: Learning to draw: start in the pen and paper realm or the digital space? My question is should I start with paper to learn to draw or learn to digitally draw with Photoshop or Illustrator

@Becky351

I am in the same situation. I like drawing and painting. In free time I can do sketches and pencil shading drawings, and very expert at that. want to learn digitally.

If u want to learn digital graphics design u should have basic knowledge of design principles or creativity. Before moving to digital practice you at least should go through rough paper practice. Then if u have more to explain in your artwork then try implementing it by softwares like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop.

If you are good at softwares then you can work on paper, but to give those artistic effect you must practice on paper hardly. But, I am sure that if you have a very good knowledge in digital graphics you can put your creativity on paper by sure.

The best of two options is try first by paper. Because you must get knowledge of sketch drawing and other principles, then only you can do it on computer. some illustrations need to be drawn first on paper before moving to final digital graphics creation like **

usually done in comic books design

**.

all the best. Actually I also need suggestion.
I want to be design professional but have no time apart from office (working as IT professional). No knowledge in digital graphics. I know only painting and drawing.

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@Fox8063795

I would say both. If you're looking to become a "Digital Artist", you'll want to be able to work comfortably in that realm, which means knowing the software and hardware. But I haven't met too many designers who work in the strictly electronic world; I still use a sketch book to flesh out ideas (and occasionally reach for my roll of bum wipe to do overlays). A lot of the "Digital Art" I've seen has been scanned sketches that were then inked and colored digitally. Plus, there's nothing like a sketchbook and pencil for portability - the boot time of my sketch book is still better than the boot time for my Mac or my Windows machine.

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@Steve758

They're two completely different worlds. I'd go for the electronic stuff first, and do the pen&paper whenever the electronic stuff wasn't available. This is only because you propably do more with the computer skills than with the "traditional" cave painting methods.

I'll clarify I started drawing with the tablet after 12 years of experience in pen&paper, I still don't think it translates any better than doing cave paintings.

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@Shelley591

Learning to draw is primarily about learning how to interpret things with your eye/mind and translate that to the medium you are working with.

A pencil and paper is cheap, readily available, and portable. It's likely the best medium to get in lots of practice to help build that mental and muscle memory.

Then there's learning the particular medium. That usually entails a certain set of tools that you will learn which you will then apply your previous learnings to.

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@Shanna688

I'm going to disagree with everyone else and say that, if you're serious about graphic design or digital illustration, you should get a tablet ASAP.

If you're the creative type, then it's unlikely that your first experience drawing is going to be in a digital media, as you were probably exposed to analog media in art classes likely as early as kindergarten or grade school. And I do think you should take traditional art classes to build your foundations, as those courses generally aren't taught using digital media. But that's more to do with tradition and practicality than anything else. (It's easier to furnish a class with pencil/paper than it is to provide each student with a digitizing tablet. And not all students will have a tablet to practice on at home.)

Yes, analog media has a lot of qualities that can't be replicated by digital media, but the reverse is also true. And if you're going to spend most of your career drawing digitally, then getting accustomed to the feel of a tablet as soon as possible is going to be much more beneficial than learning the nuances of physical media. And it does take some time to get used to drawing with a digitizer tablet.

And while a high end tablet may be quite expensive, a cheap entry-level tablet like the Bamboo may actually save you money. Art materials aren't cheap, and if you're drawing/painting all the time, it quickly adds up. So digital media lets you get in more practice without spending as much money.

Digital media is also more beginner-friendly in some ways. The biggest reason is that there's no undo button for your physical canvas. Sure, you can erase a pencil sketch, but you can only do that so much before it starts to wear down the paper. There are no such problems with digital media. You also don't have to worry about making one mistake and ruining an entire piece, or smearing, or having your paint dry prematurely, or not being able to match a color you used in your last session, etc. There's also less cleanup if you're doing a digital painting versus analog.

All of the above reasons might make one inclined to practice more using digital than if they only had access to physical media (I know it did for me). That isn't to say you shouldn't bother with physical media, just that you should have both options available early on. The most important thing is that you set yourself up so that you can, and are motivated to, practice as much as possible. If you have both a tablet and a sketch pad, you can draw on the media of your choice whenever the urge strikes you.

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@Nimeshi706

Traditional and digital mediums are quite different.
So, will your skills in traditional carry over to digital? No, not all of them.
And will you digital skills carry over to traditional? Also, again, probably not.

Though, being talented in one will definitely help you out with the other.

Always starts with traditional, though, that's not what I personally did, it's what's advisable.

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@Michele215

Absolutely, unequivocally, definitely start with pen and paper first. Art programs are great tools that can enhance skills by exponential orders, but nothing—nothing—beats the immediate results and response of working with pencil and paper. I have yet to meet a designer that didn't start with rough pencil sketches first. Being able to draw by hand is a skill that will pay off dividends over the course of your career and beyond.

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