How to get away from paper and start drawing on the computer

Do you want to learn how to draw on a computer and seriously consider your prospects in digital? We will prompt you devices and programs for a good start. And also talk about what you should pay attention to in the first place.

Future for computer painting?

The same was said about paper books when computers appeared. But have the books disappeared? On the contrary, they began to be valued even higher and significantly more expensive. A material object that can be touched is always more valuable than a set of symbols encoded in a certain sequence. Moreover, an artist who creates in a traditional manner experiences special feelings when interacting with real, and not virtual, means of fine art.

However, it cannot be denied that the “digit” is replacing the paper canvas. And quite active. In the modern world, digital art galleries have been created for a long time. A vivid example of this is the St. Petersburg Zifergauz, where exhibitions, master classes, film screenings and creative meetings dedicated to computer art are held.

Many artists are moving from classical painting to digital because the trend of the times demands it. In addition, computer technology makes it possible to create a reality that cannot be drawn with ordinary crayons. For example, master of digital painting Konstantin Khudyakov is known for creating interactive three-dimensional paintings that interact with the viewer. The compositions react to the movement of a person, changing the shape, color, angle. Agree, in order to be realized in such an area, artistic knowledge alone is not enough.

It is our deep conviction that the number of digital artists is increasing because it is easier to draw on a computer. All you need is a program and a graphics tablet, and any mistake is easy to remove without damaging the canvas. In addition, the programs have many auxiliary tools for building perspective, the contour of objects, so you do not need to be a dock in drawing and have a confident non-trembling hand.

What you need to draw on a computer

To work in the field of digital painting, you definitely need a graphics tablet. Such devices are of two types: with a screen and without.

Screenless tablets are a flat board and require a connection to a computer. Since you will draw on the surface of the tablet, and look at the monitor.

A tablet with a display is autonomous, because the picture appears immediately at the drawing hand.

Devices also differ in the type of connection: with wired devices you are tied to your workplace, while wireless devices give you freedom of movement.

An important parameter when choosing a tablet is the stylus, or rather, the degree of its sensitivity to pressing. It depends on how accurately you can control the pen, control the thickness, transparency of the lines.

For drawing sketches, sensitivity from 1024 to 2048 levels is suitable.

Professionals who create highly detailed digital content need a score between 4096 and 8192 levels.

Another important parameter is pen response time, that is, the delay between touching and displaying the action on the screen. If the signal is transmitted slowly, you are unlikely to be able to work with such interference at all.

For tablets of the initial line, this figure is 130-150 RPS, for professional ones - from 200 to 250.

But support for the tilt of the pen does not matter at all. Not the fact that this function is useful to you.

If you’re new and can’t figure out your needs, start small. A tablet, especially a professional one, is not a cheap thing. Moreover, there are many professionals who work on amateur models, create beautiful illustrations and are quite happy with their tablets.

The most popular graphics tablet brand is Wacom. The company has lines aimed at amateurs and professionals. The first is called One by, the second Intuos Pro.

When choosing a model, pay attention to the size of the working area and the length of the cable. The best option for beginners to master drawing on a computer seems to us to be One by Wacom medium CTL-672.

It has a short cord, but the reasonable price makes this drawback tolerable. At first glance, it seems that the reading speed (133 points per second) is not enough, but the movement of the pen and the line on the screen are synchronous.

Later, when you get comfortable with the tablet, you will begin to understand which features are important to you and which are not so important.

Finally, we want to dispel the myth that exists on the net that it is more difficult for a beginner to draw on a “board” than on a tablet with a screen, because you need to look at the computer monitor, and not at your fingertips. In fact, there is no discomfort. But when you change the mouse to the pen, you feel awkward. But it’s all a matter of habit. Soon the pen in your hand will sit like a native, and the mouse will seem like a foreign object.

Drawing software for PC

Surely you have repeatedly wondered where you can draw on a computer, except for Photoshop. There are many programs. There are extensive ratings of graphic editors that reveal the difference between raster and vector tools, the advantages of one program over another. Within the framework of this article, we would like to consider 5 editors of different levels of complexity. Let’s start with the simplest ones.

Photomontage

This is a Russian program designed for those who are taking their first steps in the field of digital art. Among the art supplies you will find brushes, pencils, fills, erasers, geometric shapes and lines. The program supports layers and masks, various blending modes, has a collection of hand-drawn clipart. In addition, it has a large number of tools for comprehensive photo processing.

An important feature of the program is its intuitive interface. No clutter of panels and tabs, everything is logically structured and understandable. So even a “teapot” will figure it out in working with Photomontage.

Paint.NET

Paint.NET is not the best application for drawing on a computer, but it is still quite popular among users. Obviously, the secret to success lies in the free license and the large amount of reference material on the net. The functions of the program are enough to create simple drawings, sketches, sketches, logos. The list of tools is standard: pencil, brush, eraser, fill, gradient, ellipse, several selection tools. In Paint.NET, you can work with layers, change their order, set the percentage of transparency and blending mode.

A significant disadvantage of the editor is the inability to upload your own brushes, since the set of built-in ones is very poor.

Paint Tool SAI

Positioned as a manga drawer. It differs from the above programs in that it is focused exclusively on creating illustrations. The program has two layer modes: vector and raster. When switching modes, the set of tools changes accordingly. In the first case, curves, lines, various shapes will be available to you. In the second - a marker, watercolor brush, pastel, ink, as well as specialized tools like SelPen, a pen that creates a stroke where you brushed.

Almost all hotkeys are taken from Photoshop, so experienced users of the Adobe program will not have to relearn.

Krita

Krita is a free drawing program for a computer with photo editing features. Designed for both amateurs and professionals. The functions of the program in the drawing area are extensive. Here you will find raster and vector tools, a text module, speech templates for comics, a powerful brush engine, animation panels, a function to import resources from the web. Krita comes with a set of pre-made brushes categorized. Each category is "responsible" for the characteristics of the brushes from the set. For example, there are tools that mimic the properties of pastels, chalk, charcoal, watercolor, patterns, and textures.

The advantage of the program is also that Krita integrates with different operating systems. Unlike the previous three programs, which are installed only on Windows.

photoshop

The most popular software not only for photo editing, but also for generating digital art. With Photoshop, you can draw without even being an artist. After all, it is very easy to compose different parts of photographs into a single artistic canvas, discolor the layer and color it as you wish. Of course, you still need to have some artistic skills: know how volumes are formed, understand color, take into account lighting and the laws of perspective.

The program just has a huge number of tools, but still lacks the functions inherent in drawing tools. For example, it is impossible to mix colors and use exactly this average shade. And the "Mix-brush" rather smudges the colors, and does not mix them the way it happens on the artist’s real palette.

Still, Photoshop is the number one choice for many professional artists.

Summing up

There are many tutorials written by practicing digital artists about how to draw on a PC. For example, Create Characters in Photoshop by 3dtotal Publishing. Or How to Draw by Scott Robertson. If you persevere in your chosen direction, you will soon be able to move from simple programs to more powerful ones. And greatly improve your artistic skills. The main thing is not to be afraid of the transition from paper to computer.