Getting Started With Digital Drawing

Creating any kind of art can be an intimidating process. From the high cost of materials to the possibility that you may burn the house down. Many times it can be scary to start a painting or preparing a meal because often times you have to live with certain mistakes you may make along the way. The ability to undo ones mistakes is one of the major reasons why I prefer drawing digitally. Unfortunately starting out with digital drawing is still fairly intimidating. You need specific hardware, software, and knowledge of how to take advantage of both to even begin. This article will hopefully serve to explain how to get past initial roadblocks of drawing and painting digitally. I may write about getting started with 3D art at a later date but for not we are focusing solely on 2D digital drawing and painting. To begin I will discuss drawing on smartphones then move on to tablets and finish up with computers. It is important to keep in mind that if you are new at this working digitally can be frustrating but if you keep at it and practice regularly it will soon be as natural as drawing on paper.

Smartphones are truly miraculous devices with the ability to call, text, email, play music, and sketch out your masterpiece. I don't really recommend this as the best starting point for digital drawing mainly due to the lack of screen space or battery power but if it's all you got their are certainly ways to make it work. It is important to keep in mind that any smartphone available today will have the ability create digital drawing but the better your phone the more options you have. For example if you have the newest iPhone (as of writing that is the iPhone 12) you will likely be able to run any drawing app on the App store with ease but if you are still happy with your iPhone 7 you may run into some issues with certain effects or brush types in your chosen app. Speaking of apps lets get into some good choices. On both iPhone and Android you can use Autodesk Sketchbook, Ibis Paint X, Adobe Photoshop Sketch, and Clip Studio for free(ish). While all of these apps are free to try some of them offer paid content like additional brushes or expanded versions. I usually recommend Autodesk Sketchbook as a strong place to start. It is completely free available on phones, tablets, and computers. It may not be the most powerful but it is easy to use, has some neat features like mirroring, and its free! If you are on IOS Adobe Fresco is a free(with premium features) app that is great for Adobe fans and beginners alike. It has a lot of options even on the free version and includes a ton of tutorials to help get you started. Beyond the paywall IOS fans can choose from Clip Studios, Sketch Club, and the king Procreate Pocket. Procreate may cost a little more than free but it is a one time payment for a monumentally powerful drawing application. Usually I would talk about paid Android drawing apps but beyond Ibis Paint not much exists Unless you are really bored with it I would stick with Autodesk Sketchbook. Now lets get into tools to help you on your way. Fist off if you are an iPhone person buy a stylus any cheap $5 stylus will do but I promise drawing with your finger is not fun. If you're on Android also buy a stylus or just buy a phone with a built in one. The Galaxy Note line from Samsung is a great choice if you have the cash to burn but for all the rest the Moto G Stylus is also a strong phone even if the stylus is a bit more basic. If you are looking for a Galaxy Note don't feel bad about getting one that's a year or two behind these are powerful phones that will still be able to handle a lot even after a few years. I would also recommend a case that can stand on its own or a phone wallet with a stand(Pop Sockets also work). Not having to hold your phone the entire time can help keep your arms from getting tired. Even with a stylus and a stand drawing on your phone can be a bit of a pain because of a lack of screen space but with the right phone, apps, and tools you can still accomplish a good bit.

So drawing on your phone may not be as fun as it seems but I assure you that drawing on a tablet is wonderful. By tablet I am of course referring to the iPad series of tablets. Don't get me wrong I love Android phones but after using a high end Android tablet for 6 years I am so much happier to be on an iPad. That being said the Galaxy Tab line of tablets is perfectly useable and even pretty good but for our purposes just get an iPad. Also we will get into Windows tablets in the next section. As far as which iPad to buy the iPad 8th generation, iPad Air 4, iPad Pro 4, and iPad Mini 5 are all good choices but I would recommend the broke folk go with the 8th gen and the rich people go with the Air 4. The in-between Mini has less screen space and a higher price and the Pro is likely more than anyone reading this article needs. Adobe Fresco is great for the money conscious and those just learning the ropes and for only $10 you can get Procreate which is so good it puts most other apps to shame. For tools most cases come with a way to stand up your iPad but for our purposes try to find one with a pencil holder or a case attached(you can buy a pencil holder later but its convenient to just have one built in). I also recommend a screen protector any screen protector will do but you can buy special paper feel protectors which are made to emulate the feel drawing on paper. I get the point of these protectors and they do work well but they are certainly not the standard for drawing on tablets so you can likely skip these for now. As I mentioned in the smartphone section of this blog drawing with your finger is certainly possible but can be a bit annoying and time consuming this is mostly do to the small screen size of a typical smartphone. Luckily tablets have much bigger screens so it is much easier to do some finger(digital) painting on a tablet. Even though it is easier I still recommend buying a stylus but it is much less a necessity. If you have an iPad the apple pencil is the best option. Most modern iPads support the Apple Pencil 1 but if you have the really new Pro or Air the second generation pencil is for you. Unfortunately the 1st generation pencil won't work with the new iPads and the 2nd gen won't work with the old iPads. Luckily if you are not a fan of the fairly expensive Apple pencil alternatives do exist. The Adonit Pro 4, Logitech Crayon, Adonit Dash 3, and Wacom Bamboo Fineline 3 are all considerably cheaper then even a refurbished Apple Pencil 1 ($85). With the cheaper price tags come some missing features like palm rejection, pressure sensitivity, battery life, and magnetic charging. Any of these options are still a really strong place to start and can save your wallet some pain if you decide drawing digitally just isn't your thing. Tablet drawing can be a really wonderful and convenient process given you can get past the $300-$600 barrier entry of owning a decent tablet, case, stylus, screen protector, and suite of apps.

Ah creating art on computers from the MS Paint Pro's to the Adobe Adonis's these beautiful machines give you a lot of options to create your masterpiece. Luckily even very low spec computers can still pump out some quality stuff. The power of your machine will dictate certain things like what effects you can apply to a piece or what programs you can run. Basically any computer from the last 10 years will be able to output something you can be proud of. I personally use a Windows computer but have used a Mac in the past. Both are great and will not make you significantly better or worse off. You can use a desktop, laptop, or 2 in one to create art its totally subjective I like them all but if you want a 2 in one try getting something that supports a windows stylus. I'm not especially knowledgeable about computer specs so I can't tell you what to buy specifically but if its portable make sure you have some USB ports as they may come in handy later. I have had some good experiences with the Asus Transformer Mini T102HA. It is a small Windows tablet with an included keyboard and pen. It lacks the power of more expensive options but for the price it handles itself surprisingly well. If you're not opposed to the idea of a Chromebook the Lenovo Duet paired with a Lenovo USI Pen is an affordable option for digital drawing. Keep in mind Chromebooks can run both Android and Linux apps. Software can be tricky as their is a near endless sea of creative software options where some are incredible and some are not worth the free trial. Just to get it out of the way Adobe makes great products Photoshop and Illustrator are very powerful and you can create great stuff with them. They are very expensive and not completely necessary. If you are still a student or work for a large business it may be worth checking to see if you can try it for free either at home or using a company/school computer. For people just testing the waters Gimp, Microsoft Fresh Paint, Krita, Autodesk Sketchbook Pro and Inkscape are all really powerful free programs with enough brushes and tools to keep you busy for a long while. Some of these programs may seem daunting at first but YouTube, LinkedIn Learning, as well as the programs themselves are full of great tutorials and helpful hints on how to get started. I personally recommend just playing with tools and brushes so you can get a feel for things. Side Note: Inkscape is different from the other previously mentioned programs because it along with Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Animate, Affinity Design, and others are all vector based opposed to raster based. This means that the images you create in vector programs can be resized endlessly without losing quality(once you export it that ability is gone) where if you resize in a raster based program you will lose quality. Vector based programs are usually for graphic design purposes but don't let anyone tell you that you can't create great art with them. On the paid side of things Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator/Animate, Clip Studios Paint, Affinity Designer, Rebelle, and Corel Painter all may cost more but with that you get more features, more updates, more frequent tutorials, etc. These programs can be a lot to learn especially for someone new to digital art but if you stick with it the experience can be endlessly rewarding. To help avoid the agony of drawing with a mouse get a drawing tablet. A drawing tablet unlike an iPad or Galaxy Tab(there are ways to connect these tablets to a computer and use them as a drawing tablet) is a device that you usually connect to your computer via USB and use the included stylus to draw on it which translates to drawing on your screen. You can get tablets that mirror your computer screen but those can be expensive and as long as you practice, drawing on a tablet and seeing it on your computer screen will become second nature. The Huion Inspiroy H1060p is a great beginner to intermediate tablet with good feel, and plenty of tilt and pressure sensitivity to really make your art feel less digital. The Wacom Intuos line is also very strong if not a bit higher priced(it is easier to find in normal stores and schools though). Computers offer the most freedom of any of the previously mentioned digital art platforms. All that freedom can be a lot to handle but as long as you practice and read/watch tutorials you will do fine.

So that was a lot, I apologize for not being brief but taking your first steps into digital art can be a complicated thing and I just want you to have all the information I have. At the end of the day it's all about taking that first step whether that is downloading Autodesk Sketchbook on your phone or paying a thousand bucks for a maxed out iPad Pro. It can be frustrating to see all the incredible work that exists and not being able to live but just remember that everyone learns at different rates and that everyone has different art styles. As long as you keep doing it I am sure you'll make something to be proud of. Get out there, start messing around, and have some fun. If you made it through to the end of this blog thank you I really appreciate it. If this article has helped you in anyway email me at bskotenko@gmail.com and tell me about it bonus points if you send me some of your art.

Quick Recommendations for the Busy Individual:

Smartphones:

Device: Moto G Stylus

Stylus: Any cheap stylus you can find

Software: Autodesk Sketchbook(for its availability on everything) or Ibis Paint X

Tablets:

Device: iPad 8th gen 32gb

Stylus: Adonit Pro 4

Software: Adobe Fresco or Procreate(if you have $10 lying around)

Computers:

Device: Asus Transformer Mini T102HA(Not anything new or fancy but it works with a pen and is very affordable) or Lenovo Duet(If you're not turned off by a Chromebook).

Stylus: Microsoft Surface Pen(anyone will work and you can get older ones for a good price) Wacom Bamboo Ink, Lenovo USI Pen(for Chromebooks)

Software: Inkscape for vector art, Krita for everything else, Autodesk Sketchbook(for ease of use and availability)

Getting Started With Digital Drawing

Creating any kind of art can be an intimidating process. From the high cost of materials to the possibility that you may burn the house down. Many times it can be scary to start a painting or preparing a meal because often times you have to live with certain mistakes you may make along the way. The ability to undo ones mistakes is one of the major reasons why I prefer drawing digitally. Unfortunately starting out with digital drawing is still fairly intimidating. You need specific hardware, software, and knowledge of how to take advantage of both to even begin. This article will hopefully serve to explain how to get past initial roadblocks of drawing and painting digitally. I may write about getting started with 3D art at a later date but for not we are focusing solely on 2D digital drawing and painting. To begin I will discuss drawing on smartphones then move on to tablets and finish up with computers. It is important to keep in mind that if you are new at this working digitally can be frustrating but if you keep at it and practice regularly it will soon be as natural as drawing on paper.

Smartphones are truly miraculous devices with the ability to call, text, email, play music, and sketch out your masterpiece. I don't really recommend this as the best starting point for digital drawing mainly due to the lack of screen space or battery power but if it's all you got their are certainly ways to make it work. It is important to keep in mind that any smartphone available today will have the ability create digital drawing but the better your phone the more options you have. For example if you have the newest iPhone (as of writing that is the iPhone 12) you will likely be able to run any drawing app on the App store with ease but if you are still happy with your iPhone 7 you may run into some issues with certain effects or brush types in your chosen app. Speaking of apps lets get into some good choices. On both iPhone and Android you can use Autodesk Sketchbook, Ibis Paint X, Adobe Photoshop Sketch, and Clip Studio for free(ish). While all of these apps are free to try some of them offer paid content like additional brushes or expanded versions. I usually recommend Autodesk Sketchbook as a strong place to start. It is completely free available on phones, tablets, and computers. It may not be the most powerful but it is easy to use, has some neat features like mirroring, and its free! If you are on IOS Adobe Fresco is a free(with premium features) app that is great for Adobe fans and beginners alike. It has a lot of options even on the free version and includes a ton of tutorials to help get you started. Beyond the paywall IOS fans can choose from Clip Studios, Sketch Club, and the king Procreate Pocket. Procreate may cost a little more than free but it is a one time payment for a monumentally powerful drawing application. Usually I would talk about paid Android drawing apps but beyond Ibis Paint not much exists Unless you are really bored with it I would stick with Autodesk Sketchbook. Now lets get into tools to help you on your way. Fist off if you are an iPhone person buy a stylus any cheap $5 stylus will do but I promise drawing with your finger is not fun. If you're on Android also buy a stylus or just buy a phone with a built in one. The Galaxy Note line from Samsung is a great choice if you have the cash to burn but for all the rest the Moto G Stylus is also a strong phone even if the stylus is a bit more basic. If you are looking for a Galaxy Note don't feel bad about getting one that's a year or two behind these are powerful phones that will still be able to handle a lot even after a few years. I would also recommend a case that can stand on its own or a phone wallet with a stand(Pop Sockets also work). Not having to hold your phone the entire time can help keep your arms from getting tired. Even with a stylus and a stand drawing on your phone can be a bit of a pain because of a lack of screen space but with the right phone, apps, and tools you can still accomplish a good bit.

So drawing on your phone may not be as fun as it seems but I assure you that drawing on a tablet is wonderful. By tablet I am of course referring to the iPad series of tablets. Don't get me wrong I love Android phones but after using a high end Android tablet for 6 years I am so much happier to be on an iPad. That being said the Galaxy Tab line of tablets is perfectly useable and even pretty good but for our purposes just get an iPad. Also we will get into Windows tablets in the next section. As far as which iPad to buy the iPad 8th generation, iPad Air 4, iPad Pro 4, and iPad Mini 5 are all good choices but I would recommend the broke folk go with the 8th gen and the rich people go with the Air 4. The in-between Mini has less screen space and a higher price and the Pro is likely more than anyone reading this article needs. Adobe Fresco is great for the money conscious and those just learning the ropes and for only $10 you can get Procreate which is so good it puts most other apps to shame. For tools most cases come with a way to stand up your iPad but for our purposes try to find one with a pencil holder or a case attached(you can buy a pencil holder later but its convenient to just have one built in). I also recommend a screen protector any screen protector will do but you can buy special paper feel protectors which are made to emulate the feel drawing on paper. I get the point of these protectors and they do work well but they are certainly not the standard for drawing on tablets so you can likely skip these for now. As I mentioned in the smartphone section of this blog drawing with your finger is certainly possible but can be a bit annoying and time consuming this is mostly do to the small screen size of a typical smartphone. Luckily tablets have much bigger screens so it is much easier to do some finger(digital) painting on a tablet. Even though it is easier I still recommend buying a stylus but it is much less a necessity. If you have an iPad the apple pencil is the best option. Most modern iPads support the Apple Pencil 1 but if you have the really new Pro or Air the second generation pencil is for you. Unfortunately the 1st generation pencil won't work with the new iPads and the 2nd gen won't work with the old iPads. Luckily if you are not a fan of the fairly expensive Apple pencil alternatives do exist. The Adonit Pro 4, Logitech Crayon, Adonit Dash 3, and Wacom Bamboo Fineline 3 are all considerably cheaper then even a refurbished Apple Pencil 1 ($85). With the cheaper price tags come some missing features like palm rejection, pressure sensitivity, battery life, and magnetic charging. Any of these options are still a really strong place to start and can save your wallet some pain if you decide drawing digitally just isn't your thing. Tablet drawing can be a really wonderful and convenient process given you can get past the $300-$600 barrier entry of owning a decent tablet, case, stylus, screen protector, and suite of apps.

Ah creating art on computers from the MS Paint Pro's to the Adobe Adonis's these beautiful machines give you a lot of options to create your masterpiece. Luckily even very low spec computers can still pump out some quality stuff. The power of your machine will dictate certain things like what effects you can apply to a piece or what programs you can run. Basically any computer from the last 10 years will be able to output something you can be proud of. I personally use a Windows computer but have used a Mac in the past. Both are great and will not make you significantly better or worse off. You can use a desktop, laptop, or 2 in one to create art its totally subjective I like them all but if you want a 2 in one try getting something that supports a windows stylus. I'm not especially knowledgeable about computer specs so I can't tell you what to buy specifically but if its portable make sure you have some USB ports as they may come in handy later. I have had some good experiences with the Asus Transformer Mini T102HA. It is a small Windows tablet with an included keyboard and pen. It lacks the power of more expensive options but for the price it handles itself surprisingly well. If you're not opposed to the idea of a Chromebook the Lenovo Duet paired with a Lenovo USI Pen is an affordable option for digital drawing. Keep in mind Chromebooks can run both Android and Linux apps. Software can be tricky as their is a near endless sea of creative software options where some are incredible and some are not worth the free trial. Just to get it out of the way Adobe makes great products Photoshop and Illustrator are very powerful and you can create great stuff with them. They are very expensive and not completely necessary. If you are still a student or work for a large business it may be worth checking to see if you can try it for free either at home or using a company/school computer. For people just testing the waters Gimp, Microsoft Fresh Paint, Krita, Autodesk Sketchbook Pro and Inkscape are all really powerful free programs with enough brushes and tools to keep you busy for a long while. Some of these programs may seem daunting at first but YouTube, LinkedIn Learning, as well as the programs themselves are full of great tutorials and helpful hints on how to get started. I personally recommend just playing with tools and brushes so you can get a feel for things. Side Note: Inkscape is different from the other previously mentioned programs because it along with Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Animate, Affinity Design, and others are all vector based opposed to raster based. This means that the images you create in vector programs can be resized endlessly without losing quality(once you export it that ability is gone) where if you resize in a raster based program you will lose quality. Vector based programs are usually for graphic design purposes but don't let anyone tell you that you can't create great art with them. On the paid side of things Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator/Animate, Clip Studios Paint, Affinity Designer, Rebelle, and Corel Painter all may cost more but with that you get more features, more updates, more frequent tutorials, etc. These programs can be a lot to learn especially for someone new to digital art but if you stick with it the experience can be endlessly rewarding. To help avoid the agony of drawing with a mouse get a drawing tablet. A drawing tablet unlike an iPad or Galaxy Tab(there are ways to connect these tablets to a computer and use them as a drawing tablet) is a device that you usually connect to your computer via USB and use the included stylus to draw on it which translates to drawing on your screen. You can get tablets that mirror your computer screen but those can be expensive and as long as you practice, drawing on a tablet and seeing it on your computer screen will become second nature. The Huion Inspiroy H1060p is a great beginner to intermediate tablet with good feel, and plenty of tilt and pressure sensitivity to really make your art feel less digital. The Wacom Intuos line is also very strong if not a bit higher priced(it is easier to find in normal stores and schools though). Computers offer the most freedom of any of the previously mentioned digital art platforms. All that freedom can be a lot to handle but as long as you practice and read/watch tutorials you will do fine.

So that was a lot, I apologize for not being brief but taking your first steps into digital art can be a complicated thing and I just want you to have all the information I have. At the end of the day it's all about taking that first step whether that is downloading Autodesk Sketchbook on your phone or paying a thousand bucks for a maxed out iPad Pro. It can be frustrating to see all the incredible work that exists and not being able to live but just remember that everyone learns at different rates and that everyone has different art styles. As long as you keep doing it I am sure you'll make something to be proud of. Get out there, start messing around, and have some fun. If you made it through to the end of this blog thank you I really appreciate it. If this article has helped you in anyway email me at bskotenko@gmail.com and tell me about it bonus points if you send me some of your art.

Quick Recommendations for the Busy Individual:

Smartphones:

Device: Moto G Stylus

Stylus: Any cheap stylus you can find

Software: Autodesk Sketchbook(for its availability on everything) or Ibis Paint X

Tablets:

Device: iPad 8th gen 32gb

Stylus: Adonit Pro 4

Software: Adobe Fresco or Procreate(if you have $10 lying around)

Computers:

Device: Asus Transformer Mini T102HA(Not anything new or fancy but it works with a pen and is very affordable) or Lenovo Duet(If you're not turned off by a Chromebook).

Stylus: Microsoft Surface Pen(anyone will work and you can get older ones for a good price) Wacom Bamboo Ink, Lenovo USI Pen(for Chromebooks)

Software: Inkscape for vector art, Krita for everything else, Autodesk Sketchbook(for ease of use and availability)