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Any tips on moving from real-world to digital art?

Anxiety Opossum's Avatar Anxiety Opossum11/4/16 9:37 pm
12/8/2016 2:45 pm
Anxiety Opossum's Avatar Anxiety Opossum
I do a lot of drawing with pencils in my free time, and I've been wanting to get good at digital art for a while. The shaping skills are there, but I have no idea how to do final lines, or coloring. Any tips?

(I use GIMP for the record.)

EDIT: It occurs to me it might be a good idea to give some examples so that I might get some tips based on what I know how to do:
Click to reveal

Posted by Anxiety Opossum's Avatar
Anxiety Opossum
Level 74 : Legendary Pixel Painter
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1
12/08/2016 2:45 pm
Level 74 : Legendary Pixel Painter
Anxiety Opossum
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1
11/09/2016 2:21 pm
Level 74 : Legendary Pixel Painter
Anxiety Opossum
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1
11/07/2016 7:32 am
Level 81 : Elite Witch
Crescendo
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When I switched to digital art I did two things:

1. I invested in a cheap drawing tablet (like £30) I believe it was a Wacom bamboo or something, and it came with a pen and a touch pad but no screen

2. And, even though it came with it's own program, I soon decided to buy Paint Tool SAI as, as I practiced more I realised I needed a better program to make art on (and something less pricey than photoshop)

As you said though, if it's colours you're worried about I must say this just takes a lot of practice really, same way you learnt to draw, you can learn to colour as well, just try to understand how colours work and how to mix them etc.

I am currently however investing in a tablet with a screen as I found it a little difficult without (but these are a lot more expensive), I recommend starting cheap if you can though to see if you like it, and also whilst making digital art don't forget to keep honing your traditional skills
1
11/07/2016 7:13 am
Level 35 : Artisan Artist
Ellie
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When I switched to digital I noticed my art quality dropped so much, I think now the best way to switch is to not go down the route of tutorials and try to be perfect straight away but instead just experiment with what you have, use all the different brush types and just get used to the different way colours work and lines don't want to look straight. You'll end up with a more unique way of drawing than if you followed tutorials and you'll also have a better knowledge Even if it does take longer.
1
11/07/2016 2:47 am
Level 9 : Apprentice Architect
REYN4130
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Ah, yes! I forgot about the WACOM drawing pad. At my school's animation studio where I work, every computer has one. They're great stuff to use and help very much with precision. But seeing as you're more of a tablet-centered artist, like myself, it may not be necessary.
1
11/06/2016 5:42 pm
Level 74 : Legendary Pixel Painter
Anxiety Opossum
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1
11/05/2016 1:28 pm
Level 37 : Artisan Explorer
TastyYoghurt
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Some basic advice that might not be obvious to a traditional artist:

1. Want your lines to be nice? Make your canvas huge, then resize it when you're done. How huge? As huge as your computer can handle. 10000x10000 pixels is probably enough most of the time. This applies to all forms of digital art: always make canvas much, much bigger than the intended resolution.

2. Be prepared to spend some time and effort on getting lines nice and clean. It's doable, but harder than doing it traditionally. gimp doesn't have a stabilizer afaik, but it's ok. Just draw it over and over until it looks the way you want to.

3. How to color: you have a lovely digital thing called "layers". Stick your lineart on the top layer, put the colors on the layer below. There are all sorts of digital tricks that make coloring more efficient, like locking layers and masking auto-selecting areas and other stuff like that. Look into it. Normal workflow for coloring would be: first, make accurate shapes of solid color on separate layers then, second - lock them or put masks on top of them and then try to improve the colors until you get what you want.

4. When working on something, flip it horizontally once in a while (like - a mirror version). It's easy with a digital drawing. It really helps you notice where you messed up and what needs fixing.
1
11/05/2016 9:58 am
Level 66 : High Grandmaster Senpai
Stubbs1
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My best tip when you switch from Real life drawing to Digital consist of two things:

1: Buy a Wacom tablet or buy a tablet from another company. It depends on what suits you. I personally use a Wacome Creative. (Notice: Wacom no longer sells this tablet)

2: Start over. Yes, start drawing small circles, and practice Again. It sucks, but it's worth the wait.
1
11/05/2016 3:11 am
Level 16 : Journeyman Botanist
LinuxViki
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Use bright Colors, In Real-World, that doesnt look good, but when Digital, looks Awsome, Start with something easy and Bright
1
11/04/2016 11:15 pm
Level 39 : Artisan Fish
CHorse
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I recommend using inkscape and working with vectors.
1
11/04/2016 11:51 pm
Level 74 : Legendary Pixel Painter
Anxiety Opossum
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...That's not exactly what I'm talking about. I've done this before, and I'm not really a fan of it.
1
11/04/2016 11:06 pm
Level 15 : Journeyman Dragon
pantherpounce
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When moving from paper to digital drawing, I suggest getting a good tablet you can work with. It helps keep inside guidelines.
1
11/04/2016 11:53 pm
Level 74 : Legendary Pixel Painter
Anxiety Opossum
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Already there!

I've had a Bamboo Splash for quite awhile now, I've just decided to get more serious about it.
1
11/04/2016 10:58 pm
Level 9 : Apprentice Architect
REYN4130
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I myself have converted from paper-pencil to digital. I enjoy the freedom to move things around and edit my work without the trouble of erasing, haha! It's one of my favorite things to do now as well.

If I were to give you any tips, the most important thing is what you're drawing with. For me, I prefer my finger. I can get the most precise lines that way. But everyone's different, so just try different methods. I don't use a stabilizer as I prefer the authentic line that's drawn. Speaking of trying, the App that you choose will differ compared to other Apps, of course. Just find your preference! I use Adobe Ideas and, occasionally, Adobe Draw.

Another thing is practice. Sounds obvious, but it's true! https://plus.google.com/+ReynHonboBMX/posts/ZQaUc4RxXys
1
11/04/2016 11:52 pm
Level 74 : Legendary Pixel Painter
Anxiety Opossum
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Thanks for the tip!

Also, nice art!
1
11/05/2016 2:05 am
Level 9 : Apprentice Architect
REYN4130
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No problemo! Your sketches are on point, by the way! Keep up the good work! LOVE that dog!
1
11/04/2016 10:13 pm
Level 71 : Legendary Alien
sixfootblue
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Do you just have a hard time keeping your lines smooth? I haven't done enough tablet drawing in GIMP to know if it has this feature, but a lot of drawing programs out there have a feature called a stabilizer, which helps keep your lines smooth so you can draw them in one stroke. You can set it to a value you're comfortable with and then you're good to go. Medibang paint has it for sure and I highly recommend it. (It's free and designed with digital drawing in mind)
1
11/04/2016 10:57 pm
Level 74 : Legendary Pixel Painter
Anxiety Opossum
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I've got that down for the most part. It really comes down to not knowing how to color, as I don't use colors often IRL
1
11/05/2016 1:46 am
Level 71 : Legendary Alien
sixfootblue
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Do you mean in regards to shading? Or just colour selection in general.
1
11/05/2016 12:29 pm
Level 74 : Legendary Pixel Painter
Anxiety Opossum
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I'd say it's a bit of both, but more in regards to shading. I know the basics of ambient lighting, and how that affects color, so that's a start.
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