If one day I woke up and forgot all of my digital painting skills, I’m not sure I would’ve picked it up again. The learning process of it is long, difficult and confusing. There is the whole technical aspect of software and its features and on top of that the never-ending subject of art practice like anatomy, perspective, colour theory, composition, shading and more.
Someone ask me recently: where to start? How to learn it?
And I’ve been pondering this question since. How did I learn digital painting?
Here’s how: by coping.
Copying.
Before you dismiss what I’m trying to say, I don’t mean copying someone’s work and then going online and claiming it as your own. However, I do mean copying photos as accurately as possible.
That’s how I started with digital painting and I think that’s why I was able to improve quickly.
Let’s break it down and see why this is a good way to start.
As I mentioned, art is a very complex subject. There is just a lot to it, so when you are a beginner, it is important to divide your learning process into small pieces. Learning anatomy and colour theory all while you try to wrap your head around how the brushes and layers work in your software of choice, is just too much. You have to choose one subject at a time and tackle it.
I started with tracing portrait photos and then colour picking the colours from the photo and applying them to my traced sketch.
What’s next?
After a while, you will feel like you understand your process and the subject a little bit more. That’s when you will eventually start testing the waters and getting out of your comfort zone. And you will do it with more confidence. Because the medium won’t feel like it’s limiting you anymore.
You will understand the brushes, the canvas sizes, the brush settings and colours, etc.
And when the time comes to draw a face, for example, on your own, you will be able to apply all of the memory from tracing to these new paintings. But now with more knowledge, hopefully, after you go through some anatomy tutorials.
That’s when learning anatomy and perspective is good. You can definitely start with it or do it simultaneously. Whatever feels right to you.
Be mindful.
Now, be mindful. At this stage, you are no great artist, yet. Don’t try to show those practice paintings and call them your original artwork. Because it’s not. There is nothing wrong with being a beginner.
A lot of people will have different opinions on what you can or can not do when you are at the beginning of your art journey. That’s why there is so much discourse online about tracing and copying. A lot of people would do all of that and then pretend that they did it all by themselves. That behaviour is not only harmful to those that are doing it but also to beginner artists. It creates a false narrative.
Anyone that studied art or went to some sort of drawing/painting class will say that a lot of the practice at the beginning is trying to recreate someone else’s painting, aka master studies. Or do photo studies, because copying is the best way to learn.
Copying master paintings is great, copying photos is good too, and copying real-life subjects – amazing. Copying modern artists you see online – not so much. I’d recommend not doing it. Not only because these artists might not be okay with it, but also because most of the artists online will already have some sort of stylization to their art and you want to avoid learning shortcuts. If you want to understand art fast and develop your style into something cool, start with realism.
How is it going to help?
Starting from realism is great because it will teach you all of the rules of how the world works. When you will understand how it works you will be able to break these rules later on with much more confidence and understanding. This will also most likely result in better-looking art.
This is why a lot of teachers would tell you that you shouldn’t start learning art with anime – because it is stylized art. While it has a lot of rules taken from real life and then applied to the art, beginner artists will not see these correlations. This alone will put you in a box, where exploring different techniques will feel more difficult, just because you skipped the very important time of learning the fundamentals.
Final thoughts.
Art is complex and it really is a never-ending subject. Once you start learning it, you will be learning it for the rest of your life. There is always more to explore. This can be both freighting and exciting. But my main advice is: take it easy. Break it all down into smaller topics. Don’t try to learn everything at once. Baby steps and you will get there!
Draw subjects that you are passionate about! Don’t force yourself to do boring studies. Fanart is great because it will keep you going. (Although, again, I would watch out with anime/manga fanart, just because it is stylized art.)
Remember to be observant! It’s a skill on its own and you need it to keep on improving. A good way to bust it is by watching art critiques! That’s when you will see what mistakes other artists do and you’ll be able to look out for the same mistakes in your art.
And finally: happy painting!
Tori x