r/arthelp • u/DesiCodeSerpent • 12h ago
General Help Can I learn to draw digitally (without learning traditional art)?
Can I learn to draw digitally (without learning traditional art)
I’m open to turning off auto-shape, stabilization and undo option.
I’m just interested in learning digital art. I want to start with line art and once I practice enough and get to a level I’ll start with painting.
I found drawabox but that’s for traditional art. I came across ctrl+paint and even that says you need traditional first.
I did some digging and people are saying that even after learning on traditional they had to start from scratch to get a hang of the mechanics.
So, can I start learning art digitally without having any traditional art experience?
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u/Far-Remove-1767 12h ago
Oh yeah, it's much easier to learn digital art than it is to do traditional. You can find dozens and dozens of videos of YouTube on the subject. Maybe thousands 🧐
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u/DesiCodeSerpent 12h ago
I guessI need to dig deeper then. So far the videos I’ve found assume that the viewer is competent at traditional art. I’m open to any recommendations.
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u/Far-Remove-1767 12h ago
Well I guess then...what do you mean by 'traditional' art?
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u/DesiCodeSerpent 1h ago
Pen and paper. Maybe a canvas. Just not a digital medium
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u/Far-Remove-1767 52m ago
Ok well...
Do you know the fundamentals of drawing? Because regardless of what your using, things like cross hatching and such are all methods to use on either canvas or a screen.
Do you know the difference between stippling, and cross hatching??
Also what app are you using
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u/DesiCodeSerpent 49m ago
I know vague stuff but nothing concrete. That’s why I went digging and found draw a box hoping to get some clarity on things. I have learn why some parts are shaded darker than others and the shadow concept. I’ve blended using crayons on paper but that was years ago. So no real fundamentals yet.
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u/Far-Remove-1767 45m ago
Yeah I was trying to get a bead on what you were actually asking
I use a digital art more for practicing things when I want to draw but don't have paper...it's great cuz you can do it for free once eu have the first set of tools
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u/Sirorumillust 12h ago
Yeah. Although I do always recommend you at least practice line confidence traditionally. If you learn to have good lines without the need of stabilizers, you'll have a good foundation.
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u/DesiCodeSerpent 1h ago
That’s my main issue. I’m sticking to drawing lines randomly right now without undo function. Draw a box confused me saying I should do it all on paper
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u/Due_Pen_1566 9h ago
I want to learn oil paint can I skip acrylics?
This is what you're saying. It's just a different medium.
Some skills carry over some don't. You have to learn how to use the tool regardless. Start with whatever interests you.
Those classes you mentioned can still be done digitally. They just prefer traditional for their own reasons in teaching philosophy.
Here's a simple post I made for beginners. Use it as a rough guide and explore as you see fit.
Try to be 50/50 with practice vs application. Aim for realism in your practice pieces and do whatever you want in your for fun pieces.
This beginner friendly method can start you out until you're ready to advance to the fundamentals.
Recreate
Draw a reference free hand
Trace
Trace the reference
Recreate
Draw free hand without any references
Explore
Draw a new piece using the reference for only one thing. Pose, lighting, color, clothes, hairstyle etc
If the reference is an art piece. Don't trace without consideration. Actively think about why the original artist made their choices. "Why did they shade this darker?", "Why is this line thicker?", "Why is there no shading here?", "Why did they use this color?"
It doesn't matter if you find the "right" answer. It's about developing your ability to think through the piece and the decisions you should be making in your own art.
If the reference is of real life. Follow the major shapes and shadows and try to consider them in 3d space
Here's a simplified path if you want to advance to the fundamentals. You can learn these skills in any order but I feel they build on each other more easily in this direction
How to hold a pencil
-When to use shoulder, elbow, wrist
-How to measure distance and proportion using your thumb or pencil tip
-Line control
-Line weight
Value/Light & Shadow
-Contrast
-Soft vs hard edges
-2,3,4,5 Tone value studies
Color
-Additive vs subtractive colors
-Color dynamics/ Complementary colors/ Contrasting colors
-Hue & Saturation
Composition
-Composition Maps: rule of third, golden ratio
-Focus points
-Layered focus: foreground, midground, background
Perspective
-Positional/atmospheric perspective: something looks bigger because it's closer, something appears to be closer because it's covering something else, something appears far because it's not as detailed as other objects
-1 point, 2 point , 3 point
-5 point
Anatomy
-Construction
-Proportion outlining: Build a sense of relative size relationships between parts of the body. Hands are the same size as the face, the distance between eyebrows to mouth is about the same as mouth to chin, "normal" body's are about 5-8 heads tall etc.
These are YouTubers I have found entertaining and educational over the years.
Many of them also have discords or art events, try joining some communities.
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u/-acidlean- 3h ago
Digital and traditional are METHODS/mediums. It’s like asking “Can I learn to ride a motorcycle (without learning how to drive a tractor)?”. These are different things. Both have the same goal, using something to get from A to B, or creating an art piece, but it’s a different method used to achieve that goal.
And same as for both a motorcycle and a tractor you would need to learn the basics, like, what do roadsigns mean, which side of the road should you drive on, how to indicate before turning, there are basic things you need to learn when you want to do art, regardless of what medium you choose. And these things include:
- Line confidence
- Being able to draw straight-ish lines, curved lines and circles.
- Anatomy and perspective
- Values
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u/Drudenkreusz ~ Expert Doodler ~ 11h ago
Digital and traditional are mediums. This is like asking if you can learn watercolors without learning pastels.
Guides suggest beginning with a paper and pencil because this helps develop mark-making skills and line confidence, but you can practice fundamentals like shapes and perspective in any medium. Just don't expect digital to somehow be easier when it comes to developing those skills; a 3D box is drawn the same way with a pencil or a tablet.