iPad+iMac=Pen Displays Obsolete?🔥
Just released a video "review" of my new iMac M1 from a digital artist and illustrator perspective, iPad about mirroring, Photoshop on iPad, and more, plus a cool character design class, & Free Brush
Hey everyone, and welcome to all to The Creative Draft; this is publication number eight! This week we’re focusing on desktop illustration and how we can better use our tools as illustrators and digital artists. I just released a new video I’ve wanted to make for a while now since I got my new iMac last June, a pro birthday gift for myself. Yes! after a lot of thought and consideration, I decided to become a Mac user (after my long life relationship with PC) and expand the tools I have as a digital artist around the iPad. What I mean by that is to try to use my desktop in a way that works with my workflow without having to rob the bank. I would love to hear your comments in the video and make this super interactive, mostly when it comes to a question I wanted to ask for a while about making the Photoshop version of my Procreate Brushes.
Also, this week I will be sharing a new class I took about character design by a great artist I follow and why it is important to look up to and learn from the best.
The Menu for This Week
👉 My New 2K work-horse
👉 New Illustration Challenge & Why to Take Part
👉 About Character Design + a New Photoshop Class
👉 Adapting my Procreate Brushes to Photoshop?
👉 This Week’s FREE Brushes - Cool Free Procreate Brush on Gumroad! 😉
Working on iPad vs. Desktop
I’m not changing the way I work, just expanding my horizons and tools
Besides looking extremely good at my desk (look at that Pinterest-worthy shot:D), this new Mac I got is meant to serve a purpose. I’m still using my iPad, which is perfectly capable, but I wanted to have a good option if I had to use it.
In this video, I’m sharing the key decision factors behind why I went for this, instead of buying a new PC and a Pen Display, like a Wacom or a Huion, or the cheaper alternatives. It would be amazing if you let me know how you work, your thoughts, and your experiences in the video comments so we can have a conversation there.
In the video, I also show how I work with the iPad, how I mirror the iPad screen in the Mac, and how I move the desktop apps to the iPad for free.
#MysticSunWeek Illustration Challenge Here
New illustration challenge in town! Everyone can join and why you should do it too!
Lately, if you haven’t noticed, Instagram engagement for most artists is going a bit (a lot!) down. Like me and probably you, most artists use Instagram to share their work, build a community, and have some sort of portfolio. The reality is that our content and work are being shown less and less to new people because of changes, reels, and other stuff.
Illustration challenges and being an active part of the art community on those platforms can help to put your work in front of new eyes, get feedback and help you tell your story.
Even if this new challenge #mysticsunweek is not your thing, there are thousands of illustration challenges you can take part in. And also thousands of different interpretations you can come up with, making basically any kind of illustration challenge, to be your thing and in your theme:).
I cannot stretch it enough - posting for Instagram and creating art for the algorithm will only hurt you, your art, and your craft. Instead, illustrating challenges will take you out of your comfort zone, expand your community and artists’ friends, get feedback, and help your creative mind to be active instead of focusing on likes.
I cannot imagine how hard it must be to start an art account today if it’s hard for someone who has already started. Art and illustration challenges have a lot of cool benefits like
✏️ Exercise our creative muscle
✏️ Be part of a social/community event of likeminded artists
✏️ Helps build up a portfolio
✏️ Help you develop further your style
✏️ Put more eyes on your work and feedback
✏️ Perfect opportunity to experiment, play with your art, try out new things
Of course, we have other projects, clients, work, and stuff. But even in my busiest times, I leave some space to organize/join a challenge every now and then, for the reasons I shared. I extremely enjoy hosting and taking part. See other artists’ interpretations, get surprised and discover new things along the way.
Creating Characters That Are Unique & Tell a Story
When telling a story, a character’s personality is super important
If you are familiar with my work, you’ll notice that I put many details in the features that make a character unique. I pay particular attention to how the characters' posture, gestures, and expressions help me to tell a story.
Every artist has their own process, so I had to take the class, when I got a notification about Sam Nassour’s new class. If you are not familiar with his work, check it out here Sam’s Portfolio.
Sam Nassour is an art director and visual development artist who creates incredible characters. In this class, he shares great tips for working digitally while developing a unique character from the beginning until the end. He teaches how to create expressive, lovable characters, advises on approaching the character's surroundings, adds dynamics, and lightens the whole scene.
My favorite part of the course was all the great tips and tricks Sam shared to make your character more relatable and expressive, especially how he situates the created character in a scene, giving it a very cinematographic look and feel. It was incredible to see him work and develop his character.
Remember, learning from other artists’ processes doesn’t mean copying their style. When you do something for a while, you learn how to improve the technique, how to work faster, take valid shortcuts, broaden your experience, or even learn how to break a rule or two. All things become more relevant the longer you do something. That’s why having a look into an artist’s process is a portal to self-reflection and self-improvement. Looking into other artists’ processes will make you improve; copying someone else's style will only slow you down, make your work a cheap copy of someone else's story. And sometimes (more often than you might think) it will be noticed and not appreciated by the artist community. Always develop your own style.
My Procreate Brushes for Photoshop
I get asked a lot about adapting my brushes to Photoshop. This is my take
Lately, more and more of you ask me to adapt my Procreate brushes to Photoshop, and I’m definitely listening. During the past year, over 20.000 creators have downloaded my brush sets, and many of you tagged my account or my Instagram brush account for me to check your work created with them, which is amazing :)
If you are one of those who are using my brushes in your art, please tag my brush sets account @asiaorlandobrushes so I can share your work with others. Don't tag my main account because it will get lost in all the post tags. I’m trying to build a community there :)
Now, when it comes to making my brushes for Photoshop, I’m already working on figuring out a way to make them look and feel the same for all of you who asked. It’s not as simple as it sounds because one of the main characteristics of my brushes is that I made them to feel and behave like a real tools. My brushes are not just a stamp; they behave in a certain way. Take any ink brush or watercolor in my set, and you’ll feel it right away.
If you don’t have any of my brush sets, for a week, you can grab my 230 Brush Paak with a 25% off
So, in short, I’m trying to find the best way to translate that same behavior to Photoshop, and when I’m happy that you guys will have the same experience as in Procreate, I will release them :) I need a bit of time to make them perfect.
FREE Procreate Brushes Week #2
FREE Procreate brushes you can download on Gumroad.
Matthew Baldwin is sharing a free brush set of 90 amazing vegetation brushes for Procreate. I shared some of his brushes in the past, and if you got those as well, you would know how great they are. This is a free set, but as I always say, consider donating to the creator who’s sharing amazing creative tools like this.
So if you can donate something, to him or to any other artist giving resources for free consider doing it :) you don’t know how much difference it makes!
Another way to support the artist is by following and sharing some love with them. This is Matt’s Twitter, I don’t personally know him, but I think his brushes & work are quite amazing! Enjoy!
Remembers, the brushes I mention above are not mine, are FREE to download at the time I’m sending this on the respective creator’s Gumroad page. Disclaimer: this is a newsletter, and you can opt-out at any time; there’s a link below where you can automatically unsubscribe. I wouldn’t like to see you go, but you have the option. Also, some links, not all, might be affiliate links; when you click on them, I get a small commission at no cost to you.