How do you draw on Photoshop with only a mouse and a keyboard?

realSean_Murphy 2016-09-20 03:52:55 UTC #1

I'm eager to draw but I don't have anything to draw on, much less draw with at the moment.
I got a mouse and keyboard, are there any tutorials out there I could try?

joannekwan 2016-09-20 04:01:07 UTC #2

You could use the polygonal lasso tool to craft shapes and fill them/brush in with color. And then do a few brush strokes with the mouse for added detail. It's how I do some of my illustration work.

scythe 2016-09-20 04:50:06 UTC #3

Long story short, you don't.

Quinineer 2016-09-20 04:53:03 UTC #4

While I don't use Photoshop, I do use a mouse in Paint Tool Sai. Although I can't get pressure on the lines, it's doable. Just use your mouse and draw like you would with a pencil, while looking at the screen and colour/shade the normal way.

JessJackdaw 2016-09-20 05:10:35 UTC #5

I would honestly invest in a cheap drawing tablet you can find ones for $50 or so. Or if you've got an iPad or something similar you can install drawing apps on it.

But if you really want to go the mouse route. I'd suggest getting used to vectors and the pen tool. They'll look cleaner and it's hard to get different line widths, but the results look stellar. Or you can go with the poly lasso like @joannekwan did. XD

Shanny8 2016-09-20 05:20:15 UTC #6

It can be done, but I'd just advise against it. That is the quickest way to get carpal tunnel or tendinitis.

ReroOnyx 2016-09-20 05:24:30 UTC #7

Here's one of my latest pages and quite literally everything but two points are done in Photoshop. The text bubbles (not the text itself) I ironically just use MS Paint. For me, it's easier getting a circle or oval done there then on Photoshop and I use Inkscape to resize the image. I think it helps with vectoring but that might just be me. Otherwise, everything else, from the lineart, to the line thickness, to the tones, shading, textures, text, layers, image mixing, backgrounds, everything is done in Photoshop using a mouse and a keyboard.

Using a mouse isn't so much practice as it is sensation and feeling. You need to get your hand used to your mouse, just as you need to it get use to your mouse pad and its frankly something that you never fully get used to. Every new day when I first get to drawing, I sometimes just have to move my hand around and get used to the feeling of my mouse and smooth my mouse pad out before I can get into the groove. However once I do, it's easy and simple and the feeling comes naturally.

JessJackdaw 2016-09-20 05:29:37 UTC #8

Oh ahh, just to let you know. If you want an oval in photoshop just use the shape tool drop down and then fill with white and from the layer style menu you can give it a stroke outline! It's whatever you wanna use though.

realSean_Murphy 2016-09-20 06:01:29 UTC #9

I don't have any money much less a job. At the moment I'm homeless because I got evicted last Monday. Right now I'm staying in a shitty hotel with my family. I applied for a local Domino's but I doubt they'll even call to say I've been hired.
My life = Shit

JessJackdaw 2016-09-20 06:08:08 UTC #10

Welp... ;u; Certainly get yourself settled first. Sustainability is more important. BUT definitely look into vectors and pen tool tutorials then. That's where the mouse really shines!

indagold 2016-09-20 14:42:53 UTC #11

My tablet broke once so I scanned drawings in and used the vector tool to finish it. Honestly I wouldn't even draw with a mouse, it's like drawing with a rock. Maybe just wait and save up when you can afford a tablet.

isaacfriedman 2016-09-20 14:46:22 UTC #12

You could draw in pencil, photograph or scan them (maybe your local library has a scanner) and then use your mouse and the paint tool. That's what I do:

shaneoid77 2016-09-20 16:44:09 UTC #13

I did this years ago, and got a good response to my results (see below). If that's what your options are, I'd recommend @isaacfriedman 's advice and hand draw/scan your pictures in. You can then use the pen tool on Photoshop to do the inking, which can get you those curves that you may find difficult with the freehand tools. Flats and airbrushing are also possible with a mouse but as it's been recommended, a tablet would be better all round. Good luck and show us your results!

killersteak 2016-09-21 08:02:21 UTC #14

There's a brush setting that's usually on by default, some kind of spread. Make sure you set that to 0 since that's a contributor to bumpy lines.

ypirouz 2016-09-22 02:38:10 UTC #15

There is also the use of the multiply tool. I learned this trick years ago from a user on Deviant Art--- you can scan your hand-drawings, set the layer to multiply and color via mouse with a layer underneath. As far as drawing on Photoshop with only a mouse, that's what I do. (Poor tablet broke...)

I would keep in mind @Shanny8's advice--- wrist will begin to hurt after a while sticking solely to the mouse to draw.