Procreate is the best if you have an iPad. For myself I'm about to adventure out with Clip Studio Paint and drawing tablet for my PC - but the reason why is that it is cross platform with the iPad. Apparently while some pros use Procreate, Clip Studio Paint is a recommended alternative to Photoshop that pros seem to prefer and while I am nowhere near a pro nor want to be a pro, I do want to be familiar with the professional techniques and software that pros use. Anyways, welcome to the world of digital painting!

Hello everyone, Here is my entry to the contest. The title is Beautiful Monster. It's a romance drama about what it's like to be in a love hate relationship with a narcissist.

Hi Eva ! I think taking a class can be very helpful to you in order to learn faster instead of figuring it out on your own. In terms of digital programs, it really doesn't matter what program you use if you are a beginner. There are a lot of free digital programs to choose from, but if you have some money you can purchase Clip Studio Paint( you pay only once) or you can absolutely go with Photoshop.

If you already have an ipad, I do recommend using procreate. If not, then you'll certainly need a drawing tablet. While photoshop is certainly popular for its features and is the standard for the industry, you could use other software which might be as good as photoshop. Depending on what you mainly want to do, other software might be better for you. For example, since i'm more interested in illustration and comics, I'm satisfied using clip studio paint. I have never used photoshop, since the price is really high for beginners and I never really intend to be a working 'professional' artist. If you think the price is no problem and you might used the features offered in photoshop then go for photoshop.

The fastest way to learn painting with a specific program for me is watching courses/tutorials and practicing the workflow from professional artists, they have different ways to do the same thing, so you will find which method works better for you :) Also, I think each program has a list of basic tutorials in their webpage. Procreate is a very good program if you have an iPad, also the Photoshop's brushes work there. I hope it helps you ^-^

The process depends on what the style you are looking to achieve. A painterly style will have different approaches to comic kind of style. You don't really need to specifically learn "digital art", because the principle of art is not gonna change. You only need to know about the controls and functions of your software and you are ready to go. Speaking of software, generally, if you have Photoshop, then just use it, good enough to do basic and advanced works, until/unless you find other software more convenient. Depending on what style you want to develop, you might need some brush plugins for PS because the ones comes with PS itself sometimes aren't that convenient in terms of efficiency. There are certain tricks that make digital painting so much more convenient, like layers and blending modes, masks and so on. It's worth looking at some Youtube video and see if those tool suits what you wanna do. I use MyPaint a lot, because I work on Linux and that software is so small and lightweight. You can also try Krita, a very powerful painting program, I'd say some of the functions are better than PS can offer in terms of painting. If you do watercolour or anything like that, you might want to check out Rebelle, it's a simulation based painting software, might replicate the water medium pretty well.

Hey Eva. I worked in traditional art for a LONG time before I decided to try digital. Working in digital, for me, was almost like starting over. It has a very different feel to it. There will be a learning curve, so start with some basic drawings to get used to the feel of digital. The best way to learn is just to experiment and practice. I use Photoshop because I already knew how to use the software. Krita is a free software package for digital art if you want to use that to start. I feel like there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube to learn about any software, but definitely a lot of them for Photoshop. To do digital painting you only use a fraction of the power of Photoshop, so you should be able to learn on your own. As you get more advanced you can expand into learning how to customize brush settings to get your own brushes. Good luck!!

Hey Eva! Taking your own references is always your best bet, but when you don't have access to models, props, etc, an easy fix is to go to royalty-free creative-commons licensed photos. I wrote an article recently compiling a list of 11 great sites that have FREE photos easily searchable, and in that article I link another article listing nearly 50 others! The article is on a writing site and aimed towards writers, but ignore all the fluff of the introduction and get right into the list, because the sites hold great references you can use for your art. The great thing about photos licensed under the Creative Commons 0 license is that the photographers give you full access to the photo to use for personal AND commercial use, WITHOUT having to credit or attribute them (although it's always appreciated). There's more information in the legal pages of each site if you want to double check, but I did my homework on this one for this type of reason! Worry not and go forth creating with these amazing resources! Here's the link to my article, and I hope you find some great photos: https://vocal.media/journal/11-free-photo-sites-like-unsplash-for-when-you-can-t-find-what-you-re-looking-for

I dedicated an entire class to copyright for my undergraduate students. In ranges from differences in leasing and selling work all the way to piracy and copyright infringement. Here's the summary info I supply them with. It’s a good idea to have an understanding of copyright law as an artist. Be you a painter, illustrator, photographer, designer or, art student. Knowing your rights and how you can or can not use other’s images in your work is essential knowledge for working artists. Basic Copyright For Work You Create The minute you create any work for your own use (whatever that use may be), you own the copyright. You have the right to reproduce the artwork, copy it, display it and use it for financial gain. You also have the right to stop someone who copied your image from using it. If you create a painting and sell it, the buyer owns the painting and you own the copyright.* If you create a painting for an employer/client who is paying you to create it, The painting and copyright belongs to the employer/client.* If you create a painting on commission for a client the painting and copyright belong to the client* If you allow a company to publish your work/s (e.g. in a magazine, calendar, etc.), you are licensing the work to them. The original work and copyright usually still belong to you but, this depends on the agreement you signed with the publisher. In the EU and the USA the duration of copyright is 70 years beyond the life of the creator. This can vary in different circumstances and from country to country. *Unless stated otherwise in an agreement. Usually a signed legal document. Common Questions Q: Can I use someone elses image in my painting (or, for reference)? A: No. Mostly. If you take an image and use that image to make one that looks like it, you have infringes on the owner/creator’s copyright. However, if you use that image as a source of inspiration for your own work and, the result is your own unique image, you are not infringing on the owner’s rights. The safest option is to use your own images or, public domain images. Q: Can I make copies of images for my own personal studies? A: Yes. Even though you are making a copy of a copyright image, because it is for your own personal use, there is no copyright infringement. This falls under the “fair dealing” and “fair use” exceptions. You can not sell these works for profit. I recommend not including these in portfolios. Q: Do I need to use the © symbol on my artwork? A: No. But, it can be useful in preventing what is called “innocent infringement.” A situation where someone who is unfamiliar with copyright law require legal defense for unknowingly infringing upon the owner’s copyright. Q: How do I use the © symbol? A: © 2014 Jane Doe. All rights reserved. Something to think about Let’s say you are an artist who makes their living from the art you create. You spend the better part of a month working on on a piece of art. You then add images to your online portfolio and put it up for sale at a commensurate amount for the time and experience that went into it’s creation. One week later you stumble across an online store selling hundreds of copies at an affordable price. How does this affect you? How does this make you feel? How do you imagine musicians, game developers and, other creatives feel about piracy? Myths About Copyright Mailing a copy of your work to yourself. The US Government Copyright Office states that: "The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright.” There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration" 1. References 1. http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html Research and Information Sites http://www.copyright.gov/ http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ40.pdf - Copyright Registration for the Visual Arts http://www.visualartcopyright.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substantial_similarity

The easiest ways to avoid copyright infringement are to take your own reference photos, use reference photos taken by family or friends with their permission if you know any photographers, or purchase royalty free photos from sites like Photobash for reference. Some artists also sell photo reference packs, I'd just review said artists' individual policies on photo use. There are sites like Paint My Photo where you can find free reference photos, don't think they even require attribution so long as you follow the site's rules. Has been awhile since I've used it, but I think they require your art to be traditional, not digital, and you have to post your artwork as a reply to the original photo on their site. Just be sure to review their policies if you go that route. You can also use multiple photos from a Google search or what-have-you for reference of your subject so long as you don't copy any of the photos directly. Say you're drawing a crow, for example. You can look at multiple photos of crows from different angles with different types of lighting to get an idea of the shape of a crow's body, maybe even do a few quick studies from different angles that you don't share, just to get a better sense of the body structure, then you come up with your own composition. No attribution necessary so long as you're using a wide range of photos for general understanding of the anatomy without directly copying.