Tablet artists - I Just started & Need advice

[Badjuju86]

Im without resources and need tips on whats the best for starting out.
I have just a starter Digipro table 4x3. Its very small and not very good but its letting me get the feel for the digital world. If anyone could share links, tutorials, software (free prefered) and anything else you think would help. Please post and chit-chat with me.

Juju - xox

[ZennaBug]

Congrats on the tablet! 

I use photoshop when I make my digital stuff, but it's far from free.  I believe that gimp is an alternative that seems popular.  The best tip I can really suggest (since I'm only a mediocre digital artist) is to always work in layers.  Sketch on the bottom, line art on the top, and each color on a different layer in between.

[Badjuju86]

Congrats on the tablet! 

I use photoshop when I make my digital stuff, but it's far from free.  I believe that gimp is an alternative that seems popular.  The best tip I can really suggest (since I'm only a mediocre digital artist) is to always work in layers.  Sketch on the bottom, line art on the top, and each color on a different layer in between.

Thank you very much luvz.
Juju - xox

[PrincessStarlily]

Hey there, Badjuju! Congrats on your first tablet! My first tablet I bought a few years ago was also a Digipro; perhaps it's even the same one as yours. It worked out great for a while, until I found myself wanting more. Seeing as I've been an artist since I was a toddler, I made the decision to spend my long-saved cash on a Wacom Intuos5 touch tablet. I ended up purchasing the medium size ($350), which turned out to be fabulously large--probably almost three times the size of my Digipro!

It's hard to give specific tips, seeing as there's so much software to use with a tablet. I would, however, strongly recommend Gimp to start out. It's completely free, and although it might seem complicated at first, you get the hang of it by taking tutorials and exploring the software yourself. It was my first drawing program, and I still don't know what all the tools do!

My Intuos bundled some fantastic programs, as well; Photoshop Elements 10 (one of my art teachers said to learn Photoshop, NOT Photoshop Elements, because Elements is so watered down it isn't nearly as powerful), Anime Studio Debut (animation), Autodesk SketchBook Express (drawing), Nik Color Efex Pro (photography), and a free trial of Corel Painter 12 (also drawing; it is an incredible program, although expensive, and it has been known to crash before). While all this software is great, I found myself overwhelmed with it all, and have pretty much been sticking with Gimp for the time being.

Anyway, I hope all this helps. Again, I hope you try Gimp; it's really been a wonder for me! And another free program to try out if you're interested in vector art is Inkscape; you can also find tutorials on that (for G4 ponies, R4inbowR4ge's YouTube videos have worked for me).

As a last note: drawing with a tablet takes time and patience to get used to. For months, I had been drawing in what I found out later to be a clumsy, pixel-wasting rough-edge method that I have left far behind me.

Learn from me--the entire process of digital art is practically just TRIAL AND ERROR. Learn from it, and don't be discouraged! It only takes time.

And with any form of art, you're always learning. Even if you end up in a museum and sell your paintings for thousands of dollars, there is always SO much more to learn and explore; SO many more ways you can improve and inspire others.

Best of luck,
Starlily