#a wahoo for amateur/beginner artists

[theonevoice]

Hey! I saw your reblog of the tumblr ask culture so here I am :) your art is amazing. I love it. I particularly appreciate the fastidious (in the good sense of the word) way you research tiny details to add to your good omens fanart (like the clock from the Mir space station you put in that fanart of Crowley with the Hozier song). Since you do a lot of digital art and you mentioned you're an "amateur" fanartist: which is more comfortable for you, screenless drawing tablets or the ones with screens? And which one would you recommend as a "starter kit"? I'm trying to get more consistent with my drawing and I sketch a lot on paper, but find that having the color palette that a digital tool offers would probably motivate me slightly more, still I can't decide which would be best, at a beginner's level.

Hey!!! Yes, hello!

Thank you so much, I love reaserching those details, they are one of my favourite parts of the process: it makes me feel for a brief moment like I'm part of the amazing GO set/costume designers crew, sorting through all possible inspirations until I find the perfect one!

As for drawing tablets: I tried both, I had a screenless Wacom Bamboo (it was a million years ago, they don't even sell it anymore), then for almost ten years I didn't draw at all, and now I am using a Huion Kamvas 13, and I guess it's a different experience for every artist, but as far as I can tell, they are two totally different things. It's not like you start with a screenless tablet as a beginner and then "upgrade" to one with a screen as you get better: it's more a matter of what kind of art you are trying to do, and how your eye-brain-hand connection is wired. I struggled so much with the Bamboo that I ended up not using it, so even if it was cheaper (probably like 90 euros in 2005 or 2006), I wasted money on it. While the Kamvas was more expensive but it was such a gamechanger that the amount I paid (I think around 300 euros in 2018) almost feels like a steal now, compared to the enjoyment of using it and the improvement that is allowing me to make.

For me, personally, the possibility to sketch directly in colors was *the* big turning point: I struggle with lineart, my brain doesn't "see" an image until it has values and colors, so that changed everything for me.

(Fun/weird fact: when I got the Kamvas I didn't think I would ever use it for drawing, I bought it because at the time I was doing a lot of editorial proofreading and where I live proofreading is done with a very specific set of symbols and signs that you cannot "type", so you either print everything and do the thing by hand or you get a tablet of some sort that allows you to draw them directly on the pdf - and the rest is history)

I may be biased, but I think one of the Huion Kamvas series (there are several sizes) could be a great tool: they cost a fraction of what Wacom equivalents would cost you, they work great, and they also give you a lot of stuff (mine came with its own stand, a stand for the stylus with a dozen extra tips, and a glove - all things that other brands would sell you separately).

But regardless of the brand, the best advice I can give you is this: don't look for a "starter" tool, look for the tool that makes you want to use it. If you enjoy using it, you will spend more time drawing, and that inevitably will make you improve. Go to a store that allows you to test them, if you have the opportunity, or look for comparative reviews on YouTube (that's whay I did): it will help you find the thing that makes you think "oh, that one looks like a lot of fun". If you buy a tool that "sounds" entry-level just because you feel like you should get an entry-level tool you may end up with a thing that is frustrating and annoying to use, and that won't help you at all.

How on earth did I write so much?!? I hope there is something useful in there! Bye!!