A lot of people assume that digital art is easier than traditional art simply because it's made using a computer when in reality, both require a lot of time and practice to master them, they just require a different set of skills!
SO WHERE DO I START?
First things first, if you want to become a digital artist, you're going to need an art program and tablet to make all your new wonderful art on!
If you are just starting out, I would suggest using one of the many free art programs that are available, many of the skills you will pick up in any of the programs are transferable to the paid counterparts so don't worry!
Anyway here is my top 5 list of art programs:
Is a free art program, and is probably the most bare-bones program out there! It's a really great starting program for little artist or those who are new to digital art and are scared of being overwhelmed by too many buttons and options, this is also one of the first programs I used when I was learning about digital art.
Available on: Mac / Win
Pros:
It's Free
It's easy to learn
Pen Pressure sensitivity
Layers are available
Can make your own custom brushes
Can make comics
3D Perspective available
It's been a long while since I've used Paint tool sai, it's super easy to use similar to Fire Alpaca, with a similar level of things you can do, but a lot of artist prefer how easy the brushes blend and work with each other. It's not free so if you are going to pay for a program, my advice would be to pick one of the other paid programs from the list as they also come with a community of people that make tutorial and brushes.
Available on: Mac / Win
Pros:
It's easy to learn
Pen Pressure sensitivity
Layers are available
3 Krita
Is a great free program, not only does it allow you to make illustrations but you can also use it to make animations. Krita doesn’t limit the size of the virtual canvas but It does depend on the performance of your PC. Krita imitates real canvases, emulates various drawing tools, and the effects container includes many artistic effects. Therefore, the process of creating digital drawings is as realistic as possible. Besides, this free digital art software works smoothly with layers, contains tools for drawing post-processing and provides a high level of detail.
Available on: Mac / Win / Linux
Pros:
Pen Pressure sensitivity
Animation capabilities
Many brushes
Layers are available
Although photoshop is technically meant to be used to edit photographs, hence the name, it is possible to create illustrations, comics and animations with it!
It also happens to be the go-to program for many professionals and studios, so you might want to learn how to use it if you're aiming for an industry job however the biggest drawback for me is you can only purchase a monthly subscription for it, so you don't technically own any of the programs you "Subscribe" to, so as soon as you stop paying for the subscription you can no longer use the program.
Available on: Mac / Win
Pros:
Pen Pressure sensitivity
Animation capabilities
Many brushes
Layers are available
Auto Updates
Professional
Clip Studio is probably one of the best art programs I've ever used, as of making this blog post there are currently 2 options to choose from, clip studio paint PRO and clip studio paint EX, although I would advise on getting the EX version as it unlocks a bunch of other features which is helpful if your someone who would like to get into making longer animations and comics.
Available on: Mac / Win
Honourable Mention:
Concepts is an infinite canvas type program similar to Mischief which was discontinued a few years ago, Concepts allows you to zoom in and out and draw anywhere. I personally use this program with my Microsoft Surface for quickly mapping out ideas on the go. And although it's more of a sketching program it is possible to draw full illustrations with it!
Available on: Mac / Win / Google Play.
Pros:
Infinite Canvas
Pen Pressure sensitivity
Good basic brushes
Custom Brushes
Additions
I hope you were able to find the perfect art program to get you started!
