going big or going home w those, or but sticking to a non-screen ane.

That would be nice but those are a scrap more $ than just getting a low priced Wacom or one of its alternatives. Update* the new iPads can be purchased for pretty cheap and support the awesome apple pencil.

The one I used accept is the Bamboo Capture, and I liked it. I now apply a XP-PEN Deco 03 and Artisul D13S.

I too have a few other product recommendations related to digital art (and others).

You probably do non want to paint with a touchpad or a mouse…

Digital Art Programs & Software

There are a few contesnstants for the title of best digital art software for beginners, and all of choices come with a learning curve of some sort. In one case you larn one, though, the others are mostly similar enough that it's not hard to switch to another one. You just need to learn what layers are, what furnishings you lot tin do with them, and learn words like opacity and flow.

If you want to start without a huge upfront price, I'd say go for Krita, which is an amazing choice in the body of water of art software programs.

• Adobe Photoshop - offered at present in a subscription model, but you can get CS6 or CS5 forever for a steep, upfront price.
  • Pros: Oftentimes considered the industry standard , has tons of brushes, textures, and resources to utilise –as the community is huge.
• Affinity Photo / Designer - corking programs, though pretty new. I currently love them. Both are much cheaper than Adobe's offering.
  • Designer tin use raster/vector brushes, though AP might be a chip more like for painting to PS if y'all're used to that. Yous could try free trials for both and decide so.
• Krita - Free & Open up Source - a fine example of complimentary and open source software killing it. Not bad community, brushes, textures, UI, price! Geared more than for painting than alternatives similar GIMP.
• MyPaint - has a lovely, countless sail (raster) & nicely done castor engine. Gratuitous & open source. Tin require some technical knowledge to install on macOS (utilise MacPorts).
• Corel PaintShop Pro - have not used, have heard adept things about it though!
• ArtRage- known for its natural/traditional looking castor engine; have not tried, but has good reviews.
• GIMP - gratis & open up source a bit buggy, but now much ameliorate, comparable to PS simply with a trickier to use UI. Though yous tin can modernistic it to look like PS.
• FireAlpaca & MediBang Pigment which are both complimentary digital painting and manga creation software that are close to Paint Tool SAI.
• As for sketching programs, at that place are options in Autodesk'south Sketchbook, Mischief, and others.
  • For now, I retrieve it might be easier to start off learning 1 of the above first.

Starting Out

Now that you made a selection, I recommend reading the user guide of whatever software y'all installed. Or maybe go find a video that allows you to run through the nuts really chop-chop.

Or if you don't feel similar doing that, here are a few essential things to know when, since digital painting for beginners can seem overwhelming.

• Learn how to create a document and probably set up your DPI at 200/300.
• Learn how to adjust your brush settings – especially to enable pen pressure level
• Learn opacity
• Learn brush hardness – I recommend painting with a hardbrush. Soft edges kind of look messy & blending isn't as good with a soft castor, unless y'all're painting similar the sky. Fifty-fifty and then, clouds are ameliorate looking with hard edges, only blended.
  • note: do not become crazy looking for brush packs. The basic, default hard castor is a great brush & people do astonishing things with information technology. It's neat to learn how to apply this before moving on and experimenting with random brushes.
• Learn layers & modes, starting with normal, multiply, and overlay. I wrote this, and I recommend reading @drawmaevedraw's posts.
  • Learning how to employ masks is also very helpful
• Learning keyboard shortcuts is helpful for speeding up your workflow.
• Acquire the fundamentals of fine art in general that apply to all mediums, such every bit:
  • Composition
  • Construction & form
  • Lighting & Value
  • Color Theory
  • Perspective
  • Anatomy (if drawing people/animals)
  • Try out a physical anatomy reference, such as this drawing mannequin.
• Frustrated with trying to notice your way? Try experimenting and merely letting yourself discover it equally you learn to draw more.

Case Workflow

There are then many different ways to paint. Here's just an instance of how you could start if y'all are feeling overwhelmed, since the process of how to start digital fine art tin can seem daunting . [For traditional to digital, scroll down. ]

1. Outset with basic, rough background.
2. On a new layer, create a rough sketch of a subject in
   1. Optional, lower opacity of this layer, create a layer on top of it to do linework, then hide or delete(if you're edgy) the sketch layer
3. One time yous are happy with the sketch(or line layer), decrease opacity.
4. On a new layer below the sketch, pigment with basic colors (no shades/highlights) the shapes of your subject field
5. On a new layer set to multiply, start putting in your details and your shadows. Utilise colored shades, optimally, not just calculation black to the base color. That will look bad and unnatural.
6. On a new layer fix to overlay, put in some highlights. Do not overdo it, and lookout man where your lighting source is & keep information technology consistent.
7. On a new layer, blend some colors together using eyedropper & a brush to make smoother transitions, but practice non overblend.
8. On a new layer, add some finishing touches as you see fit
9. Sign & consign

It's a good thought to periodically save your work. If your file is besides huge, yous tin can merge layers, only be careful with this.

Transitioning from Traditional to Digital

You can take traditional sketches, change them, then paint over. Advice on how to do that hither & hither.

You tin can also commencement directly in digital. It's kind of your personal preference. I recommend learning how to do both and then do whichever one suits y'all at the moment.

For example, maybe the inspo strikes yous and you doodle traditionally. At present it's a proficient to larn how to transfer that sketch to digital, if you wanted to.

Great Beginner Resources

I hand picked these sites because they have not bad, comprehensive art tutorials for beginners. These resources are pretty awesome, and include a lot of comprehensive information that I think you should check out before ownership courses or paying for online art classes. Thanks to lovely internet creators, in that location's amazing digital painting lessons bachelor for free. And since they are free, you will be more motivated to larn how to describe digitally today.

• CTRL+Paint is my favorite website for digital art videos. Definitely cheque these out!
• Aquasixio's Digital Access Code - tons of lovely tutorials on concepts ranging from colour to composition to brainstorming ideas.
• Describe A Box - nice drills & lessons! Also links to reddit critique thread.
• Sycra - a lit youtube channel with corking tutorials & speedpaints.
• Tuts+ -I love this site. Has such bang-up tutorials on concepts & helpful walkthroughs.
• Concept Cookie - has gratis & paid great tutorials
• Cube Brush's Tutorials - gratuitous & paid options
• ConceptArt.org- a legit forum community
• High Quality Stock Images
• Unsplash, free stock images

Solutions to common frustrations

https://artres.xyz/post/how-to-describe-smoother-lines/

Cartoon smoother lines is a real claiming, for many of u.s.! Here are a few quick tips for drawing smoother lines.

Hand position

• For smoother lines, try non to draw from your fingers and try to depict from your elbow or shoulder. This might require a change of grip.
• This is a smashing comparison of manus positions for drawing.
• Try ghosting the stroke in the air earlier you commit.
• When practicing ovals, circles, and lines, go fast. Yous also desire to do linear relatively fast.
• f you're doing it traditional, attempt using a lightbox and so yous don't damage the sketch when doing line art. This way you tin can do lining faster and smoother with a lot less stress.

Digital Options/Software Assistance

• Digitally, all y'all need is another layer. A lot of digital fine art programs also come up with a brush stabilizer likewise, which can be super useful. Krita and Photoshop have it built in.
• Y'all can also install a program similar Lazy Nezumi for Windows or Hej Stylus for Mac. These are both paid, polished options by Indie Devs.

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I hope this helps you lot! If y'all liked it, please consider sharing this post with your friends so more people can see it!

Source: https://artres.xyz/post/beginners-guide-to-digital-art/

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