Digital art for beginners – what you need to know to get started.

So, traveler; you want to become a digital artist? It’s the same journey that I am on, so perhaps we can help one another. Grab a beverage and take a seat with me at the fire. We have much to discuss. There are many roads you might take, and many magical items that might be useful on your journey. In this here scroll, there is valuable information for beginners on this digital art path.

Choosing your gear – Digital art for beginners

First, let us talk about the equipment you might need to adventure in these lands…

Main and Off hand – drawing tablets

A good weapon is important. It will become a trusted companion more than a tool. A drawing tablet will be essential to your adventure in making digital art. There are three types: screenless pen tablets, pen displays, and stand-alone/all-in-one devices.

You’ll want something with good pressure sensitivity. Tilt recognition is also a plus though not something you might use much as a beginner. Express keys can be really convenient but are not essential.

Recommended graphics tablet for beginners:

Screenless pen tablets are the most affordable item to grab if you are wanting to get into digital art. For some, it can take some getting used to with these. Looking at your main monitor while drawing on a different surface can take a while to get the hang of, but quickly enough it becomes second nature. Patience and practice.

Short of coin?

Perhaps you spent a little too much of your coin at the tavern last night before visiting the weapon merchant. Or maybe you’re a young adventurer who simply hasn’t had the opportunity to acquire much gold yet. Fear not, there are affordable weapons that will serve beginners to digital art well in starting their journey.

I began with a 4×5″ Wacom Graphire3. It might be a bit small, but that size would be enough to get you started. If possible though, I’d recommend something slightly bigger though like XP-Pen’s Deco Mini 7 for $50. It’s one of the options in my 5 Drawing Tablets under $100 post along with the two above.

Also consider second-hand marketplaces. You might be able to find a good used tablet in your area at a bargain price. I recently found and tested a 15 year old second-hand Intuos 3. You can find the review here.

Recommended Graphic Displays for Digital Art

Some beginners to digital art might find it easier to start by drawing directly on to a screen. Though if you have trouble with keeping good posture at your desk, a screenless tablet may be a better option for you.

Be sure to check what ports your computer needs for these and that you have them. Getting suitable adapters can be a bit of a troublesome gamble if you don’t have the correct ports. Note that these MUST be plugged in to a computer to work. There are Mobile Studio options from Wacom but they are costly and not recommended for beginners.

You can see some more affordable digital drawing display tablets from XP-Pen here.

Recommended Stand-alone Drawing tablet

If portability is key, or if you don’t have a computer for digital art, and a limited budget, these two devices are great options.

On your belt – Digital art apps for beginners

On your belt, you may carry a few different software options depending on how you work and the type of art you want to create. And also the type of device you carry.

Adobe’s Creative Cloud (Windows, MacOS) with programs like Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign is often considered the industry standard. Their programs come with a wide tool set and great functionality. For absolute beginners to digital art, it’s not necessary to go with this, but great if you can and intend to do this professionally.

Clip Studio Paint (Win, MacOS, iOS, Android) is another great option that you can draw, paint and animate in. The EX version which has the animation tools does cost a bit more but you can give the free trial a bash and see if it has what you need. Clip Studio Paint is also available for Android devices, so if you have an Android tablet, it’s one to consider.

Procreate (iOS) is one of the best options if you are using an iPad. At only $10, you are getting a highly powerful app that you can use for digital painting and animation as well.
I got myself a 2020 iPad Pro (review here) and have been using Procreate on it for a little while. Definitely recommend this as the first thing you download if you grab yourself an iPad.

If you are a beginner to Procreate, head over to this post for some tutorials and finding your way around.

Free drawing software options?

You might have decided to put all your coin into your chosen weapon. There are some drawing apps you can get freely to strap to your belt. And just because they are free, doesn’t mean you won’t be able to create great work with them.

Take a look at Krita for PC, Medibang for mobile, and Autodesk Sketchbook for both (EDIT: Medibang and Sketchbook are in the process of changing to paid options). More on these briefly in my 5 free drawing apps for PC and mobile post.

I’ll cover Krita in a separate post soon, because for PC, I think this is a great free option that you can use for digital painting and animation as well.

For animation and 3D, just go straight over to Blender. Here you can do 3D modeling, sculpting, rigging, and animation. It’s open-source and free. Also take a look at 6 Free Animation Apps for Computer post.

Backpack – Your computing device

Unless your weapon of choice is an all-in-one/stand-alone tablet that fits in your backpack, you’ll need to consider the specs of your desktop computer.

There are some recommended specs for doing digital art on a PC/Laptop. You definitely want to aim higher than the system requirements of the software you intend to use. Artist, Aaron Rutten, actually has all this well covered in his Optimizing Your Computer For Digital Art post. Give that a read if you are wondering if your current computer is going to cut it, or if you might need to consider upgrading some components.

Gaining XP – Learning digital art

As important as having a good weapon is knowing how to use it.

There are varied opinions about going down the road of online learning or through brick and mortar art schools. I won’t get into that here but what I can say is that you most definitely can pursue a career in art through online learning. In this industry, your portfolio determines your fate.

So if you choose to learn from the wealth of online resources and pixels wizards offering their knowledge, here are some you might want to look into…

Schoolism

Schoolism has an excellent range of online courses and workouts for both traditional and digital art. If you are a total beginner wrestling with stick figure zombies, or a seasoned professional wanting to learn something new, Schoolism is a great pick. Twice a year they run a sale, slashing their price for an annual subscription to $200. That is a really amazing price for getting lessons from some of the entertainment art industry’s top artists.

SVSLearn

You’re probably aware of Inktober and Jake Parker who is part of the team behind SVSLearn and the 3-Point Perspective Podcast, together with Will Terry and Lee White. Collectively they have published well over 50 books, and have all taught at university level. There’s just shy of 100 different courses available there by different instructors. If you are completely new to drawing and wanting to go into children’s book illustration, you might want to follow their Foundation curriculum that takes you from the basics right through to the business end of things.

You can also get a 30-free trial of their courses.

Proko

Though the courses and videos here primarily use traditional materials, they cover the fundamentals that are just as essential for beginners to digital art. They apply to drawing both with a pencil and a stylus.

Proko also has a great youtube channel with PLENTY of content available freely to help you learn, much of it cut from the premium content. This post has the full list and links to those videos.

If you are trying out a bunch of different things trying to see what you like, you might want to consider a platform like Skillshare. There you will find lessons of varying length covering a wide range of different topics.

Free resources to help you sharpen your skills

DrawABox “…is a set of free exercise-based lessons that focus on the fundamentals – the skills you’ll need to make sense of all the other resources and tutorials out there.” There is also a large community and Discord channel where you can push another and get feedback.

CtrlPaint is another great free resource with a library of relatively short videos to help you learn the basics of digital painting and traditional drawing. So if you have zero drawing experience, then this offers a good starting point.

Youtube has a bunch of really good channels with useful tutorials and tips for beginners coming in to digital art. Definitely check out Sinix Design and look up the artists that inspire you; they may well have a channel where you can get more insight in to their process. Many also have valuable things to share on maintaining good mental health, how the industry works, product reviews etc.

Some of my favourites are: Adam Duff/Lucidpixul, Proko, Trent Kaniuga,  Ahmed Aldoori, Lightbox Expo, Jake Parker, Dave Greco,  Aaron Blaise, FDZSchool, BoroCG, and Bobby Chiu.

Finding Inspiration

Inspiration seldom strikes like lightning randomly upon you while you sit waiting. Action comes before inspiration.

Many of us feel inspired by the games we play, the books we read, place we visit, movies we watch etc. Try to really unpack what it is in those moments that really captures you. Maybe it’s the story, the design of the weapons, the lighting scenarios and colour palettes.

Here are some inspiring movie art books you might want to consider for your shelf.

Another big thing that inspires me is watching how my artistic heroes paint. The ImagineFX channel has a whole lot of these much longer painting process videos as well, from a range of artists such as Karla Ortiz, Daniel Bolling, and Luisa Preissler.

Podcasts are also excellent source of inspiration to have in the background while you paint. Check out the long list of artist interviews that Bobby Chiu from Schoolism has done on his Youtube Channel. Also take a look at 3-Point Perspective by SVSLearn, and the Artstation podcast.

Earning coin…

This can be a challenging part of the journey, and depending on the type of adventurer you are, you’ll acquire coin in different ways. For some, you may join an order that has regular need of your skills. Some might prefer to be creative mercenaries, while others might consider themselves more to be traveling merchants.

Perhaps down the line after you’ve been doing this for a little bit, and while you keep sharpening those skills, you might look at some ways to earn some money as an artist. There are a few options that involve client commissions and uploading to print-on-demand sites.

Commissions: FiverrFiverr and Ko-fi

Print-on-Demand: INPRNT (best option for art prints), Society6, and Teepublic

Before you depart…

Finally. Art is no easy journey. Choosing this as a career is madness. There will be days where self-doubt cripples you; days where it feels like you are just making no progress, and success continues to elude you. There will be days where the world around you seems a total mess, absent of silver linings. You will want to drop your sword, toss your hands up, wave that white flag…

But then there will be those days when someone wants to own something you made. Days when an idea flows out your head, through your hands, onto the digital canvas, and turns out better than you were expecting. There will be days where, that pose you’ve been struggling with, or that clunky animation you’ve been working on for several nights in a row now, will finally come right. Ah, sweet, sweet victory, and the best night of sleep you will have had up until that point. Only to get up the next day and head back to the front line that is your desk and do it all over again. But you know what, there’s probably nowhere else you’d rather be, and that, your creative madness, is exactly what the world needs.

I do hope you found this digital art for beginners post helpful for you to start your journey with confidence and enthusiasm. Cheers!

Full Disclosure: This post does contain some affiliate links, and so, should you happen to purchase through them, I may earn a small commission. This doesn’t impact your purchase in any way, but it does go a long way in helping me to continue writing content here for you and bringing this site closer to my grand vision for it.