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Documenting my process of learning digital drawing
#1
As the title says. I'm Phantom, and I've been drawing ever since I can remember. It doesn't feel exaggerated if I'd call this the hobby of mine that I enjoy most and am most passonate about... (>//<) When I lack proper words to describe my emotions I can still express them in drawings, there's vent art and colouring books for adults to calm down, one can create own characters, stories and even universes on some empty sheets of paper - and there's fan art of course! The internet and social media are like an endless gallery, people can share their artworks and other can admire/critique/draw inspiration from them.

[Image: maxresdefault.jpg]

I've been specializing in traditional art using pencils, markers and qualitative crayons and developed some ort of own drawing style, I like interesting details and vivid colours. But there's one thing I never really got the hang of...

...it's digital art!

[Image: nahaufnahme-des-calico-cat-neugierig-lap...py6t51.jpg]


Decided a while ago that I kinda want to teach myself to draw (or at least color) digitally autodidacticly though, as the effects one can achieve are one of their kind and it's much easier to redo something if having messed up (as in 'just hit CRTL+Z'). And I can experiement with palettes and colors, that too. After all, there are free and great(!)drawing programs available for download, tutorials on work steps and tricks, and there's EeveeBailley's Creator's Collective Discord where other artists gather that I can ask for help if stuck. ☆(◕‿◕)

This thread shall be like an open diary where I can and wish to document that learning process of mine a little.
"Anything can be art. Anything can be self-expression. Now take your weapon and run with it" [Gerard Way]
--Windos is my OTP ❤---
`❤★`°・:*:・。[Image: fgHY4]。・:*:・゚’★❤`
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#2
Started rather simple with FireAlpaca and a scanned lineart of a Sylveon I drew, wanted to try various color palettes of some lgbtq+ pride flags. Learned that drawing outlines with a mouse does work but is problematic as it's hard for me to draw neat long lines. Switched to using a drawing tablet I previously only used for sprites.

Asked for help in Creator's Collective because the lines weren't as smooth as I wanted them to be. Received help, as well as the advice to always have a layer filled with white while to function as 'paper' beneath the lineart layer.
"Anything can be art. Anything can be self-expression. Now take your weapon and run with it" [Gerard Way]
--Windos is my OTP ❤---
`❤★`°・:*:・。[Image: fgHY4]。・:*:・゚’★❤`
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#3
Somewhere in the middle of July '20

Gotten the basic hang of colouring digitally, as in 'know what to do to get the result I want' . Magic Wand tool is bliss to use. Managed to finish a second piece of digital art, featuring the punk twins.
[Image: Transpaprent_PunkTwins_latest.png?width=690&height=475]
The image I used as a background is free to use and was shared by geralt @pixabay, source:
Code:
https://pixabay.com/de/illustrations/internet-cyber-blockchain-3484139/

'Soft Focus' effect is really neat, used it to overhaul the whole drawing to get that feeling of them being... uh, digital beings.
"Anything can be art. Anything can be self-expression. Now take your weapon and run with it" [Gerard Way]
--Windos is my OTP ❤---
`❤★`°・:*:・。[Image: fgHY4]。・:*:・゚’★❤`
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#4
End of July '20, mostly 25th - 27th

Dowloaded Krita 4.3.0, as I wanted a more detailed programm with more effects and brushes. Looked for some custom brushes I like and downloaded them too to add. Aiming to play around a bit/try colouring a lineart to get a bit used to the programm, but really enjoying the look and functions it's providing already.
"Anything can be art. Anything can be self-expression. Now take your weapon and run with it" [Gerard Way]
--Windos is my OTP ❤---
`❤★`°・:*:・。[Image: fgHY4]。・:*:・゚’★❤`
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#5
End of July '20, 30th and 31th mostly

Decided to settle for Paint Tool SAI, or just SAI for short as the program I want to use for digital art. It costs me money after the trial period ends, but it feels worth it. Krita runs rather slow on my laptop and has too many functions I'll probably never use, SAI seems to have everything I'd wish for.

Currently busy setting up and customizing my SAI, as well as looking for neat custom brushes to add.

Nothing new, but doing anything with a pen or pencil with sweaty hands is very uncomfortable.
"Anything can be art. Anything can be self-expression. Now take your weapon and run with it" [Gerard Way]
--Windos is my OTP ❤---
`❤★`°・:*:・。[Image: fgHY4]。・:*:・゚’★❤`
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#6
Another update, middle to end of October 2020

Came to the conslusion that Paint Tool Sai is good and comfortable to use, but customizing and setting up everything myself feels too much of a chore to me. The amount of customized brushes found online is a pleasant and great, but I tend to get lost in that pool. In other words: There are so many custom brushes I set up and wish to set up according to shared settings, that I'm struggling to find those I really intend to use and nost just add because I find them neat.

Joined a discord server for artists that's not extremely-active (which tends to scare me off) and that's solely for lgbtq+ people. Some of the staff are professional illustrators and graphic designers.

The drawing software that I've been recommended there as an alternative was...
[Image: logo_black.png?type=w800]
I looked into it, got myself a trial version, and... I'm really enjoying it, feeling more and more secure that this is the drawing software I wish to work with. This is mostly since it has various(!) brushes that emulate watercolors and markers (which I'm interested the most), official tutorials on the website, and a ton of 'decorative' brushes (some that add flowers, bubbles, feathers etc.).

It'll likely be on sale on Black Friday.
Just for myself, I'll also link this page of brush setting for coloring in avrious anime styles.
"Anything can be art. Anything can be self-expression. Now take your weapon and run with it" [Gerard Way]
--Windos is my OTP ❤---
`❤★`°・:*:・。[Image: fgHY4]。・:*:・゚’★❤`
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#7
Another udate, End of July '21


Picked up and set up the new graphics tablet I ordered online yesterday (with yesterday = Tue, 28th July)! It's a Wacom once again as I made good experiences with these, but it's a bigger one than my previous tablet for more comfortable drawing. For the same reason I've chosen one that can be connected via bluetooth to my laptop, at times the cable of the tablet does annoy me.

[Image: 46f1bee1f8971c25622cbbb6bce141b1.jpg]

Pretty excited to get started drawing awayyyy!! First artwork shall be the image for a commission I asked for, a theme for a pokemon-creepypasta character being made into a video with me providing the base image for said video.

Yes my old tablet is still somewhat functionable, but I felt like if I want to improve my digital drawing skills further, I need a more qualitative graphics tablet with a larger active area and a pen that's more confortable in the hand. Feels like the cash is well invested! <3
"Anything can be art. Anything can be self-expression. Now take your weapon and run with it" [Gerard Way]
--Windos is my OTP ❤---
`❤★`°・:*:・。[Image: fgHY4]。・:*:・゚’★❤`
Reply
#8
Update as of 15th August '21


It's a massive joy to draw on the new tablet when it's connected via bluetooth to my laptop aka when I can draw wirelessly. Seriously, I could have not guessed that it'd be THAT much of a joy; previously the cable did get into the way at times, but not that often that it'd annoy me.

Adding glitch effects and textures to polish artworks is also lots of fun and something I'm interested in experimenting with further. Made these two glitchy Espeon lately editing the official dreamworld artwork:


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
       
"Anything can be art. Anything can be self-expression. Now take your weapon and run with it" [Gerard Way]
--Windos is my OTP ❤---
`❤★`°・:*:・。[Image: fgHY4]。・:*:・゚’★❤`
Reply
#9
Update #2 as of 15th August '21


Quoting myself:
Quote:(...) First artwork shall be the image for a commission I asked for, a theme for a pokemon-creepypasta character being made into a video with me providing the base image for said video. (...)

Said commission'd video has been finished after it took me quite a while to finish the artwork for it. It's linked below behind the spoiler tagg, I... I love it so much...
[Image: images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTEIzlCp083Jja4U_LaSP0...A&usqp=CAU]

It's theme is the rewritten version of the Pokemon Creepypasta 'Forever Mine', so it may adress/show things that can be uncomfortable or triggering. Viewer discretion is advised. B-but...I just enjoy (decent) pokepastas, this one especially! (>//< ) Always have, but that special interest of mine has been revived a while ago.
"Anything can be art. Anything can be self-expression. Now take your weapon and run with it" [Gerard Way]
--Windos is my OTP ❤---
`❤★`°・:*:・。[Image: fgHY4]。・:*:・゚’★❤`
Reply
#10
Update as of 8th January '22


Okay so, unsure whether I did share it here or did not, but a little bit after christmas my laptop malfunctioned so hard that I felt myself forced to re-install windows from scratch on it in hopes to fix it again after other attempts to repair it have not let to sufficient success. Backed up all my saved personal files (images, videos etc.) and sacrificed all software and programs installed on it, but...

...it fixed a good amount of issues. Oh the relief of that... At least, it fixed things to such a degree that it's no test of patience anymore to do anything online and on the laptop itself. (Semi-unrelated, but I've been thinking of getting a completely new desktop PC for a month or so anyway for various reasons.)


One thing that I was definitely very afraid of was loosing my custom brushes added to ClipStudioPaint, since I started using that software I've gathered up quite the collection - eh, whether and how often I use 'em is a different question - that was the biggest reason why I postpones reinstalling ClipStudioPaint for as long as possible. On the first day of 2022 I took a leap of faith, reinstalled it, logged in on my account and... 
[Image: 694973517921255556.webp?size=96&quality=lossless]

To express that, I made some glitchy eyetrainy art feat. some cute cats using a set of glitch-themed brushes that I really like to use. Sorry if it hurts the eye. [Image: 737584562762154001.gif?size=96&quality=lossless]

[Image: SPOILER_GlitchyCats.png]


Eh, that also means that I can start working on the digital redraws of the icond for the ongoing Pokerole Campaign 'Primal Shadows' hosted by Dragonstrike in the Roleplay sector of this forum, since the icons used currently are traditionally drawn by me - not that it bothers me that they are, but I'd just like to redraw them all digitally now that I'm not a complete noob in regards of digital art.
"Anything can be art. Anything can be self-expression. Now take your weapon and run with it" [Gerard Way]
--Windos is my OTP ❤---
`❤★`°・:*:・。[Image: fgHY4]。・:*:・゚’★❤`
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