Artists, can I ask you something?

[migxmeg]

Thank you for smashing today's batch of self doubt demons <3.

I've tried but I'm a super tactile artist! I end up getting frustrated with the brushes in clip/apple pencil combo if I want them to be something they're not. The other problem is I can't visualize lighting/shadows/color in my head so without a model it would probably be pretty nasty-looking .

[jjfresh]

No.

kidding, anyway
I slowly converted to digital because of convenience and really, there's so much power with digital. Of course you can do the same stuff with skill on paper, but it's really becoming the norm to incorporate some digital into your work (most manga artists have been converting to digital with some exceptions)

I still like everything to be my work, even if I use 3d software of such as a short cut. For example my comic,

The building is clearly 3d and used as a "shortcut" in these pages and other pages where I trace it. But I made this building myself in a 3d program.

This is what digital allows us to do. Can make things easier or more interesting.

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This was how I first started using digital when I was about 90/10 traditional. (I did something way back when too but I can't find that old old stuff)

Then it became 10/90. I still draft by hand most of the time.

[BrambleberrySquirrel]

I’m pretty new to art in general. I only started drawing back in April of this year. I started out doing the free Draw A Box online class in traditional ink and paper. I did that for about a month before I figured out that digital was the way I wanted to go. I feel like I was really lucky to get into digital art when I did because the combo of software and hardware options along with learning resources available right now is just amazing.

Here is the very first page of my comic.

And here is the most recent panel I’ve published.

I’m still learning. But I feel like I’m gradually getting better at this.

[migxmeg]

That's the fastest "gradual" I've ever seen, haha. Awesome progress!

[oshirockingham]

2014:

2020:

[BrambleberrySquirrel]

Thanks! There are still a lot of things I struggle to draw, but I’m a fast learner I guess. And like everybody else I’m my own worst critic. I think digital drawing tools really help decrease the difficulty level when it comes to the learning curve of teaching yourself how to draw.

[BrambleberrySquirrel]

This is an awesome level of improvement on just about everything!

[oshirockingham]

I need 6 years though

[Schwarze_Neko]

Sure thing ^^ You're in luck because one of the first digital drawings I've made is of the same character as my latest

First:

Latest:

[HGohwell]

So I don't have any from the absolute start but I do have some from pretty early on when I go my first tablet. I did stuff with a mouse on the school computers with photoshop before and a lot of work and traditional stuff so I have a pretty solid staring point. And I did a lot of drawing traditionally and then scanning the sketch, which really helps the transition.

This is from 2015 when I go my first tablet.

And my latest in a roughly similar style.

[BrambleberrySquirrel]

You should be proud of your progress no matter how long it took!

[frgmnt]

I've been drawing on paper for pretty much all of my life, but began doing digital art (sort of) nine years ago. With a mouse, because I had no way of getting a tablet at the time. I was mostly coloring my scanned drawings, but sometimes doodled with the mouse too. It was all seriously straining my wrist though

(this is one such doodle from 2015)

I bought a tablet (to be specific, a cheap-ass second hand wacom lol) a year ago and it was surprisingly difficult for me to get used to it... it felt so completely different from drawing on paper. Ironically, my tablet sketches were worse than some of my old mouse drawings.
Took me around four months to even begin getting comfortable with it, and it took a whole year before I felt I could draw with a tablet the same as on paper. But I still prefer drawing on paper in some ways tbh (though I don't do it much recently). It was a long and arduous journey, but I'm glad I have not given up!

One of my first tablet drawings...

Part of my recent work (WIP)

[ButterflyEmpress]

This is one of the oldest digital drawings I have. It was before I had a tablet, so I'd draw in MS Paint with either a mouse or a laptop track pad.

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I got a drawing tablet and paint tool sai back in 2014. The thing that I find most difficult about digital drawing is line art. I still heavily rely on a stabilizer. I don't know how artist can do without one.

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This is where I'm at now. I use CSP now and I still have the same tablet, plus an iPad for drawing on the go. I think the iPad is a lil more slippery than a tablet, but it's quick to get used to and they also have screen protectors that mimic paper if it helps. I kinda prefer the iPad more since I can draw directly on the screen, but I still need a stabilizer.

[Freemints30]

My start

Where I am now

[lynestjules]

I had just finished my first year of college and was still new to it. My roommate who was a classmate of mine was very talented and she taught me a lot about digital painting on Photoshop, since it's not something we covered in Photoshop class. I studied art, animation & web design.

I think this is the first digitally coloured piece. But, the drawing itself was done in my sketchbook. (Photoshop, 2004)

This is the first fully digital piece I did. It's one of the draft designs of the Winter castle for my current comic series.(Photoshop, 2005)

And this is my latest piece from this month. The cover for the newest chapter of my comic series.(Clip Studio Paint, 2020)

[Candlebite]

Oh... wayyyyyyyyy back around 2012 -2014
Not my first though, my first digital picture was... VERY badly drawn before getting used to it.

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my current Art

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Yeah theyre the same characters from my comic Devoured World; Neon & Regi (and V who i just ended up fusing his character into Regi) just designed better.
The initial idea for the story was Waay different back then

[artamazon]

2002 - not my oldest digital art, but what I can find right now.

2020- only a mere 18 years later, lol.

[krissyhalo]

I really started digital art last year. So here's comparing a piece I did back in November and a comic piece that I've done fairly recently. The comic strip is supposed to come out the first Sunday of November, but I might as well share it so that you can see how much progress I've made in the past year.

Honestly, I'd really like to get a better handle on anime human anatomy. Chibi anatomy is really easy to get my mind around but human anatomy is a different story. I also want to learn more about effects in Clip Studio Paint too. That'd be a lot of fun!

[amthecomic]

I started drawing digitally two times. The first time was with one pretty trashy drawing tablet linked to my old laptop which needed an hour to process the most minimalistic things. I was 15 years old back than and it was a true pain in the ass.
This is one character sheet I did back than.

Now 6 years later tablets have evolved a lot, so I started again this march by drawing my first webcomic. Here are some of the first panels.

The comic is gonna be finished soon. Its so satisfying to see how the progress over the few months!

[joannekwan]

I got my first tablet in 2008
and here was a drawing from 2009 (thanks fb for keeping this lol)

And then over ten years later on the same tablet that I still use to this day

The biggest improvement digitally is just getting more confident with lines basically. Both pieces were done in Photoshop without any sort of line stabilizer. Also over the years I gained a stronger grasp of colors (from self-study) and anatomy (from college classes).