Doodle Diaries: Trials and Tribulations - Digital Drawing (1)

So I'm an analog caveman who mostly draws using pencil and paper.

I've always wanted to draw digitally, but as a high schooler I never jumped the gun because standard drawing tablets are over $100 and Photoshop also costs a lot, which sounded like a lot of money back then. There was also the fact that I was technologically challenged.

As I grew older and $100+ no longer sounded like a lot of money I was considering buying a tablet at some point. But then I got a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 when I came to Korea.

Galaxy Note 4 came with a stylus pen, which apparently makes for a pretty good makeshift tablet, according to the internet. So you're telling me I got myself a free mini tablet when I got a new phone? Sweet!

I'm pretty sure artists own separate tablets from their phones, but since I was not a professional and still technologically challenged, I decided my phone was a good enough substitute for the time being.

I downloaded the drawing app SketchBook X and have been attempting to draw digitally since last year.

You may or may not have seen me upload doodles like this on Facebook.

These were easy and fun, but I needed to teach myself how to draw more complicated things and actually learn how to color.

I only attempted "serious" drawings about 4-5 times last year because I was still in a drawing funk, but I did try. My first few attempts were laughably pathetic.

LOL what are layers? Let me color on the same layer that I lined things on!

I have no idea what I'm doing.

I had no clear concept of these so-called "layers" everyone kept talking about or why you needed them when drawing. (I wasn't kidding about the technologically challenged part.) After the first two atrocities, I finally understood.

So I tried drawing again, now using layers.

Layers can make you color backgrounds behind a person without ruining the drawing!

Squiggly spirals of joy at finally figuring out layers at the laughably old age of 25. 

I was trying out different lining styles.

So I finally figured out the deal with layers. But I still had a very, very long way to go.

Also, I'm not sure if it's noticeable, but my level of drawing would deteriorate when drawing digitally. The anatomy is slightly off in places and facial features look rather flat.

Drawing with a stylus feels really different from drawing with a pencil, enough of a difference that it affects my skill level.

The skill deterioration was much more apparent when I downloaded another drawing app Medibang a few months ago.

This was the result of me test-drawing to familiarize myself with the new app:

One word: WHY.

And THIS was my terrible, terrible attempt to draw one of my characters on the new app:

OH GOD. OH GOD. I'M SO SORRY JUN.
OH GOD HIS FACE IS MELTING.

WHY CAN'T I DRAW PROPERLY WITH A STYLUS AND WHY DID MY SKILLS GET WORSE?!

Thankfully, Medibang had a feature that SketchBook did not: the feature that allows you to draw over a photograph.

Pencil sketch

Brought over to Medibang for tracing

Finished result (I was experimenting with lining styles again)

I've heard of artists who line over their pencil sketches when drawing digitally. I wondered why they wouldn't just start from scratch. I finally found out why.

I did a round 2 for Jun to atone for my sins.

What Jun is supposed to look like.

I think I'll line my drawings in this method for the time being until I get a better hang of using a stylus.

Meanwhile, I still need to learn how to color properly.