Digital Art Resources I found Helpful for Self Learning In 2020
Tags: Illustration, Design, Digital Art, Self Learning, Art

Artwork by Isokorevieno

This year, I decided to focus more on learning. I made this decision when I realized I had a host of ideas but was not skilled enough to execute them. It was a daunting feeling for me and caused series of art blocks. To get past this, I resorted to learning more. And even though I haven’t struck out everything on the list of things I wanted to learn this year, in retrospect, I am quite impressed with how far I have come. You can’t possibly learn everything, can you? *taps back*

Self-learning poses quite the challenge, as you may be aware of if you’ve tried. We have the gift of the internet, this void containing endless resources, but with that gift comes the curse of not knowing where to begin, or what resources are even worth the time or money.

Ever since I started digital art in 2017, I have tried out a lot of resources for learning, both good and bad, and having received a lot of questions from people on what learning resources I use, I have decided to compile a list of those I have used, and I think are worth giving a shot.

Hopefully, you use them, and they don’t end up like the unwatched Udemy courses you bought on Black Friday. PS: This is not a sponsored article (I wish it was, haha).

CtrlPaint: This site is a gold mine! And it’s surprisingly free. One of my mentors introduced me to it. And I recommend it to anyone interested in learning digital art and unsure of where to start. It has a collection of concise instructional videos on digital art, arranged in a curricular format, with assignments at the end of each lesson. The tutorials on the site are Photoshop-centered, but it applies to any other drawing application. If you are new to digital art and need a way to practice and learn, you should check this out! Line of action: I love portraiture (which may be obvious if you are familiar with my work). But my goal is to build a career in character design, which requires illustrating full figures. So, this year, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and delve into figure drawing. Before studying anatomy, I decided to get comfortable with drawing gestures and capturing poses quickly, and this site was an amazing tool for this. Line of Action is a website which provides structured sessions for sketching practices, not only for figures, but for expressions, animals, and landscape. Its timed class mode sessions allow you to warm up with quick 30 seconds gesture drawings, then eases you into longer 10 mins poses. It is a great way to warm up to start your day or loosen up to end it. Proko TV: As I mentioned, asides from working on capturing gestures in poses, I have been studying anatomy too. Consistent practice is great, but doing so mindfully based on already acquired knowledge is a better approach to growth. Stan Prokopenko is not only an astounding artist but is also a great instructor. I can’t count how many times I have re-watched his ‘how to draw a head’ video, which is probably the most popular tutorial on constructing the head using Loomis’ method. I have also used the library of videos on his website to learn anatomy. I started with the Robo-Bean videos, and I recently completed the one on mannequinization with an art pal. The library also contains videos on other topics and is organized in a structural format. Additionally, there are paid premium versions of the lessons. The free versions are adequate, but I got the premium version, and I think they’re worth every penny! #SupportArtists. Schoolism: Schoolism is a subscription-based learning platform created by the amazing Bobby Chiu. It has courses on Procreate, visual development, character design, storyboarding, etc. The courses are taught by industry professionals at the cost of $29.95 per month. I recommend Schoolism if you already practice art and want to further your skills. For beginner artists, making the most of free resources to get comfortable with art is more advisable. Nevertheless, it is great for structured learning and worth it. Paintable: The first tutorial I found helpful on painting hair was from Paintable’s Youtube. With it, I created a portrait of a girl with rendered hair and a face that lacked proportion, haha. Other than their YouTube channel, their website has a collection of helpful digital painting tutorials and an option for enrolling in their digital art academy for the cost of $35 a month. They also host the one-week portrait challenge, an in-depth class with a proper structure for leveling up in portraiture. Gumroad: I love Gumroad because it helps me support my favorite artists while I learn from them. It is a website that allows creative professionals to sell tutorials or resources (like brushes and presets). I have purchased tutorials and brush sets from artists like Ryan Lang, Lynn Chen, Devine Elle Kurtz, to mention a few. I recommend you check if your favorite artists have Gumroad accounts, and I promise you’ll be up for a treat! #SupportArtists. Patreon: This is another platform for supporting artists and also benefiting. I am signed up as a Patreon of Iga Oliwiak, at the cost of 4 Euros per month, and it has been worth every penny! I get to watch her real-time video recordings and access her brushes, tutorials, and Discord server, which has been a great community for receiving critics, participating in art challenges, and networking with other artists. Many skilled artists have Patreon accounts, and it is a great way to learn from them and #SupportArtists.

That is all on the list! I hope this was insightful and will bring lots of clarity to learning digital art in the new year. I plan on writing more on digital art in the new year to help artists and document my creative journey. You can keep up with my works on Instagram and the many things I say on Twitter.

Found this helpful? A friend might too! Help share the love on your favorite social media network. Wishing you a great year ahead. :)

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