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Nuei — Tutorial: Get Started in Digital Art (+tuto video)
Published: 2012-03-28 17:52:55 +0000 UTC; Views: 32687; Favourites: 1029; Downloads: 520
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VIDEO TUTORIALS:Coloring Tutorial www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFk3p7…
Lineart Tutorials youtu.be/Pj9XaD0TGVE www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3S09C…
Chibi Speedpaints www.youtube.com/watch?v=e79odi… www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXjc60…
More tutorials
Cintiq 12WX initial review: suzuneko-chan.deviantart.com/j…
Pixiv: www.pixiv.com/users/5256322
Twitter: twitter.com/NueiNeko
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/SuzuNekoC…
And our super cool doujin circle page at facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Satelit…
*edit*
lets clear it up: my message through this tutorial is NOT "dont use Photoshop" but rather "start with SAI because Photoshop is indeed a very complex program, not meant for most beginners".
I don't hate Photoshop, instead, I do recognize it's a very good program that can be used to complete SAI's functions OR be used for the whole process without any other software.
If you start by working with SAI, learning is much more easy and fluid, and after a year and half using it and completing with Photoshop, I guess SAI could disapear from the face of earth, I would intuitivelly know how to work the basics of a full drawing with Photoshop already.
It then becomes a choice to keep using SAI or not, and I chose to stay with SAI for now.
I'm offering the easiest and most functional choice i know for beginers, so they can work with all the functions the pros have without having to costumize a whole program they are not even familiar with.
Feel free to suggest any other program as well, if you know something that works as easy and effective as SAI.
Man, this file needs to be redone!
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Comments: 285
Awesome tips n comparison! Had Artrage then PS n now i want SAI xD
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I hope you find easier than those two ^^
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thank you for taking the time to make it, very helpful
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Thanks! thank you a lot! Very useful!
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Welcome! I'm glad it helped you ^^
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As a hobbyist graphic designer, I'm very proficient in knowing the functions in photoshop, but I might check out SAI all the same.
This was a fantastic beginning guide to digital art. Thank you so much!
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Welcome!
Being good on photoshop may get you a bit disappointed with SAI's simplicity, but if you are looking for a simple, carefree drawing, you might actually enjoy it better ^^
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Great tutorial! So true...
I use Photoshop instead of SAI because Photoshop was the first program I used, so I'm much more comfortable in than SAI. But if I were a beginner again, I'd probably use SAI, it is a lot simpler and its lineart is SO much better! Thanks again for the tutorial!
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Welcome!
Haha, I started with photoshop too, but short after, I found out about SAI. It was too much to handle at once! I'm glad you made it through noobness with Photoshop just fine
I don't think people have nothing to lose by using SAI when they are beginers, they can't use all the functionalities on Photoshop after all!
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Yeah, my n00b time was painful with Photoshop. Thank goodness I found a good resource to teach me, or I would have been totally screwed! I still don't know what all the buttons do...
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I think no one will ever know what all those do xD oh, that's nice! Photoshop has some very nice functions once you learn how and when to use it *__* lucky you found that source!
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I am, it was great! It had an entire course devoted to absolute beginners, so that really helped me out
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Interesting tutorial that I'll defiantly come back to if I ever do cross the line from traditional to digital.
But I do think there are a few points in the tutorial were you are rather bias, not exactly the best thing for beginners to be reading.
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Glad to hear that!
Maybe maybe, but the absolute thruth is that sai is simpler than photoshop (its something you spot right away after opening both programs), therefore, i highly recommend it for beginners. Each person will find their way after mastering SAI, because they automatically work a lot better with photoshop.
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You may want to tone back on the "hate" on photoshop, and do research in on what it can do (if you're not too familiar with it that is). Tutorials aren't really supposed to contain biased opinions, they're supposed to give artists more information to form their own opinions.
I have never touched SAI before, and Photoshop was my first "big girl" program. I always found it super easy to work with, and easy to figure out. (Mastering it is a completely different story) Especially when you figure out the keyboard shortcuts C: I can colorpick in one click, and it automatically jumps back to the previous tool I was using, thanks to the alt key.
Also, I know this wasn't your intention, but the way you mentioned the anime wallpapers sounded like that's what digital artists should strive for, which can be off-putting to realistic artist, or American cartoon artists, as they would not want to strive for that. It just isn't in their style.
However, the rest of the tutorial was nicely put together, and a good guide to what a person should consider if they're planning on getting a tablet! (though I've seen some amazing mouse art before) As well as a nice show of what some of the layer types can do C:
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Oish, i'm sorry i'm making all PHotoshop artists angry, i know that some people find it easy and functional, but i cried a lot the first time i've opened it without even knowing what the heck a layer was xD I couldnt even start drawing, it wouldnt let me and i didnt understand why. This happened because there were too many buttons (half of them werent even for drawing) and i must have clicked the wrong one.
My opinion is this: noobs - sai, doubtlessly; pros- sai and/or photoshop, or whatever they draw fantastically with.
It's just that a first timer already has a lot of trouble adapting to everything else, i fiind unnecessary the dificulty photoshop may bring.
I'm sorry if it sounded too bad up there...
It wasnt my intention at all. Since i go for anime styles, its the thing i hear the most and i dont really know what other styles have to endure, but the overall message is "dont listen to idiots who have never even opened msPaint"
Yes, i have seen great mouse art too 
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Oh no, I'm not angry C: I'm more trying to show you the other side of the coin in terms of "Which was used first". There are a ton of buttons and such, yeah. It could easily be overwhelming to new users. Not gonna doubt that at all! It wasn't really for me, considering as I used Elements before CS5, and Elements has fewer buttons everywhere, so it's less daunting. Really, once you learn what the buttons are, it's easy to navigate and work in. Plus, I like how in photoshop you have to manually blend the colors if you don't use fancy brushes. It's relaxing for me XD
I started out with MS Paint and Paint.net and moved up to Photoshop without knowing how to do anything in it. Jumping into any medium without knowing the ropes it hard; not necessarily just Photoshop. When I was little, MS Paint was tricky to learn at first.
You may just want to tone it back a bit, because you never want to belittle a good thing, or you could put people off of it. I mean, you wouldn't want people to bash on SAI because they didn't understand it immediately.
I've never actually heard people WANTING others to take their art without permission and wallpaper them. I personally strive for a better understanding of aspects and to hone my skills to match said understanding. I'd be offended if someone wallpapered my art, because they'd be taking it without my permission. And yeah, if they think digital art isn't real/hard, then they have an invalid opinion.
Actually a mouse isn't too restricting to work with! I used to be a full fledged mouse artist, because I didn't have a scanner or a tablet. It wasn't terribly difficult at all. Certainly I'm glad to have my tablet, because it makes things go faster, but a mouse isn't a bad tool to work with once you figure it out. And I even had to use my non-dominant hand when drawing with a mouse (I'm left handed, using a right handed mouse)
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I realize that this may of been said, but the Main difference between SAI and PS is that one is made to be an actual drawing program (SAI) and the other is a photo editing software.
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Hmm... I'd say that photoshop is an all-in-one program, it CAN draw too if you want it, but heck, you need a lot of costumizing to make it comfortable for drawers :S
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I just meant like, fresh out of the box with the factory settings xD/
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Yeah, it sucks when it's like that xDDD
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i find thid very usefull, thank you
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I'm glad you! Good luck with your art!
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Another great and cheap yet very reliable tablet alternative is the GENIUS G-PEN M712x tablet.
Its big, its sensitive and its reliable.
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Nice! Genious seems a thrustworthy brand, but i had no idea they had good tablets too! Thank you for the feedback!
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My pleasure. Though I must also admit. This particular model may be out of circulation in certain places, but I have one and it is BRILLIANT and some retailers around here do still stock em.
Advanced Photoshop Magazine recommended it as an alternative to an intuos.
Basically what I am saying is if you can find it, go for it.
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WOW! Being compared to the intuos really is something else! Intuos tablets use the same software as Cintiqs after all, and being these the best tablets on the market, that genious tablet really should be getting more attention!
What an unlucky brand
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Sadly I agree with you. I mean my jaw dropped when i saw the article.
And the price (in my country) was still expensive yet still affordable unlike most Wacom products.
I was fortunate that a friend gave me her M712x. I must say that I am very happy with it and greatly satisfied.
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Picking a colour in 3 clicks for Photoshop is incorrect if you have your settings right and are using a colourwheel like Colorus.
And you seriously don't NEED anything more than a hard-round brush for 90% of your drawings in Photoshop. You can get away with using a hard brush.
And it takes a google search to find other, smoother brushes like the ones that you have access to in Sai.
While I agree that Sai is very good, as I used to use it myself, there is a lot more available to you in Photoshop.
and like you stated, if you're serious about Digital art, then you have to be willing to put the time.
This also includes learning how to use the programs that you're going to be drawing with.
On a personal note though, Painter is probably my favourite digital art tool.
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Yes, i was told that after posting the tutorial. Still, a noob who doesnt even know what a layer is to be costumizing a program before they can start drawing...
It may take time, yes, but i fail a lot of exams in college because i spend a too much time drawing and learning about it, i dont need another thing wasting my time, hence my angst for photoshop 
Personally, if i was to use photoshop, i wouldnt be happy with a hard brush anymore. I'd miss the instant charcoal and the wonders of the water tool, who paints and reshapes more than it blurrs...
Of course i can dowload them, but still, if i am a first timer, how could i know what's best for me?
If i will prefer photoshop in the future? Maybe, if i am to draw more complexly i'm surre it'll be a wonder! But for now i'm very happy with a simplicity that works the same, so i recomend it for starters
Oh, i've heard of painter! Thanks for the feedback! I'll have to check it one of these days then!
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Pretty nice tutorial!
Personally, I couldn't even begin to compare SAI to Photoshop. But that's just me
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Thanks! I do know that photoshop is a technically superior program, but i think its way too complicated for most beginners. Its like walking before crawling. It can be done, but i didn't find it funny, but the thing that made SAI my choice was the line stabilizer as my hands shake like haity!
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I saw you mention that several times. What exactly is it?
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The line stabilizer? I heard photoshop can have it too, but only when drawing with vectors, which is a huge pity!
Both SAI and Manga Studio have a function that helps making your line more straight when making raster drawing. If you add a little correction to the line, it won't look shaky. If you add a huge correction, you will be able to do straight lines (you need to have a firm hand to do that on SAI, but it's possible).
I took 3 hours for my first lineart on Photoshop (today that would take 1) because the line was coming out so horrible I had to erase all the weird edges xD I have no idea how other people handle this! O__o
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Well there's a pen tool in Photoshop which makes perfect lines. I'm not sure what you've been told, but it most certainly is not vector.
Just look up a tutorial on it and you can see how it works. It's quite amazing, really
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I was told it was vector... and then I did see a weird pen vector there, so I thought it was that. Well, that's nice! I just wonder why all the good things are hidden in Photoshop 
Yes, I believe that! Well, knowing that, my chances of ever working linearts with photoshop highly increase!
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I'm glad I bought a bamboo tablet a while ago. This helped me a lot, and I'm preparing to start getting into digital art! Thank you!
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Yay! Thank goodness you've done the right choice! Good luck with your art! ^^
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You mentioned 4 to 24 hours-- XD For me that's FAST! I'm a traditional artist and take at least ten times that amount of time to finish one crappy piece XD
I do admit I have been relying too heavily on tracing recently...... Probably because I am lazy?
And OH MY GOD, I would KILL SOMEONE for that fancy tablet with the screen.... //drool
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Well, I've seen you've been doing a lot of manga pages lately, and I do have to say that yes- those things take JESUS CHRIST time to finish! D:
I hope I haven't offended you, but I do know that people who really care for using good material on traditional art will take as long as digital, or even longer because you have to do it with extra care. Even so, each piece is a piece, and I've seen drawings taking weeks, a month even on both media. It depends on how quick/ experienced you are, and how detailed you'll be drawing.
I just said this because most people don't come from expert traditional drawing to digital, they usually come from 10 minute to an hour or two sketches here and there, and might get surprised when they find out digital takes way longer. Precisely because almost every drawing must get colors and shades to become finished, while it doesn't look that unfinished on traditional.
Hmm, I've recently found out something very good you can do if you like tracing, that will highly increase your skills: start for drawing what you see. Small details at a time, just a face, or just some body part, normal tracing but quick for practice. Try getting reference from one artist or one style only, various angles, know the anatomy from all points of view. Remember you MUST choose a pro artist.
Try memorizing important traits of this artist's anatomy, the angles, the shapes... Then immediatly put away all those images and try remembering how you were doing before. You can't peek at your art or his art for reference. After you finish, go see what you've done wrong, what you had trouble remembering, etc, and draw these again with special attention now. And then repeat the process
Art isn't like science, it's not exact or a formula, you can't have guidelines for composition, colors, shading and so on, but everyday objects and human anatomy are pretty much the same thing all the time. If you memorize how all these things work first, you'll be able to focus on everything else
Phew, long reply, sorry :S
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So inspiring, I'm glad I read this. I'm a long time traditional artist and I am still transitioning into the digital real after 3 years! I'm still such a noob. Thank you for the lesson.
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