Art & Art Tutorials
Digital Artist Tutorial
Intro
If you're thinking about taking up digital artistry this article has some useful information and tips which will boot you safely into the thing. We will focus on both the hardware and software side of the matter. We begin with the hardware part first.
The Gear
When we're talking digital drawing and painting we're talking about tablets (also known as digitizers), and this usually involves Wacoms excellent line of tablet products. They are sturdy, good looking and generally work like a charm. They are very precise and have a high level of pressure sensitivity leaving you with a great sense of control. They come in various sizes and some have programmable buttons, touchwheels and slidebars. Intuos 4, the latest of Wacoms tablets is ambidextrous in design. This means you can choose to have the controls on either side of your tablet. You choose this during setup.
I use an Intuos 4M for the digital art I draw and paint but depending on your needs you can choose a smaller or even a larger size tablet. But it all comes down to taste and needs as far as tablet size goes. They are hooked up via USB and do not need an external powersupply (they are powered via the USB port). The pen is used just like a normal pen. It has a rubber grip for those sweaty fingers, feels good in your hand and is completely wireless giving you the freedom to tilt and turn it as you please. Along with a wide variety of accessories for Wacoms tablets you can find many different types of nibs for your pen. Some have more traction and some slide smoothly over the surface of the tablet. Whatever feel you are looking for there is a type of nib to match it.
The Software
Along with most Wacom tablets comes Painter Essentials (for both Mac and PC), which is sufficient to begin and experiment with. It is basically a light version of Painter. However, due to it's limitations you will quickly want to move to a more full-blown and feature rich drawing and painting application. Here is a short list of apps supporting Wacom tablets:
Corel Painter (corel.com)
Adobe Photoshop (adobe.com)
Open Canvas (portalgraphics.net)
Manga Studio (smithmicro.com)
The Gimp (FREE, gimp.org)
Sketchbook Pro (autodesk.com)
The software listed above all have support for Wacoms tablets (and most likely other tablets as well) but while some of them only have support for these, others are made specifically for tablet use. The list is by no means complete and only contains some of the more popular choices. Depending on your needs (and the size of your wallet) you should be able to find what you need from the list above. Many of the apps listed can be downloaded as fully functional trial versions free of charge on the internet, which is probably a good idea before spending heaps of green on a full version.
Is This The Real Thing?
If you're having doubts whether sketching, drawing and painting digitally is the 'real thing' compared to traditional ditto you could look at it this way: It is you who draw and paint, not your pen or brush. You will leave a personal mark and style in your art no matter which approach you choose. I would even go as far as to claim that it's inevitable that you do. With that said the differences between drawing and painting digitally and traditionally are obviously there but try to think of it as two different ways to accomplish the same thing.
Get Used To It
"Are tablets hard getting used to?" you might ask. Not really. If you think that drawing one place (on the tablet) and the lines appearing another place (on your screen) is difficult to learn you're mistaken. They become natural to use in no time. Initially you can simply grab the pen and start drawing with no real effort. Getting fully used to your tablet only requires a few extra days of practice. That's pretty much it. The technology is so refined it quickly becomes as easy to use as a mouse, and most people don't think about using a mouse they just use it.
To end this article the only thing left to say is; The technology is there, grab it, give it a go, and add a new and interesting dimension to your world of creativity.
Have comments, suggestions or critique? Sign up and share it here!
If you're thinking about taking up digital artistry this article has some useful information and tips which will boot you safely into the thing. We will focus on both the hardware and software side of the matter. We begin with the hardware part first.
The Gear
When we're talking digital drawing and painting we're talking about tablets (also known as digitizers), and this usually involves Wacoms excellent line of tablet products. They are sturdy, good looking and generally work like a charm. They are very precise and have a high level of pressure sensitivity leaving you with a great sense of control. They come in various sizes and some have programmable buttons, touchwheels and slidebars. Intuos 4, the latest of Wacoms tablets is ambidextrous in design. This means you can choose to have the controls on either side of your tablet. You choose this during setup.I use an Intuos 4M for the digital art I draw and paint but depending on your needs you can choose a smaller or even a larger size tablet. But it all comes down to taste and needs as far as tablet size goes. They are hooked up via USB and do not need an external powersupply (they are powered via the USB port). The pen is used just like a normal pen. It has a rubber grip for those sweaty fingers, feels good in your hand and is completely wireless giving you the freedom to tilt and turn it as you please. Along with a wide variety of accessories for Wacoms tablets you can find many different types of nibs for your pen. Some have more traction and some slide smoothly over the surface of the tablet. Whatever feel you are looking for there is a type of nib to match it.
The Software
Along with most Wacom tablets comes Painter Essentials (for both Mac and PC), which is sufficient to begin and experiment with. It is basically a light version of Painter. However, due to it's limitations you will quickly want to move to a more full-blown and feature rich drawing and painting application. Here is a short list of apps supporting Wacom tablets:
Corel Painter (corel.com)
Adobe Photoshop (adobe.com)
Open Canvas (portalgraphics.net)
Manga Studio (smithmicro.com)
The Gimp (FREE, gimp.org)
Sketchbook Pro (autodesk.com)
The software listed above all have support for Wacoms tablets (and most likely other tablets as well) but while some of them only have support for these, others are made specifically for tablet use. The list is by no means complete and only contains some of the more popular choices. Depending on your needs (and the size of your wallet) you should be able to find what you need from the list above. Many of the apps listed can be downloaded as fully functional trial versions free of charge on the internet, which is probably a good idea before spending heaps of green on a full version.
Is This The Real Thing?
If you're having doubts whether sketching, drawing and painting digitally is the 'real thing' compared to traditional ditto you could look at it this way: It is you who draw and paint, not your pen or brush. You will leave a personal mark and style in your art no matter which approach you choose. I would even go as far as to claim that it's inevitable that you do. With that said the differences between drawing and painting digitally and traditionally are obviously there but try to think of it as two different ways to accomplish the same thing.
Get Used To It
"Are tablets hard getting used to?" you might ask. Not really. If you think that drawing one place (on the tablet) and the lines appearing another place (on your screen) is difficult to learn you're mistaken. They become natural to use in no time. Initially you can simply grab the pen and start drawing with no real effort. Getting fully used to your tablet only requires a few extra days of practice. That's pretty much it. The technology is so refined it quickly becomes as easy to use as a mouse, and most people don't think about using a mouse they just use it.
To end this article the only thing left to say is; The technology is there, grab it, give it a go, and add a new and interesting dimension to your world of creativity.
Wait, there's more!
Have comments, suggestions or critique? Sign up and share it here!