7 Jul 2017, 16:59

Hi Marsha. I think there are a lot of approaches you can take in learning how to draw and paint digitally. Some might benefit from following tutorials and classes right away, some might benefit from just playing around at first. My advice would be to keep things simple. I think doing digital doodles is a good approach to take. I wouldn't necessarily pressure yourself to absolutely do one a day though. Play around with simple pieces and don't put a lot of pressure on yourself. Familiarize yourself with the tools slowly as you go.

If you find you are ready to follow tutorials or classes, I know they offer a few here at svs. Ctrl + Paint also offers some free short videos on digital painting. https://www.ctrlpaint.com/library/

Copying other artist's work might also be a good way to go so you can focus more on getting comfortable with digital painting, rather than designing something.

Some practical advice I can offer for you to try out now:

  1. When you are drawing (as opposed to painting) play around with the stabilization feature in Clip Studio. Using stabilization might give you more control over your drawings. If you switch over to painting after completing your drawing, turn the stabilization off, as you don't need the same control for painting as you do for drawing and it will make painting easier.

  2. Start with a loose sketch. When you are happy with it, turn down the opacity so the sketch is lighter, create a new layer over it and make a more refined sketch.

Do you have some of your digital paintings you could share here? I would love to see them, and we might be able to offer you additional advice after seeing what you've done.