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Ok I'm usually a pretty good drawer and artist if I have the right inspiration but that's only with paper and pencils, I've been wanting very badly to draw using my computer, I have Photoshop and GIMP but when I begin to draw something I usually end up raging because it's like a whole other type of art completely.

So I'm asking you artists out there to give me advice on what the fuck I'm doing.
the main questions I am also asking are as follows;

★Do you use a mouse or a drawing tablet, why and if you answered tablet how much did you get it for?

★What programs do you use that work the best and for what style?

★How long did it take you to finish something that you'd say is your "best work"

★and lastly just give me helpful tips like about drawing or editing.

Thank and HoNk :o)

1. I use my finger on my ipad!
2. I use sketchbook!
3. 30 minutes!
4. Draw dinosaurs, get kramas! Also, find the style you're best at and practice it!

1. If I'm using a computer to draw, I like using a tablet. I have a Wacom Intuos 4, which cost me $200

(When I started, I had a little $70 graphire that worked great. I think the equivalent now would be one of the Bamboo. I've played with it, and if you're thinking of getting one, it's a nice one to learn with!)

2. I've only really used the Adobe suite of programs professionally. When I was learning, I used OpenCanvas a lot since it was free and actually behaved in some very similar ways to Photoshop.

3. 8-10 hours. But this was a large painting-- maybe 24″ × 36″ I used Google Sketch Up to create a 3d space, then printed it and made a stencil of it and painted that, then I painted objects and figures inside of it. Good work takes a long time and a lot of patience! 10 hours isn't really a long time for a painting.

4. Draw from life, and draw OFTEN. Especially figures. REAL PEOPLE

I'm loving these tips and info guys, thanks and keep 'em coming. I'll look up a lot of this tomorrow and try some stuff.

@Olivia are dinosaurs real people?

OOH BOY A CHANCE TO GIVE ADVICE

I use, exclusively (though only because of financial limitations), a bamboo pen tablet, and Photoshop CS5. I put in an hour on minimal stuff, and 5-6 on real pieces I do.

Understand that drawing skill in digital is completely different from drawing on paper, because you don't have the benefit of watching the tip of whatever you're drawing with move. It's going to take some practice getting used to (I've been doing it for a year and I'm STILL not great at it), but all you can do is keep trying.

1) I use a mouse. Honestly I'm a hole lot better with mice than I am with my hands, and I've never drawn anything on paper that I was even remotely satisfied with.

2) Paint.NET. I've used photoshop before, and there is nothing that I ever used in it that isn't offered by Paint.NET. Its free, had all sorts of community made add-ons. Overall just the single most incredible drawing program ever. I usually draw maps and edit photos for a friend, and occasionally draw/edit anime for reaction images, avatars, or GIFs.

3) Hmm… one of the longest thing's I've ever drawn from scratch took me about four hours. I don't remember what it was, just that it took four hours.

4) I don't know… community add-ons really help, like conditional hue/saturation editing. Layers are the best thing ever. You need to learn them.

Alright took you guy's advice I went out and bought a bamboo tablet and a legit animation program. thanks for the help and tips. expect to see my doodles used in forums.

This gon be good! In other news, I also just got a tablet! Hopefully I'm good with it!

Try being better.

Raptur you're not allowed to sleep over at my house anymore.

1. I use a mouse. I suck at using my tablet, plus drawing with the mouse is much faster than learning how to use a tablet.
2. I use GIMP. It's a poor man's Photoshop. I suppose, it does its job well.
3. Best work? Depends on how big the picture is or how much stuff I'm going to put in it.
But, I say thirty minutes to an hour. More or less.
4. Save. A LOT. Never know when something is going to go wrong. Erm… That's really it.

Tell you the truth, my drawing are 100% better if I draw with paper and pencil. I don't draw many humans on the computer because I have trouble with the heads, hair, ears, etc. Which is my drawings are limited to Animals, Pokemon, Spriting, and Mecha.

Tablets are a must if you want to fully use a programs brushes. I use a bamboo tablet with Photoshop to make textures and edit images for my models. Bamboo tablets are one of the cheapest brands and they work very well. I got a fairly medium size, highly sensitive one for about $150 at a Best Buy. You will need a few days to get used to it since it's different from simply drawing or using a mouse. I don't know much else that would help since I'm not into 2D.

I usually take permanent markers and draw on my monitor.

Still can't find that undo option though…

that made me laugh

I'm a programmer, not an artist but I make shitty drawings anyway because its fun and because I can. Some guys here have the natural talent to just take their ideas straight from mind and put them into a PNG file in 10 minutes, I do not have that talent. But I came up with a 5 step process for getting the job done anyway. If you are a little more artistically challenged like myself, you might be able to use it too.

Here's how I do it:

Step 1: Sketch on paper. As hard as it is to get proportions and lines right with pencil, the mouse is way harder for me. At least with a pencil I can undo mistakes easily and try again so I use paper to get it right first.

Step 2: Photograph the Sketch with my digital camera

Step 3: Import the photograph into Inkscape

Step 4: Use the vector tool in Inkscape to trace the photo and make all the basic shapes. Then set their colors/gradients

Step 5: For a little more detail, open the Inkscape drawing in GIMP and apply shading and effects. A 5% transparent black brush combined with blur is great for shading

I made a compilation of Steps 2 – 5 to demonstrate:

Another thing that helps is a good quality mouse. I use a Logitech G5 which lets me drop the mouse to 400 dpi at the press of a button. At such low sensitivities, I have more control over subtle mouse movement.

[edit]

Re-read this thread and realized you already found your solution. Crap. Never mind.

I'll just leave this here anyway, someone else might find it useful

It's still the thought that counts bro

Do you use a mouse or a drawing tablet, why and if you answered tablet how much did you get it for?

★What programs do you use that work the best and for what style?

★How long did it take you to finish something that you’d say is your “best work”

★and lastly just give me helpful tips like about drawing or editing.

1. I try to stick to the tablet. I got it one year for the Holidays because I kept begging for one, so I don't know how much it costs. If you want to look it up though, it's a small Bamboo tablet from Wacom. It's little but it gets the job done. Very easy to take around.

2. I like to use Photoshop CS3. It's, in my opinion, perfect for my less realistic style of drawing.

3. Pff…I'm never pleased with anything I've done. I think my better pictures took me over six hours, and I end up hardly liking them either.

4. Make an untitled document where you just play with every tool. One of the best things you can do is figure out what every option has in store for you. Layers are your best friends, keep them organized, and save often.

@wheatley.

"4. Make an untitled document where you just play with every tool. One of the best things you can do is figure out what every option has in store for you. Layers are your best friends, keep them organized, and save often."

That's a protip right there^

can i have some cake?