#this was actually drawn in procreate on an ipad not mine though

[galaxkeys]

2020 had us hit rock bottom, let’s put some seeds into that dirt to reap later in this New Year! 🌱

[alkalinefrog]

hey, so, I had an art related question... if all of this is too much, feel free to ignore it.

the backstory is that I've had the same laptop since early high school but recently I had a birthday (I'm 28 now). my parents got me an HP laptop, and my friend got me a tablet, which she bought off of an online friend for $30. the problem is that I haven't had new technology like... ever? none that was actually mine anyway, and certainly nothing that could handle me using it for art.

and this is especially a problem when it comes to the tablet. my friend helped me get firealpaca onto the laptop, and get the tablet set up with the right drivers, aaaaand... I cannot make one line that looks good using it. I've been using pen and paper for so long and I have a really light touch, and it feels like I have to jam the pen down to get it to register, at which point I might as well have not set the pen sensitivity to anything at all because the thickest line is the only kind I can make?? any lighter and it won't show up on the screen at all. like I can ctrl+z and it doesn't even go back a step, the line didn't get drawn. there's like a 20% chance that any line I try to put down won't actually register. and tbh this isn't really what I had wanted... it's a huion tablet, which is the brand I wanted, but I was gonna buy myself one where you can see what you're drawing on the screen of the tablet itself. not just due to coordination issues, I think I could get used to that part, but because I feel like I wouldn't be having this specific problem with getting things to register. every single line I make looks like crap with this tablet, it makes me feel like I might as well be drawing with my feet, and I've been fidgeting with settings, and it doesn't seem like anything helps. I also still don't have a mouse for the laptop yet, so I can't click and drag anything very well because it has a trackpad, so messing with sliders is already aggravating.

I feel so lost and overwhelmed, and like if I buy anything else, I'm just going to end up with more unusable stuff because *I'm* probably the problem. I just don't know anything, and trying is mentally fatiguing me so quickly... my brain knows what I want my art to look like, and my hands can do it with a real pen. I just have absolutely no clue how to make this machine produce anything.

so I guess my questions are stuff like, what equipment do you use? are there tablets that will register a light touch or am I really going to have to be this heavy handed in order to work with one? what resolution/canvas size do you usually work on? any recommendations for what program to use?

overall, I'd really like to get myself something that feels more intuitive than the tablet... honestly, I was finding some success drawing with just my finger on the touch screen of my phone at one point. there were still a lot of problems with that, but the nail in the coffin was that my phone's memory space filled up and I had to get rid of the drawing app to make it functional again (it's an iphone, which is why). maybe I should just get an ipad or something...? though, one more thing on the mountain of potential options is the last thing my crumbling ADHD brain needs. I've been taking a break from art in general because I've still maintained my 40-hours-a-week work schedule through the whole pandemic... I do 10 hour shifts and work overnight, so I technically have free time since I only work 4 days a week, but the type of work I do leaves me with no energy at all. so I've been in an art slump and I've been wanting to get out of it, but this is just making art feel impossible, even though the whole reason why I've always wished I could draw digitally is so that I can color digitally. I had been drawing things in pen and scanning them to color in photoshop, but cleanup takes so long that I literally can't produce finished work anymore. I'm out of options that aren't prohibitively labor intensive and frustrating.

this was probably way too much information, but if you have any advice I'd be really grateful.

Huh, well first off HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDE!! Congrats on the sweet new tech (even if it's been a bit frustrating) and well-deserved celebration!

From the sounds of it I think the main issue is probably your tablet (this is pure speculation on my end though, so you know, grain of salt and all). You're right in that you shouldn't have to fight against your equipment. I have a really light touch too and I've never had the same issue. I personally don't have any experience with huion tablets, but if you're having trouble getting your lines to register then it might have been worn down by the previous user. It's not so much about buying a monitor (the screen one) vs. tablet so much as getting working equipment.

An iPad is a great alternative!! I've played around with the apple pencil and procreate and it's a super intuitive program with (obviously) super easy set up! You get the drawing on the screen AND really nice pen pressure. I'm really happy seeing it opening up new doors for more people to get into digital art!

In terms of your current laptop/tablet situation:

My set up rn is pretty pricey ngl; I have a PC desktop computer with a 16 inch Wacom Cintiq. Getting started in digital art doesn't mean you have to drop a bag on a ton of equipment right from the get go though! If you're looking for a safe small investment, I'd recommend getting a Wacom Bamboo pen tablet!

This lil' baby right here is what I started with!! I think cost-wise it floats around 70ish bucks, but that's exponentially more affordable than buying a huge monitor. One of my friends who's also a pro artist uses a similar small tablet because it works great! That's an alternative that might be worth looking into.

You can also get free trials on other drawing programs (clip studio paint is a great one!) To test and see if it's a software issue with firealpaca.

You could also try checking online forums to see if anyone else is running into similar issues, or watch some YouTube videos of people reviewing different tablets. I know this might be even more overwhelming, so I'd try and narrow the scope to focus on one thing at a time.

My best advice right now would actually be to get a mouse, or any other accessories you need. I've also been in your shoes where I was completely overwhelmed, and I can say that checking off all the small easy things makes a HUGE difference! It makes you feel more in control of the situation, and even if you're still having trouble with digital art you can at least get more comfortable using your laptop in the mean time.

You got this dude!! I believe in you!!

EDIT:

Thanks @wooliebirds!

[laetro]

Archer Dougherty: Experiment to Eliminate Fear of Failure

Archer Dougherty strongly disbelieves in nurturing a “signature style,” instead of encouraging artists to constantly experiment with thought, concept, visual language and so on. Mostly self-taught while social media was still in its infancy, she dove into an exploratory approach to develop her skill and vision through a mixture of learning from failures and little successes. Not trying ensures one is not a failure but neither a success, she realised.

For over ten years, Archer Dougherty specialised in design and 2D work, drawing being her favourite mode. Though she studied sculpting and print-making at her local state university, Archer trained herself technically in contemporary art through emerging social media. She loves football, hiking, Shiba Inus and dreams of having a farm populated with mini animals.

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Q. What got you started as an artist and what path did you take thereon to grow and evolve at your craft?

Archer Dougherty: It may sounds cliché but I’ve drawn it ever since I can remember. I always gravitated toward art, so my career was simply a natural outgrowth of that relationship. I tried to pursue a formal art education but couldn’t afford to go to a proper brick-and-mortar art school and the internet wasn’t much of a thing in the late ’90s. So, I attended my local state university and studied sculpting and printmaking there but was discouraged from focusing on anything narrative.

After academia, the internet was gaining traction and the backlash in my mental space resulting from an education that didn’t ignite any real passion launched my true artistic training. Books, an infant YouTube, Facebook, and an even newer Instagram put me in touch with contemporary art which was being done in the ‘now’ and seemed important. I began my technical training through these channels and have been flying along this learning curve ever since.

Q. What would you say is your signature style in your works and what is your process to achieve it?

Archer Dougherty: I don’t relate to the phrase “signature style.” I think it is used way too often to catalogue for branding purposes, which has a use in the larger market, but it should not be a “goal” in itself for any artist in terms of the artistic process. When younger students are bombarded with art through social media, as they are now, and see profile after profile showcasing a very polished and specific personal visual language, they grow walls around their thinking, making them single-mindedly pursue the idea of a “signature style.”

It inhibits growth and takes up way too much mental space in anyone’s head, especially for those starting. I believe in pursuing ideas and experiments, technical and conceptual stepping stones and failures, and that your language will mature as you make mistakes and learn what appeals to you both spiritually and intellectually and what does not.

Simply copying or attempting to imitate a style to follow someone’s career arc will end up making you feel like you have to wear a suit that no longer fits, though it’s what everyone has come to expect. The way my art looks and feels has come through years of absolute and abysmal failures at every technique and visual language imaginable while also recognising those small successes which add up to a rich and fulfilling personal output.

It is a massive additive compilation of preferences in art history, literature, movies, comics and illustration. These preferences are arrived at simply by trying new things all the time. A lot of artists are afraid of failure but they don’t realize that failure isn’t even a thing until you try. If you don’t constantly try, you won’t be a failure but neither a success. You won’t be anything at all.

Q. What subjects, mediums and tools do you most like to work with?

Archer Dougherty: I sort of work with everything. My current technical preferences are oil on board, traditional, Procreate and the iPad digital. I prefer environment design and experimenting with colour psychology on my iPad. When I paint in oils, I prefer symbolist portraiture.

Q. What do you suggest artists and clients both should keep in mind to work together efficiently?

Archer: Communication and transparency. Understanding the other party’s priorities is essential so that both can understand each other’s point of view and reach a solid mid-point.

Q. How do you achieve a sense of 2D realism, symmetry and depth across your works?

Archer Dougherty: I’ve put myself through a decade of learning to ingrain the fundamentals of things such as an approach to realism, value structure, anatomy, light, form, mass, composition, colour, etc. I use those learnings to create from my mind when I want to. Actual symmetry is utilised in a lot of art, native art and, I suppose, one could say a great composition utilises a form of visceral symmetry.

If you don’t constantly try, you won’t be a failure but neither a success. You won’t be anything at all

Q. What kind of projects are you currently working on and what kind are you looking to work on in the future?

Archer Dougherty: My projects vary greatly, depending on my mood. When I die, I will have so many unfinished works that my family won’t be able to sell any of them. In terms of future projects, I have many animated shorts and self-published printmaking collections mulling around in my head. Narrative painting projects and the likes, too. Pinpointing one and beginning is ninety percent of the work.

Q. Could you please highlight some of your most notable works and why you find them noteworthy?

Archer: I have a singular notable work that no one has seen. In my opinion, it is the culmination of years of introspection, practicing self-awareness and reflection, learning largely academic techniques and then learning to be alright with abandoning them when it suited the work. It is the result of self-discipline and self-abandonment and a study of the essence.

It is the one piece in which I can say I was fully immersed, mind and body, from beginning to end and it is mine in its entirety, called “Metempsychosis: The Transmigration of Souls”, an ink, oil, shellac and wax medium on seven panels across seven feet. I’ll get it framed one of these days.

Q. What has been your greatest insights as an artist, with time?

Archer Dougherty:

1. Discovery – that I didn’t have to look or feel or make art like anyone else to make great art was possibly this discovery.

2. Cross-discipline learning is the greatest asset you can have to make richer and fuller art throughout your life. Study the sciences, literature, poetry, humanities, etc.

3. My penchant for the “big questions” allowed me to pursue my visual language on a level that both challenged and fulfilled me. I used the thoughts surrounding these questions to ask more questions rather than be plagued by a lack of answers.

4. Art is the reflection of a thing, not the thing itself.

Q. Who has been your favourite clients to work with and why?

Archer Dougherty: Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco remains one of my top favourites. They are generous, truly care about their artists’ wellbeing and prioritise good relationships. They are good people. Dave and Brett from Laetro have quickly made the top of the list, as well, through their generosity, vision, intelligence, and communal priorities.

I also loved working with Magnetic Dreams Animation Studio – the same adjectives tend to apply to the people who make my top clients list. I feel that communication, a mutually beneficial relationship, and empathy are important in any client relationship.