One of the most common questions I’ve been asked over the years relating to art and design are ; “what tools do you use?”, “what software do you use?” or “what equipment do I need?
There’s load of amazing tools, Apps and hardware out there which can improve your ability to create art. But before I discuss what I use, it’s worth noting that there is no one tool that’ll make your work look significantly better if you’re just starting out. I’m sure a lot of beginners think, “if I just had the correct piece of software I’d be creating art like my favourite artists!”. I certainly I used to believe this might be the case. I later realised that being a good artist requires
. Acquiring skills and knowledge about art and design are the first thing an artist must do in order to create a good looking artwork. No tool or particular piece of software will ever significantly improve your artwork.
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I know; it’s annoying to have to devote hundreds if not thousands of hours to art before seeing significant improvements, but this is just something us artists must endure (but ideally enjoy!).
As a side note- software and Apps have come a long way over the decades. It is indeed possible to convert existing images or photos through a single-press digital filter to create something totally unique and somewhat artistic-looking. Whether or not these kind of derivative images could be considered ‘art’ is up for debate. Although it’s true to say chucking a filter over the top of a image taken from a Google search is at least lazy, uncreative and limited.
Do you look at your work and think it sucks? Not satisfied with the software you use? Your problem might not be anything to do with the tools you use. It’s fair to to say that if you’re at a level whereby you feel somewhat clueless how to, for example; go about proportioning characters, drawing clothing, folds or choosing how to shade and colour your designs, then I’d recommend ditching the computer altogether. Instead start spending most of your time with a pencil and paper. Once you’re making progress with traditional media and able to create some decent work, sure- try going down the digital route.
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To answer the question “what tools do I use?”: For digital work, I use a Laptop PC, Wacom Cintiq Graphic Tablet and Adobe Photoshop CC.
Need? Not at all- If you want to, for example, work on a Mac with a Huion tablet and Clip Studio Paint as your software of choice, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s possible to create virtually all the same content with most combinations of any modern hardware and dedicated art software available.
Part of the reason I use PC, Wacom and PS is due to habit and what I’m familiar with. You might ask the question, ‘why stick with what you know?’ and sure, I’m always open to the possibilities of new equipment being able to improve my workflow. But, the familiar can be your friend. I know how to diagnose and resolve potential computer crashes on a PC, I know where all the tools are in Photoshop and Wacom has always provided decent tablets which so far haven’t let me down.
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When I was younger I wanted a job as a graphic designer. In the graphic design industry Macs are (or at least were) the norm, so I went to University, in part, to get to grips with the hardware and software which the industry was seemingly demanding. While it wasn’t a massive hardship to understand the differences and quirks between a Mac and PC, there was a still learning curve which I now feel wasn’t necessary to tackle. Particularly as a freelancer artist, my clients are only concerned with the finished results and files they can open and content they can view. So long as it looks good, no one cares what you use to create it and so my new-found Mac skills are kind of redundant.
Like I say, whatever you’re familiar with should be top priority. The more used to it you are, the quicker and smoother your experience of creating art and designs will be. Without wanting to go into a Mac vs PC debate, a PC (in my case, Laptop) has some definite advantages. The main one being the fact it’s cheaper so I can afford a higher spec machine or update and upgrade components more often. Also where I’m located we have 4 or 5 power cuts/ outages every year so having a laptop with battery avoids a sudden loss of work. The portability of my laptop means I can take it to and from a place of work.
Why I do I choose Photoshop? I discuss hardware and the advantages Photohop and the advantaged of digital in-depth in my book Digital Manga. If you’re a beginner to intermediate artist who’d like a good grasp of Photoshop in relation to character creation and colouring, I’d recommend buying a copy- I don’t know of a better resource.
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Cost-wise, this is all reasonably expensive kit which I’ve accumulated over the years. As a beginner to digital art I definitely wouldn’t recommend spending thousands of pounds on a similar set up and instead look for entry-level equipment or whatever you can afford. If I really wanted to,
Justify the expense. I’d likely need to spend 3-4x what I had paid to get for my current set-up to get, perhaps a 10-25% increase on performance. It’s just not worth it. I’ll likely stick with what I’ve got for the next few years. I’m pretty satisfied with it all for the most part.
If anyone wants a non-bias opinion on any aspect of the above tech or set-up, leave a message and I’ll add a follow-up comment🙂
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Anime and tattoo inspired illustrator & graphic artist for over 20 years. Author of several how-to-draw manga books. Enjoys anime, sci-fi, tech, philosophy, music, movies :)In this guide we will go over the best tools for Digital Artists. We will cover various software and hardware options, and I will show you what I use to paint and draw digitally daily. Without further do, let’s get to it!
Most versatile mobile devices for digital painting. Both a computer and a pen display, runs full version of Photoshop, not bulky. Pen technology not nearly as great as Wacom and iPad.
This category is led by Wacom tablets. They provide great pen feel but on a tablet and not on the display. Least expensive option.
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At the high end, Wacom Pen Displays are professional tools when paired with Photoshop. Most expensive also. There are many manufacturers making these at discount, but the quality does not seem to match Wacom.
There are a lot of products in this category, but I hope to provide clear advise that will make it simple to choose the best digital tool for you:
If you want to learn Photoshop, don’t get the iPad. Get one of the other options. If you want to be as mobile as possible while learning Photoshop get the Surface Pro. If you are on a budget, get a screen-less drawing tablet from Wacom. If the budget is not a barrier, get the largest Wacom Pen Display you can.
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If you want a pleasant drawing experience, and don’t care about Photoshop, definitely get the iPad Pro and Procreate combo. Nothing else really comes close to how well they work together.
🎨 Software Top drawing apps for digital artists. Picks you see below are my personal preferences for digital art. Descriptions are based on my experience.
This is the standard in digital painting. If you really want to learn Photoshop, or want to expedite your workflow in Photoshop, there is no better place to start than to learn Photoshop shortcuts. Click here for a list of top Photoshop shortcuts for digital artists.
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Adobe released Photoshop on iPad together with Fresco, a Procreate competitor. Fresco and Photoshop can be used together, and can share desktop Photoshop brushes.
As you can see there is a lot to choose from. I suggest trying as many digital painting programs from this list as you can. If I had to pick just one, in most cases it would be Photoshop (the desktop version).
And if I had to pick one more product to join the two above, I’d choose from Clip Studio Paint, Easy Paint Tool Sai, or Corel Painter.
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The surface pro pen does a pretty good job in Photoshop. However, there is a significant amount of jitter when drawing slow, something that almost never happens on iPad pro. For better line quality and desktop Photoshop, look to Wacom tablets.
As a tool for digital artists, the Surface Pro is not the best, but it is most versatile. It is extremely portable. It runs the full desktop version of Photoshop.
Intous tablets are great if you are ok with not drawing directly on screen. You draw on the tablet but look on the screen with this set up. Paired with a nice big screen and desktop Photoshop, a Wacom Intuos Pro
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