I’ve always been working on apps that had a graphics/UI designer on staff, so I mostly either implemented their specification and wireframes and always had someone to help me with any design related tasks. I often made icons myself since they were relatively easy to do, but I’ve never done anything more than drawing a few simple shapes and filling them with colors (flat icons).
A few days ago I started drawing some sketches in photoshop and tried following a few tutorials and the end result, considering that I had never done it before, is not THAT terrible. I wouldn’t call it good, it’s nowhere near good, but it is not as abysmal as I would have surely told you if you asked me before this experiment.
You just need the force of will to come out of your shell.
- Find an image of something you like and download it.
- Open photoshop side to side with the image.
- Try drawing it slowly. (You can use smoothing if you feel like the lines are not rounded enough.)
Tips
A few tips for the drawing itself:
- Create a background layer and make it dark gray (here I’m assuming you’re using a black color brush)
- Use ⌘⌥Z to undo ( ⌘Z toggles your latest action on and off )
- Try making just a sketch, you don’t need to draw everything in details
After you have finished your “first draft drawing” you can go over it with colors. Before doing that create a new layer so you are able to toggle it on and off to see the underlying sketch.
The mouse is a hassle to use
I found myself wanting a graphics tablet to draw. The mouse is a really bad device for it, but since I don’t draw often I didn’t feel it was worth it for now. If this experiment is going to repeat itself and I find myself willing to draw more often it’s going to be something I will seriously consider.
You can definitely do it with a mouse, but both the end result and your experience doing it will feel subpar.
A few of the tutorials I followed:
2D Art for Games - Character 2D Art for Games - Character2 2D Art for Games Sword 2D Landscape