Just Draw It, Issue #10 -- Time to Go Digital?
Sept 02, 2008

We're all using computers more and more. The art lessons for DrawingCoach.com are viewed on a computer, this newsletter is delivered by and eventually read on a computer, so wouldn't it make sense to start to explore making art on the computer as well?

Drawing on the Computer

You're probably very aware that computers are used to create all kinds art these days, from special effects in movies to computer games, airbrushing photographs, and comic books, but how does this apply to you and more specifically, your drawings?

To get into drawing on the computer the first thing you're going to need to get is some software. There are some free programs out there and I've listed them on the site. The free drawing software these days is actually really good, perhaps even better than some of the popular commercial (meaning you have to pay for it) software that was out just a few years ago.

To create art and specifically drawings on the computer you're probably going to want to also get a drawing tablet. Unfortunately, these are not free, but they have really come down in price over the past few years and you can get a really good one for under $100 that should last you for a very long time.

To find out more about getting a tablet and what you can expect it to do for you I've written a guide to getting your very first tablet. You'll learn what things to look for and specifically which brand buy to make sure that creating art on the computer is as painless as possible.

What's the Difference Between Digital and Traditional Drawing?

The more experienced that you are as an artist, the more comfortable you will be with your tools and part of achieving this level of comfort is becoming familiar with the feel of them, how they move across the page and how they feel in your hand. If this sounds a little over the top, don't worry. I guarantee that if you continue drawing you will get to a point where the feel of paper will actually become important to you just as the brand of pencil that you use and your favorite eraser become cherished tools.

Personally, I had a real problem when I started to try drawing digitally. There's a certain roughness in traditional art that you just can't mimic on the computer...

...or at least that's what I thought until recently.

After doing some digging online and in tutorial files I was able to get a very convincing and natural looking pencil stroke on the computer.

This was a breakthrough moment for me, because before that, the computer always felt a little bit too cold and refined, like the difference between the feel of paper and feel of plastic.

Well, I'm very happy to report that even after all these years of being a digital artist I finally fallen in love with drawing on the computer. To take a look at one of the very first drawings that I've done you can watch the new how to draw a horse video lesson that is now live on the website.

As you watch the drawing process ask yourself the question, "Isn't it about time that I try drawing on the computer?"

That's it for now. Look for more cool digital drawings in the near future!

Yours truly,

Mitch Bowler
http://www.drawingcoach.com