It consists of a “canvas” – a touch surface and a “pen” – a stylus. This device allows the artist to simulate drawing on paper. A picture drawn with a stylus on the surface of the tablet is displayed immediately on the computer. More expensive copies seem to allow you to see the image immediately on the tablet itself. But with this gadget, not everything is so simple. Using it is not at all the same as drawing on paper. How to learn to draw digitally is described in the article.
How to learn to draw on a graphics tablet: basic tips
Drawing landscapes, portraits, anime, comics, or anything you like on a digitizer (for example) is much faster and more convenient than on plain paper or with a mouse on a computer. Especially in the first case, speed helps, especially if the gadget is used for work.
How to start drawing with a graphics tablet? Here are 3 main tips:
- Learn to draw traditionally first. If you don’t know how to draw pictures on paper, then even a “sophisticated” gadget will not help you draw beautifully. The more skillful the images are on paper, the easier it will be on digital.
- Exercise regularly. You can watch various training videos online on how to draw correctly on a graphics tablet. The most difficult thing is to get used to the fact that the drawing is applied with strokes, and not by moving your hand along the surface of the device. To begin with, you should practice drawing simple shapes (triangle, square, etc.), shading them, writing the alphabet, then you can print the pictures on paper, put it on the tablet and trace the contours. The hand must get used to the force of pressing the stylus pen.
- Choose a drawing program that suits your needs. A convenient and understandable program is one of the main elements of drawing. Ideal for complex graphic designs Adobe Photoshop. But you can also use lighter and simpler software: GIMP, Paint Tool SAI or another utility. The program should be tested for usability first on a computer, clicking the interface with the mouse to find out all the capabilities of the software.
You shouldn’t immediately jump into complex technologies and learn how to draw anime or comics on a graphics tablet. All this requires skill and practice. Here you need to follow the principle “from simple to complex.”
How to set up a drawing tablet on your computer
Beginners are unlikely to be able to connect a new device and immediately start drawing on it: they will first need to customize it for themselves. Where to start drawing on a graphics tablet (such as)? It is clear that you need to connect the gadget to your computer or laptop. This is done using a standard USB cord, which is supplied in the kit. Let’s look at what to do next in detail point by point.
Step-by-step instruction
So, the setup steps:
|
Installing drivers |
You can install drivers using the disk that comes in the kit. If it is not there, you need to go to the official website of the manufacturer and download the necessary software (section “Support” - “Drivers”), run the installation program and, following simple instructions, install the drivers. |
| For further settings, you need to run the appropriate program on your computer. For graphics, this is a Wacom Tablet (on a computer: Menu - Start - Programs). | |
| Setting the orientation | By default, the settings are geared towards right-handers, but you can change the orientation of the digitizer controls for left-handers. |
| Pen customization | In this section, you can change the eraser pressure and pen sensitivity by moving the slider from a “soft” level to a “hard” level. Here you can change the operating mode from mouse to pen, if this was not set by default. |
| Setting up touches | In this tab, you can adjust the settings of the touch surface: its touch sensitivity, scrolling and pointer speed (slower/faster). |
| Touch functions | This section contains settings for interaction when touching a surface. For example, one finger – dragging; three fingers – swipe right/left. |
You should adapt the settings to your preferences, changing the indicators until they become as convenient as possible for work.
Basic mistakes when drawing
Drawing using a graphics tablet like a model is quite unusual and difficult at first. Beginners may, for example, choose the wrong canvas size or use the wrong brushes. To avoid making common mistakes, it is worth studying the following sections of the article.
Invalid canvas size
There could be 2 problems here:
- Leaf too small. A beginning artist usually uses a sheet size that matches the resolution of his screen. This is fundamentally wrong. It is impossible to know exactly on which display other users will later view the created image. Therefore, you should not “save” on resolution; the higher it is, the more more pixels in the picture and the better the final resolution will be.
- A very large leaf. For maximum resolution, you will need a powerful PC with an equally powerful program for image processing. It should also be remembered that high resolution Best suited for detailed paintings. Drawings on a graphics tablet (for example, on) are not always needed exactly like this.
Is there a solution to these problems? Before you save the picture, you need to resize it. There are no ideal resolution settings that will suit absolutely everyone. But there is general rule: The more detailed the result, the less likely it is to be fuzzy and blurry at maximum resolution. But if the idea is that the picture is a little sketchy, then it is better to use a small resolution.
Avoid strong contrast
It happens that the perception of shades is impaired due to the quality of the display itself. So how can you create the right contrast that will look the same on all screens? Photoshop has a special Levels tool that shows how much of each tone is used in the picture. You can change levels by moving the sliders.
The level of contrast depends, of course, on the picture itself, but if there are no dark and light areas in the image, the picture will not look very good.
Before drawing, you need to plan the lighting on the sphere:
- draw a circle and shade it with a dark shade (not black);
- add the middle tone, then the lightest (not white);
- add 1-2 semitones;
- add a small amount of black and white;
- then connect everything and smooth out the transitions.
You can use this blank to shade other objects. You need to act on the rest of the pictures in the same way: the darkest tone, halftone, the lightest, halftone, white and black tones.
Too many complex brushes and big strokes
Professional artists do most of their work with simple strokes, only occasionally using complex ones. When drawing on a digitizer, the selection of brushes is greatly simplified: there are brushes, for example, for creating fur or brushes. There is no need to practice drawing; there is already a ready-made solution.
Brushes for various designs are convenient. The problem comes when you use them as core skills. That is, do not look for ways to beautifully and accurately draw fur, but simply take the desired brush and draw. If this becomes a habit, the user will stop learning altogether. To begin with, you should use simple brushes, hone your drawing skills, and only then move on to complex ones.
Another problem with brushes is using very large strokes. When the picture is almost completed, there is a desire to quickly get the finished result. And here the user resorts to big strokes. But it's not right. Large strokes should only be used first to outline the shape, add color, etc. Use a small brush to draw details and finish the sketch. This will help create very realistic and accurate pictures.
Lots of color
Beginning artists can paint by choosing shades that don't go together at all, such as mixing blue and green. The variety of shades in programs installed on a graphics tablet (for example) is a huge field for creativity. The problem is that users need to understand where all these tones come from.
If you need to make the shade brighter, you need to increase the brightness percentage or reduce the same tone indicator. The color red becomes warm or cool, depending on the shade that is located next to it.
Beginning artists who don't know this simply fill the picture with a random set of tones, without thinking about their combination. You definitely need to understand the issues of shading, lighting and mixing tones, this is the only way to get a good drawing.
2D textures for 3D shapes
If the work must be three-dimensional, it cannot be beautifully and efficiently covered with a 2D texture. You need to change its shape in accordance with the object on which it will be applied.
There are 3 tools for this in Photoshop:
- Free transformation in warp mode;
- Filter – Plastic;
- Editing – Puppet Warp.
Texture is the roughness of a surface: if the surface is uneven, then the light falling on it creates many shadows. This is texture. It is worth reducing, or even completely removing, the texture in the dark areas of the object. It’s not enough to apply a texture – you also need to properly process it in the drawing.
If you want to learn how to draw on a computer or are already a professional in this matter, then a graphics tablet (digitizer) will be useful to you. Of course, many people draw on a computer using a mouse, but using a graphics tablet is much more convenient and interesting. It's like drawing on a piece of paper while the image appears directly on your computer monitor.
What is a graphics tablet?
This is a device that consists of a tablet and a pen. A tablet is a work surface on which you draw. A pen is a tool you use to draw (like a brush or pencil). A graphics tablet is usually connected to a computer via a standard USB port(same as practically everyone mobile phones). The graphic pen resembles a pencil in shape (it even has a lead, which slowly wears off and needs to be replaced). The pen may come with or without a battery, depending on the graphics tablet model. As a rule, models with a pen without a battery are more expensive.
So how do you draw on a digitizer?
Drawing on a graphics tablet is very easy, especially if you are good at drawing on paper. First you need to install some graphics editor, for example Adobe Photoshop or Gimp, but you can also draw in regular Paint. In general, graphics tablets support a huge number of programs, for example, specialized programs for creating animation. Essentially, the pen of a graphics tablet, in conjunction with the tablet, replaces computer mouse. The drawing process itself is like this. You connect your graphics tablet to your computer, turn on the graphics editor, and pick up a pen. After that, move the pen across the tablet, drawing what you need. Your drawing is displayed on the computer monitor. Since the pen is essentially a mouse, you can easily select the color or brush size you need in Photoshop by simply hovering the mouse cursor (which is controlled by moving the pen on the tablet) and clicking on the color (clicking is pressing the pen on the tablet). Also, all modern tablets support pen pressure level. Those. The harder you press the pen on the tablet, the richer the stroke will be.
I've been wanting to learn how to draw on a tablet for about five years now. In January, the determination emerged to finally start moving in this direction. In this regular author’s column I will share my learning experience, useful books, tips and resources.
When you enter a new field, there are many questions in your mind. Actually, they, sometimes even unconscious, not verbally formed, do not allow you to reach your dream. And the first thing you need to do is write down all the questions. The second is to methodically look for answers to them and learn a new skill step by step.
So, which program should you use to draw? What stylus? How often? Where can I read about this?
I've been looking at styluses for a long time. I have bamboo, 53 paper. But the apple pencil turned out to be the most convenient. It has a thin tip, it's nice to hold in your hand, and it's stylish. And it makes an ideal pair for the tablet - ipad pro. The thickness and saturation of the line reacts to the force of pressing the pencil on the screen. Those. everything is the same as with a regular tool. For example, when you press harder on a pencil, the line becomes thicker and brighter. Same with the apple pencil stylus. Or, you start pressing harder on the brush - the line becomes thicker, just like with the apple pencil stylus.
And here we can say a few words about the advantages of drawing on a tablet, as opposed to traditional tools:
- The art workshop is always with you. No need to carry a suitcase of tools, paints, markers and canvases.
- All drawing books are right there on the tablet.
- If the watercolor stroke does not work out or the color is not successful, you can remove it by lightly pressing the button.
- Clothes and hands are clean.
- No need to wait for the paint to dry.
- When you erase the wrong line, the paper does not deteriorate, everything simply returns to its original form.
- Paper is saved and trees are saved.
There are a couple of obvious disadvantages:
- If a pencil or tablet runs out and there are no sockets nearby, then that’s it, finish drawing.
- You will never be able to achieve such fancy watercolor stains on a tablet as on paper.
Let’s leave the magic of fancy watercolor spills for working on paper, but for now let’s return to digital drawing.
I decided on the program quite quickly, focusing on iTunes recommendations and reviews of sketching programs on the Internet. The choice fell on Tayasui Sketches. It has all the tools you need to get started. I especially liked the watercolor brush and the ability to make blots. At first the program seemed complicated. But this always happens until you start to figure it out and try.
At first you get scared by the abundance of tools, and then you start to run out of them.
The program has a convenient panel, a choice of colors, and a constantly updated gallery of works from all over the world. Well, the developers are lively, they are constantly adding something to the program. This is what the screen looks like. And examples of inscriptions made with different tools.
About the tools. It would be good to understand what each tool in the program can do. I used five sheets for this, experimenting with intensity, size, different layers and tools.
The pencil is an amazing imitation, indistinguishable from an ordinary pencil.
The program also includes a gel pen, a felt-tip pen, a marker brush, a pencil, an acrylic brush, a watercolor brush, and an airbrush.
A simple exercise is to draw many variations of one subject. Tool - pen.
The most difficult thing, as in life, was watercolor. Sometimes it gives completely unexpected effects when mixing, applying layers and blots.
With practice, you can make neat drawings with smooth transitions.
By the way, in the program you can change the canvas - watercolor grainy paper, regular album sheet, canvas, colored paper. And it’s also great to experiment with this.
3. “Art workshop. Graphic arts"
I have a little background on drawing on paper, thanks to the project. I will definitely participate in the100dayproject, on April 4th it will be launched by the author of our book “Between I Need and I Want,” El Luna. I plan to draw on my tablet every day.
I couldn’t find any books specifically on digital photography on a tablet in Russian. Drawing without a tutorial is like learning to drive a car on your own. It's possible, but difficult. I bought a magazine on this topic in New York, I’ll tell you about it in the next issue. By the way, another advantage is that you can draw on the plane, the screen is bright and there are a million colored pencils at hand.
Postcard taken on a flight from New York to Moscow.
The following goals:
- learn digital lettering.
- continue to master all the tools in Tayasui Sketches.
- draw whales, cats and space.
- practice a variety of drawings using the visual note technique.
- use layers more actively, it is very convenient.
Join if you are interested in this topic. You can write reviews and comments to me by email - [email protected].
Drawing with a Wacom graphics tablet allows Illustrator a ton of benefits, fast drawing shapes, ease of application compared to drawing with a mouse, width ratio and pressure on the stylus, and finally creating with a more natural and unique graphic style. In this article, we'll look at how to set up a graphics tablet for ease of use and customize Illustrator's vector graphics tools to create the correct bandwidth for your illustration. I will also describe several practical exercises that will allow you to quickly master a graphics tablet. So let's get started!
Pen customization
Install a stylus for ease of use. The main tools for creating an image path are the Paintbrush Tool (B) and the Blob Brush Tool (Shift + B). The differences in their use will be discussed a little later.
In the Brushes panel (Window > Brushes), open the artistic calligraphy brush library in the drop-down menu (Open Brush Library > Artistic > Artistic_Calligraphic) and select any round shaped brush.
Double-clicking on the brush icon in the brushes panel brings up a window with settings. Set the brush diameter to a slightly larger diameter (for clarity), set the brush diameter dependency on the pressure on the pen and the variation value, which is equal to the maximum diameter of the brush.
These parameters will allow us to change the thickness of the path from 0 to twice its thickness (in my case it's 60 points). Take the Blob Brush Tool and set the points by changing the pressure on the pen, as shown in the image below.
The goal of this exercise is to make sure you can easily control the diameter of your brush. You should create as many circles of different diameters/sizes as possible. Particular attention should be paid to pressing the stylus with minimal pressure. You should try to achieve a very small brush diameter as this allows you to create variable path widths without interruption.
If this exercise seemed difficult for you, do not worry, since the issue is not in your hands, but in the stylus settings. To access their settings, Macintosh OS users must open System Settings or dock, in the Apple menu, or from the Applications folder. Then click on the WacomTablet icon. OS Windows user must click on the Start button and select All Programs. Then select your Wacom Tablet and select Wacom Tablet Properties. Now adjust the pressure sensitivity settings using the slider, rather than closing the Wacom tablet in the properties window, repeat the exercise.
We should have made the stylus stronger from the default setting. But it depends on your preferences, but, nevertheless, this is a very important parameter. You can learn about other tablet settings from the user manual, but in most cases the default settings are acceptable.
Setting up drawing tools
Paint brush Tool (B)
To access the configuration tool, double-click its icon in the toolbar.
Let's look at the brush tool options...
Precision controls how far you should hover your mouse or stylus before Illustrator adds a new anchor point along the path. For example, a Fidelity value of 2.5 means that tool movements of less than 2.5 pixels are not registered. Accuracy can range from 0.5 to 20 pixels; The higher the value, the smoother and less complex the path of the lines. The figure below shows two curves that were created with different values of this parameter (4 and 0.5).
Smoothness controls the amount of anti-aliasing that Illustrator applies when using the tool Smoothness. Smoothness can vary from 0% to 100%, the higher the percentage, the smoother the path.
What Fidelity and Smoothness values should I set? I personally think the optimal Fidelity value is 4 pixels and Smoothness is 0%. Of course, this depends on your drawing style and the goals you have set to achieve.
Fill New Brush Strokes refers to the fill in the path. This option is especially useful when developing closed paths.
Keep Selected Allows you to configure an existing line.
Edit Selected Paths determines whether an existing path can be modified. For example, you can continue the created path.
The: [x] pixels determines how close the mouse or stylus should be to the existing path to edit the Paintbrush Tool. This option is only available with the Edit Selected Paths option.
The last three options are usually disabled during most illustrations, but you should be aware of their existence to solve specific problems.
Blob Brush Tool (Shift + B)
The Blob brush tool differs from the Paintbrush Tool (B) in that it creates resutant strokes by creating a closed path into the desired shape. It can also automatically connect previously drawn areas into new strokes in a manner similar to the Pathfinder toolkit. Also, note that there is no Bezier Spline center for the Blob Brush Tool, which does limit fine editing later, but it does allow for more precise editing using the Eraser Tool (Shift + E).
To access a tool's settings, double-click its icon in the toolbar.
You are familiar with some of the options. Let's meet new ones.
Merge only with Selection specifies that new strokes merge only with existing ones in the selected path. If you select this option, new object does not merge with another path that is not selected intersect.
As you'll notice, the size, angle, and roundness can be set directly in the Blob Brush Options dialog, without creating a new brush, or using a library brush, as was done with the Paintbrush Tool (B). It's more convenient.
Now let's understand the calligraphy brush options that can allow you to access the full range of brush capabilities. Fixed creates a brush with a fixed angle, roundness, or diameter (default without using a tablet).
Random creates a brush with random variations in angle, roundness or diameter (this is without using a tablet). Enter a value in the Edit field to specify the range over which the brush's characteristics can vary. For example, if the diameter is 15 and the Change value is 5, the diameter could be 10 or 20, or any value in between. The two strokes in the image below were made using a brush with random settings. The diameter of the brush depends on the distance to the lines, but not when creating a path.
Pressure creates a brush that changes angle, roundness, and diameter based on the tablet's pen drawing pressure. This option is most useful when using diameter. It is only available if you have a graphics tablet such as Wacom's Bamboo, Intuos and Cintiq series. Enter a value in the change field to indicate how long original value The brush characteristic will change. For example, when the Roundness value is 75% and the change value is 25%, the lightest stroke is 50%, and the heaviest stroke is 100%. The lighter the pressure, the more angled the brushes.
The Stylus Wheel creates a brush that changes in diameter based on manipulation of the stylus controls. This option is designed for use with an airbrush pen that has a wheel stylus on its barrel and a graphics tablet that can detect that it is a pen.
Tilt creates a brush that changes angle, roundness, and diameter based on the tilt of the stylus drawing. This option is most useful when using roundness. It is only available if you have a graphics tablet, which can detect how close the pen is to vertical. The figure below shows two vertical lines with different levels of inclination.
Bearing creates a brush that changes angle, roundness, and diameter based on the size of the pen. This feature is very useful when used to control the angle of a calligraphy brush, especially when you are using a brush like a brush. This is only available if you have a graphics tablet, which can detect which direction the pen is tilted. The image below shows a horizontal line, when creating I tilt the Stylus in a different direction.
Rotation creates a brush that changes in angle, roundness, or diameter depending on whether the stylus pen tip is rotated. This feature is very useful when used to control the angle of a calligraphy brush, especially when you use brushes like flat pens. It is only available if you have a graphics tablet that can detect this type of rotation.
How to draw on a graphics tablet? Where to begin? What are the differences from drawing with a pencil? In this section I publish drawing lessons on a graphics tablet. You can easily master this modern artist's tool, and can simply move from drawing with a simple pencil to using it correctly drawing tablet. Here you can find lessons for artists just starting to use a graphics tablet, as well as more advanced lessons. I'll tell you how to choose the right one graphics tablet for drawing, how to set it up in Photoshop, and I will also publish step-by-step drawing lessons (including for children): still lifes, portraits of people and drawings of various animals.
Drawing objects that are familiar to us helps not only to easily perceive the form, but also to convey it on a piece of paper or a computer screen. For a beginning artist, objects with simple and rounded shapes are suitable for learning. Only after a person has mastered them can he move on to more complex figures. Today's lesson will help us summarize the drawing of simple objects. We'll find out how to draw fruit. The difficulty of the lesson lies in the difference between their types and, accordingly, in size and color. But don’t be scared, because a detailed step-by-step description of the lesson will simplify this task even for a novice artist.
Having studied the basics of construction and color rendering in drawing, we can move on to more complex work. Its peculiarity will be the elaboration of small details. In this step-by-step lesson for beginners, we let's draw a still life, consisting of dishes, flowers, as well as fruits and berries. The vase will contain flowers - daisies. Their petals are quite small, so this part of the still life can be considered one of the most difficult. But the task will be simplified by a detailed and visual explanation of each stage of the drawing. So today we will find out how to draw difficult still life on a graphics tablet Adobe program Photoshop for beginning artists.
Some of the first pictures that children begin to draw in art classes are simple still lifes. And this is not surprising, because in ordinary objects there are many geometric shapes and color spots hidden. To an ordinary person, these nuances are not very noticeable, but an artist will be able to see in an ordinary object not only the general form, but also its internal structure, just by looking at the object. The practice of drawing still lifes develops the ability to hold a pencil correctly and draw straight lines, and also easily convey the volume of objects. Let's use this practice in learning to draw on a graphics tablet.
Flowers are not only a wonderful gift, but also an excellent interior decoration. And for us, flowers will serve as a harmonious addition to the still life composition. In previous lessons we studied the construction and application of color to objects, but now we can complicate the task. We will add a plant element to the composition of the picture - lily flowers. These are quite large flowers, which means the level of difficulty here is not high, so a step-by-step lesson " how to draw a vase with flowers"Wonderful for children.
Apple is one of the most delicious and healthy types of fruits. They are consumed both raw and various dishes and freshly squeezed juices are prepared from them. Today we will look at this fruit from an artistic point of view, namely, as an object for drawing a still life. Apples are round or oval in shape and bright in color. Any beginner, and even an experienced artist, should know how to draw an apple. This great way practice drawing rounded shapes, as well as learn color rendering and smooth color transitions.
With the approach of the New Year holidays, a pleasant feeling of joy comes to every person, regardless of age. Not only children, but also adults are expecting gifts and miracles for the New Year. And of course, we cannot ignore the main character of this holiday - Santa Claus. He is dressed in a long red fur coat with white stripes. He has a long white beard and a warm hat (to match his fur coat). In one hand he carries a large bag of gifts, and in the other - a magic staff. Regardless of whether we believe in Santa Claus or not, he, for a long time, remains one of the most important symbols of the new year. Let's find out how to draw Santa Claus on a graphics tablet.
The fairy-tale girl who constantly accompanies Father Frost and helps him is the Snow Maiden. Her feminine image brings its own zest to the New Year holidays. The Snow Maiden can be found in fairy tales and at children's matinees. Although she is considered the granddaughter of Santa Claus, this heroine appears before us both in the form of a little girl and sometimes as an adult girl. The story goes that she was born from snow, because her original name was “Snowflake”. There is a kokoshnik on her head, and she is dressed in a long skirt, short fur coat and high-heeled boots. In this lesson we will learn how to draw Snow Maiden in the form of an adult girl.
What is the name of the green beauty that appears in every house under New Year. It is decorated with toys and garlands, and when the chimes strike, gifts are found underneath it. Do you know what we're talking about? The symbol of the New Year is a Christmas tree. Its long sharp needles do not interfere with festive round dances. Christmas trees are not only live, but also artificial. Their height varies from a few centimeters to several meters. And we will find out how to draw a Christmas tree in its original form - without bright decorations. Even this “not elegant” look evokes a joyful mood.
No holiday is complete without the most important thing - gifts. What can we say about the New Year? This is one of the biggest holidays, when every person is busy looking for gifts for family and friends. Whatever the chosen gift, it must be beautifully packaged. Packages come in various types, sizes and colors, but today we will talk about the usual box with a beautiful bow. We'll find out how to draw a New Year's gift and to make the composition look more attractive, we’ll decorate it with a sprig of spruce and two balls.