Tools For a Beginner (Closed)

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CrystalArt
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Tools For a Beginner (Closed)

#1 Post by CrystalArt »

Hi. So, I am an artist(if I can even call myself that) that is most familiar with pencil and paper. However, I want to start using digital art. I am hoping to get a tablet and program with which to use said tablet on. I'm just wondering what you guys would recommend for a person that is starting out with digital art. I'm probably going to just get an affordable tablet (worth about 55 USD) so I suppose I'm good on that. I'm just wondering what program(s) I should look into, because there are so many and I'm not familiar with the pros and cons of each. So, an easy to understand program would probably be best. Also, if there is already a discussion about this, I would be grateful for a link... Thank You. :D
Last edited by CrystalArt on Wed Dec 23, 2015 7:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Tools For a Beginner

#2 Post by Noyemi K »

Paint Tool SAI lacks the horrendous bloat and vestigial features and overdesign plaguing photoshop, and also isn't several hundred dollars. Opencanvas is also good.
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Re: Tools For a Beginner

#3 Post by CrystalArt »

I see. And these are fairly easy to use?

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Re: Tools For a Beginner

#4 Post by Noyemi K »

Yes, very.
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Re: Tools For a Beginner

#5 Post by MaiMai »

If you want to dip your toes into digital art I think a good idea to get a feel for the process before spending any money is to use a free program. Medibang Paint Pro is an art software that's for free and it's very good.

http://medibangpaint.com/en/pc/
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Re: Tools For a Beginner

#6 Post by morg »

since you're already an artist, it won't take long for you to get a grasp on how everything works. starting out with free programs will only help you get used to drawing with those programs specifically, it's not gonna help you with the more 'pro' programs indirectly. So if you want to get used to using any program, start with that program. they're not that difficult to use, the interface is just confusing at first sight.
I don't recommend photoshop, lol. I don't know why but I always get the feel that it is more suit for editing. Paint tool sai has a friendlier interface imo.
anyhow, everybody has a different perspective on programs and there are always free trials if you want to try any out
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Re: Tools For a Beginner

#7 Post by SinaAzad »

Photoshop, gimp and clip studio paint are my suggestion , well, not like you need them all , but the color effects you can make on Photoshop are far better than other softwares I have used so far.

I have seen a lot of great stuff done using SAI paint tool tho , there also a huge number of tutorials available for it.
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Re: Tools For a Beginner

#8 Post by CrystalArt »

Hey, thank you all. As for your suggestion, MaiMai, I tried out Medibang, but it kept crashing when I tried to save my work. I'm working with FireAlpaca, which is generally the same. Again, thank you, all of you. I really appreciate it. XD

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Re: Tools For a Beginner (Closed)

#9 Post by MaiMai »

FireAlpaca is basically the same thing (from the same people even I think) without the manga making capabilities. So yeah, it's good too, I hope you have fun with your digital art efforts.
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Re: Tools For a Beginner (Closed)

#10 Post by Kia »

I tried to move from graphic designer to digital artist a while ago and I can share my experience.
1st- software, I tried many of them but at the end none of them was what I wanted but if I want to suggest, SAI is best for character design and manga studio best for backgrounds, I guess you can buy SAI 1.2 and get SAI 2 when it's released (might take a very long time) and IMO SAI 2 beats every other software. I personally use illustrator for my line art because of only one tool that SAI 1.2 lacks but it will be included in SAI 2.
2nd- tablet, I always thought buying a tablet will improve my drawing by ten folds but after spending a chunk of money on an intous pro (large) and I still use mouse to draw my lines because it's easier for me and the tablet is too large... if you're planning to color your characters with the cel shading (anime style), using SAI you won't need a tablet at all.
the easiest way from your hand to computer is sketching on paper, taking a picture and tracing it.
3rd- I found out to improve my digital art I have to train in traditional way and there is no other way around it which was a bummer for me since I hate training...
and finally- you can download a trial or limited version of most of those programs people mentioned, I suggest you try all of them even if you're going to use a free one at the end. you'll learn lots of things from experimenting.

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Re: Tools For a Beginner (Closed)

#11 Post by CrystalArt »

Thank you MaiMai. I'm really glad I found it. :3

As for you, Kia, I probably will try even more when I start feeling more comfortable with my drawing abilities on my tablet. :)

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Re: Tools For a Beginner (Closed)

#12 Post by ChronoWorkS »

I recommend Clip Studio Paint together with Photoshop, even for a novice the results are much better
http://www.clipstudio.net/en/

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