How I Create Digital Paintings and Drawings

For your interest here I have written a little about how I create a digital drawing or painting using artists’ painting and drawing computer software and a digital graphics tablet and pen. Below I have shown one screen display of one of the software programs I use and the graphics tablet and pen.

I start by first choosing the size I want the artwork to be and the type of medium I want to use such as simulated canvas or textured paper and the coloured ground I want for the particular piece of work.  I then sketch the artwork from a photograph.

Once the sketch is completed I then paint the underpainting defining the lights and darks or base tones of the artwork. In the case of a drawing I would start to add the tonal values and the light direction by way of shading and blending with pencil or charcoal marks. These are applied in layers so changes can be made later if needed. If I were producing a painting I would define the lights and darks by creating a layer generally using one of the earth colours such as Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, Burnt Umber, Titanium White or Zinc White depending on the opacity of lights. This process is the same for all my artwork be it a still life, landscape or portrait.

Once the under painting has been established I create other layers adding the details to the artwork using a colour palette chosen from the hundreds of colours available stored in the computer program.

Once I am satisfied with the piece the image is saved as the appropriate file type.

Each artwork can take from a few hours to a few days to complete subject to the complexity of the piece.

I hope the above has given you an insight as to what is involved in the creation of my digital artwork.

Greg Watkiss