If you’ve ever watched an animated movie, played a video game, seen an anime or looked at a book cover and thought, “neat!”, you might have wondered how they were made. All of these examples, in one way or another, involve digital art.
Digital art is a very broad term, encompassing any art that uses technology as a medium. This can include animation, pixel art, 3D modelling, graphic design and much more. The countless possibilities brought into art through technology can be overwhelming. But, if you’re interested, a good place to start is with digital painting.
1 – Get Inspired
Before you get started, it’s a good idea to know what kind of thing you want to make. Some of my favourite artists are listed below to give you some ideas!
Cyarin | Laura Brouwers
@cyarine on Instagram
Jacob Eirich
Jaiden Animations | Jaiden Dittfach
2 – Get Equipped
Now you’ve figured out what sort of thing you’d like to draw, you’ll need something to draw on. As with any new hobby, you will need to invest some money into your equipment, but how much is entirely up to you.
The ‘big three’ of digital art equipment includes pen tablets, pen displays and standalone tablets. To get the best bang for your buck as a beginner, I’d recommend a pen tablet.
Pen Tablets: Pen tablets work similarly to a trackpad (the section on your laptop that moves the mouse), in that you interact with the trackpad to move the mouse on the screen, rather than directly touching the screen itself. When you plug in a pen tablet, the pen becomes your mouse while the tablet’s surface acts as your canvas.
What you’ll get in the box:
For most pen tablets, you should expect to receive a pen and charging cable, a tablet and a connection cord. The set-up is fairly simple, but there are plenty of online tutorials if you need a hand.
Software:
Now you’ve got your hardware, you’ll need some software. If you’re using a pen tablet, you’ll want something made for PCs (personal computers). There are free options for this, but the paid versions are generally better. Here are some popular software to get you started!
- Clip Studio Paint: permanent and subscription-based licenses available
- Paint Tool Sai: permanent license available
- Krita: free
3 – Get Drawing!
You’ve learned the basics of digital art – congratulations! Practice, watch tutorials, experiment and be creative. Remember that, just like traditional drawing, digital art is a skill and will take time to master, so be patient with yourself. Using technology for art is helpful, but it’s not a cheat code. You will still need to practice the bare bones of art, so give yourself time to study up on anatomy, colour theory, light and perspective.
Above all, enjoy yourself!
Thank you for reading this blog! If you’d like to explore this topic further, check out my Beginners Guide to Procreate and my blog on Layers for Dummies!
Gallery of my own art.
Darcy Maunder 
Leave a comment