Can DrawABox lessons be done digitally, rather than traditionally?
https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtFundamentals/comments/7s16hy/can_drawabox_lessons_be_done_digitally_rather/
2018-01-21 22:42
CombustibleTob
I've been drawing for majority of my life - although have never really "learnt" always self taught stuff.
I was just wondering whether this course type thing would work if I where to do it digitally with the use of a drawing tablet and program rather than traditionally (pen and paper).
Thanks :)
- T
Uncomfortable
2018-01-21 23:45
Can they be? Sure. Are they going to be helpful? Certainly. Will they be as effective as if you'd done them with the recommended tools? Unfortunately not. Is it still worth it? Yeah, but I've yet to come across someone with a good reason not to do it in ink first, then transition to digital.
Here's why the exercises work best with fineliners on paper.
Shen_an_igator
2018-01-22 01:13
They can, but typically you will learn faster doing them traditionally.
Just remember: No matter what you use, the concepts always remain the same. Changing tools takes way less time than being confident in your abilities to apply the concepts of drawing :)
CombustibleTob
2018-01-22 00:33
Thanks for responding, the article linked swayed my view surprisingly, so I shall do the course as it is meant to be done, although my go back and forth with both mediums.
Much appreciated.
Faranta
2021-11-24 18:35
His only two points are 1) you can have driver problems 2) somehow a tablet is for the impatient.
Neither seem the least bit relevant to me if you just draw on a decent tablet using an ink pen.
Tablet saves paper and ink and money and the environment and allows you to keep your sketches forever. I'm going to try the course digitally and see.
Uncomfortable
2021-11-24 19:01
You are certainly welcome to make your own decision here, as long as you've read through the article carefully, and that the decision you're making is informed.
I'll clarify one point before leaving you to it - you mention that I say "somehow a tablet is for the impatient". I myself am almost exclusively a digital artist, and I've been working with tablets (both non-display and display tablets) daily for almost two decades now, and I find them to be invaluable tools. I am by no means looking down my nose at digital art, or at tablets, or questioning their validity as tools for producing artwork.
The issue I was mentioning - which is essentially that all digital tools, and computers in general, inherently lean into our desire for instant gratification, which does not lend itself well to the learning process. For this reason - and I've seen this both in myself, and in the thousands of students whose work I've critiqued since posting the comment you replied to - those who first get comfortable with the fundamentals of drawing using ink and paper tend to exhibit more patience and care, taking the time to follow the instructions and absorb the material. Conversely, those who do try to do the work digitally (when I started Drawabox in 2014, I accepted all submitted homework regardless of what tools it employed) tend to show a greater tendency towards rushing through the written and video lessons, as well as rushing through the work. It isn't the case for everyone, but it's a strong trend that has yielded better results when those same people (or at least those among them who were willing to) switched to working with pen and paper instead.
That's the reason I stopped critiquing work that was done digitally myself, and why working digitally limits one's access to feedback through the free/community based channels only. When students rush, they make mistakes that could have been avoided, putting that extra labour on the one doing the feedback. In the end it became unsustainable.