# Transition into Digital Art



## Sapphfyr (Jun 28, 2013)

Right off the bat, this thread is meant to be more about you than me, just so that's said.

Basically, I got a little sick of just lurking about, and want to actually try socializing a little bit with the people here; though I actually have a little bit more of a legit reason for it. More and more, I've been wanting to try my hand at working with digital mediums over solely traditional, the latter of which I keep to a basic "rough sketch" level of effort a great deal of the time. However, one of my friends let me borrow an intuos3 until further notice, which I have successfully used to.... suck really hard with.
While trying to motivate myself to take it more seriously and look into learning how to actually do things right (praise the internet), I was hoping for some stories from the community.
For those of you who have worked with digital art, could you give me a basic progression of how to became acclimated to doing what you do? I'm not asking for references, but more like, how rocky was the beginning? Was it much like learning to draw all over, or did it click very well in little to no time at all? How long did it take to get back to what you consider on-par with what you were doing prior? Did you surpass it in the quality you perceived in your digital stuff?
...Random stories/comments/concerns/experiences to offer a newb?



Right. Meanwhile, I think I'm going to look for guides and update my forum profile, created... pretty much just now.
Hi all. â™ª ^-^


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## Taralack (Jun 28, 2013)

I took to it like a fish to water. But have heard about varying degrees of first time ease of use from other artists, so my understanding is that it varies between individuals. If you're having a hard time with it initially, the only way you get better is just to keep at it. 

My first few digital works were pretty much on par with what I was doing traditionally (which, at the time was not all that fantastic anyway) so I don't really want to drudge up stuff from back then. Trust me, it was awful.


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## Sapphfyr (Jun 28, 2013)

@Toraneko
I'm a tad envious, haha. And yeah.. admittedly, I did kinda get discouraged and rage-quit awhile back when I figured out it wasn't going to be easy on me... kinda sunk in since then that I'm really not gonna have it much easier, barring spending $1000+ for a cintiq.
So, suppose I'ma try practice, this time not having hopes for anything decent. ^-^
Thanks for the reply. 

--And I can understand that, haha. My own stuff from way back is cringe-worthy, in my opinion~ Not to say it's amazing now, just... a good bit better, haha.


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## Arshes Nei (Jun 28, 2013)

Painting has been rather easy. Sketching is a bit harder for precision and I do better traditionally.


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## Willow (Jun 28, 2013)

I had somewhat of a hard time getting used to using the tablet when I first got it. But I found it useful to just take some silly doodle requests to get used to using it. 
Like seriously, this was one of the first things I drew with it

So yeah. If you're having some trouble transitioning from traditional to digital, don't worry so much about making really good stuff and just mess around with whatever art program you're using. Draw sexy bananas if you really want to.


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## Fallowfox (Jun 28, 2013)

I'm trying to transition right now, because of the increased practicality of digital media and a reluctance to spend any money I don't have to because I'm about to get some serious debt.
None of my skill in traditional media have translated to _any_ ability on the computer, although my treatment of traditional media was never sophisticated in the first place.


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## Sapphfyr (Jun 28, 2013)

@ Arshes Nei
Yeah... I could see how sketches could be a lot more suited to traditional mediums in a number of cases. ^-^b

@ Willow
That is actually rather encouraging, thank you. xD
..I  honestly do think I have the issue of wanting for the result to be as  good if not better than what I can do with traditional... Kinda doesn't  end up so.
But yeah, that's good advice. Thanks for your thoughts. :3
Also.  If you don't mind me asking, how long (or how much practice) did it  take you before you felt comfortable using your tablet?


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## Sapphfyr (Jun 28, 2013)

@ Fallow Fox
...I'm impressed by the detail in your work. xD Normally I'd think traditional (when using pencils and such) would be the cheaper medium when weighed against the price of a tablet and such... though, I suppose in your case you may go through a good bit of traditional supplies?
And sorry to hear that about the transfer issue. :'D I believe I can see why that may not be as readily transferable of a style... Props for it regardless though.
When did you begin your transition?


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## Fallowfox (Jun 28, 2013)

Sapphfyr said:


> @ Fallow Fox
> ...I'm impressed by the detail in your work. xD Normally I'd think traditional (when using pencils and such) would be the cheaper medium when weighed against the price of a tablet and such... though, I suppose in your case you may go through a good bit of traditional supplies?
> And sorry to hear that about the transfer issue. :'D I believe I can see why that may not be as readily transferable of a style... Props for it regardless though.
> When did you begin your transition?



I'll be taking a mouse and computer to my new accommodation in the autumn, so I was planning on using those. Buying and storing physical materials is a luxury that I would probably be best avoiding; it's the sketchbooks I draw in which are the economic drain and I don't want to lug them around or store them. Boards are cheap, but very difficult to transport and store whereas a laptop fits snug in a backpack. 

I began trying to transition only this month, so I understand I probably shouldn't expect much success yet.


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## Sapphfyr (Jun 28, 2013)

@ Fallowfox
Ahh. That makes a good bit of sense. ^-^ I do see how the space issue would come up too...
Either way, I wish you luck with transitioning yourself. I hope the debt issue you mentioned won't prove to be 'too' harsh, too... :'D
Seriously, I hope it goes well for you. ^-^b


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## Willow (Jun 28, 2013)

Sapphfyr said:


> @ Willow
> That is actually rather encouraging, thank you. xD
> ..I  honestly do think I have the issue of wanting for the result to be as  good if not better than what I can do with traditional... Kinda doesn't  end up so.
> But yeah, that's good advice. Thanks for your thoughts. :3
> Also.  If you don't mind me asking, how long (or how much practice) did it  take you before you felt comfortable using your tablet?


I'd say maybe a few months or so? Just doodle a little bit every day, or every few days and you'll eventually get used to it.


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## Sapphfyr (Jun 28, 2013)

@ Willow
I see. :'D Suppose that time-frame is fitting given how different the mediums can be... xD 
Thanks for the input btw.


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## Arshes Nei (Jun 28, 2013)

One of the biggest problems for me with sketching at least, was that you need to have a certain resolution and be able to work zoomed out. The smaller the screen the harder it is. Having a 20+ inch monitor is about a must. Laptops are just hard to work with for the space/size


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## Sapphfyr (Jun 28, 2013)

@ Arshes Nei
That makes a lot of sense. Thanks. :'D I suppose planning would take seeing everything more or less at once, but when you're doing something of detail... Myeh.
And yeah, it does seem like a labtop wouldn't be the best choice for that. O-o


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## Zenia (Jun 28, 2013)

When I first started with digital art, I only had a mouse to use. I got familiar with the program I wanted to use first. I knew what enough things did that I could make pictures successfully. They weren't very good, but it was a start. Then I got a tablet. The learning curve for me (and everyone else) is to draw while looking somewhere other than your hand... but personally, I got used to that quite quickly. After that it just became a matter of practice. I didn't expect to be awesome right away,  unlike a friend of mine who got frustrated and quit almost right away when I let her borrow my tablet once I upgraded.

I like to fiddle around in programs myself to learn them instead of looking up tutorials/guides. *says the girl with a new YouTube channel for how-to-art guides* XD



Arshes Nei said:


> Laptops are just hard to work  with for the space/size





Sapphfyr said:


> it does seem like a labtop wouldn't be the best choice for that. O-o


I have a laptop and a desktop. I have tried using my tablet with the laptop (especially when I want to go work on commissions outside in summer) but I find it much different than using my desktop. My desktop is most definitely my 'art computer' so I prefer to use it.


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## Sapphfyr (Jun 28, 2013)

@ Zenia
Thanks for the comment. ^-^b And yeah, suppose practice and perseverance counts for a lot when tackling something like a tablet... :'D //and even if I get a labtop, I think I may follow suit and keep my desktop as my art computer... Who knows though~â™ª
And that's cool about the youtube video thing. :3 I wish you well with it~


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## TobyDingo (Jun 29, 2013)

I cannot, for the life of , draw on a computer. Mouse/mouse pad, I find it impossible with either of them, not to mention my hand feeling like it's turning to stone after 10 minutes of drawing. I've never tried using a tablet and stylus but i'd imagine it would be a hell of a lot easier than a mouse/mouse pad. I've only recently got back into drawing. 2 years of studying graphic design sucked all inspiration and drive for drawing out through my ears and nose and it was only when I discovered the fandom 2 years later that I finally got that inspiration back.
Anyway, the method I've been using since is, sketching in pencil in a sketchbook, cleaning it up a bit, then importing into photoshop to further clean it up and add colour. I'm awful at painting and i'm not a fan of crayons or coloured pens/pencils so this is pretty much my only option for adding colour. So I guess it may be slightly overcomplicated but the way I see it, i'm getting the best of both digital and old school pencil methods.


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## Arshes Nei (Jun 29, 2013)

It is easier and less time consuming with a tablet and stylus. However, I used to draw with a mouse for years before I got a tablet. I also used the mouse with my non dominant hand to draw.


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## Aleu (Jun 29, 2013)

I tried drawing digitally because my friends bought me a tablet. I had not figured out how to use the damn thing let alone the drawing programs so I just said "Fuck it all" and kept with traditional. I felt like I should learn to really draw instead of relying on things such as "undo" or whatever. Though I don't think I'll ever transition to digital art now.


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## Arshes Nei (Jun 29, 2013)

Aleu said:


> I tried drawing digitally because my friends bought me a tablet. I had not figured out how to use the damn thing let alone the drawing programs so I just said "Fuck it all" and kept with traditional. I felt like I should learn to really draw instead of relying on things such as "undo" or whatever. Though I don't think I'll ever transition to digital art now.



Just out of curiosity, what programs have you tried with it?


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## Aleu (Jun 29, 2013)

Arshes Nei said:


> Just out of curiosity, what programs have you tried with it?


Oh man that was so long ago I don't even remember. I know my first mistake was trying to use it on a laptop and I'm pretty sure that thing had Vista on it. I can't remember what kind of tablet it was either.


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## Sapphfyr (Jun 29, 2013)

@ TobyDingo
I think I tried drawing with a mouse before..? :'D No hope there, beyond like, very minor stuffs. Kinda figure it'd work for pixel art though.
And sorry to hear about the inspiration drawin. 'xD Could see how massive amounts of forced work would kinda kill the charm of something. Glad to hear you've swung back into it a good bit though. ^-^b
--And yeah, sounds like an awesome method.  I couldn't get coloring traditionally to pan out in my own case, haha.
Thanks for sharing. ^-^

@ Aleu
Yeah, I can totally respect sticking with traditional. I mean... I figure traditional (especially realistic or semi-realistic stuff) is kinda the more respected division of art. I don't think people can fault you for not really messing with digital stuff. ^-^ It's an awesome thing in my opinion, and maybe easier in some cases, but it's not all important to do~


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## RailRide (Jul 1, 2013)

My first attempt at drawing digitally was in 2007 with OpenCanvas. It took so long and involved so many do-overs that I consider it a failure. After that, I continued to draw everything traditionally and process it later in the computer, obsessively cleaning up inked lines down to the pixel level despite the fact that most of the imperfections would be glossed over once the pic was resized for web display.

In the search for cleaner linework, I made a tiny step into the digital domain by occasionally employing Bezier curves or segmented lines to ink digitally. I didn't have to fuss with pixels but it didn't seem much faster. On the other hand, it works better with a mouse than a tablet since a mouse will tend to stay put when you click to start a new segment, as opposed to a stylus which often slides a little with each click, producing visible jogs in the line segments. I tried inking with vectors using Inkscape, at first with no lineweight variation, then later tracing out the outline of simulated brush strokes. Still didn't save a whole lot of time. But the linework is undeniably razor-sharp.

Fast forward to the present. I try out a few digital painting programs, first SmoothDraw, then MyPaint and AZDrawing. I bought Autodesk Sketchbook Pro (and haven't used it yet), and still waffle on trying out SAI ('cause y'know, _everyone_ is using it). Inspired by streaming art sessions by some of the artists on my watchlist, I try my hand at drawing digitally once again about a week ago. I should point out in the meantime that I have done extensive digital edits to scanned work, sometimes digitally redrawing significant chunks of the pic. But I did not equate that with "digital art". 

My latest attempt hits one big snag right off the bat--although I get the face of the character done well, once I decide to go from a bust shot to a full-body pic, I'm hit with the importance of doing a full-body sketch first--the head turned out to have been too small for the rest of the body I drew (I was using MyPaint, which unlike SAI, lacks the ability to select and resize portions of the image). I might've spotted the mistake earlier, but I spent so much time zoomed in, concentrating on body parts that I lost track of the whole. The process took place over the course of a couple of days on two 17" screen laptops, one equipped with a 6x8 Bamboo, the other with a 4x6 Grafire.

While the latest pic is coming along fairly well quality-wise, I don't really consider the attempt a success--(I may be placing too much emphasis on sharpening my sketchwork to the point it looks like ink, just like I do with pencil-on-paper)--maybe if I can get a full-body "pencil" done in about 45 minutes or so, I might  consider it a viable tactic for "important" pieces.

---PCJ


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## FireFeathers (Jul 1, 2013)

Starting out? it was pretty goddamn rough: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/PrezUni/Artwork/Picture3791copy.jpg  That image took me like...6-7 hours to do.  I was also 110% convinced that if I put "CG" in my keywords, that'd instantly make me famous. Also i was like 16-17 at the time. I still don't entirely know the hell I was thinking, lol.

I didn't have a ton of quality at the time anyways, but It felt like digital was a step back, if you call Lensflare McAngel here a step forward:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/PrezUni/Artwork/pixie.jpg  Though the early stuff, and actually the first year or two, all my stuff was done via mouse. I kept putting in the effort, AND nabbing backgrounds for images from...ff...probably askjeeves to make such MASTERPIECES as this...terrible lightning fairy with giant rigid elbows: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/PrezUni/Artwork/Kali3.jpg  for a bit.  I kept at it though, started doing my own backgrounds, started coloring in pencil sketches and kept trying. I think best I did was http://unibomber703.deviantart.com/art/Up-in-the-Sky-so-Blue-40360378  with mouse- and starting on an actual tablet made things a lot easier. Took a bit of time to hone in that using mostly just large, non-pressured  and fully soft brushes was terrible, but it worked pretty well. http://unibomber703.deviantart.com/art/Mother-Nature-53110389

The rest was just trying a lot of different stuff and seeing what worked.  Then when i got into it as a full time Major in college, I tried a lot harder and pushed myself with each one because I felt so behind. http://unibomber703.deviantart.com/art/Finally-Wild-and-Free-70208274    Times that event by 7 years, and here we are.


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## Sapphfyr (Jul 1, 2013)

@ RailRide
Longest story yet. I enjoyed reading through your history with the medium; thank you very much for sharing~ ^-^b
Honestly, it definitely seems like digital work can potentially be 'more' time consuming in some cases, counter to one of its ideal benefits of supposedly cutting down time spent... But, I think it depends on the process and resources available (and how the person goes about their art, or their experience with the medium). It's unfortunate that it hasn't been the best to you, but hopefully you manage to work something better out this time around.  Maybe with a little time you'll start getting some of those 'successes' you feel you fall short of? ^-^
Thanks again for the post. 

@ FireFeathers
Impressive progression. xD And thanks for the picture references; they really do give a better idea of where you came from, and where you were at at the time. I have to say, it really is a huge difference, and makes it more awesome to see where you're at now, haha.
I'm glad you've come all this way. It's fairly inspirational even~ =w= I kinda cringe looking at _my_ old stuff--makes me wonder how dramatic the difference between new and old will wind up being in the future. Yours is rather vast, speaking of.
Anyways, thanks for the post. ^-^b


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## Arshes Nei (Jul 1, 2013)

The reason it can be more time consuming is that something that is instinctive like turning the page to help with curved lines, or simply holding your paper up to light/flipping the image to check for mistakes..is less learned on digital. It's not that you can't develop this habit, but it takes effort. 

I'm sure there's a few stories of people who tried to turn their tablet or even their monitor when sketching/inking digitally.

There's also the brightness of a monitor where black and white is more precise and in your face. When inking or drawing traditionally, we can sketch and ignore slight marks on the paper or aberrations. With the "purity" of the screen what would normally be minor becomes more apparent. 

...hmm like you're less likely to concern yourself with dust or fibers on a canvas because you're looking at it far back vs a monitor where those imperfections would be more in your face.


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## WereGrem (Jul 9, 2013)

I rather like this thread, reading it has given me a lot of encouragement.

I started with traditional art; good ol' pencil and paper, and canvas and paints for a treat! I then switched to digital (or at least tried to) and very quickly got demoralised, as nothing was as good as my work in painting. Now, I'm not a fabulous artist, far from it - but it was such a significant drop in quality I almost just accepted the idea of "I guess digital isn't for me"

This was a year or so back, using just a mouse for my drawings. I've now got myself a nifty lil' tablet. I still have a lot to learn about going digital; theres plenty of jargon and techniques that confuse me so bad. It took a little bit of practice but I feel I've slowly improved, and can now sometimes achieve things I wouldn't be able to accomplish with traditional artwork.

I often forget this myself, but its a matter of perseverance. I've found myself staring at a blank screen on my pc monitor all ready to be drawn upon, but I can't seem to get things right, but yet I could easily do it if it were a pencil and paper infront of me. In those cases I'll go off, grab myself a cuppa' and come back to it later. Just a matter of getting used to something totally new. I think I do find digital art rather daunting, as there are so many things you can achieve or experiment with! It's hard to sometimes just focus on just picking the digipen/stlyus up and treating it just like a regular pencil and paper





Arshes Nei said:


> I'm sure there's a few stories of people who tried to turn their tablet or even their monitor when sketching/inking digitally.



Many, many times. Its one habit I cannot break out of from older traditional work. Luckily not trashed monitors ...yet


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## Bittertooth (Jul 10, 2013)

I started doing digital art (and with no prior experience with traditional) using Chibipaint.  It was an oekaki program, simple but competent.  It had layers and layering modes, a handful of different brush settings, extreme ease of use, it was perfect for a beginner who wasn't willing to learn to use Photoshop or Gimp.  The particular oekaki I was using was on a Pokemon forum.  The fact that the program was directly connected to a community drastically boosted my desire to draw and improve.  I ended up using the hell out of that oekaki for the next couple of years

Here's 2 years of pictures made with Chibipaint alone, it doesn't include the things I later made with Gimp and Photoshop http://pokekaki.com/user.php?u=130&show=all
The first digital thing I drew that I considered to be an actual piece of artwork was the July 2010 O RLY submission at the bottom, and since then I've been gradually improving using mainly Chibipaint.  I don't use Chibipaint anymore these days though, I started using Gimp for most things late 2011 and Photoshop for everything mid 2012.

I also needed the jtablet program to get pressure sensitivity on the oekaki.


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## TopazThunder (Jul 15, 2013)

I'm still in the beginnings of the transition phase; I suppose it would be more "dabbling" than anything, but hey. It's....pretty rough for me. It feels like drawing with my off hand, if my off hand was a hook and wielded by a tipsy, seasick pirate. So far it's entirely counter-intuitive to everything I've experienced through art thus far. I'm using a stylus and tablet on a desktop and with the programs ArtRage and Sketchbook Pro, by the way. Also, the way my computer desk must be set up oriented with my chair it aggravates an old shoulder injury something fierce, limiting my practice time to 1-2 hour stints before I have to get up and do something else, so that doesn't really help things. Its obvious I need a much better work space before I can seriously devote enough attention to something digital.

I'm not giving up though, its just that getting decent with digital is lower on my priorities than say, mastering another traditional technique or medium; if there were more hours in the day I'd be able to manage it better. Alas, so much media so little time!



Arshes Nei said:


> I'm sure there's a few stories of people who tried to turn their tablet or even their monitor when sketching/inking digitally.
> 
> There's also the brightness of a monitor where black and white is more precise and in your face. When inking or drawing traditionally, we can sketch and ignore slight marks on the paper or aberrations. With the "purity" of the screen what would normally be minor becomes more apparent.



I am actually guilty of doing that, heh. I've been able to more or less make myself stop doing it by now, but occasionally I find myself subconsciously shifting the tablet around still.

I can definitely attest to that; I find myself erasing tiny stray marks when I'm in my drawing programs a lot. Also normally I'm very sensitive to vagaries in texture of the drawing surface, especially since I do a lot of pen and dry media work, so when I'm trying to draw on the tablet and its this smooth, unblemished surface its...weird feeling, to say the least.


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## RailRide (Jul 21, 2013)

Oh yeah, the two images that were my first all-digital in six years:
No Sketchbook, No Problem: MyPaint (sketch, ink, color)
The Garden: Mypaint (pencils), Inkscape (inks), Picture Publisher (color)

---PCJ


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