How to Make Digital Artwork
Okay! So what does digital artwork even mean? If you search on google there’s so many boring definitions. Digital art just means artwork that you create in a digital program like procreate or photoshop. Boom! Done.
Getting into digital art can be a bit scary for some folks because drawing with pencil on paper or painting on canvas is a huge difference, however, there are ways to still make it feel like your favorite medium. Artists have gotten really good at mimicking effects that make digital drawings look more and more traditional, it’s pretty amazing AND it’s easy to print your artwork or even go back and make changes.
Now to dive in, I am going to walk you through my digital portrait process in Procreate from beginning to end. You will learn how to start your digital portrait, what canvas size should you choose, what Procreate brushes I use, how I print my artwork and everything in between.
How to Get Started on Digital Artwork
- Draw the outline of your portrait
- Use color to block in highlights and shadows for your portrait
- Start by drawing your favorite parts (eyes, nose, ears etc)
- Use one minute to create preliminary drawings
- Head over to pinterest for inspiration or favorite artist
It’s okay to make mistakes, draw until you hate it, restart your drawing and just be patient. Once you get into the groove you will find what works for you.
The Right Canvas Size for my Digital Artwork
Choosing the best canvas size for your digital artwork is extremely important for a variety of reasons. If you forget to choose your canvas size you might have to start over, but this will be for another day another blog. To keep it brief, this will depend on your intention. When sketching and doodling trying to get your portrait composition just right, you can work in the default procreate screen size which will be equivalent to a paper (depends on which iPad you have). Using smaller canvas for preliminary sketches helps save space and allows for what feels like endless layers. After I am happy with the sketches I open a larger file to start the real portrait painting.
The second option is going straight to your main file for printing. I typically choose 11 inches x 15 inches because I think it’s a great size to print and allows for about 41 layers with a high quality DPI of 300. For larger projects, adjust the canvas size accordingly, but keep in mind that the bigger the file means less layers. I tend to max out and then start deleting layers when I run out.
Quick Tip: Choosing the Right Procreate Canvas Size
- Sketching and Doodling: Use the default Procreate screen size, smaller canvases save storage space and allow for more layers.
- Printing: For prints, I choose a canvas size of 11 x 15 inches at 300 DPI, which allows for about 41 layers.
Experimenting and Choosing the Right Procreate Brushes
As someone new coming into digital artwork, It can definitely be a challenge trying to figure out what Procreate brushes will work for your painting. The brushes that work for one artist might not work for you, so it’s really important to find the ones you really enjoy working with and this is when you start experimenting.
What I like doing is I will experiment with some still lifes like an orange or apple, this will give you a nice range of color, render practice, and an easier subject matter. This allows you to see how the brush will react and mesh with other colors. A little tip is to play with the opacity/spread of the brushes. You’d be surprised, you might hate a brush’s original settings but then love it when you make a few edits to the opacity.
Procreate Brushes I Use for my Digital Paintings
As someone who loves pencil drawing and oil painting I was constantly looking for a brush that mimicked the two mediums. One of the best brushes in procreate for outlines and sketching is the default Peppermint pencil brush. It’s very consistent with how a graphite moves on paper, it also has a great pressure curve. This brush has a pressure curve is when you put pressure on a line it becomes dark or thicker, depending on the settings of the brush this can also make the shape of the line different but for Peppermint the line gets darker.
Finding the Right Brush: Experimenting
I ended up getting the Brush Pack Pro II for my iPad and if you see the amazing work some folk create with it maybe you’ll benefit from their whole set. I use only three of the brushes but I’m happy with my purchase. Always make sure you read everything, not all packs are compatible with all iPads versions. You also don’t have to pay for anything and just create your own brushes or play with the settings.
My top three brushes from the Brush Pack Pro II are the Canvas crayon II upd 111, bombastic upd, and canvas II upd. That being said you might completely hate these, it will always be a preference thing. My suggestion is to experiment with the default brushes and just play with the settings, save your brushes, organize them, rename them, and have a favorites folder.
What are the Benefits of Digital Painting?
That last paragraph was a lot to take in, hopefully it was helpful! Let’s get into all the benefits of digital painting. I created a list of 10 benefits for digital painting.
- Easy to fix mistakes
- Direct printing
- Create different color variations
- Recreate your painting
- Compare your work side by side
- There is no mess
- No setup or materials
- No cleaning of brushes or setup
- Take it anywhere
- Automatic progress recorder
When we traditionally paint or draw, it can be difficult to fix mistakes. Sometimes you can paint over it or just erase it but then there are those times you just can’t and have to try to make it work. Digital artwork is very forgiving with its undo button and the ability to work in layers. Layers are so amazing, you can draw on top of your drawing or painting to see if your idea will work and test out different color combinations. I like to duplicate layers and hide the original and just play with different elements such as new sketch ideas or new color schemes.
Take your iPad anywhere! You don’t have to deal with setting up your brushes and paints or the aftermath of cleaning up your art table. Yes, you do have to deal with battery life but depending where you’re going, charge up or bring your charger. Another great feature is it records your progress so now you automatically have content for social media or your website.
How To Automatically Record your Drawing Progress on your iPad
On your iPad head over to the little wrench icon and click video, make sure the time-lapse recording is on. Now you can replay your progress or export it, if you’re like me I like to rewatch my videos a bunch, it helps me get more ideas or see areas that need improvement.
Quick Tip: Start Recording your Drawing Progress on your iPad
- Tap the wrench icon in Procreate.
- Select the video option.
- Ensure the time-lapse recording is on.
How To Print Your Digital Art
Now that you have completed your digital painting or drawing you can save your file. I typically save my file as a PDF with the highest quality, my iPad shows three options; Good, Better, Best. I choose the best. Regardless of the sizing you should already have a great output with the 300 DPI. Depending where you are printing you should check on what files that accept because you might have to export it as a JPEG.
In the past I’ve tried to print thank you cards at places like office depot or staples and I found the quality is really bad. I recommend always looking for a local print shop, just like we want to support our small businesses we should always try to do the same. My local print shop has a variety of paper types and formats. I print on Giclee print on texture fine paper.
How to save your artwork on your iPad
On the top right select the little wrench icon, then select share, choose PDF or any other file format you prefer and select the best.
Creating digital artwork
Hopefully all this information can help you with your digital artwork! I’ve gone through my process, my procreate canvas sizes, my printing options and my favorite procreate painting brushes. For guidance on transferring an existing traditional drawing into a digital drawing check out my other blog How to Digitize Your Drawing.
As a traditional artist I know how hard it can be to start creating digital art but it has so many benefits especially if you are trying to create prints and if you have kitties that like to get into your oil paints. Happy art days!
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