Digital drawing

Over the course of the past month or so I’ve been taking an online course at Sketchbook Skool learning techiniques and tips and tricks for using Procreate to draw on the iPad. I’ve been keeping a physical sketchbook for quite some time, but ever since I got the latest iPad mini with the Apple Pencil I’ve been looking for a way to learn more about using them for digital drawing.

A plant drawn on a very dark gray background in green, in a sketch style.
Playing with using different background colors easily is one of the things I started to love about drawing digitally.

It’s very much been an up and down process for me, but I ended the course last week feeling really good and interested and refreshed about how I can switch up my drawing life using these tools. I feel like I should also say that most folks use a larger iPad when drawing, for more space, but since the mini is my favorite device, my most used device, and also the same size as my preferred sketchbook, it works really well for me.

A strange drawing of a daisy like flower, yellow, with blue background, but the layers are distorted and changed to show under drawing through and more.
I don't love the way this turned out, but it was a great learning experience about how I can manipulate layers and change things digitally in ways I can't in my sketchbook.

Once I got comfortable with Procreate, the pencil, and the size of the screen and how it all worked together, I started to really enjoy drawing on my iPad. I used it when I traveled for work earlier this month, which cut down on how much I had to pack. I’m using tools in the software that I would never use in real life because I don’t want to sink the money into it or make the mess.

The word knitting in cursive script with the texture of a photo of actual knitting coming through, along with a hand drawn ball of yarn.
Masks are fun and I did a quick piece using a photo of one of the things I've knit for the texture in the script.

I’m by no means going to abandon my paper sketchbooks and my beloved colored pencils, but I am feeling a renewed sense of play and freedom in this new outlet for drawing. For now, it’s how I prefer to draw, but I’m sure I’ll be going back to my sketchbooks soon.

A white case for glasses sitting on a photo of a table.
I did a quick drawing of my new glasses case and then decided to take a photo of the actual table I was sitting at for the background.

One other note, I’ve really enjoyed both of the courses I’ve taken through Sketchbook Skool, the videos are great and the forum they host for students, while not being the best software, is a great way to share with others who are learning right along with you.

An empty glass next to a bottle of Rededemption Rye, the details sketched in for the label, all sitting against a bright green background.
My final drawing for the course "homework" where I put a lot of techniques together. I had fun drawing this and am excited to continue to learn and practice more.