Frequently asked questions

I really don't think there is a "best" tablet. I use the Huion KAMVAS GT-191 right now but i used to use a small Wacom Intuos tablet and it did the job just fine! The only reason I upgraded was because I really wanted a display tablet and I wanted more surface area to draw on! If drawing is just a hobby, I'd recommend just a small tablet. If you're planning on improving your art or making it your job, I'd say you should go for a nice display tablet. It doesn't have to be big or top brand like a Cintiq. It's just easier to draw with and navigate.

I use Clip Studio Paint PRO as my main drawing program! It's similar to Photoshop and one of my favorite programs! you do have to pay for it but it's a one time payment and definitely worth it! It's my go to program for drawing. Next is Krita! Krita is similar to Photoshop and CSP but it's free. It has all the features you need and that includes animation! I use this program mainly for animation because the version of CSP that I have doesn't include it. If you need a free drawing program that has it all, I recommend Krita! Last one that I use on the daily is Procreate on my Ipad. It's a great app that you can draw and animate on! I especially like that I can have it on the go when I go on vacation or to friends house! It's a lot of fun to use and is a great option for on the go artists! For recommendations, here are some free and paid options! FREE Krita- Like I said, I use krita mainly for animations but you can use it for drawing too! It's interface is similar to photoshop so if you love photoshop but can't afford it, you should go for this option! You can download Krita here! https://krita.org/en/ Medibang- I never personally used this program but I've only heard great things about it! This one also has a similar layout to photoshop! You can download Medibang here! https://medibangpaint.com/en/ Autodesk Sketchbook- This program is awesome and has a very simplified UI. It's great for sketching and drawing. I have to say I do have some trouble coloring. It seems to be a little messy on that end. Other than that i really recommend it! You can download Sketchbook here! https://sketchbook.com/ FireAlpaca- This is another one I haven't been able to use but the reviews are good! The UI is similar to CSP. I've also heard it's a great starter program! You can download FireAlpaca here! https://firealpaca.com/ PAID Clip Studio Paint PRO/EX: [30 days free~US$49.99(PRO)~US$219.00] CSP has been such a nice program to use! It's super easy to understand the layout and has been my main program for about 2 years! The PRO version allows access to almost everything in the program except the animation feature. To be able to animate you need the EX version! They're both one time payments but the EX version is pretty expensive. They do give a small discount if you already bought the PRO version. You can download CSP here! https://www.clipstudio.net/en Paint Tool SAI: [31 days free~JP5,500yen~US$52.18] This program is great for beginners and has a very simple and clean interface! This was one of the first programs I've ever used and I loved it! You can download PaintToolSAI here! https://www.systemax.jp/en/sai/ Photoshop: [7 day free trial~US$20.99/m] Of course photoshop is on this list! Photoshop has been the main go to program that people want when they want to start drawing digitally. I'm not the biggest fan of PS but I know a lot of other people love it. It is $20 a month so iif you have the money to spare, go for it! You can download Adobe Photoshop here! https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html?sdid=KKQIN&mv=search&kw=photoshop&ef_id=CjwKCAjwnK36BRBVEiwAsMT8WEFPFfWIaoZZoby_ThAPEmqUR49XaiKr1xJBg7JwydYMRP5hngBhEhoCT9UQAvD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!3085!3!442365416141!e!!g!!photoshop&gclid=CjwKCAjwnK36BRBVEiwAsMT8WEFPFfWIaoZZoby_ThAPEmqUR49XaiKr1xJBg7JwydYMRP5hngBhEhoCT9UQAvD_BwE Corel Painter: [US$429.00~US$16.58/m~US$199.000/y] I got to try out the free trial of this program and it's really cool. The brushes act like real brushes and produce realistic textures! This program is SUPER expensive though. You can download this Corel Painter here! https://www.painterartist.com/en/pages/ppc/painter/?sourceid=ptr2020-xx-ppc_brkws&x-vehicle=ppc_brkws&gclid=CjwKCAjwnK36BRBVEiwAsMT8WF-a2oYf1Yq1jIesxnmCJhl7S9U9uElIZ_sl2PIaVy3E7OT0Lw5fyBoCl_cQAvD_BwE Procreate: [US$9.99] This app has been a life saver for traveling! This apps allow you to draw and animate on the go, and it's only a one time payment of $9.99! It's super easy to use and just an overall great drawing app! Sadly, it's only available on the app store so you won't be able to get it on windows or mac os. You can download Procreate here! https://apps.apple.com/app/procreate/id425073498

No i didn't, I'm mainly a self taught artist! I have done some standard art classes in Elementary, Middle, and High school but that's about it. I'm planning on going to an art school next month though! I mainly learned what I know right now through youtube tutorials! I would just watch and study drawing tutorials on youtube until i was able to draw something from my own imagination! I kept practicing and watching tutorials anyway just so I could improve! One of the best youtubers for drawing tutorials is Mark Crilley. He was one of the first drawing tutorial youtubers I ever found! He does a lot of manga drawings but he also has realistic tutorials too! He goes step by step in his tutorials and he doesn't go to fast so it's easy to keep up! You can check out his channel here! https://www.youtube.com/user/markcrilley/videos Other Tutorial/art channels! https://www.youtube.com/user/mikeymegamega (great for anatomy!) https://www.youtube.com/user/DrawWithJazza (has some great background, anatomy, and animation tutorials!) https://www.youtube.com/user/Palivizumab (not exactly tutorials but he does draw such imaginitive stuff! He also post realtime drawings where you can watch his process!) https://www.youtube.com/user/HurpTheDerp (Apselene is such an amazing artist and is actually the reason this website even exists! She makes website tutorials which are super helpful! She also makes a lot of animation memes that looks so incredible!) https://www.youtube.com/user/Finchwing (If you enjoyed the Warrior cats books, you're gonna love Finchwings speedpaints and animations!)

This is a big topic and I'm possibly gonna get a lot of hate from people but here we go lol. Tracing: I don't think tracing is art. You are taking a picture and drawing over it, making it look the exact same (besides some color changes) and calling it your own drawing. Do you understand how long it took for the original artist to create that? It could've taken them hours, days, weeks, and you just traced it in 20 mins and posted it on social media. Then the one that was traced probably got millions of views and the original got maybe 100? That isn't fair to the actual artist of the drawing. Tracing could be benefically for practice, allowing you to get a feel of how things look and feel, but never post a drawing that was traced s your own. Always credit the original artist! I'm gonna be honest, I used to trace. i would trace something and then call it my own. My family and friends would be so proud and all I felt was guilt because I didn't actually create it. I just stole it and pretended that it was mine. It's not something you should do and if you trace your whole art carrier, you're never gonna improve. you're never gonna have your own unique style. You need to leave tracing behind and become your own artist! I know it's difficult and it's gonna take a lot of time but you can do it! you just have to keep doing it and practicing! Referencing A lot of people confuse referencing with tracing; when in reality, refrencing is completely different and is super useful! A lot of great artists use references! Referencing is the act of taking a picture and putting it beside you own canvas and you try and draw your own version of that picture. You try and match it as closely to the picture as you can! It's great for learning anatomy, backgrounds, bascially anything that you're struggling with! i'll attach a video of me do anatomy studies where I referenced pictures of nude woman to help build my anatomy skills! Referencing is a great way to practice and improve!

A drawing can take me anywhere from 20 mins to 2 weeks! It all depends how much detail I want to put into it! I'm told I draw pretty fast but I also don't do a lot of painterly pieces! mine are usually lineart based and I'm a little messy on my normal drawings! When i take commissions, they usually take longer because I want to make sure they at the best that I can make them for whoever is commissioning me! There are some very detailed and neat artists out there and they're drawings could take up to months! Again, it all depends how detailed your drawing are!

I don't really have a schedule. My commissions will randomly open and close depening on my job! i currently work retail from Tues. to Fri. and then I'm off from Sat. to Mon. I'll usually open commissionson weekends and on my holidays/vacations when I'm not working! I am planning on starting a second job soon so my commissions may be closed more often :(.