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Where to Find the Best Prices for Apple iPad

When it comes to buying an Apple iPad, you want to make sure you get the best deal possible. With so many retailers offering iPads at different prices, it can be hard to know where to look for the best deals. Here are some tips on where to find the best prices for an Apple iPad.

Shop Online

Online shopping is a great way to find the best prices for an Apple iPad. Sites like Amazon and eBay often have competitive prices, and they often offer free shipping as well. You can also check out websites like Best Buy and Walmart, which often have sales on iPads. Be sure to compare prices between different retailers before making a purchase, as they may offer different deals depending on where you shop.

Take Advantage of Discounts

Many retailers offer discounts on iPads from time to time, so be sure to take advantage of these offers when they come up. You can also look for coupon codes or special promotions that may be available online or in stores. Additionally, if you’re a student or educator, you may be eligible for discounts through Apple’s Education Store.

Check Out Refurbished Models

If you’re looking for a more affordable option, consider buying a refurbished model of an Apple iPad. Refurbished models are typically cheaper than new models and they come with a warranty in case anything goes wrong with your purchase. You can find refurbished iPads at sites like Amazon or eBay, as well as at stores like Best Buy and Walmart.

Finding the best price for an Apple iPad doesn’t have to be difficult if you know where to look. Shopping online is often the best way to get the most bang for your buck, but don’t forget about discounts and refurbished models as well. With a little bit of research, you should be able to find the perfect iPad at a price that fits your budget.

This text was generated using a large language model, and select text has been reviewed and moderated for purposes such as readability.

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Procreate ipad drawing tutorials.

One of my personal goals is to try to do something creative each day. One of the things I do once or twice a week is to follow a video tutorial to learn a new iPad drawing skill. I've subscribed to Skillshare in the past, but I do find a wealth of free tutorials on Youtube. I especially like the tutorials from "Apple Crisp." They are creative but not too difficult. I think that they would be perfect for students getting started with Procreate:

https://www.youtube.com/c/AppleKrisp

Here's a drawing that I completed over the weekend from one of her tutorials. I learned some new skills for creating shapes. This tutorial would teach students about adding layers, textures, shading, and aligning objects. These tutorials might be an enjoyable choice activity to do as classes are winding down for the holidays.

If you have discovered some great Procreate tutorials that students would enjoy, please share in the comments!

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Posted on December 06, 2022

Thanks for sharing, I think I'll give these a go myself.

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Posted on December 08, 2022

Great! I think she has a good variety of tutorials that are creative and easy to follow!

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How to Draw On Ipad Pro (Complete Guide for Beginners 2022)

The fact of the matter is anyone can draw. It is not a club exclusive for the elite or those with visions like Picasso or artistry like Monet. In fact, drawing can be a great way of letting off steam or finding the creative streak that you never knew you had. Children love drawing without any concern about what others will think. They don't care about coloring within the lines or whether the shades match. Without a doubt, you should take a page out of their book. Let yourself loose and try your hand at drawing – after all, no one needs to see it. Drawing on your iPad can be a great way to get started as it opens up vast worlds of tools and mediums to use. Let us show you how to draw on an iPad Pro .

Top Five Drawing Apps

Digital painting programs are a great way to wet your feet – or brush – into a drawing. You can choose between a range of paid and free apps that cater to complete beginners to those used by professional artists. We found the best top five apps to help you draw on your iPad.

1. Procreate (Paid)

This app is one of the top-rated for pros and aspiring artists. Procreate has all the tools you need to create anything: a rich deep-hued canvas, vivid illustrations, realistic animations, and eloquent sketches. With 100s of handmade brushes, an advanced layer system, and a library of innovative artistic tools, Procreate gives you complete control over your work. 

Use the design tools you need, and take advantage of the full-featured layering system. Select multiple layers to move or transform objects. Crop and resize as needed and transform your drawing into an animation. The app costs $10.

2. Autodesk Sketchbook (Free) 

Autodesk Sketchbook is a powerful but easy-to-use drawing app. With thousands of five-star ratings, this app has a minimalist, clean look that allows you to focus on drawing solely. Artists and illustrators worldwide love its highly customizable tools and elegant interface. 

You can choose between a vast range of brushes or customize your own. Precision becomes child's play with grids, stroke tools, and rulers. Autodesk Sketchbook gives you the option to layer your work with various blending modes to build depth and color.

3. Adobe Fresco: Sketch & Draw (In-App Purchases)

Unleash your inner artist with Adobe Fresco and sketch, paint and draw as though your life depended on it. Use the app's live brushes that smudge, smear, blend, and blossom watercolor and oil paint, just like in real life. You have access to more than 50 brushes in the free version. If you upgrade to premium, you will have a library of more than 1,000 brushes at your fingertips. Change the brightness, saturation, and hue with the color adjustment layers or bring your artwork to life with the motion tools. The app also has inbuilt video and blog tutorials to guide you every step of the way. 

4. Linea Sketch (In-App Purchases)

Linea Sketch brings out your artistic talent with its easy-to-use interface, especially when in a budding phase. Elegant and clean, the app keeps your workspace free from clutter and controls until you need them. The app has a simplified set of layers that can be adjusted, locked, rearranged, or merged. Its ZipShapes and ZipFunction clean up lines and shapes, polishing them to perfection before you adjust for size. Use its range of brushes to create a dreamy watercolor painting or the lasso to freehand your sketch.

5. Paper by WeTransfer (Free)

This drawing app is ideal for those who want to try their hand before paying for any programs. In fact, Paper by WeTransfer is extremely popular, with more than 30 million people using it. Use its journals to save notes and sketches. Sketch, collage, paint or draw with its easy-to-use interface. There is no getting lost in Paper by WeTransfer with its extensive library of tutorials, how-tos, and artist tips. Paper by WeTransfer also has a pro edition, which costs $6 for six months or $12 for a year. 

Key Accessories

1.  apple pencil.

The Apple Pencil transformed the world of drawing. Professional and amateur artists love it for its precision and control while giving them freedom of movement. Use it to draw without smudging the painting with your fingers. Draw a straight line or create perfect shapes. Activate the eraser in an instant by double-tapping the Apple Pencil or switching back to the previously used tool. 

Get used to using the Apple Pencil. Keep in mind that the Apple Pencil is a new tool, so it will take time to get the hang of it. Practice is vital - especially before you start drawing. Find out how much pressure you need to apply, which angle works, and how to hold it.

2.  Screen Protector

Your iPad 11 Pro takes a lot of handling, especially if you use it to draw. Invest in a durable screen protector that does not get loaded with smudged fingerprints after a few taps. Zugu's screen protectors, for example, offer you superior screen protection with its 0.25 Japanese tempered glass. The screen is antibacterial and fingerprint and smudge resistant, saving you from wiping it down every time you use it. 

3.  iPad Case

Protecting your iPad is a must. However, it's a bonus if your case works with you. Zugu cases offer maximum protection but have eight different angles. Each of the eight slots has a magnet that holds the case firmly in place, leaving you to focus solely on your work. 

The Zugu iPad Pro 2018 11 inch case has reinforced corners and will protect your iPad in a five-foot fall on concrete. In addition, it can wirelessly charge your Apple Pencil and has a snug little pocket to keep it in place.

How to learn to draw with iPad and Apple Pencil

• Download some drawing apps
• Apple Pencil features

Learn how to draw from the masters

• Add some Apple Pencil accessories

Apple's Pencil and Pencil 2 stand out from the rest of the stylus crowd for a number of reasons. They work in tandem with Apple's iPad displays to create low-latency brush strokes, they're both lengthier than your average digital pen, and they charge up without the need for any extra accessories.

And when it comes to drawing or writing with one, there are only a few basic techniques you need to know before you can start mastering your new tool. Here's what you need to do in order to learn how to draw with Apple Pencil.

Download some drawing apps for iPad

It may sound obvious, but one of the best ways to figure out how to get the most out of your Apple Pencil is to download a bunch of apps and start practicing.

Apple's built-in Notes app is a good place to start since it's already on your iPad and offers some basic handwriting and sketching support, though there are plenty of great drawing apps for iPad and Apple Pencil that you can snag from the App Store. We recommend starting out with some of the free options in order to learn the basics, then head for the in-app purchase or paid-for app once you've got the hang of things.

Get to grips with your Apple Pencil's features

While doodling around in your drawing app of choice, it's well worth getting to know exactly how to use your Apple Pencil and learning some of the features it boasts. Apple Pencil is more than just a stylus; it actually offers some built-in smarts that set it apart from third-party iPad styluses .

Use your hands

When you draw with Apple Pencil, your hand, arm, and fingers can rest on the screen thanks to the iPad's palm-rejection technology. While previous third-party styluses have had variations on palm rejection in certain apps, they never quite worked perfectly; the Apple Pencil, in contrast, is about as perfect at palm rejection as you can get with a digital touchscreen (though its implementation in some apps can, admittedly, vary).

Because of bad stylus experiences in the past, it's common for first-time Pencil users to awkwardly grip it and hover their hand above the screen but you don't need to. Feel free to rest your hand against the screen while you draw. It'll take a bit of getting used to, but once you do, it'll feel as natural as resting your hand on paper.

Test the Pencil's pressure

Equipped at the drawing end of the Apple Pencil is a beautifully responsive nib for all manner of sketching and writing. It's pressure-sensitive, too, so you shouldn't be afraid to press harder and softer on the screen to see how your Pencil reacts.

One of the best calibration tests with any new drawing tool — digital or not — is drawing a series of vertical and horizontal lines, to test how different pressure results in different line widths. We highly encourage everyone to do something similar — not only will it get you comfortable with the Pencil's variations, but you'll also get a better sense of how you need to hold the tool for optimal control.

We also recommend moving your grip up closer to the nib when doing detailed lettering or drawing. It gives you more precision over those fine lines. And don't be afraid to pinch-to-zoom with your free hand — most great apps support it.

Shade with the sides

It's not just the tip of the Pencil nib that works on the iPad Pro's screen: The entire cone of that nib is responsive. As a result, you can use the side of the Pencil to shade with your digital brushes — much as you might use the side of a graphite stick to color in a shadow on paper. Not only is it a cool effect, but it's a feature you might easily miss when first getting to know your new tool.

Shading also looks different in different apps and with different brushes — don't be afraid to experiment to find which brushes and apps work best for your purposes.

Double-tap to change tools

With the Apple Pencil 2, you can double-tap the flat edge in order to quickly switch between different tools. For most apps, including Apple's Notes app, this will default to switching to the eraser tool and back to your drawing tool, though you can customize the Apple Pencil double-tap function . Third-party apps can also assign different actions to this gesture.

Tap and scroll

In addition to being a great drawing implement, the Apple Pencil can be used to navigate your iPad in between drawing programs.

It's surprisingly enjoyable to use the Pencil to scroll lists and swipe between views — its precision tip makes tapping and selecting certain items a whiz, and if you have to switch to another app while drawing, it keeps you from having to put the Pencil down between tasks.

If you love the idea of an Apple Pencil but your drawing skills are lackluster, the oldest idiom is the best advice: practice makes perfect! Drawing constantly is the best way to get better.

If you're just starting out, we recommend looking at some of your favorite artists, studying their styles, and trying to recreate them on your choice of digital canvas. It's a fun exercise and should get you thinking about shapes and styles.

That might be too complex for you — and that's fine! If you truly want a 101 course, there are a couple of drawing websites and services out there that offer great tutorials, videos, and PDFs.

• Drawspace boasts the slogan "now everyone can draw," and if its excellent step-by-step drawing lessons are anything to go by, that statement is the absolute truth.
• Proko offers a bunch of great videos on drawing forms and anatomy shapes.
• Draw a Box offers some great active tutorials for drawing everyday objects, people, landscapes, and yes — boxes.
• Learning in Hand has a great resource for starting to draw on the iPad, as well as some all-purpose tips for setting up your workspace and drawing.
• The Postman's Knock is a website designed to teach modern calligraphy techniques with a dip pen, but their printable PDFs are also incredible tools for learning letter forms and figures.

Improve your experience with Apple Pencil accessories

Whether you've got the original Apple Pencil or the Apple Pencil 2, there are ways to get more out of your drawing experience with accessories.

The first-gen model, for example, is perfectly round which poses some ergonomic and functional challenges. With the right Apple Pencil accessories , however, you can assuage any concerns about it rolling off the table with a neat stand or equip your Apple Pencil with a dedicated grip for a more comfortable hold.

The flat edge on the second-gen Apple Pencil already works to solve these problems, and the magnetic charging means you'll usually be resting it atop your iPad anyway, though you could still consider an Apple Pencil 2 case to protect it with. That would be especially useful if you want to prevent it from being knocked off your iPad's edge while traveling.

Novice to pro

The Apple Pencil and iPad integration is a prototypical example of Apple's hardware and software working in complete unison which makes drawing and sketching on the iPad a joy.

Whether you're totally new to digital art or getting back into drawing with your iPad after some time off, the above guide should get you up to speed quickly.

Updated March 2022: Updated for Apple Pencil 2 and current iPad lineup.

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How to draw on the iPad: your guide to getting started

Our guide to how to draw on the iPad starts with the basics, from pairing your Pencil to picking the right apps.

Learning how to draw on the iPad can open up a lot of possibilities for artists and designers. Combined with an Apple Pencil , the iPad becomes a powerful tool for art that has the advantage of also serving for much more besides. In the guide below, we'll run through the basics of getting started, from how to connect your Apple Pencil to choosing which apps to use and how to effectively use your stylus. 

We've aimed to cover everything you need to know if you've been looking into digital art and want to explore drawing on your iPad, and we've also included some practice exercises for you to start to hone your skills.

If you've not yet chosen which tablet to use, see our guide to the best drawing tablets , which features several iPads. Our guides to the best drawing tablets for students and the best drawing tablets for kids  also feature Apple tablets. Once you're ready to get started, see below for how to draw on the iPad.

How to draw on the iPad: set up your Apple Pencil 

First up, you'll need a stylus, and we recommend opting for an Apple Pencil to best explore how to draw on the iPad. We've reviewed some fairly good third-party styluses for our guide to the best Apple Pencil alternatives , but the Apple Pencil and Apple Pencil 2nd gen offer the best experience that we've had for drawing on the iPad. They were made specifically for this purpose and have features that many others don't.

Just be aware that Apple Pencils are not cross-compatible, so you'll need the right one for your iPad: either the original Apple Pencil if you have a standard iPad or the newer Apple Pencil 2 if you have an iPad Pro or a newer Air or mini (for up-to-date compatibility see our guide to the Apple Pencil vs Apple Pencil 2 )

Before you can start drawing on your iPad, you'll need to pair your Apple Pencil with it. Fortunately, this is quite quick and easy no matter which version of the Apple Pencil you have.

To pair the newer Apple Pencil 2 with a compatible iPad, all you have to do is connect the pencil to the magnetic connector on the right-hand side of the iPad. Make sure Bluetooth is turned on in the iPad settings. Connecting the Pencil 2 to this strip will also charge it.

How to connect Apple Pencil 1: To pair the original Apple Pencil with an iPad, remove the rounded cap on the end to reveal the Lightning connector. Plug this into your iPad’s Lightning port, and you should see a ‘Pair’ button flash up on the screen. Tap it, and you’re good to go.

Drawing on the iPad: which apps to use

If you simply want to start drawing, you already have everything you need. You can doodle with ease on preinstalled iOS apps like Notes or Pages, which have a few pens and colours to play with. As a place to get used to how the Apple Pencil feels and works, these are just fine, but they offer nowhere near the level of depth and functionality you get with dedicated drawing apps like Procreate, ArtRage or Affinity Designer.

Five of the best drawing apps for iPad:

• Procreate - a 2D and 3D painting app that offers professional results.
• Adobe Illustrator - the industry standard vector-design tool.
• Linea Sketch - A freemium sketching app for iPad.
• Affinity Designer - almost limitless tools for design, branding and art.
• Autodesk Sketchbook – an approachable and easy app for artists.

There are lots and lots of terrific iPad drawing apps out there, both paid-for and free. We’ve collated a few of our favourites in our guide to the best drawing apps for iPad , so head there for more options.

How to draw on the iPad using pressure sensitivity 

One of the headline features of the Apple Pencil is its pressure sensitivity, but it can take time to get used to. The only way you’ll be able to get used to how the pressure sensitivity feels and functions is through practice. 

Load up your drawing app of choice, or just the basic Notes app, and spend some time experimenting with different pressure levels. What are the thickest and thinnest lines you can draw – and how precise can you get in between? You want this to become an intuitive process, so you have a distinct sense of the quality of lines that different pressure levels will produce. 

Drawing on the iPad: understand palm rejection

One thing that can take a little getting used to when you’re drawing on a tablet is the clever palm rejection technology. This feature allows you to rest your hand on the screen while drawing, meaning you don’t need to do the awkward hover of the hand above the screen when you’re drawing. This is something you’ll commonly see new or inexperienced iPad artists doing, as they’re just finding it hard to latch onto the idea that they can touch the iPad screen without affecting what’s on it. 

Get used to the palm rejection feature, and remember that you really can treat your iPad screen just like a piece of paper. It makes the whole experience so much easier and more intuitive – not to mention less tiring. 

Drawing on the iPad: practice tilt sensitivity

The Apple Pencil has sophisticated tilt sensitivity, giving you another tool in your toolkit for carrying the thickness and character of your lines. The iPad can detect the angle at which you’re holding your Pencil, and which part of the nib you’re using. 

This means that you can hold the Pencil straight upright to create an extremely fine line, or hold it sideways to create much thicker strokes. A good way to get used to this is to load up a drawing app and try out some shading – experiment with different tools and brushes to get a feel for the kinds of effects you can create.

Apple Pencil exercises for learning how to draw on the iPad

Every artist is different, and the best way to improve your drawing is going to differ for everyone. With that said, here are a few quick Apple Pencil exercises that should help you learn how to draw on the iPad more effectively.

Drawing lines: Try to get into the habit of practising your strokes every day. Boot up a blank canvas in Notes or your drawing app of choice, and try drawing a series of horizontal lines, as close together as you can without them touching. Do the same with vertical lines, then curved lines – and for an extra challenge, once you’re done, try going back and adding an additional set of lines in between the ones you’ve already done. To vary it up, you can also try dashed lines, keeping the length of your dashes as consistent as you can.

Tracing and copying: One thing that’s great about the Apple Pencil is that it’s accurate enough that you can actually use it to trace through a piece of paper onto your iPad screen. While this won’t work with a really thick piece of paper or card, any standard paper or something thinner should be fine – simply lay it over your iPad screen, and trace over the lines with the Pencil. 

Also, if you’re using an iPad with a large enough screen, you can also easily devote some of its display real estate to an image for copying. Download an image of your choosing, load it up in Photos and place it on the left or right of the screen, and load up your drawing app to try to copy it. 

Calligraphy: Calligraphy can be a great way to practice control and consistency of your Apple Pencil drawing, and it’s a good quick exercise you can do every day. Why not try loading up one of your favourite fonts and seeing how well you can replicate it with the Pencil?

How to use Apple Pencil 2's double-tap for drawing on the iPad

If you’re using the more advanced 2nd generation Apple Pencil, don’t forget about the secret weapon you have at your disposal – the double tap. While the original Pencil has no physical controls, the Pencil 2 allows you to double-tap the flat edge for a quick toggle between settings. Once you get used to remembering you have this option, it can be really handy. 

These are the settings available for the double-tap:

• Switch between the current tool and the eraser (this is what it’ll be set on by default).
• Switch between the current tool and the previous tool.
• Show the color palette.
• Do nothing (disable double-tap).

As you can see, it really is very easy to get started drawing with the iPad. You don’t need any fancy apps or technical know-how – just your tablet, your Pencil, and a willingness to try things out.

Using an iPad for drawing is intuitive and natural. It means you can use common drawing theory, including our guide to how to draw animals, people and landscapes . Try using these traditional methods of drawing with some of the apps we've recommended here, and using the tech inside the iPad to produce great art. 

If you're not sure which iPad to choose to learn how to draw on the iPad, see our complete guide to the iPad generations list .

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Jon is a freelance writer and journalist who covers photography, art, technology, and the intersection of all three. When he's not scouting out news on the latest gadgets, he likes to play around with film cameras that were manufactured before he was born. To that end, he never goes anywhere without his Olympus XA2, loaded with a fresh roll of Kodak (Gold 200 is the best, since you asked). Jon is a regular contributor to Creative Bloq, and has also written for in Digital Camera World, Black + White Photography Magazine, Photomonitor, Outdoor Photography, Shortlist and probably a few others he's forgetting. 

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A drawing app designed for beginners

ShadowDraw® for iPad and Apple Pencil has everything you need to start drawing from scratch. Enjoy hundreds of step-by-step guides and learn how easy it is to create realistic drawings from start to finish!

ShadowDraw is Apple’s App of the Day

“With over 1,500 hand-drawn lessons developed by real artists, ShadowDraw is a drawing app for beginners who want to improve their skills and become better artists through daily step-by-step drawing exercises.

What we love: With your Apple Pencil and iPad, you have everything you need to learn how to draw like the pros. The app’s step-by-step instructions require you to make each stroke accurately before you’re allowed to move on, ensuring that you develop a solid foundation of skills.”

“ “ShadowDraw for the iPad and Apple Pencil is one program that teaches drawing forms by having you follow along the animated pen strokes of another artist in an updated take on the “copying the masters” approach.” ”

choose from hundreds of step-by-step guides

ShadowDraw works like a real art teacher by making sure you complete each step correctly before revealing the next one. This way, you can progress in small steps. Watch your lines come together step by step to create a complete drawing!

enjoy exclusive hand-drawn art lessons

ShadowDraw lessons are created by real art professionals, and guide you through the exact steps taken to create those drawings. Simply follow the pencil strokes of an experienced artist with your Apple Pencil. In just a few lessons, you’ll discover how to create realistic drawings from start to finish.

start a daily drawing habit

Daily practice is important to becoming a great artist. ShadowDraw lessons encourage you to make art every day! Freshen up your skills before jumping into your own unique work.

Ready to start drawing with a confident hand? Download ShadowDraw today!

How do I get started with digital drawing on my iPad?

So you want to learn how to draw on your iPad, but you aren’t sure where to start. Today we’re going to walk you through the basics of drawing on your iPad. Think of it as iPad drawing 101.

To start drawing on your iPad, you’ll need two tools:

• An Apple Pencil
• An App that supports drawing

OK, so there are some intense professional apps out there that are designed for illustrators. We don’t think these are a great place to start because they tend to have quite a learning curve and can feel overwhelming for beginners.

At the beginning of your digital art journey, it’s important to start with something easy to use so that you are able to engage with it and play with it – starting with something complex can be overwhelming and keep you from putting in the time to actually learn how to create digital artwork. Which would be a shame because, honestly, it’s a really, really cool creative outlet, and it doesn’t have to be intimidating.

Learning a new artform as an adult can be difficult because we’re not used to starting at the very beginning – and we’re surrounded by polished looking pieces of art that seem really accessible. It’s easy to forget that each of those artists had a journey that got them to where they are…

OK, so today we’re going to use the Pigment app to demonstrate some of the basics of digital coloring. Starting with coloring pages is a great way to learn digital art skills because the outlines allow you to focus on building your coloring abilities.

Here are some basic steps to start your digital drawing journey:

• Pick something accessible. You can go to the Editor’s Choice called “Starting Simple,” and use one of the pre-selected drawings.
• Experiment with the tools. What happens when you push harder on your stylus? What happens when you drag it while you’re in tap-to-fill mode?
• Play with colors. Use the color wheel to explore color options. Use one of Pigment’s preset color palettes to create a vibe, or create your own color palette.
• Play with tools. How do different opacities look?  When is it useful to have a big brush size or a tiny one?
• Discover the joy of zoom for intricate details! (in real life, this looks like shoving your head up close to your canvas)
• Use the eraser tool to clean up stray colors.
• Use your non-digital art knowledge to inform your choice of lighting and colors – the same principles apply: you’ll need to shade and blend to create realistic effects. Think about where shadows and highlights fall. Add visual interest in certain areas to draw the eye of the viewer.

Really, the best way to learn is to explore! Play and practice until you get a good sense of how the tools work and the basics of color theory and shading. When you’re ready, there are a TON of tutorials to help you level up. Go back to Editor’s Choice and click the tutorial section. Check out the different skills you’re interested in learning.

And that’s it! You’re on your way to freehand mode, grayscale images, and beyond. Oh, and without any paintbrushes to clean. 

How to start drawing on an iPad

It’s possible to make really stunning, realistic, and nuanced art with your iPad and Apple Pencil, but when you are learning how to draw on the iPad, it can feel overwhelming. There are so many things you can do, it can be hard to just get started. 

As a beginner digital artist, it’s important to find an app that’s designed to ease you into the artistic experience. Pigment is great for this because it has a simple interface and its tools are easy to use. 

To start, we recommend exploring Pigment’s different tools to get a feel for them. Play around with brushes, opacities, and sizes to see various effects.

How to get started with digital art

There are a few different ways to get started with digital art. The good news? You’re already doing one of them! That’s right, starting your digital art journey with a bit of research is a great way to ease into the world of artistic creation. 

A great way to research how to start drawing and painting digitally is Youtube. Find youtubers who are teaching art and subscribe to their channels. Side note: Pigment’s digital art tutorials are pretty awesome, if we do say so ourselves.

Once you’ve watched a few tutorials, grab your iPad and download an app that makes sense for you. There are lots of digital art creation apps like Procreate, but many of them aren’t intuitive and as a result, not great for beginners. Pigment Coloring is an awesome option for beginners because it has different modes – freehand allows you to color anywhere you want, but auto helps you stay within lines. 

Pigment Coloring App is also great for beginners because it’s got a ton of tutorials on Youtube that you can follow. 

iPad Tutorials for Beginners

Check out Pixite’s playlist on Youtube for a variety of iPad digital art tutorials . The Pigment App playlist on Youtube is one of the quickest and easiest ways to explore digital painting as a beginner.

Breanne Pirie, Pigment’s official colorist, walks through the steps of shading and creating really beautiful pieces of digital art. Check out Breanne’s journey from beginner to professional colorist – it’s inspiring to see where she started and where she ended up. She credits the Pigment app as the supportive platform she needed to grow her digital coloring skills.

Learn Digital Sketching

Sketching digitally uses the same principles as sketching on paper. So if you’re interested in learning digital sketching, using a tutorial from any artist will work. There are also some awesome “how-to sketch” books that will teach you the basics.  

Learn how to use lines and curves to create perspective. Learn how to shade and include detail. Remember: Practice makes perfect. (Or at least better!) One tip? Take a picture of something you want to learn to draw. Having it in a photograph will give you the practice of looking at and understanding how to convert something from 3D to 2D.

You can learn sketching skills in the analog/paper world or digital world, but many of the same principles apply. Digital sketching is awesome though, because it is less wasteful (no more trashbins full of crumpled paper!) and it allows instant undos and erasing. You can also print it if you want a digital copy.

How to Create Digital Art

Ultimately, you need to dive in and start creating! Train your eye to find details and go from there. Use the internet to find inspiration and tutorials. Above all, remember: Creating art is beautiful in and of itself. Enjoy the process!

Make something beautiful on Pigment? Tag us with #Pigment_App – we love to see your stuff!

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How to get started learning to draw with an iPad and Apple Pencil

Starting a brand new hobby can be tough. here's how i started a new hobby from scratch., my mindset for starting this new hobby, make getting started easy, start with youtube tutorials to learn the basics, practice for a small block of time each day, start drawing on your own.

Drawing is something I’ve always loved doing since I was a kid.

My earliest memories from school were drawing dogs in my copybook to “decorate” my writing. As I got older, I’d obsessively sketch all the characters from Dragon Ball Z to the point where my notebooks were overflowing.

But as I’m sure you can guess, I moved on and drawing stopped being something I did to pass the time. I became more negative about my drawing ability and would rarely sketch things for fear they’d look terrible.

Cut to Christmas day and me unwrapping a brand new Apple Pencil to accompany my iPad.

I’m not saying the Apple Pencil has cured me of my inability to draw, far from it. BUT, this is the first time in years I’ve thought about drawing from a fresh perspective. I’m now full of optimism and a desire to practice drawing digitally.

This might be a long-winded introduction but I wanted to share my perspective in case you’re like me. You’ll have someone (i.e. me) to point you in the right direction and motivate you to give it a try.

This article won’t be a technical guide on using the iPad and Pencil. I wanted to write this article to share with you how I’m approaching this brand-new hobby, where I started, and where I hope to end up as a proficient digital artist.

As I mentioned above, I’m not very good at drawing in any medium but I want to improve my digital drawing skills this year. I’m feeling very positive and motivated to stick with it (check back with me in 6 months 😅).

My mindset for approaching this new hobby is that I need to practice to get better.

Yes, my first few hundred (or more even) drawings will be terrible, but my skills will improve over time. The more hours I put into practicing drawing, the better I’ll get.

I’m not aiming for 10,000 hours or anything but I know with consistent practice I’ll eventually be able to put what’s in my brain onto the digital screen.

My advice to you if you are thinking of starting this hobby is to pick a tool and get started.

Don’t spend too much time picking the perfect tool (there isn’t one). Simply pick something recommended by others or even one you like the look of and get started using it.

When you first start drawing digitally like me you won’t know anything yet. You won’t know the difference between a good drawing tool and a bad one. So why spend all your initial motivation and energy researching the best one before you even know what you’re doing?

I chose Procreate as my drawing app of choice because:

• I’d heard about it before
• I knew there were a lot of tutorials for it online
• It was compatible with my iPad

Procreate isn’t a free app, and usually, I’d do everything I can to find a free alternative but on this occasion, I took the decision that it would be worth it for a one-time fee. Plus if I put some money on the line I’d be more likely to stick with it.

The tools you choose are completely up to you. Pick a tool you like and get started.

It might seem like an oversimplification but seriously, just head over to YouTube and look up drawing tutorials.

Use your drawing tools as keywords to refine your YouTube search to make things a little easier to find. For example:

• Procreate for beginners
• Drawing icons in Procreate with Apple Pencil
• How to make stickers in Procreate
• Drawing portraits in Procreate with Apple Pencil

Do some searching and save any interesting videos to a watch-later playlist so you have them to refer to.

I started my Procreate journey by following the Procreate channel on YouTube and watching the Procreate Beginners Series .

This 4 video course was a great starting point for getting familiar with the Procreate app and some basic digital drawing fundamentals.

During my YouTube research into the hobby, I came across a lot of fun drawing tutorials. You follow along with a 10-15 minute tutorial and at the end, you have a beautiful piece of artwork and you’ve learned something in the process.

I have been following one tutorial each day for the past week and have found it the perfect way to practice my digital drawing skills in small manageable chunks.

For some simple but amazing Procreate drawing tutorials, I recommend the channel Art with Flo .

Now I’m more comfortable with Procreate and drawing digitally, I’m experimenting with creating my own drawings.

This is how you take your drawing to the next level. You practice developing your own style and the things you want to draw.

I’m back on the Dragon Ball Z train practicing my sketching and shading abilities and I’ve found it so much fun to do. Yes, I will move on from DBZ to other fun things but this is what I love doing right now so I’m sticking with it.

Practicing my drawing gets me into a flow state pretty much every day. Time passes so quickly when I’m in the zone drawing and the next thing I know its lunchtime!

Have A Project To Work Towards

As I continue to hone my ability to draw digitally, my creator brain kicks in and I wonder what I can do with this new skill.

Here are some ideas I have:

• I want to create my own images to use in my articles. This way I can incorporate more of my unique style into my writing.
• I want to be able to do the same for my weekly newsletter.
• I want to turn this skill into something tangible so I’m considering making stickers and/or digital prints. I already have some really fun ideas for this so be on the lookout for that!

I hope you enjoyed reading this article (my first of 2023!) and it has inspired you to take up digital drawing for yourself.

If you have any suggestions for great online tutorials or ways to develop my skills further I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks so much for reading!!

Design Insight

A newsletter about creativity and design. Each week I share insights from what I've been watching, reading, or listening to. Released every Friday at 5 pm GMT.