What is a best way for artist to go Digital?

[YaminoOkami]

My friend is an experienced artist but she had never done any Digital art and recently she become interested in it and asked me to find her more information on how is digital art done but most I had found is ether aimed at people who are new to art as a whole or those advanced tutorials for people who already have knowledge of digital art and I couldn't find anything aimed at people who are already experienced artist but completely new to digital art. I figured this might be a good place to ask, so anyone has any recommendations or tips?

[YonYonYon]

1) Buy a drawing tablet. You can do art with a mouse, but it's a pain and can result in worse wrist trauma than with the tablet. The best ones in the market are Wacom's, but I've heard that Monoprice makes fine tablets and they're cheaper than Wacom's. Or you can search for used stuff on the Internet.
2) Study a drawing program. Like, how do layers work, what are their parameters, brushes and filters and all these handy things. There's few free programs like Medibang, Krita and GIMP. Personally, I like Medibang more, because it's very functional and pretty simple.

And that's pretty much it.

[YaminoOkami]

Thanks YonYonYon.

[CarrotyCat]

My friend is an experienced artist but she had never done any Digital art and recently she become interested in it and asked me to find her more information on how is digital art done but most I had found is ether aimed at people who are new to art as a whole or those advanced tutorials for people who already have knowledge of digital art and I couldn't find anything aimed at people who are already experienced artist but completely new to digital art. I figured this might be a good place to ask, so anyone has any recommendations or tips?

Digital art is done via a software + a hardware tool. Investing in a good Wacom tablet is advisable as you'll need to get used to the pen. Software preference differs but MangaStudio is good for line art, and Photoshop is good generally.

Why does she wanna go digital? Is there like a reason, or a motivating factor behind it?

[YaminoOkami]

Why does she wanna go digital? Is there like a reason, or a motivating factor behind it?

Well the main reason is because she can't find any work otherwise, ware we live a person can't make a living as an artist offline and when it comes to online commissions everyone seeks digital art. And she is also interested to learn a new way of doing art.

[CarrotyCat]

Why does she wanna go digital? Is there like a reason, or a motivating factor behind it?

Well the main reason is because she can't find any work otherwise, ware we live a person can't make a living as an artist offline and when it comes to online commissions everyone seeks digital art. And she is also interested to learn a new way of doing art.

Ahh I see. I understand because digital art is more flexible when it comes to production. In this case, do invest in a good Wacom, or at least one with a big drawing surface.

Digital art is uniquely different though and would take awhile to get used to. A strong foundation in art concept and basics helps speed things up though

[FlyingCarParts]

Digital art without a tablet is possible, but more troublesome.

The idea is that they would have to:
-draw like they would normally
-take a picture
-send the picture to their computer
-upscale the picture in their art program
-do lineart and coloring over it, or whatever it is they're aiming to do

Might be worth noting that when people say it takes time getting used to tablet, mostly its because of how the dimensions of the tablet and screen are slightly inconsistent in some cases. Most people that go out and buy their first graphics tablet usually can't afford something that matches their screen size and dimensions. The screen is "scaled down" to the tablet, so certain curves require slightly different movement. For a while the user has to just keep doodling and they'll get the gist of it in about a week, or even a few days if they draw frequently.

I'd advise having your friend get something middle level or better, since they're aiming to do commissioned work with it.

[soraibi]

Well, I think it's best of you get a tablet... I started with a computer, and I remember getting heaps of wrist pains after "drawing" too long on the computer. Seriously, holding the mouse for hours gets painful sometimes (at least for me). In the end, I somehow got an ipad as a present, and I have the apps ArtStudio and Procreate on it. I'm now dependent on those apps for my digital drawings. Also, one of the thing about drawing on an iPad is that you don't have to sit on a chair all day, you can even do it whilst laying down on your bed or whatever. So, this is what I would've told my past self to do (about how to start digital art)...If you have an iPhone or iPad, or perhaps any touch screen devices, you should download some of the free art apps. And if you really like the app, maybe you can buy the full version of them, which I did...and I regret nothing! But it's not like the free apps are that bad either...you just need a lot of practise, watch a lot of speedpaints and digital art tutorial. Yeah, that's all that I can say for now. Good luck!!!

tl;dr
if you have an iPhone or iPad, or perhaps any touch screen devices, you should download some of the free art apps. It's much cheaper than jumping straight into buying tablets. Good luck!!!