Whether you are pursuing digital art as an illustration student and it is essential for your workflow or a film and television student looking for a hobby, learning the skill cannot be easier in this day and age where there are so many free resources to learn digital art online. But among the five hourlong real time painting process videos and incredibly nondescript picture-only tutorials, there are definitely some that stand out amongst the crowd. Here are some of the best ones that keep it simple and educational.
Paintable.cc
Run and contributed to by many big names in the digital art world, Paintable is a great digital art resource for complete beginners and seasoned professionals alike. While there is a whole academy and course offered at a cost, the amount of tutorials and guides that you can access for free is a ton. Whether you want to learn how to paint clouds in 3 easy steps or you want to learn how to paint gems, there is probably something on their free resource list that you can pick up on.
Plus, if you register as a member for their email subscription list, you get sent a free brush pack that comes with a lot of great textures that can aid you in your digital art journey. They also have a dedicated community on Discord that you can join full of like-minded enthusiasts who are just as passionate about improving as you.
Proko on Youtube
Raise your hand if a professor in your foundations courses has made you watch a Proko video in class. But really, there is a reason why many faculty at SCAD favor showing the channel. Run by master artist Stan Prokopenko, the channel which has nearly three million Youtube subscribers, has an ungodly amount of helpful tips about digital art and drawing skills in general. Prokopenko has invited countless of big names in the digital art community to demonstrate techniques and skills that are incredibly helpful to learn, such as Esben Rasmussen, who has done some of the most iconic splash art illustrations for hit video game, “League of Legends.”
Some of the most helpful videos he has shown are those about anatomy and drawing things in perspective, which applies to any medium of drawing that one would like to do. If you are looking to start from square zero and build a solid drawing foundation, then Proko is a channel you might want to add to your subscriptions.
Ctrl+Paint
As said concisely on its landing page, “Ctrl+Paint is a free learning resource dedicated to the basics of digital painting. Each bite-sized video covers a different concept, allowing you to learn complex subjects in manageable increments.” And it is incredible how much information they offer completely for free. There are 18 steps that you could take in order if you wanted to consume all its available resources, with each step having a handful of videos to watch that range at about 5 minutes each. Starting out with ‘Digital Painting 101’, if you like to learn with structure and order, this is a resource worth checking out.
Founded by Matt Kohr, a SCAD graduate himself, you can guarantee that this website is especially student-friendly. There are absolutely no paywalls and annoying advertisements that can ruin your learning experience, with the site being mostly funded by premium tutorials that can be bought for only $10 if the interest arises.
Digital art is a hobby and a career that can bring great joy and fulfillment, therefore having easy access to resources on it is something that can definitely peddle it along. Be sure to check out these resources if you have the chance!
