Digital art and adapting to the tablet Help?!!

[SaphTalon]

I think I am ready to throw the thing across the room. 
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So I have been doing art on and off since I was little, but only with traditional mediums. I got me a 500 dollar Wacom because I was really determined to get started. I am using Windows 10 and SAI tool. I have everything including a scanner for line art.
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I am thinking of trying again when I get back from Bronycon Baltimore. The thing is too big to take with me but I can still do some line art on the way there. I will be on an overnight train. When I get back I can scan stuff in and work on tracing. My biggest problem is orientating myself so I know which way is up and down.
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So anyone got tips on how I can better adapt myself to the thing? Stories about how you got started and the struggles will be great. Don't be shy   

[kestral_kitsune]

when i got my first tablet which was some little off brand thing i didn't really have hard time orientating it since cord was on the top side same with my intuos I have now. I just sat down messed with it and drew and drew and drew to get used to it.

[orangepeachmango]

first tablets can be tough, but believe me- with a little practice, it will become 100% muscle memory, as easy as drawing on paper. try not to trouble yourself with being too concerned of "it doesnt look right" or try not to get frustrated with yourself. its a learning process! id also recommend practicing drawing your lineart on the tablet and not scanning it in, the more familiar you are with drawing with it, the more you can do with it!
for which way is up/down, maybe putting a sticker or piece of tape on the "top" side will help you remember, while youre learning. or noticing things about like which side the cord is on, where the buttons are, etc. don't push yourself too hard to get it right away. take your time!

[lostpony]

I'm still working on drawing on paper before even trying to deal with tablets, software, and lions and tigers and bears oh my.  Because I feel that I can't learn two things at once.

Hang in there!  You can do it!

[Griffin]

I think orangepeachmango gave some really sound advice - maybe it would be a good idea to postpone lineart work for a bit and practice with speedpainting first? Something like simple landscapes and still life, or just some 3D shapes like spheres and cubes. You know, playing around with light and shadow and colours without having to worry too much about the results, and hopefully that will help train the muscle memory mentioned above.

I don't have a lot of experience with tablets myself and it's been years since I used one, but I totally remember the frustration at the beginning! For me it was mostly about training the hand and eye coordination, it's so weird not looking at the "paper" when drawing but the screen in front of you. Good luck and have fun!

[lostpony]

I'm going to be stalking this thread for ideas.  SAI was recommended to me and did download it, and I too plan to get started by scanning in paper-drawn line art and maybe if it starts working for you I'll get inspired.  I don't know yet if my tablet even works though, I got a used one and I haven't tried to set it up yet.

I like Griffin's idea of working on some basic shapes and such.  Maybe I will try that too.  I look forward to seeing what you do!

Hope you have a good time at bronycon!

[Nonnavlis]

I do a lot of art in SAI and I'd be happy to help if you need advice with something specific within the software. I'm actually a digital native when it comes to drawing, so I don't have too much advice for adapting, but I will say that really learning your software makes a huge difference in how easy it is to draw. These days it's pretty easy to find tutorials and guides breaking down all of a softwares features! The most important thing though is definitely your stabilizer setting. In SAI it's up on the top bar on the same panel as the undo, redo and zoom and rotation buttons. S7 is the highest which means it "corrects" your lines the most. I would start there and work down as you get the hang of how the tablet registers your motions and learn to adapt. The goal is never to work down to nothing, though! Stabilizer is a necessary part of interpreting digital motions. I've been drawing digitally for years and I never set my stabilizer lower than S3 aha.

I actually think tracing is a pretty good place to start to learn how you need to move to make curves go x way and so on. That's where I started as well, even though I had very little traditional drawing experience aha. Never hurts to do sketchy stuff either, though, or even just practice handwriting! Handwriting is actually a great place to start because for most people you're already used to doing it and it doesn't have that same feeling of getting it "wrong" as you get when you go to draw a creature or an object or something and it doesn't look like how you thought it would in your head.

Also a good rule of thumb is the quicker the motions your making, the lower the number you need on the stabilizer, and also the opposite that if you are moving slow you really need the stabilizer turned up high!

[SaphTalon]

Thanks guys. I will definitely keep you posted. I am on Amtrak as I am typing this. I was trying to do some sketches on paper yesterday. I will be doing more as we get onto the next train.

[orangepeachmango]

I do a lot of art in SAI and I'd be happy to help if you need advice with something specific within the software. I'm actually a digital native when it comes to drawing, so I don't have too much advice for adapting, but I will say that really learning your software makes a huge difference in how easy it is to draw. These days it's pretty easy to find tutorials and guides breaking down all of a softwares features! The most important thing though is definitely your stabilizer setting. In SAI it's up on the top bar on the same panel as the undo, redo and zoom and rotation buttons. S7 is the highest which means it "corrects" your lines the most. I would start there and work down as you get the hang of how the tablet registers your motions and learn to adapt. The goal is never to work down to nothing, though! Stabilizer is a necessary part of interpreting digital motions. I've been drawing digitally for years and I never set my stabilizer lower than S3 aha.

I actually think tracing is a pretty good place to start to learn how you need to move to make curves go x way and so on. That's where I started as well, even though I had very little traditional drawing experience aha. Never hurts to do sketchy stuff either, though, or even just practice handwriting! Handwriting is actually a great place to start because for most people you're already used to doing it and it doesn't have that same feeling of getting it "wrong" as you get when you go to draw a creature or an object or something and it doesn't look like how you thought it would in your head.

Also a good rule of thumb is the quicker the motions your making, the lower the number you need on the stabilizer, and also the opposite that if you are moving slow you really need the stabilizer turned up high!

yes i agree with all of this! im a long-time SAI user so feel free to ask either of us if you have any questions about the software. i draw really fast strokes so i dont use much stabilizer, but i used to use it a lot after i learned what it was. fiddling around with brushes and their settings is a good way to familiarize yourself with how the tools work : )

[lostpony]

What are you sketching on the train?  if you want to share...