• Site: https://www.artrage.com/

• Good for: natural media art styles

• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArtRage

• Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS

Playlists

• Daniel Ibanez - Artrage 6 Tutorials

• Steve Elliot - Artrage Tutorials

• https://mypaint.app/about/

• MyPaint hasn't been updated since 2020. But it seems to have been popular with some artists and its brush engine has been imported into Krita.

• https://affinity.serif.com/

• My notes on this app

Basics

• https://www.blender.org/

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blender_(software)

• Blender provides 3D tools: modelling, texturing, sculpting, rendering, and more

Videos

• Blender Secrets - Review and Tips for using the XPPen Artist Pro 16 Gen 2 in Blender Nov 21, 2023

• Grant Abbitt - How to Set Up a Graphics Tablet | Blender 2.8 & 2.79 Dec 24, 2018

Basics

• Site: https://concepts.app

• Platforms: iOS, Windows, Android, ChromeOS

Videos

• Concepts App - Start Creating with Concepts in Only Ten Minutes 2023/09/01

• Teoh on Tech - Why I prefer Concepts over Procreate Aug 2022/08/01

• Teoh on Tech - My Digital Art Style & Concepts app workflow Jan 10, 2023

• Teoh on Tech - 10 more tips for Concepts App Apr 15, 2023

• Teoh on Tech - Note Taking with Concepts Nov 30 2020

• Teoh on Tech - Keyboard shortcuts for Concepts app May 19, 2023

• Concepts App channel - (https://www.youtube.com/@ConceptsApp)

• Site:

• There are two versions of this program: FireAlpaca

  • FireAlpaca

  • FireAlpaca SE

• Wikipedia: (japanese)

• Platforms:

  • FireAlpaca: Windows, MacOS, Linux

  • FireAlpaca SE: Windows

• Cost:

  • FireAlpaca: free

  • FireAlpaca SE: ~$40 on Steam

Community

• reddit

• twitter:

Resources

Basics

• Site: https://clipstudio.net

• Good for: lots of art styles, especially good for illustration

• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clip_Studio_Paint

• Available for: Windows, macOS, iPadOS, iOS, Android, Chrome OS

• my notes on this app

Version updates

• Brad Colbow - What's New in Clip Studio Paint v3 2023/04/02

Getting started

• Trent Kaniuga - Total BEGINNERS guide to drawing in Clip Studio Paint 2022 2022/09/23

• Reddit: u/raghav4882 - Use CSP to learn drawing from scratch

• samijen - Full Guide to Clip Studio Paint 2022/01/26

Tutorials

• vampbyteart - Master list of Clip Studio Paint tutorials

• Yukinocomic - lots of CSP tutorials

Tips

• Brad Colbow - 10 Things I Love About Clip Studio Paint 2021/04/23

• Loading Artist - How to draw FAST using Clip Studio Paint's "secret features" 2020/08/30

• JP Art - 50 Quick Tips & Tricks You Need 2021/12/17

• JP Art - CLIP STUDIO PAINT - 50 MORE Tips & Tricks You Need 2022/05/27

• Reddit - u/Trevor-On-Reddit - CSP brush recommendations

• Wesley Gardner - My FAVORITE CLIP Studio Paint Features! Version 3 is here! - 2024/04/25

• Nadiaxel - Clip Studio Paint Tutorial 5 Features you should know (Quick Mask, Selection Layers, etc.) 2022/02/11

Deep knowledge

• Mink - The Magic of REFERENCE LAYERS in Clip Studio Paint 2022/04/16

• Mink - How to use FILL TOOLS efficiently for painting BASE COLORS - Clip Studio Paint 2022/03/17

• Mink - Fill in Lines in many different ways! – Clip Studio Paint 2021/03/19

• Mink - How to make a TIMELAPSE using OBS or Clip Studio Paint's timelapse feature 2020/12/16

Vector layers

• Oyun Orka - Easier Line Art Using Vector Layers in Clip Studio Paint 2024/01/30

• CPS | Simzart - Vector Layer Overview 2023/07/13

Customization

• CLIP STUDIO PAINT - Quick Access Menu 2022/02/13

• /r/ClipStudio - Fellas, show me your current workspace! Here's mine! 2024/01/31

Switching to Clip Studio Paint

• LavenderTowne - CLIP STUDIO PAINT IS BETTER + CHEAPER THAN PHOTOSHOP 2019/02/01

Licensing

• Create Now Sleep Later - Avoid Mistakes: Clip Studio Paint 3.0 License Guide 2024/006/24

Basics

• Product page: (https://www.aige-hipaint.com/)

• HiPaint YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HiPaint

• Platforms: Android, iOS

Community

• reddit /r/hipaint

Videos

• Brad Colbow - HiPaint - A Procreate Clone for Android May 15, 2023

Affinity Photo - for basic photo editing

For basic photo editing I use affinity photo. So for example basic color correction, or cropping, etcetera.

One of the great things about affinity photo is that it is a one time purchase. And as of yet there is no subscription plan. I know for some of you that will be very important.

Basics

• https://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview

Resources

• Maya: Set the Wacom tablet properties

Basics

• My notes on this app

• https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/business/teams/photoshop.html

Learning how to use Photoshop

• PiXimplerfect - Photoshop for beginners playlist

• PHLEARN - 30 Days of Photoshop

Channels

• PiXimperfect

• PHLEARN

Site: https://www.heavypaint.com/

Wesley Gardner - First Impressions of HEAVYPAINT 2024/12/09

- FREE, Advanced, multiplatform. Very powerful.

Obviously being free is a great benefit of using this application. But more importantly it's actually an amazing drawing program. I use Krita when I want to do a more traditional painting style. So don't use it for line art or illustrations. But whenever I feel like I want to do a lot of work with colors or that needs a lot of sophisticated brushes then I use Krita.

Because Krita is free and open source it is also the app I use when I am testing tablets. For example when I am trying to determine how good a tablet or pen works with pressure I'm always testing that with Krita.

It is a more complicated application, so I'm not sure it would be the best for a beginner.

• Basics

  • Site:

  • Source:

  • Wikipedia:

• Playlists

• Videos

  • 2024/05/10

  • 2023/11/08

  • 2023/01/16

  • 2024/04/06

Channels

Basics

• Site:

• Platforms: iOS, Android

Tutorials

Tips

• 2023/01/06

• 2023/10/22

Infinite Painter vs...

• Dec 21, 2022

• 2023/05/01

Reviews

Basics

• Site:

• Cost: free

• Platform: Web

Introduction and tutorial video

Overview

Adobe focusing on Fresco for when people want to do drawing and painting, sending them there instead of Photoshop.

YouTube Channels

• Chris Piascik's YouTube channel ()

• Print Me Some Color ()

Videos

• Feb 28, 2023

• Feb 15, 2023

Basic

• Platforms: iOS

Videos

• 2024/02/23

Tips

When you use a drawing tablet pen with Microsoft PowerPpoint, it will be used to select objects instead of drawing. You can make it go into "drawing" mode by default.

In File > Options > Advanced > Pen

Uncheck Use pen to select and interact with content by default

Videos

Dec 2, 2020

Videos

d Sep 30, 2021

Basics

• Microsoft Paint (aka MSPAINT) is one of the oldest Microsoft applications available on Microsoft Windows.

Summary

It's still a relatively primitive application. And although some people do use it to create drawings or paintings there are far better options out there. MSPAINT is still useful though as a tool to do quick edits of images.

Drawing tablet compatibility

And MSPAINT has two brushes that are pressure sensitive. So it's useful as a way of diagnosing pressure problems with a drawing tablet.

The two pressure-sensitive brushes are:

- Watercolor

- Oil

Basics

Videos

• Aug 18, 2023

• Sep 9, 2019

• May 14, 2020

• Site:

• Good for: natural media art style

• Wikipedia:

• Platforms: Windows, macOS

Basics

• Site:

• Wikipedia:

• Platforms: Windows, macOS

Channels

• PiXimperfect ()

Playlists

Tips & Tricks

• 2023/09/03

Using Photoshop with a drawing tablet

• Jan 17, 2019

• Aug 30, 2018

• Jun 6, 2021

• 2024/04/04

• Site:

• Platforms: iOS

This is the #1 drawing app for iPads. I consider it one of the best apps ever made. And if you have an iPad and want to draw I recommend starting with this one.

Videos

• Jul 24, 2022

• Feb 4, 2022

• Dec 15, 2022

• - 2022/06/06

Channels

• Art with Flo ()

Procreate is my mobile drawing application. Even though the Apple iPad is not a drawing tablet it really does serve that role very well when I am mobile.

And procreate really is so optimized for iPads and the drawing experience is incredibly responsive and pleasant.

I think if you have an iPad you have got to get procreate.

Procreate currently is still a one-time purchase application. And does not have a subscription plan.

Basics

• Site: https://www.escapemotions.com/products/rebelle

• Good for: natural media art styles

• Platforms: Windows, macOS

• Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/RebelleArt

Videos

• Wee Bob Art Intro to Rebelle 6 - FULL Beginners Guide in 24 Minutes Dec 23, 2022

• Escape Motions - Rebelle 6 Released! What's New? Dec 15, 202

• Wesley Gardner - ArtRage Vitae Vs Rebelle 6 Pro - What's The Best Software For Digital Oil Painting? Mar 21, 2023

Basics

• Site: https://medibangpaint.com/en/pc/

• Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android

Videos

• Winged Canvas - MediBang VS Clip Studio Paint: Which Should I Use? Mar 21, 2023

• https://ibispaint.com/

• Brad Colbow - Everybody Wants me to Try Ibis Paint X May 2, 2022

• James Julier Art Tutorials - ibis Paint vs Procreate - Which is best iPad art app for you? 2021/3/27

• Fungzau - Ibis Paint X vs Procreate | Which one is BETTER??? 2022/5/28

• KocoFruit - IBIS Paint X - Quick Tutorial for Beginners🌱 2020/12/12

• Site: http://systemax.jp/en/sai/

• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint_Tool_SAI

• Platforms: Windows

Basics

• Site: https://krita.org

• Good for: lots of art styles

• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krita

• Available for: Windows, MacOS, Linux

• Cost:

  • Free if you download from https://krita.org

  • $15 if you download from Microsoft Store

• My notes on Krita

Communities

• https://krita-artists.org/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/krita/

YouTube Channels

• Krita (https://www.youtube.com/@KritaOrgPainting/videos)

History of Krita

• Krita / Krita 25th ANNIVERSARY! Journey to the past. Part 1 2024/06/20

• Krita / Krita 25th ANNIVERSARY! Journey to the past. Part2 2024/08/13

• Krita / 25th Anniversary INTERVIEW : Krita´s mantainer, HALLA REMPT 2024/06/05

Videos

Getting started tutorials

• Krita - Digital Painting. Krita for beginners Aug 1, 2019

• Socialmix - Complete KRITA tutorial AND Digital Painting Basics Aug 4, 2021

• Aaron Rutten - Krita Tutorial for Beginners playlist

• Winged Canvas - How to Use KRITA - Digital Art Tutorial for Beginners

• Jenna Drawing - OW TO PAINT IN KRITA Sep 12, 2020

• Skills Factory: Krita - Tutorial for Beginners in 14 MINUTES! [COMPLETE] Jan 19, 2022

• David Revoy - Tutorial: an illustration from A to Z with Krita Aug 15, 2022

• MossCharmly - Krita Tools Explained (Beginner Tutorial) Nov 11, 2023

• Age of Asparagus - Learn Krita with Bob Ross playlist

• MossCharmly - Krita Line Art for beginners part 1 (Perfect Pen) 2024/08/31

• MossCharmly - Krita Line Art for Beginners part 2 (Line art Techniques) 2024/09/14

Customizing

• Moss Charmly - Making Krita easy Part 1 (Customizing Your Workspace)

• Krita - Mastering Making Brushes playlist

Tips

• Krita - 10 Tricks to paint faster & better with Krita

• Noctualis - 8 TIPS for Faster Painting in KRITA!

• MossCharmly - (How to) Plug-ins for Krita 2024/07/06

• MossCharmly - 3 Ways to use Screentones in Krita 2024/09/28

Version updates

• Brad Colbow - The Best Free Drawing App Just Got Better - Krita 5.0

Techniques

• Expose Academy - How to blend or mix colors in Krita | 12 different methods Jun 28, 2023

Miscellaneous

• https://github.com/armstrongl/awesome-krita - many various Krita links

• https://paintstormstudio.com/

• Aaron Rutten - PaintStorm Studio 2.48 - Review 2021/12/11

• Wesley Gardner - Paintstorm Studio - A Hidden Gem For $19? 2022/2/5

• Brad Colbow - Trying out Paintstorm Studio on the iPad 2018/2/19

Branden Bodendorfer - How to use Samsung Notes For Note taking and Planning Mar 10, 2022

Tech with Benefits - COMPLETE GUIDE to Samsung Notes on the Galaxy S23 Jun 22, 2023

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop

I am really not a Photoshop expert. And because I use affinity photo for basic photo editing my reason for using Adobe Photoshop are these:

First it is the industry-standard application for doing photo editing. So I use it just to stay up to date with the latest updates.

Second in particular I really do take advantage of some of their AI features/filters. For example their tools to remove things from a photo are the best I've ever seen.

Clip Studio Paint - Medium Cost, Advanced, very powerful, multiplatform.

For me doing illustration that is mostly line art, nothing beats Clip Studio Paint.

There is just so much sophistication in this app. I really think the people who make it truly understand the work that goes into making an illustration at a very deep level.

And it shows up in for example all the very interesting options they have for filling an area with the color, or how they incorporate vector based reference layers.

I don't think there's any other program out there that is as productive for doing line art - for example things like comics or manga - as clip studio paint.

Although clip studio paint is not free, it does not cost that much either. I subscribe to a plan where I pay about $52 a year. And that lets me run clip studio paint on four separate devices

Basics

Freeform is a whiteboarding app from Apple

Apple store link for Freeform: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/freeform/id6443742539

Videos

• Apple Support - How to use Freeform Dec 13, 2022

• KDigitalStudio - A Guide to Apple's Freeform App (FULL Tutorial + Walk-through) Dec 13, 2022