Improving Tablet Skills

[Inumo]

When I work on a computer, I usually use a tablet to do my drawing since it's a bit closer to what I do normally. Only thing is, I end up changing how I draw when I make the switch, which I doubt is beneficial to the end-quality. However, I like the resultant style of the digital art, so I'm not too sure what I should do... Anyways, here are two samples, one of each way I'll do digital art.



This originated as this:



On the computer, I traced the lines, then painted in the insides. She was going to have rosy cheeks (that darker area near the eye), but I forgot to do it when I first finished and decided that she looked feminine without them anyway (that was the main reason I originally added them in).



This one, I did wholly on the computer. I started by drawing line art (with a too-thick brush, but that's beside the point), then drawing in the color and getting nice clean lines under the line art, then removing the line art to finish.

In terms of tools, I use a Wacom Bamboo tablet and Photoshop CS3. Any suggestions on how to improve my abilities with art?

Side-note: I did my avatar with the same methodology of the bungirl, but I worked off a really huge picture so I could stay closer to my pencil-drawing style without it looking really messy. As such, I don't think it counts.

[Alteisentier]

If you want to improve your tablet skills in specific, I'm afraid the only real way to do this is just to draw a lot. Drawing with a tablet at first can be quite difficult, since you're eyes and your hands are in different places, but after a bit of practice it starts to feel like a second nature. The only way to get better with this is simply to use your tablet every day, practice with it, mess with different line lengths, play with the different pen tools.

There really isn't a guide to improving with a tablet outside of practice; sadly this is how art in general works.

As for improving art specifically, the most effective and best way to do this is pull out a sketch pad, or take one around with you. And simply draw things from real life. A major flaw people have with learning to draw is they try to imitate a style, such as mange, or cartoons, or even just the furry art they see around. This can work, slowly. But you can save your self a lot of trouble by practicing how to draw real life objects from many angles. The point here being is it's particularly hard to learn via your imagination. So if you want to improve and develop, sketching people, plants, what's outside your window, what's on the desk. Anything will help you get better.

It also never hurts to get a book or two on anatomy and learn from those.

[WhiteFox]

What kind of Bamboo Tablet? There's, like, half a dozen models.

One thing I'll say about a tablet is that, in my opinion and personal experience, it makes a very poor pencil or pen. Well, it makes an okay pencil if you're scrubbing with it. It makes an excellent brush, however. I think of my digital work as painting rather then drawing.

If your tablet has the Radial Menu function, definitely make use of it (I'm not sure what what model of tablet you have).

Again IMHO, what makes a tablet superior to a mouse is the pressure sensitivity. This can be used to vary a brush in size, opacity, flow, or whatnot.

As for my opinion on learning to use Photoshop:
-Learn to use keyboard shortcuts, especially the hotkeys for the tools you use most. (EG: B for the brush, G for the fill tool, etc). Not having to move your cursor away from the spot you're working on saves time. Maybe only a fraction of a second, but if you're switching tools constantly it adds up.
-Learn the modifier keys for tools. On a Mac, holding down the Option key while using the brush or fill tool will temporarily switch to the eyedropper. Holding down Shift while using a selection tool will add to a selection you've already made, while holding down option will subtract. The list goes on.
-Learn the settings your tools. Particularly, opacity and flow for the brush, and Sample All Layers for the eyedropper and magic wand tool.
-Learn to use Layers. Some people work with dozens of layers per image, some use only a few. I'm one of the latter.
-Learn to use Layers!

My advice for improvement would be as follows:
-Practice. Every day. No exceptions.
-Draw from real life. I don't know if life drawing on a tablet is as effective as with on paper, but I wouldn't be surprised. (Life drawing is more about learning how to see then it is about how to draw.)
-Don't be afraid to make mistakes, don't play it safe. In fact, the more you make, the better. Go make a mess, fool around, see what happens.

If you see me in chat, feel free to ask about anything. I'll help you as I'm able.

[Turnsky]

it feels like deja-vu all over again, buuuuut...

"Tools make not the artist."
Pencil, brush, felt nib, stylus, biro, quill.


it matters not what the tool one uses, but how one uses it. you might be under the impression, whitefox that a tablet makes a poor substitute for a pencil or pen. It is nothing more than a tool, like the pencil, it's the hand that uses it, that gives form to something.

or need i remind you of your own tentative adventures with a dip pen so far? or the last time we had a discussion like this?

practice does make perfect, certainly, but do remember that you're not exactly perfect yourself, then again, neither am i. It'd be conceited for either of us to think otherwise. I've waded into an inking discussion before, and shown that it's possible to not only ink with something nobody normally thinks of, but do it effectively.

Think on that.

[Inumo]

What kind of Bamboo Tablet? There's, like, half a dozen models.

The standard version...

By the way, thanks for all of the suggestions for improvement. Never thought to realize that the imagination can only teach so much... XP

[WhiteFox]

The standard version...

Bamboo Pen and Touch, then? Hm.

That multi-touch thing looks interesting. I wonder if there's a way you could use it to, I dunno, change brush settings.

By the way, thanks for all of the suggestions for improvement. Never thought to realize that the imagination can only teach so much... XP

My Imagination is the only thing that got me anywhere.

The one reason I started drawing comics was that I had ideas, and that the only way for me to realize these ideas was to write and draw them. If I asked someone else to do it for me, it wouldn't come out just the way I wanted it. So, I'm trying to learn what I have to learn, in order for me to be able to what I want to do.

My imagination has always been my driving force. If I imagine a character, I must learn to draw figures. If I want him to express, I must learn to draw expressions. If I imagine a tale of grand proportions, I must learn to tell tales. I'll learn to draw things that can't be seen if I have to; empty space, lengths of time, weight, movement, sound. Whatever it takes.

I don't imagine I'll be slowing down any time soon.

Anyway... good luck.

[Inumo]

The standard version...

Bamboo Pen and Touch, then? Hm.

That multi-touch thing looks interesting. I wonder if there's a way you could use it to, I dunno, change brush settings.

Not the pen and touch, just the pen. It was sold as the standard bamboo, though; I got it from Newegg about a year to a year and a half ago. Probably an older model.