How To Get Started In Digital Art – You want to start making digital paintings too, but you don’t know where to start? In this article I will show you how to get started with digital art. The great thing is that creating digital art doesn’t have to be expensive, you may already have most of the equipment you need!
I have not tried all the products I have shown as examples in this article. I always recommend reading some product reviews to make a considered choice. Also, the prices are only an indication, click the link if you want to see the exact price of a product.
How To Get Started In Digital Art
At the end of this article you will find the best way to start digital art in my opinion. However, that’s just my opinion of course, take from this article what you need and make a considered choice based on your personal situation. Finally, if you have questions, be sure to ask them!
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Have you bought everything you need to get started with digital art, but are you struggling to draw? Then check out these 12 digital drawing exercises.
Note: In this article you will find some affiliate links, this means that if you buy something, I will get a small commission. It will cost you nothing, but you will be supporting this website and allowing me to continue creating free digital art tutorials for you. Thank you for your support!
The first thing you need when you want to start making digital paintings, is hardware. There are four main options:
A graphics tablet works like a mouse and needs to be attached to your PC or laptop. You can draw on the graphic tablet with a special stylus (some variants need to be charged, others are not). The face of the graphic tablet appears on your screen. So if you put your stylus in the upper right corner of the face, you will find your cursor in the upper right corner of your screen.
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They are relatively cheap, in fact you can get a decent graphics tablet for around $50 – $100. Wacom graphic tablets are seen as the standard in the industry, but if you’re just starting out in digital art, I’d advise getting a low-budget graphic tablet, they’ll do a great job.
I would recommend getting a graphic tablet in A5 size, it is big enough to make fluid strokes (A5 is about 5.8″ x 8.3″).
If you want to create digital art on your computer, but don’t want to use a graphics tablet, then a graphics display may be the option for you. They are more expensive than a graphics tablet, but let you draw and paint directly on a screen. It might feel more intuitive to you.
Parallax: the effect where the position or direction of an object appears different when viewed from different positions. (dictionary.com)
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With an all in one tablet I mean a tablet like an iPad (Pro), Microsoft Surface Pro or Android tablet. There are many drawing apps out there and some of them are free! You may already own a tablet, if so, then all you need is a stylus to start creating digital art. Of course you can draw with your finger, but that’s uncomfortable and less intuitive. Finally, what’s great about all in one tablet, is that you can take it anywhere. You can draw while riding the train, while enjoying a cup of coffee in a cafe or while relaxing on your couch!
On a Microsoft Surface Pro or Wacom Mobile Studio Pro you can run entire software packages like Photoshop
When creating digital art on an all in one tablet, you’ll probably want a stylus. Be sure to check the compatibility of a stylus with your tablet before you buy. Another thing to check is if the stylus has pressure sensitivity, because a stylus with pressure sensitivity will give a more natural feel when drawing.
Below you will find some examples, note that the Wacom Bamboo Tip is compatible with some Android devices, but does not have pressure sensitivity. The Apple Pencil 2 is compatible with the 3rd generation iPad Pro.
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Finally, you can start digital art on your smartphone. The downside is that your smartphone’s screen is likely very small, which makes drawing on it more challenging. Also, you might want a stylus to make drawing easier.
If you are lucky enough to have an iPhone, you can get the Procreate Pocket app, which is great for digital art.
Another thing you need to start digital painting, is software or an app on your phone or tablet. Prices for digital painting software range from completely free to very expensive. When starting digital art, my advice is to start with some free (or low budget) software, just to see if you enjoy making digital art.
Also, the choice of digital art software depends on your hardware, because not all software is compatible with all devices. Procreate, for example, can only run on iPads and Photoshop can be used on a PC or a Microsoft Surface Pro for example.
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There are several free digital painting programs out there. You may want to try one of these programs before you invest in a more expensive program or subscription
It is an open-source program and a great alternative to Photoshop. It may not be as powerful as Photoshop, but it has more options. On the Krita website you will find instructions and resources to start your painting adventure. You can download the program for free here.
This is another free digital art program that is great for manga artists. Mediabang Paint Pro allows you to create comic panels easily, has a tool for managing the comic page and finally the programs snap guides will allow you to create perfect lines easily. Also, this program is available for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS! You can download the program for free here.
Another free app and software package is Autodesk Sketchbook. It is available for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. The program has a nice, bare interface, so you don’t get distracted by all the tools. You can get this digital painting program for free here.
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The following will include some digital painting programs and apps that you may need to pay for. Some of these programs or apps are very low budget and some are very expensive! However, in my opinion you really don’t need to spend a lot of money 😉
FREE TRIAL: Before you buy an expensive digital art program, be sure to check for a demo or trial version. That way you can check if you like the program before buying it.
For just $9.99 you can get the Procreate app for your iPad or Procreate Pocket for $4.99. You only have to pay once and you get all the future updates, that’s great. With each update, the Procreate team adds more features to the app, making it a true, full blown art creation program. The great development of this app, in my opinion, is that it is very beginner friendly, so you can create amazing digital paintings in no time! Get the Procreate app here.
This is a great program (for Windows and Mac) if you want to get the feeling that you are painting with real paint. Because it does a good job imitating real paint and pencils. The Corel Painter Essentials program is a stripped down version, but costs less!
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This is a great digital art program for manga and comic artists. The program has thousands of customizable brushes and also a cool AI-based coloring feature.
Adobe Photoshop is used by many professional artists and has many features. Because it has so many features it can be overwhelming though, which makes it less suitable for beginners. Another drawback of Photoshop (and the Fresco app for iPads) is the price. Being tied to a subscription may not be what you want, especially when it comes to the Fresco app. You have to pay $9.99 a month while you have to pay $9.99 once to get Procreate.
You may be confused by all the information in this article, but I want you to make a considered choice when you start digital painting. But maybe you just want to hear my opinion and I want to know what to do. Before I can give you proper advice, I think it’s important to consider how serious you are about getting into digital art. When I got into digital art about 12 years ago, I was totally excited about it and was ready to invest a decent amount of money. If I had to start over now, I’d probably get an iPad or iPad Air, an Apple Pencil and Procreate to get started.
So if you like drawing and making art, it might be worth saving some money
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