Hey there!
I started on digital art when I was introduced to Oekaki boards by school friends. I used the mouse to do a lot of pixel artwork, and then moved on to trying out the brush tools in PaintBBS. It was a lot of trial and error and getting used to a new interface from paper, I remember feeling so weird how I had to look up at a bright digital screen while my physical hand was moving on a tiny mousepad orz
Only when I enrolled to an animation/media course, did I get exposed to stuff like anatomy, composition, lighting, filters, colors, etc., as well as so many types of software and drawing tools!!! Even now after graduation, I’m still continually putting to practice what I’ve learnt and trying to study more on my own (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و
Tips + Tricks in general
- Pose practice A fun and simple exercise to do whether digital or traditional. You can get many poses from photos, movie posters, 3d models/figmas, etc. Draw your favorite characters doing anything :D IT builds confidence in your line strokes, you get to experiment with movement and anatomy, and it scratches the art itch quickly lol
- Tell a story in your picture This can make an artwork more interesting if the character’s personality can shine through, even with props. Ex. Character sitting down - How many ways can the character sit? If you know the personality, it could already affect how he poses himself on the chair - casual, straight-backed? What about the type of chair? A normal wooden chair, a throne? Things like color and lighting will set the mood here too
- Favorite Tools The software and tools it comes with can be important too, to be comfortable while drawing. I use Photoshop because I can work with many brush options, layers, and filters. Artists will have their own favourite to work with that offers the best options they need
- Build your Artwork I find it easier to work in steps when creating an artwork. Research > Rough sketch > Lineart > Color > Lighting/Filter. Ex. Sketching to set up my scene composition and do rough poses so I know where a character is. Lineart is used to refine the character details after. I take each step to improve on a little bit of the artwork until I’m happy with it :)
Actually I could keep writing on and on but feel free to ask something more specific XD Of course, to everyone, feel free to share your own tips too~