The advent of the age of computers and its consequent digitalization of the world have rendered every particle in pixels and codes.

So real had been the effect that every representation could be said to have been more vibrant than reality itself. And one of the most dramatic transformations that was brought about by digitalization has been in the field of fine arts.

Digital painting is now the better half of traditional techniques and is adopted as the primary media of representation to the global audience. Because, one of the biggest game-changers in digital art is that it gives you the scope of undoing a certain step.

However, that being said, to understand digital painting techniques, especially for a beginner, could be more challenging than you’d typically think.

So, what we have tried doing here is to explain what exactly does digital painting encompass and a few essential things that could make you excel in this field.

Simply read on to know more!

Digital painting techniques

Digital painting does include a vast range of features and functions that are designed to make the process incredibly easy for you to manage.

In the next few sections, we have talked about a few essential techniques and tips that will definitely help you create beautiful art using this medium!

1. Get a pen-tab

Although a pro at the field will be able to create their masterpieces with both a mouse or a digital pen, it is always better to get a pen-tablet. A pen-tab could be rather beneficial for a beginner, owing to the immense ease of use and maneuverability it could provide at the time of making those crucial strokes.

Even if you are using a software like Photoshop, you can use a digital stylus to draw on the canvas or a piece of paper directly. And the art produced will get duly transferred to the screen as you draw!

Such digital drawing pens also provide you with the benefit of one-touch buttons that help you quickly choose your colors, brushes, and tools from their respective panels or toggle between settings. This is much easier than dragging a finger or a selection device all the way across, as that could lead to losing focus of a vital point while drawing.

2. Use the right brush

Knowing about a brush effect and knowing exactly how to use it are very different things, the latter of which actually produces the desired final result. What you need to understand is that not all brushes will be appropriate fits for all kinds of art.

So, you must understand the basics of using such brushes to know how to start digital art. Adding to these are several different tools that, together with the brushes, help you achieve a range of effects. These include:

Sketching and painting

Creating shades and gradient mixes of transitioning colors

Filling in large spaces with colors

Quick-painting

Creating blends and patterns

Adding realistic textures

Fine-tuning any detail

Such settings are exceedingly versatile and allow you to achieve even more than just these effects if you know how to tweak them to suit your requirements and preferences.

3. Using additional effects

In digital art, you will find a lot of additional effects that you can use to enhance the texture of any painting. These include a range of filters, settings to manipulate lighting and shadow, adjusting the color saturation in a picture, managing the hardness and opacity of picture, and so much more!

That may seem like all the things you could ever need to make a masterpiece. But, even a slight disbalance in any of these factors could destroy the intended effect of your picture.

That is why you should always experiment with all such aspects before relying on one to make your art look just right. Understanding how these effects coordinate with colors is going to prove to be a great digital painting technique in every way.

4. Understanding layers

Layers are one of the major elements in digital painting. These are, in fact, the canvases on which you put the framework of your art. But unlike traditional canvases where the whole thing goes on all at once, layers actually allow you to set different parts of the sketch on to different frames. You can then finally merge these separate layers to get one whole piece.

Meaning, if there are 4 layers, then on the first you can just put the outline, on the second the basic structure, the third can hold the details, while the colors can go on the last one. You can finally merge these to get one whole painting. And, you can create as many layers as you want to split up your work into as many sections as you like.

All of these layers could be individually edited and rectified, so it provides incredible ease of creating the ideal structure for the art.

5. Understanding pen pressure and blending

The pen pressure is what lets you create art in the digital medium, bringing about the required effects from digital brushes. The sharpness or hardness of each stroke will depend on the pen pressure you create. So, as you can tell, this is one thing that you have to be very careful about, as you put in the colors and blend.

Blending is when you use nothing but soft brushes keeping it on the lowest level of hardness. You can then steadily increase it for defining the details on the structure. And the pen pressure should be turned off while blending.

Another useful tool for blending, contrary to what you may think, is the eraser tool. Although it is generally used to erase mistakes, the fun thing is that it can be adjusted to have different opacity levels, hardness, and sizes. This actually helps you get rid of spills, undesired color concentrations, and also for softening the edges.

Types of digital art

1. Fractal/Algorithmic Art

This is a digital art form that involves creating art through mathematical computations, producing “fractal” images, videos, and other forms. This is a relatively new genre of abstract digital art that uses a new, specific software.

2. Dynamic Painting

This is basically another name for digital painting, where you use a computer to paint a picture. Dynamic painting will get you the same results digitally as that of traditional techniques.

3. Data-Moshing

Data-moshing is a process that involves the manipulation of media files to produce the desired visual effects. It is done by decoding such files, which then allow snippets from other media files to enter into them. They’re then edited to form one composite file.

4. 2D Computer Graphics

2D or 2-dimensional computer graphics are taken from 2-dimensional models such as digital images and texts. It basically comprises transforming traditional art images into digital art, which are then used in animation and other projects of the entertainment industry.

5. 3D Computer Graphics

3-Dimensional computer graphics represent 3-dimensional geometric data that is found in every model or structure. These involve calculating such geometric data and storing the representations in the device for future reference.

6. Digital Photography

The emergence of digital photography replaced vintage celluloid cameras, bringing a number of features and auto-settings with it. Digital photography could now be easily achieved through smart cellphones, making it accessible for practically everybody.

7. Pixel Art

This form of digital art is primarily related to images and videos that are typically used for games, movies, or aesthetic ventures. A specific software is used for producing pixel art, that supports 8-bit and 16-bit computers, including certain graphic calculators and video-game consoles.

8. Raster Painting

Raster painting in digital art is an essential domain and enjoys great popularity in mainstream production art owing to its realistic textures like those of hand-paintings. It allows you to create the picture with paint “strokes” using digital brushes, which is what makes the art look exactly like a hand-painting.

9. Manual Vector Painting

Vector painting allows the user to control aspects of colors, shadows, as well as groups and transparency, by representing lines and shapes in geometrical formulas. A significant advantage of the form is that the size of such images can be easily blown out without losing on its quality or sharpness.

10. Integrated Art

Integrated art or “interdisciplinary art” is a method that merges more than one form of art or medium to achieve a single piece. It is a lot less restrictive to use this form when compared to some of the more conventional digital forms.

How to start digital art? 

Getting into digital art is going to be an easy and exciting process for anyone who understands the basics of traditional and digital techniques.

And, here are some of the fundamental points to keep in mind when you start with digital art

1. Always choose the right devices and software. Not all will fit your preference or skill, or, for that matter, your budget. The wisest thing to do here is to get something that will help you understand the basics first.

2. Don’t shy away from experimenting with forms, styles, and effects. Not only will this help you get better at it but, in fact, develop a personal, unique style.

3. Go through different online tutorials, as these will serve as the stepping stones to learn all the essential tips and techniques of digital art.

4. Understand how different tools and shortcuts work. What this will do is make the process hassle-free for you, so that you can quickly adapt to the medium.

5. Practice. This is the biggest advice, tip, and technique to excel in this medium, or anything, for that matter. Set separate times to experiment and practice enough to perfect your art.

Conclusion  

The field of digital painting is actually as vast as modern art itself, enveloping numerous aspects and forms. So, to understand all the sides to it, one really needs to know how it works and how it should be handled.

And, that is what we have attempted to help you out with today. We hope you found this guide to be useful.

Thanks for stopping by!

Till next time!