Should You Start Drawing Digitally? [How to Decide]

Art is all over the place in various media. There’s painting, sculpting, writing, stitching, and everything else creative under the sun, and that includes digital drawing. So many artists out there make gorgeous works of art with their computers or other electronic devices that it can be tempting to want to try too.

Drawing digitally is a great way to express creativity and can be both a rewarding skill and hobby. It doesn’t take much to pick up, but it does still take a lot of time, practice, and effort just like with any other form of art.

In the end, whether or not to pick up drawing digitally is completely up to the individual. However, it doesn’t hurt to try building new skills so instead of just thinking about it, why not give it a go? Keep reading for some tips that might help the decision to start drawing digitally or not.

It Doesn’t Have to Cost a Lot

One of the greatest things about digital art is that chances are, you already have the software needed to get started. Plenty of digital artists use built-in software or freeware programs to produce their work, so it isn’t going to require a bunch of startup material cost.

It also doesn’t require some fancy classes to learn how to do. Some artists just dive right in and teach themselves, while others spend countless hours reading tutorials, watching YouTube videos, or reading “How To” books from the local library. While getting the top-of-the-line software and tech might sound appealing, it doesn’t have to be there in order to produce great work.

In regards to equipment, a basic drawing tablet will allow you to freehand draw and take your digital drawing to the next level. There are advanced styluses and advanced drawing tablets, but a basic drawing tablet will allow you to do nearly the same things but without the pin-point precision and some added features.

Art of Any Kind is a Skill, not a Talent

There is a very common misconception that art is a God-given talent, and only people who are born with this special ability are able to produce great works of art. While some people take to a specific medium or style better than others, that doesn’t mean that their art itself is a talent. It is entirely a skill built up just like any other skill: with a ton of practice.

Some people will insist that to “get good” at art one has to practice daily. That really isn’t true. Practicing a lot, whenever possible or the mood strikes, is far better and will lead to less burnout. Behind every great digital artist are countless hours of work, effort, and research that has gone into building those skills. They wouldn’t have ever gotten to where they were if they didn’t take the plunge and risk making things that weren’t so great to start out with.

You Will Always be Your Own Worst Critic

While there can be a large swath of toxic individuals on the internet, most people, especially other artists, are just happy to see someone trying. Just remember that no matter what happens or how much praise a piece of art gets, the artist has already seen a thousand things they consider errors. Nobody will be harsher on a piece of art, either traditional or digital, than the artist themselves.

What a beginner might see as a terrible piece looking nothing like the work they idolize, an established artist will see an immense amount of effort put in to just try. There will always be something worth it in there, so push aside those worries and that internal criticism and just try. Can’t get better without taking that first step.

There is a Steep Learning Curve

No matter what, drawing digitally is a new skill and with that comes some sort of learning curve. This is a hobby with an extremely steep learning curve and that unfortunately isn’t going to be avoidable. If starting from the ground up with absolutely no artistic experience previously, that seems like a huge mountain to climb. There’s all these terms, programs, and functions to learn that seem insurmountable in some situations. Just take it one tiny step at a time and soon it will become second nature.

If starting with an artistic background of some sort, the curve is a little less steep. Coming from traditional drawing to digital can be as simple as finding software and programs that feel a lot like the previous media or doing a little mix of the two. Try scanning in a traditional sketch and then converting that to a digital piece, either by functions in the program or putting it on its own layer to draw over. That can help at least get a feel for how things work.

It Can Become Profitable

Digital art is one of the ways that people can become their own boss. Eventually, the artist might become confident enough in their skills to offer art commissions. This can add up to quite a hefty sum with a good amount of advertising, which will in turn teach a huge number of transferrable skills to the artist.

From there, it can also lead to building a portfolio and landing a successive artistic career. It’s not a useless skill by any means, especially since it has potential to make money down the line. Some artists even manage to successfully make their own business and live entirely off of their art.

Conclusion

If thinking about picking up drawing digitally, most artists are going to insist to just take the plunge. It doesn’t have to cost a lot, nor does it need to be perfect immediately. While there’s a mountain of learning and practice ahead, it can be an amazing hobby and skill to cultivate that might even become worthwhile profit down the line.

Just always remember that it is a skill not a talent and requires a lot of practice. For every great piece of art, regardless of medium, there are countless hours of effort gone into growing that bank of skills to be able to produce that one piece. It wouldn’t have gotten there without deciding to try in the first place, and it’s not like it is going to hurt anything to give it a whirl to decide if it’s a good medium for creative expression.