I want to learn how to draw. Should I start digitally or traditionally?

[azzy-m]

Personally, I'd say start traditionally. Mostly because you can really get a grasp of anatomy when you can see the entire space you're drawing in, as opposed to digital art where more often than not you'd be zooming in a lot. Even just simple pen and paper is fine for practice.

If you really want to start with digital, then you most likely don't have a drawing tablet. You can save up for one - the ones that aren't screen tablets (like a Wacom Intuos - I've had mine for about 5 years now) are pretty cheap. Until then, you can practice digital art using your phone (ibispaint X is free on the playstore and I beeeelieve the app store, my friends use it and they've had nothing but praise about it). Using your finger to draw is wayyyy different than using a stylus to draw, but I think it's a nice place to start if you don't necessarily have the specs for drawing just yet

Haha, I haven't been doing comics nor digital art nearly as long as the people here (only started comics last year and I've only been doing digital art for realsies 6 years ago) so I'm not sure what else to say. Good luck in starting your comic!

[AmandaJ-art]

I recommend McKay and Gray. They have many YouTube videos on comics. They have two 100 days of making comics playlists.

It's always good to practice drawing traditionally. Practice anatomy, perspective, e.c.t. There are many great tutorials on YouTube for beginners on that.

I make my comics using Clip Studio Paint. It's a pretty good programm for comics. It has tools to make panels and add effects. There's also a free programm called Krita. It's really good for being free.
I'd recommend getting a tablet for digital art. There are many tablets out there. Wacom is the most popular one. I'd recommend doing some research before buying a tablet!

[MasterValkyrie]

How much physical space do you have and what are your hoarding habits?

Physical space is limited but I am a very organized person.

If you have better organizational skills digitally (files, templates, folders) then try that first. You would ideally need to invest in a tablet of some sort or a pen-accepting touch screen.

Although my IRL organization aren't bad, my digital organization skills is way better. Also originally I put "no budget" like a numpty. I really meant that money is not an issue and I'm willing to buy anything needed. So do you have any recommendations for tablets and art programs?

[MasterValkyrie]

First, do you already have access to a tablet?

No. But I can get one.

I would suggest looking at what free art programs are available to you and start to familiarize yourself with them.

Any suggestions? A few people recommended I start with Medibang Paint.

It will force you to draw page after grueling page

Sounds scary. I like it!

[darthmongoose]

The best medium to start in is one where you can do a little bit each day, analyse what you've drawn to look for areas to improve, and try again and again without feeling pressure to make every drawing perfect. So for me, a cheap sketchpad or a bunch of printer paper, a mechanical pencil (doesn't need sharpening, not messy and the line weight is always consistent) and a nice big eraser are the best tools for starting out.
It is good to get some familiarity with digital tools, because you will want to learn them eventually, but when working digitally, it's really easy to get swept up in effects and fancy rendering before you've mastered your basics; things like pen control, volumes, perspective and line of action. Keep things simple first, even though it will mean your early work isn't shiny looking and instagram-ready, it will definitely pay off later if you have a real understanding of how to draw things like mass before you start shading that mass with fancy brushes.

[nostalgicroxas]

I have very little physical space, so the tablet I bought is suuuuper small from Wacom back in 2006 or something. It's a 4"x6" tablet, one of their Graphire models. I have used it for years and have honestly no need to "upgrade" to a larger tablet. I've used a variety of programs, some claiming to replicate traditional art more or better than others. I end up with a combination of using Paint.NET (a freeware application) and Paint Tool SAI (version 1 so it doesn't have the ability to add text and such, thus why I use Paint.NET).
Lots of my art buddies swear that Huion is becoming a decent tablet brand. And my friends are mystified that I can work with such a small tablet lol I'm like "do you not know how to use zoom on the computer?" SAI can zoom in easily to +3000% on a single pixel sooooo lol I dunno what they're complaining about. Recently a lot have been saying the tablets that are a screen+tablet as one are fantastic, but those can cost over 800$ easily and almost all are like the size of a TV. Heavy and bulky. I rest my tablet on my lap and can use it with any monitor my PC/laptop's hooked up to. Weighs nothing and is super easy to store.

[GesuGesu]

Traditional. The skills you learn from traditional drawing, such as pencil pressure, line strokes, etc. can transfer fairly easily to digital, but it's a bit harder to do it the other way around. You might find yourself drawing traditionally one day and wondering why you're pressing nonexistent buttons to undo a mistake!

[MasterValkyrie]

You might find yourself drawing traditionally one day and wondering why you're pressing nonexistent buttons to undo a mistake!

Not gonna lie, that definitely sounds like something I would do.

[nostalgicroxas]

To be fair, there's nothing like the agony of realizing you're past the threshold of the Undo button and have drawn everything on the wrong layer.

[kmlangleyauthor]

there's nothing like the agony of realizing you're past the threshold of the Undo button and have drawn everything on the wrong layer.

It’s not just me!! that is the freaking worst feeling ever

I definitely think traditional first is the way to go. You’ll need all the skills from traditional for digital, anyway. In my personal experience, the digital learning curve is pretty steep, but more for things like switching out brushes and learning the best colors etc. Having the foundation definitely helped, though.

I use my iPad (which I already had) and ibisPaintx as well as a stylus I got on amazon for less than $30. I know you said budget wasn’t a problem, but it’s also okay to start on digital with simple options, kind of like how @nostalgicroxas was saying to start drawing on printer paper. It doesn’t have to be the best of the best. Because what really matters is that you start

[Legendofgenii]

What are you wanting to draw and with what media? Have you drawn anything before or literally just starting out?

[MasterValkyrie]

@Legendofgenii It's an Action/Fantasy webtoon. And at the moment I can only draw stick figures. Lol.

[Legendofgenii]

I see, then I would do lots and lots of life drawing - you could go to a class or there are a few Youtube tutorials online. I've had many years of life drawing lessons and I still struggle, but get better and better the more I practice.

My comic is fantasy themed too. I've recently had to buy a sword and bow because I like to make my own reference pics (not just an excuse to buy an awesome sword and bow).

[Hazumirein]

For learning to draw in general, traditional is probably best to start, and has a much lower barrier to entry. You can work wonders with cheap pencils and printer paper or notebooks--no need to spend a bunch of money on fancy art supplies. (i.e. I drew this a few months ago on a piece of printer paper with a cheap mechanical pencil whilst bored at work: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OyrK6e)

However, digital does offer some advantages if you want to get yourself a tablet and some art software. I don't have much input on beginner tablets anymore, but there are plenty of free and cheap art programs out there. Personally I think for comics, you get the most for your money out of Clip Studio Paint since it has a lot of built in comic making tools. Digital allows for use of layers and an undo button, which does make it easier to fix mistakes and make edits.

In either case though, the most important thing is practice. Anyone can learn to draw, but you have to be willing to put the work in. A lot of people will insist you learn anatomy and fundamentals first, but while you should spend some time with those things, they do get pretty tedious so don't be afraid to just have a go at drawing whatever you like. It probably won't be good the first time, but by the tenth time or the fiftieth you draw that thing it'll look a lot better. Otherwise, I can't recommend using reference enough, whether it's photos or work from other artists you admire (just don't like, plagiarize it and call it your own). And finally, making a comic as actually one of the best ways to practice art because it forces you to draw consistently and challenge yourself, so that's also highly recommended once you get a grasp on the basics!

[Freemints30]

Really I started traditionally, but I wasn't able to upload anything due to having no decent scanner. Really just old printer paper, number 2 pencils and maybe if I'm feeling fancy, pencil crayons are appropriate enough to just start with and they cost absolutely nothing. That's the advantage, low cost of entry, and easier to see the full picture.

For digital, you can upload you drawings to social media much easier without a scanner and you get to learn alot of difficult to grip with aspects to digital art early. The problem is the cost is a lot higher. My digital tablet is a cheap Huion 420, so nothing fancy here. And yes medi Bang is an excellent starter program, free and perfect for comic making. There's also fire alpaca and krita. The issue is when you first learn digital art, it gets tempting to use ALL the effects and texture available, without any understanding. That's fine it helps you learn, but just know that looking back at your old art would be an eyesore tour.

Another thing, since you just starting out, you will rapidly improve especially if your doing a comic. So a page 12 would look vastly improved from a page 1, so just make a short comic to begin and finish and not worry too much about how different the 1st and last page looks, its normal. There's alot of youtube videos online to help you with certain art programs so its a good idea to watch them, probably even when your drawing. I find them relaxing.

[Mira_Astralis]

Traditional! Definitely! Personally, i started with tradit. and it helps so much with digital afterwards, you dont hv to focus on all the cool features and drawing correctly. And you can always gradually start digital-ify-ing your art, like drawing a sketch and coloring it in your software of choice.

for digital art, MedibangPaint is awesome! It comes for free on phone and computers, and iti has a pretty cool community, with tons of art already on it, and they do a ton of contests for motivation, XD.

Hv fun!
Mira

(also, McKay and Gray is a GODSEND, i learned so much just by watching their videos.)

[sistergirl88]

I agree, traditional is best way to learn if you are just starting out.

[WOSTR]

For me, both.
You can make steady progress in both formats, see what feels right and don't have to set aside time to practice the other.
I'm still at stage 1 in both area's though.

[BreakingChalk]

Start with traditional as you have more control on what you want to draw and what you actually draw.
Once you've build up some confidence start digital; you'll notice it's harder to make your hand draw what you want to draw, so start with the basics and be constant (don't get let down if it takes you time to properly draw digital, it always happens).

[Rhonder]

I generally agree with the "Start with traditional" advice repeated a lot in this thread so far! The easiest way to start learning the basics is definitely to just grab a pencil and some paper and go at it. Look up basic how to videos and articles on the internet, ask questions here if you have them, etc.

However! I think in your situation you could probably make the jump to digital a little faster than a lot of artists who started younger tbh. Since you have the means to get the equipment and software needed, and already have a specific end result in mind (webcomics), I do think you could probably make the jump to digital once you feel comfortable with the basics. It feels, to me at least, similar to when I made the jump into marker art as a kid- once I wanted to start getting more "serious" about art in middle school (lol!) I invested in some art markers and started learning those tools in addition to continuing to learn about drawing in general. In this case it's more the learning curve of how drawing on a tablet differs from drawing on paper and the tools that your art program has at its disposal.

When you decide to finally get a tablet for the digital drawing I would definitely recommend looking into a screen tablet if money isn't an issue. The wacom varients (cintique line & etc.) is really nice but really expensive. I use a Huion Kamvas GT-191 personally which is a little more affordable and has served me well the last... 2 years I guess I've had it. Drawing on a screen like that isn't exactly like drawing on paper, but it's much much closer compared to the non-screen tablets. I used one of those sparingly for years and you definitely get used to it but it's definitely another hurdle to overcome. I've heard lots of good things about drawing on ipads with Procreate (software) as well, but I'm not sure if that software is well equipped to handle comics tbh... someone with more experience might be able to speak on the matter.