Sketchbook Pro is a program for digital artwork—it is low-cost (and even free, relying on the model) and lets you create great artistic endeavors in any fashion. Right here, I am going to present you 26 options of the Sketchbook program with the intention to be taught the highest methods to drawing in Sketchbook.
Disclaimer: Sketchbook Professional is obtainable for Home windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. The desktop variations have all of the options described right here, however the cell ones could lack a few of them, though the essential functionalities are the identical on all platforms.
Be taught all of the methods to drawing by watching the A to Z of Sketchbook Professional: Ideas, Methods and Hacks video from the Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel.
What You may Be taught in This Sketchbook Professional Tutorial
- Why Sketchbook Professional is a superb program for drawing and portray
- How one can handle Sketchbook Professional brushes
- How one can work with shade in Sketchbook Professional
- How one can create colourful Sketchbook Professional brushes
- Some ideas for Sketchbook Professional shading
A is for Wonderful Pen Strain Management as You Attract Sketchbook
The primary motive why I switched from Photoshop to Sketchbook Professional is its superb pen strain management as you attract Sketchbook. Regardless of having a fantastic graphics pill, in Photoshop I may by no means management the thickness and darkness of my traces as exactly as I needed. They all the time felt “heavy” to me, they usually typically ended with an unsightly blob on the tip.
However Sketchbook, in distinction to Photoshop, was designed for drawing, and it reveals! Simply give it a strive—you will be stunned how clear and exact your traces may be.
B is for Mixing Choices When Drawing in Sketchbook
It’s possible you’ll find out about Mixing Choices from Photoshop—they mean you can change the bodily properties of a layer. For instance, the Multiply mode works like a shade filter—it makes the layer clear, however darkening, so it is nice for shading.
The Display screen mode works like its reverse—it has a brightening impact, so you need to use it so as to add shine.
Sketchbook Professional additionally has a particular mode that Photoshop lacks—it is referred to as Glow, and it creates the impact of emitting mild. It’s totally helpful for creating magical results, or an intense shine on steel. It is excellent when drawing in Sketchbook.
C is for Customizable Brushes for Sketchbook Designs
The software program comes with a fantastic set of primary Sketchbook Professional brushes, however each artist has their very own fashion and their very own strategies. That is why Sketchbook Professional lets you customise the brushes in 4 methods:
- The Strain settings mean you can outline how the comb ought to react to the strain of the pen.
- The Nib settings mean you can outline the form of the comb, in addition to its softness and texture.
- The Stamp settings offer you management over the habits of that form.
- The Randomness settings mean you can make the comb strokes extra natural by including some unpredictability to them.
As a result of it is really easy to create new brushes or duplicate and modify the present ones, you may freely experiment with these settings to create an ideal brush for any goal. You may even create your individual colourful icons for them!
D is for Designed for Tablets
A graphics pill is a must have for a digital artist. The creators of Sketchbook Professional saved that in thoughts, and you may entry a lot of the menus with out having to make use of the best button of the mouse. You simply must click on and maintain, after which level to the chosen place within the menu.
Moreover, all these positions are visible, so you may shortly establish the one you want—and since they seem round your cursor, you are at an equal distance to all of them. It could not seem to be a lot, nevertheless it makes the entire workflow extra intuitive and extra much like the method of conventional drawing.
E is for the Erasing Brush
In Sketchbook Professional, the eraser is nothing greater than a brush that removes the strokes as a substitute of including them. This implies you may customise your eraser simply as simply as some other brush, and you may create a number of erasers for various functions, conserving them in your brush palette for fast entry. You too can flip any brush into an eraser quickly through the use of the icon subsequent to the colour wheel.
F is for FlipBook Mode for Sketchbook Animation
Though Sketchbook Professional is principally a drawing program, you too can use it for creating hand-drawn Sketchbook animations. Within the FlipBook mode, you may draw particular person frames whereas additionally seeing the earlier and subsequent frames for higher precision. Then you may export these frames as a sequence of pictures, a GIF, or considered one of two video codecs.
To create a brand new FlipBook file, go to File > New FlipBook.
G is for Guides, a Trick for Drawing
In conventional artwork, you need to use numerous instruments to create extra predictable traces, like numerous forms of rulers. As a way to emulate this sort of workflow, Sketchbook Professional presents particular guides that mean you can design your line or a curve earlier than drawing it. For those who’re into architectural drawing or product design, you will love the extent of management these instruments offer you!
H is for HSL: Hue, Saturation, and Lightness
It’s possible you’ll be accustomed to Photoshop’s HSB shade mannequin—Hue, Saturation, and Brightness. Sketchbook Professional makes use of the HSL shade mannequin as a substitute—Hue, Saturation, and Lightness. Though they could look fairly related, they work barely otherwise. In HSB, Saturation defines the quantity of white within the shade, and Brightness defines the quantity of black. In HSL, Saturation defines the quantity of gray within the shade, and Lightness defines the quantity of each white and black.
Whereas we’re on this topic, Sketchbook additionally has a neat little software: the Randomize mode. On this mode, you decide a shade and set the vary of randomness of every part. Because of this every of your strokes could look barely completely different, with out you having to alter the colour every time.
I is for Invisible Cursor When Sketchbook Drawing
While you use a mouse, you want a cursor to let you know what you are pointing at. However while you use a pill, the tip of your Sketchbook Professional pen software performs the identical position. And when you use a brush smaller than the nib, then a cursor within the type of a cross-hair icon can get in the best way and turn out to be fairly annoying.
That is why in Sketchbook Professional you’ve gotten an choice to make the cursor invisible when the stroke is just too small to point out the define of the comb form. However when you’d somewhat not see the define both, ever, then you may flip it off too! Simply go to Edit > Preferences > Brush, and experiment with the settings to search out those that work the most effective for you. It is one more reason why you need to go for Sketchbook for drawing.
J is for Jitter-Free Strains as You Attract Sketchbook
For those who’re not utilizing a display pill, typically it might be onerous to maintain your traces actually easy, as they might be on paper. Sketchbook Professional has three options for this downside:
First, the Regular Stroke perform works like a line stabilizer. You can also make it actually refined, to take away the jitter, or actually sturdy, to achieve full management over the curves you are drawing. It is excellent for inking your line artwork!
Second, the Predictive Stroke perform predicts what form you are attempting to attract, and makes an attempt to make it extra correct. For those who’re attempting to attract a circle, it is going to make your traces completely spherical; when you’re attempting to attract a triangle, it is going to make the traces straight.
Third, if you wish to draw excellent geometrical shapes, the Draw Fashion perform will mean you can draw straight traces, rectangles, and ovals, in addition to polygonal chains. What’s necessary, the fashion of those traces can be primarily based on whichever brush you at present have chosen.
Okay is for Keyboard Customization to Hold Drawing in Sketchbook Simply
Despite the fact that it is attainable to make use of Sketchbook Professional and not using a keyboard, when you really feel you are extra environment friendly with one, it is attainable to assign a hotkey to a lot of the capabilities. Most of the hotkeys are an identical to those it’s possible you’ll know from Photoshop, however you are free to switch them any means you need!
L is for Layers for Your Sketchbook Design
In conventional artwork, you are restricted to a single canvas, however digital artwork offers you extra freedom within the type of layers. Layers mean you can draw sure components individually, with the intention to modify part of the drawing even after it has been lined with one thing else.
Layers will also be duplicated, with the intention to create a backup of a sketch earlier than you begin modifying it. You too can lock the transparency of a layer—this manner, you will all the time keep contained in the traces when coloring or shading.
M is for Multi-Platform Sketchbook Program
Sketchbook Professional is obtainable for 4 platforms: Home windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. This lets you begin your paintings on the sofa, with the iPad in your lap, after which sit at your desk while you want a much bigger display and extra precision.
Nonetheless, the cell variations of Sketchbook Professional are barely restricted compared to their desktop counterparts—for instance, it is not attainable to import any new brushes into them. However personally, I nonetheless select the iOS model of Sketchbook Professional over Procreate—primarily as a result of it offers me 20 layers in 6k decision, which Procreate cannot provide for older iPads.
N is for No Limitations for Your Brushes
I bear in mind my pleasure once I first found that I may create a brush out of any form or photograph in Photoshop—and my disappointment once I discovered they may solely be monochromatic and semi-transparent.
Sketchbook Professional would not have this type of limitation: you may create a brush out of something, and preserve the colours if you want. It is excellent for portray grass, leaves, fur, scales, and different textures. You do not even have to incorporate colours—simply the chance to incorporate each shadows and highlights in your brush will make your grayscale brushes far more highly effective.
O is for One in all Many
Sketchbook Professional is a superb program, nevertheless it was created to emulate the standard expertise of making artwork—it would not have all these photo-editing capabilities that artists discovered to make use of to their benefit, like photograph filters or the liquify software.
Nonetheless, this is not actually an issue with Sketchbook drawing—when you save your file within the PSD format, you may swap between Sketchbook Professional and any photograph editor everytime you want! This manner, you may get the most effective of each worlds—utilizing Sketchbook Professional while you want a real portray expertise, and a photograph editor while you want additional magic.
P is for the Perspective Guides When You Attract Sketchbook
Artists typically begin their drawings with a perspective grid, however whereas it is actually helpful, it additionally may be tedious to have to attract it each time. Sketchbook Professional makes your life simpler in that regard, by providing a set of Perspective Guides—you simply must edit the vanishing factors, after which all the pieces you draw can be routinely adjusted to the angle grid. You may attract one-point mode, two-point mode, three-point mode, and even fisheye mode!
Q is for a Fast Backup Copy of Your Sketchbook Design
Has it ever occurred to you? Your system crashed while you have been in the midst of drawing, and while you tried to open the identical file once more, it was corrupted—with no approach to get it again. Or perhaps you made some huge adjustments to your paintings, after which wished to revert them, however reached the restrict of undos?
That is why it is good to create a number of copies of your Sketchbook designs through the course of. Sketchbook Professional makes it very easy—simply press Management-Shift-S as a substitute of Management-S to avoid wasting one other model of your file. A quantity can be added to the identify of the file, so that you’re going to all the time know which model is the most recent.
R is for Spherical Puck Buttons
A few helpful improvements in Sketchbook Professional are Colour Pucks and Brush Pucks.
The Brush Puck lets you shortly change the Opacity and Measurement of the comb, which is particularly helpful when you desire to work and not using a keyboard—you simply must click on and drag up/down and to the left/proper.
The Colour Puck works the identical means, permitting you to shortly enhance or lower the Saturation and Lightness.
Some digital instruments work like magic, and the Symmetry software is a type of if you wish to be taught the most effective methods for drawing. You may place the axis of symmetry wherever you want, and when drawing on one facet of it, a symmetrical copy of your drawing will seem in actual time on the opposite facet.
What’s even higher, you need to use as much as 16 axes of symmetry on the identical time, creating a lovely mandala even from the only strokes. Even when you suppose you may’t draw, this mandala-creating perform will aid you unleash your creativity in a really enjoyable and enjoyable means.
Digital Sketchbook drawing shouldn’t be solely about creating strokes on the canvas. Typically, it’s possible you’ll want some additional instruments—for instance, to pick out one thing or to crop the paintings. These helpful instruments may be discovered within the Toolbar. As with all the opposite home windows in Sketchbook Professional, you may drag the toolbar wherever on the display or flip it off altogether. The toolbar additionally lets you shortly deliver again the opposite home windows after turning them off.
U is for Unifying Your Colours With Mixing in Your Sketchbook Design
While you apply paint to a canvas in conventional artwork, it interacts with the earlier strokes. The form of the comb and the consistency of the paint each have an effect on the ultimate results of the combo. However in digital artwork, brushes are normally extra “sterile”—one shade covers one other with roughly opacity, and that is all.
In Sketchbook Professional, nevertheless, it is attainable to show every brush right into a mixing brush—and never in only one, however 4 alternative ways, every producing a distinct outcome! Utilizing these completely different modes will aid you create artworks that look extra like conventional work.
V is for “V”, the One Shortcut for All Transformations
In digital artwork, after you draw one thing, you may transfer it to a distinct place on the canvas, resize it, or rotate it. In Sketchbook Professional, you are able to do all of this with a single shortcut: V.
Holding this button will open a visible menu that lets you do all these transformations by clicking and dragging. Nonetheless, if you wish to resize the item in a extra exact means, you need to go to the Toolbar and use the Rework perform. It’s going to mean you can drag every nook of the bounding field individually, in addition to simulating a 3D rotation.
W is for the Wheel of Colours for Your Sketchbook Drawings
You may draw utilizing black solely, however colours make creating extra enjoyable! Sketchbook offers you a shade wheel produced from a Hue ring and a Saturation/Lightness sq.. Go across the ring to alter the Hue, go up the sq. to extend the Lightness, and go to the best to extend Saturation.
Utilizing the wheel could also be extra intuitive for some than utilizing the HSL sliders, so when you do not want them, you may simply conceal them and go away the wheel solely. And if you wish to save much more area in your display, you may shut the colour wheel and open a mini model of it by clicking the colour puck.
X is for the Additional Capabilities within the Sketchbook Program
Though the interface of Sketchbook Professional could be very visible, there are specific capabilities that may solely be accessed via the textual content menu. These embody the preferences of this system, altering the scale of the picture, mirroring and flipping the canvas, and primary changes (altering the Brightness/Distinction or Hue/Saturation). If you cannot discover an choice within the visible menus, it is most likely right here!
Y is for Your Personal Brush Palettes
An artist must have all their necessary brushes inside attain, and Sketchbook Professional offers this to you within the type of a handy brush palette. You may place the palette wherever you need on the display, and the massive, colourful icons will aid you shortly discover the comb you want. You too can entry your different brush units in a separate window which you could place wherever on the display. Any of those brush units may be pinned to the principle palette at any time.
Z is for Zooming, Rotating, and Panning With a Single Key
Whereas drawing, you typically must transfer throughout the canvas, or rotate it to alter your perspective, or zoom out and in. Having to make use of a separate key for every of these would gradual you down, in order that’s why in Sketchbook Professional you may entry all these settings with a single key—the Spacebar, by default. And when you assign it to your pill pen button, then it is going to enhance your velocity much more!
Taking Full Benefit of the Sketchbook Program and These Methods for Drawing!
So this was the A to Z of Sketchbook Professional: 26 of the options and methods for drawing that you need to know to get probably the most out of this program. Despite the fact that Sketchbook Professional would not have even half of the options of Photoshop, the options it has are precisely those it’s worthwhile to create your artwork. It is easy, it is quick, and also you get all of your instruments inside your attain.
And when you’re fascinated by digital artwork typically, you may additionally like our different tutorials on this topic:
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