October Daily Challenge with BeeJayDel - Days 1-12

It's been days since I last posted as I have been engulfed in a unique challenge helping me learn the ins and outs of using Procreate.  

Although I've used the app for several years, I only touched the surface of what it offers people with digital artwork.  This challenge teaches techniques beyond the basics and I am grateful.  Such a fun way to learn too.

The challenge is presented by BeeJayDel on Facebook and his YouTube channel.  Instead of Inktober (which I normally work each year), he chose to produce a video each day of a Halloween cartoon character.  He invites people to draw along with him and then share their efforts.

Because I didn't come across his channel until well into the month, I have been playing catch-up working four (sometimes three depending on the complexity) each day.  I have finally caught up.

So far here are twelve of the days I have completed.  Tonight or tomorrow I should be able to share another twelve days.  Below image I share just what I have learned.

What I have learned:

1)  How to use Alpha Lock

2)  How to use Clipping Mask Layers

3)  Setting an ink drawing as a reference and adding color to fill within the lines on another layer.

4)  How to use a layer with drag and drop flat color and then a different layer with shadows and another for highlights.  Although I use multiple layers, I was not accustomed to using the drag and drop of colors into an area.  I just normally "painted" in with the apple pencil and chosen brush tool.

5)  How to use the selection tool to "draw" with.

6)  How Gaussian Blur can be used within a drawing/painting.

7)  How to group layers
8)  How to first use a loose sketch using basic shapes (something I don't normally do but instead jump right in with a preliminary pencil sketch almost as detailed as my inking) followed by detailed ink line work.

9)  Working with various texture brushes
10)  How to use the warp tool to reshape basic shapes like circles, rectangles, etc.

**I'm sure I could come up with other things but at the moment these are the top things I have picked up from working this challenge.

Although I'm not a cartoonist nor do I have much in the way of imagination with the work I do, this has been refreshing from my normal style and interest in capturing what I see in front of me....recording my day to day in journals.

This is a blast and I'm extremely thankful for stumbling on this gentleman and his tutorials.  And my eldest granddaughter has also been captivated by this challenge.  Her and I have been texting and sharing our efforts.  

Digital Sketch / Painting and New Toys

In the past I have played a bit with digital sketching and painting.  What I used was photoshop elements to create those pieces and a wacom tablet/pen.  Although I have enjoyed digital art, for me it was a little cumbersome working on the attached wacom tablet and not directly on a screen surface where the drawing is actually showing or being produced.

Last week I purchased the Ipad Pro along with the Apple Pencil.  I am blown away with how nice it is working directly on a screen and with an electronic pencil (stylus) as precise as the apple pencil is proving to be.  I love the feel and balance to the apple pencil and where that tip hits the screen, the line marks are right where they should be.  Unlike using Adonit Stylus I found lagged and was off from where the tip hit the screen.

And although I have several art apps on my Ipad (Air before the Pro), I seldom played with them.  For some reason when I got the Ipad Pro, I chose to start playing with Procreate.  Maybe because of all the videos I've seen out there showing tips and tricks and example artwork being created.  Not really sure why but that's the app I decided to start practicing with.

Here are examples of what I've been doing the past several days.  There's a lot to learn with Procreate.  Lots of brush choices and techniques to work through.  My favorite so far are the graphite brushes to include a few I've learned to make myself.  It's nice having an app and electronic brush choices that look like true graphite............and what's nice.......no smearing as I work..........LOL.  I don't have to spray these to keep the graphite from smudging or smearing nor do I end up wearing graphite all over hand and fingers.

And so far there are two pen brush choices I like.......both pressure sensitive giving me thin and thick lines depending on how much pressure I apply or the tilt of the apple pencil.

First sketch just getting a feel for a few of the pen brush choices in Procreate.

Stress relief sketch illustrating how I feel setting up new gadgets.  This was done while trying to finish setting up the Ipad Pro since I set it up as new rather than using the Ipad Air backup to mirror what I had on it.  I had to do a lot of manual copying of photos and certain data on the Ipad Air as I didn't want all the same stuff on the new Ipad.  Hubby got the Ipad Air once I made sure I had what I needed off of it and before he reset back to factory settings.

Next quick sketch getting a feel for the pressure sensitivity of the apple pencil and brush choices

Playing with a new graphite brush I actually learned to create myself.

Some serious sketching using the graphite brushes

Next is trying my hand at understanding color application........trying to mimic watercolor.  Color is a whole different ballgame and a lot to learn and practice to achieve likeness of particular mediums.  You work in layers for blending and textures of various color so I'm not sure just how much time I'll dedicate to working through that.  I primarily wanted to do more pen and ink and graphite sketching digitally but will be nice to have some knowledge if I want to add a bit of color for added umph to the sketch.