TOP 10 TIPS FOR DIGITAL ART

Derek Domnic Dsouza

 Before we get into the top ten tips, please note that these are points I've put together based on
my personal art journey and what I've found to be the most important. There are no rules and my
word isnt the law, so please take what you can and see which applies to you the best! 01

Everyone has a different journey and there is no real right or wrong when it comes to creating art.
TIP 01 - Control Your Work Environment

Your surroundings can have a big impact on

your ability to create art
Take the time to set up your workplace or your
desk as per your liking! Or even if it means
customizing your devices by adding stickers
on them or so on.
Make your space as comfortable as you can to
help put yourself in a zone of learning. In my
case: I put up art posters of all the artists who
inspire me 02
Next, surround yourself by people who are
helpful to you as well! It can just be people
who are similar minded to you or just other
artists!
If you cant find people in person, join social
media groups or discord channels! You can
also look up the #artistsupport tag to find lots
of posts that might introduce you to some
great folk!
TIP 02 - Take time to learn the software and tools

Alot of beginner artists try to rush the learning

process early on and then have to back-track
to understand the software and tools they
have
Take the example of traditional painting:
There's acrylics, oil, watercolor, poster, etc and
each one of them have requirements in terms
of paper and what to mix them with. There's
also a learning curve in terms of do's and
dont's with the brushes and paints 03
themselves.
In the same way, it takes a bit of time to get
used to learning a new software - Look up
youtube tutorials or guides online to help you
along your way
Also, learn the software from different kinds of
artists too! For example: I learn a lot about
using photoshop from photographers as well
instead of just illustrators
TIP 03 - Draw Everyday! (Or at least as often as you can)

If you're looking to improve on your art quickly,

it's important to make it a part of your everday
routine
Similar to how we consider having 3 meals a
day and getting sleep helpful, it's also
beneficial to add in 'Draw everyday' to your
schedule
This helps build a work ethic and habituate
you to drawing often
A lot of the time, we dont produce 'good art' 04
and have bad days - But the more time we
spend, the better we get at it. So try not to
take breaks for too long in between artworks
It's similar to learning a sport or exercising;
once you take a break, you have to start from
scratch again
TIP 04 - Learn how to 'Study'

To 'study' is to find a reference image and

'copy' it in order to improve your skills and
understanding
I've spent a large part of my learning process
just on studies. I'd collect reference images of
real life photographs, movie screencaps, other
artists paintings and just copy them in order to
break down and understand what makes a
better artwork
The key here is not to copy exactly, but just to 05
the best of your ability within a time frame
and then move onto the next one!
Studies help increase your visual library and
also your skillset in painting out various
subject matters. For example: I had to study
photographs of reflections to be able to paint
out this image on the left
You can also 'study' from real life by just
sitting outside and sketching the people who
walk past (Gesture and Anatomy studies) and
also the scenery (landscape studies)
TIP 05 - Control Social Media Influence

Social media can be daunting

You now have access to seeing the best artists
in the world who can have a big influence on
your own art
The problem comes in when we start
comparing ourselves to others and their
career, popularity, skills, life, etc because in
normal real life, it would be very rare to come
across this much talent! ( It's probably 1 out of
1000 people around you or even lesser ) This 06
makes it seem like you are a very small fish in
a very large ocean. It's important to learn to
control that and see how you can benefit from
the platforms instead
For example - As a learning tool and it's free!
There are many ways you can learn from it,
such as: Finding other artists similar to you,
studying other people's journeys, their failures
and successes and seeing what works for you,
finding tutorials, etc
Be in control over what you actually have
control of =)
TIP 06 - Separate 'Practise' from 'Play'

Set time aside to just draw for fun, because

you love art
Because we are constantly trying to improve
we often lose the love for just making art for
the sake of it
We try to make everything look 'good' and
improve with every piece; and then it affects
us when an artwork doesnt turn out as
planned
Remember to set aside art as a 'Hobby' too! 07
In my case; I like creating artworks digitally for
my social media and career, but I go back to
drawing with pen on paper for fun on the side!
Those are also the sketches I dont put up for
anyone to see, because they're just for me
TIP 07 - Take it slow and find your own pace

Dont rush the process

There is no age limit for being a good artist
and it's never a race
I made the mistake of wanting to improve
super fast when I got my first drawing tablet
and laptop - which led me to quick digital art
and try something else for a period of time
It then took me over a year of painting
everyday (mainly doing studies) to make
progress 08
Everyone has their own pace and learning
methods - stick with what works for you and
take your time
The journey along the way is actually a lot
more helpful than the end product in this case
so take your time and have fun too!
TIP 08 - Dont try to learn everything at once

Painting a complete scene with a character,

background, good colors, composition,
lighting, etc needs a LOT of different elements
to work well together; so dont try to get good
at everything straight away!
Based on your interests, you may learn some
things quicker than others. For example: I first
learned painting backgrounds and now I'm
slowly learning how to draw characters
Figure out what you like drawing first, and 09
stick with that - Build up the work ethic and
skillset while staying in your comfort zone and
then grow from there
Focusing on everything all at once might not
allow you to get good any anything overall -
especially when you're just starting off
TIP 09 - You dont need the 'best' equipment or software

There is always a starting point to get into

digital art based on your current resources
If you can afford it, sure, go ahead and get the
top most products; but if you can't then dont
worry! As of today, you can draw plenty
straight out of your phone (you can even
connect a drawing tablet to it as well!)
For the longest time (2014-2020) My main
drawing tablet was the 'One by Wacom'
which was the cheapest tablet by the brand 10
and I still love it to this day
If you cant get into digital mediums right
away, then stick to paper! - A lot of the skills
are transferrable; and if you are good at
drawing - You'll be able to pick up painting
very soon and the fundamentals are the same
The same goes for software - I recently found
out just how expensive an Adobe subscription
is and it's ridiculous for those who arent using
it in their career or even someone just starting
off. There are tons of free software to make up
for it too - Or low cost ones!
TIP 10 - What you need to know about your 'Artstyle'

Dont rush to find your 'artstyle'

It will develop naturally over time - based on
your interests and how you choose to
represent your ideas
You can always study the artstyle of other
artists and see how they choose to exaggerate
or simplify shapes forms, lighting, colors, etc
and use that in your own way
In a way, it's similar to your handwriting - over
the years, it slowly changes and gets tweaked 11
into something you're most comfortable with
When it comes to 'learning an artstyle' - this is
mostly used in the industry or for client
projects where a certain look and feel is
needed. For example: All Disney characters
have a certain style
But as an individual artist, allow yourself to
draw and paint a lot in order to get
comfortable with what works best for you =)