How to Start a Painting (Part II)
For abstract art, colors and composition are the two most important elements, in my opinion. Without realistic shapes, artists have to rely on colors and composition to express themselves.
What Colors to Choose?
There are many ways to pick colors for a painting. I have developed a simple way for my digital art painting that is easy to use, and the finished painting has a cohesive color scheme.
I start with a digital reference photo, described in my last post, I then load the picture into a blank Procreate canvas using the “Input a Photo” method.
Next, I create a blank color palette in Procreate. Using the color picker, I build a palette of the colors in the picture. Usually, I pick two colors in dark tones, two colors in middle tones, and one color in a light tone. I always include white as well. I start the painting using colors from this palette.
During the painting, I would use the color picker to pick colors from the canvas. It gives me colors that are mixtures of colors in the palette, and they are compatible with the other colors in the painting.
If I need contrast I would use black or white. However I rarely use black directly, instead, I pick the darkest dark in the canvas and use that as my black color.
How do you decide what colors to use? Please let me know in the comment section below.
How to Start a Painting (Part I)
To be honest, it’s much less scary to start a digital painting than a traditional one. You can always delete the file and start over without worrying about the cost.
However, it doesn’t mean it’s easier to start a digital painting. You still face the same questions: what to paint, what colors to use, and what the composition looks like.
I have developed a way to make it easier. In the “How to Start a Painting“ series I will share how I start my digital abstract painting.
What to Paint
Abstract art is hard to understand for many viewers because it lacks recognizable objects. Does that mean we as an artist can scribble anything and call it a piece of artwork? Some people may do that but I would get bored quickly and won’t be able to paint anymore.
Painting to me is a way of releasing emotion and obtaining peace. I need to start from something that moves me: anger, stress, joy, or happiness; the latest technology, the oldest philosophy, the world events, or the local news. Anything that embodies energy could be my inspiration.
I have a habit of taking pictures wherever I go or taking a screenshot when I see a picture I like. I keep a reference album on my phone and put pictures in it if I think it could be something I would paint later.
When I am ready to paint, I go through my album and pick a picture that speaks to me at that moment. This becomes the starting point of what I paint.
How do you start a painting? Please leave a comment below.
Procreate Pros and Cons
Procreate is an iPad app built for artists and designers. Combined with the Apple Pencil, it’s one of the best apps on the market for artists amateurs, and professionals.
I received my iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil as Mother’s Day gifts in 2010. At that time, there were not many apps that could be used with the Apple Pencil, Procreate was one of them so I bought it without much hesitation. Today it costs $9.99 in the Apple store and is still considered one of the best.
There are many reviews about Procreate on the internet, I just wanted to share my personal opinion, you may not agree with me but they are what I think based on my experience, so here we go.
Pros:
Save money. It is a lot cheaper than Photoshop.
It has many essential features that Photoshop provides and artists love, such as masks, layers, etc.
Combined with the Apple Pencil, it simulates real-life painting experiences that many artists love.
Other than the built-in brushes, you can create your brush or customize the existing ones. In addition, there are many third-party brushes online for purchase.
Stimulating creativities. Digital art is comparatively new and there are fewer established techniques than traditional mediums like oil painting, etc.
Easy to share online. You don’t need to figure out how to take a good picture of your painting because the exported image is always clear.
The end product can be printed onto various sized paper or canvas, with limit though, see the cons below.
Cons:
My biggest complaint about Procreate is that it can not create high-resolution (300+ dpi) images in large print (20+ inches). When you increase the pixel numbers the available layers reduce. I'm pleased to say that Procreate has since made significant improvements in this area. It now supports image creation up to 36 inches with a resolution of 300 dpi, making it an excellent tool for creating large, high-quality prints (updated on March 18, 2023).
It gets slower when you have created more paintings in the app. It simply stops working at some point. I have also found some workarounds. Let me know if you are interested to learn more.
The simulated brushes for watercolor, oil painting, or acrylic painting do not work like the real thing, even though they are reasonably close. However, they have their charms in my opinion.
Overall I love using Procreate and I will keep playing with it and share my experience with you. Check out the paintings I created using Procreate and Apple pencil on my website or my Instagram account.
Update 1 (2022/07/07): I have got very good results by using Procreate for my artwork. Several were selected for exhibitions and awards in the US and internationally. Check them out on my Instagram account to find out more!
Update 2 (2023/10/1): I have been exploring AI along with Procreate to create exciting artworks. Check out my latest project in this blog post: “AI in Contemporary Art: A Collaborative Approach”.
Update 3 (2024/3/3): Last year, I took a nine-day residency trip in Jingdezhen, China. It inspired me to create a new set of digital artwork, using the latest version of Procreate and Midjourney. Check them out in this blog post.
My Digital Art Tools
By definition, digital artworks are made using digital technology. I have seen some cool dynamic image installations that I could spend forever watching and admire.
For me, I use my trusty iPad and Apple Pencil, as well as the beloved app, Procreate.
I used to be an enthusiastic photographer who loved post-processing in Photoshop, which made learning Procreate a lot easier.
I have taken a few online classes for Procreate and watched a ton of YouTube videos on it. 😃 Don’t you love the internet? It makes it so easy to learn anything!
There are pros and cons of using Procreate though, I will write a blog about it later so stay tuned.
Are you a digital artist? What tools do you use? Please leave a comment below and I’d love to hear your thoughts.