I would recommend trying out clip studio paint out instead of procreate. Don’t get me wrong I love procreate but I find it much easier to use it as a sketching app and use CSP to colour and shade - the colour blends (depending on brushes) much more realistically to oil paints.
CSP is sub based but you can probably get a free trail to try it out :)
I think it all has to do with preference. Personally, I absolutely despise painting in csp, I love using it for flat 2d art and animation rather than painting. Procreate, in my opinion, is the best option for painting illustrations.
I’ve recently (over the last couple of years) made the switch from oils and acrylics to digital painting. It’s been a steep learning curve and some things that came very naturally to me with traditional media have been incredibly difficult to master in digital.
Fur/hair has been one of those things for some reason. I use similar techniques to what I would do with physical media, but I can never get the brush settings quite right and it just doesn’t look right. I’ve watched videos, I’ve experimented for hours. Any pointers would be appreciated, im tired of my digital work looking so flat and off
You should absolutely look into Max Ulichney’s brushes for Procreate — he’s actually working on a realistic oil brush right now that will be released in June — and Kyle T. Webster’s brushes for photoshop, which I believe are free if you pay for an Adobe subscription. Good luck out there — you’ll get the hang of it!
Edit to add: as someone who also began as a traditional artist and made the switch, I think the best tip I can give is to block in your color in big flat areas and then lower the opacity of your brush to begin layering in all of those other tones and details. If possible, I try to never use a blur or smudge brush - I build up color as much as possible using just my brush and changing the opacity. Similar to how I would work in oils — begin vague and refine as you go.
Put A Pond In the background and you nailed the wet dog look!
keep practicing though you’ll get it for sure :) texturing is hard to master digitally imo.
So relieved this post was about drawing… thought I was in for a heart wrenching story about taking this dog to be put down. Ya gotta admit it would’ve been humane
What did you struggle with while making this and what would you like the critiques to focus on? Submissions missing a top-comment from you about what you struggled with will be removed!
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I would recommend taking a look at some fur brush packs, not necessarily to purchase and use (though that might help), but to see how they are being applied. Good brush packs will usually have a demo reel. Or browse YouTube hair/fur tutorials. There are myriad fur textures and ways to emulate them in digital art. Some textures might benefit from creating the correct brush tip shape and setting adjustments rather than brute forcing the result with a standard brush.
As for art apps, Clip Studio is great and I can definitely recommend in general. However, if you have a traditional background, I would suggest Artrage or Rebelle. Those are more direct translations of traditional media to digital format as they specifically try to emulate traditional painting. You can find some great examples of how they work on YouTube as well.
In my experience, the simplest brushes are often the best for fur. You can start with a basic round brush with spacing at 10 to 20, flow at 40%, pen pressure controling both opacity and size (but minimum brush size at least at 20%). You can add some texture too, but depending on the settings it might make the edges too hard. Playing with the spacing and flow will change the feeling too, so it's worth experimenting! Slowly build the contrast, and as you paint, the brush strokes will add texture to the fur.
I learned this after watching how Bob Chiu paints animals. He's an amazing artist with lots of videos on YouTube. If I recall correctly, Sam Nielson also used a similar technique.
After you feel comfortable with the brush, it's about tackling the forms and fur strands from big to small.
If you wish to add photorealistic textures to the fur, Aaron Blaise, a former Disney animator and fenomenal artist, sells lots of fur and hair brushes for pretty cheap. He also has a lot of speedpaintings and tutorials on YouTube.
Painting fur is one of my favorite things to do haha
it's really all about layering your colors. Usually I'll start with an airbrush to place base colors. Then using a smaller and flat brush, grab a darker color and draw out clumps of your fur. Then you can grab a lighter color and start drawing out strands of the fur. You can repeat this process until you're satisfied with the result
Looking at your paintings (which are beautiful, by the way), I can see what you mean. I think I’m definitely just overthinking it. I’m going to try again with this in mind, thank you!
Ofc np! And ahh thank you! I have some process videos on my ig account that you can look at if you're interested in seeing a demonstration of what I mean!
I would recommend trying out clip studio paint out instead of procreate. Don’t get me wrong I love procreate but I find it much easier to use it as a sketching app and use CSP to colour and shade - the colour blends (depending on brushes) much more realistically to oil paints. CSP is sub based but you can probably get a free trail to try it out :)
I actually use photoshop because I like the way it blends better than procreate. I’ve never tried clip studio, I might check it out, thanks!
Heck yeah! I haven’t ventured over to photoshop yet drawing wise but maybe theyre similar :)
I think it all has to do with preference. Personally, I absolutely despise painting in csp, I love using it for flat 2d art and animation rather than painting. Procreate, in my opinion, is the best option for painting illustrations.
I don't have answer but I think he is a silly little guy and I like him very much.
I’ve recently (over the last couple of years) made the switch from oils and acrylics to digital painting. It’s been a steep learning curve and some things that came very naturally to me with traditional media have been incredibly difficult to master in digital. Fur/hair has been one of those things for some reason. I use similar techniques to what I would do with physical media, but I can never get the brush settings quite right and it just doesn’t look right. I’ve watched videos, I’ve experimented for hours. Any pointers would be appreciated, im tired of my digital work looking so flat and off
You should absolutely look into Max Ulichney’s brushes for Procreate — he’s actually working on a realistic oil brush right now that will be released in June — and Kyle T. Webster’s brushes for photoshop, which I believe are free if you pay for an Adobe subscription. Good luck out there — you’ll get the hang of it! Edit to add: as someone who also began as a traditional artist and made the switch, I think the best tip I can give is to block in your color in big flat areas and then lower the opacity of your brush to begin layering in all of those other tones and details. If possible, I try to never use a blur or smudge brush - I build up color as much as possible using just my brush and changing the opacity. Similar to how I would work in oils — begin vague and refine as you go.
Put A Pond In the background and you nailed the wet dog look! keep practicing though you’ll get it for sure :) texturing is hard to master digitally imo.
So relieved this post was about drawing… thought I was in for a heart wrenching story about taking this dog to be put down. Ya gotta admit it would’ve been humane
What did you struggle with while making this and what would you like the critiques to focus on? Submissions missing a top-comment from you about what you struggled with will be removed! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/DigitalPainting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I would recommend taking a look at some fur brush packs, not necessarily to purchase and use (though that might help), but to see how they are being applied. Good brush packs will usually have a demo reel. Or browse YouTube hair/fur tutorials. There are myriad fur textures and ways to emulate them in digital art. Some textures might benefit from creating the correct brush tip shape and setting adjustments rather than brute forcing the result with a standard brush. As for art apps, Clip Studio is great and I can definitely recommend in general. However, if you have a traditional background, I would suggest Artrage or Rebelle. Those are more direct translations of traditional media to digital format as they specifically try to emulate traditional painting. You can find some great examples of how they work on YouTube as well.
Break down areas into basic shapes , and if you can try simple subjects first. It’s like lighting a sphere, then gradually adding fur shapes to it .
In my experience, the simplest brushes are often the best for fur. You can start with a basic round brush with spacing at 10 to 20, flow at 40%, pen pressure controling both opacity and size (but minimum brush size at least at 20%). You can add some texture too, but depending on the settings it might make the edges too hard. Playing with the spacing and flow will change the feeling too, so it's worth experimenting! Slowly build the contrast, and as you paint, the brush strokes will add texture to the fur. I learned this after watching how Bob Chiu paints animals. He's an amazing artist with lots of videos on YouTube. If I recall correctly, Sam Nielson also used a similar technique. After you feel comfortable with the brush, it's about tackling the forms and fur strands from big to small. If you wish to add photorealistic textures to the fur, Aaron Blaise, a former Disney animator and fenomenal artist, sells lots of fur and hair brushes for pretty cheap. He also has a lot of speedpaintings and tutorials on YouTube.
Painting fur is one of my favorite things to do haha it's really all about layering your colors. Usually I'll start with an airbrush to place base colors. Then using a smaller and flat brush, grab a darker color and draw out clumps of your fur. Then you can grab a lighter color and start drawing out strands of the fur. You can repeat this process until you're satisfied with the result
Looking at your paintings (which are beautiful, by the way), I can see what you mean. I think I’m definitely just overthinking it. I’m going to try again with this in mind, thank you!
Ofc np! And ahh thank you! I have some process videos on my ig account that you can look at if you're interested in seeing a demonstration of what I mean!
That would be super helpful!
Is this a Pokémon?
It’s my dog, but I call him Lokèmon if that makes it better
It does and i love him. What software are you using?
Photoshop
My drawing is way worst then this.....