The essential tools for digital artists are not many. Starting with three to four tools, you can begin making amazing creations! Of course, the best tool for digital art is a drawing tablet, but there are a few more tools of the trade. In this post, I am going to show you the four main tools you need to get started – in terms of hardware and software. There are very affordable – and even free – options to get started on a budget!
Digital art is becoming more and more popular and if you haven’t started yet, this is probably the best time to get into it!
Digital art is trending big time and the tools you need are readily available and affordable for everyone.
There is a plethora of digital art hardware and software options to help you get the most out of your creative experience.
Wanna know how to become a digital artist?
What are the essential tools for digital artists?
In this guide, we’ll look into the essential tools for digital artists and give you options – whether you want to create art in your own little space or on the go, whether you are an experienced artist or just getting started, and no matter of your budget.
Don’t worry, you don’t need to cash out a lot of money before you can get into digital art. There are only three or four essential tools digital artists need, and those don’t need to be terribly expensive. Some are even available for free!
So let’s get into it and have a look at the essential tools for digital artists.
4 Essential tools for digital artists
What tool do digital artists use?
The essential tool for every digital artist is a drawing tablet. A regular mouse and trackpad are surely nice to dip your toe into digital art, but they don’t have the necessary capabilities to create complex artwork.
1. Drawing Tablet
A drawing tablet provides you with full control and makes your creative experience as intuitive and natural as a digital device possibly can. It is very much like drawing with a real pencil on paper.
Moreover, drawing tablets are pressure-sensitive; some even feature tilt sensitivity as well. This is key for working with digital art software. Most software programs have pressure-sensitive brushes and other tools that you can only access through a drawing tablet and a stylus.
Having said that, a drawing tablet doesn’t have to be too costly. There are two types of tablets: drawing tablets with screen and without screen.
Tablets with screen are also known as display tablets or pen displays.
Using a drawing tablet with screen, you will be drawing directly on the display – which brings you the closest to working traditionally.
When you are working on a drawing tablet without screen, on the other hand, you’ll be looking up at your computer monitor while moving the pen over the tablet that is lying on your desk.
Both types of tablets are perfectly adequate for creating artwork and are used by amateurs and professionals alike. So your choice is basically down to personal preference.
Tablets without screen, however, tend to be less expensive than display tablets. You can get a high-quality screenless drawing tablet for way less than US$100. For example, the One by Wacom and the Wacom Intuos are top choices that are also affordable for beginners.
Most Affordable for Beginners
One by Wacom
- Compact and lightweight to fit on any desk or be carried along
- Compatible with most computer screens and 4K monitors
- Cheapest Wacom tablet aimed at beginning artists
Top Quality at a Budget
Wacom Intuos
- Compact but sturdy quality for tight workspace setups and travel
- 4 customizable ExpressKeys + 2 pen side buttons
- Beginner-friendly price below $100 mark
The most affordable – but still high-quality – display tablet is currently the Wacom One. The Wacom One was launched at the beginning of 2020, and is Wacom’s best all-round entry-level drawing tablet with screen. It’s a great graphics tablet for artists on a budget who don’t want to do without the comfort of drawing on a display.
An alternative in the mid-price range is the Cintiq 16. It’s Wacom’s most budget-friendly display tablet in the higher-end Cintiq family that offers an amazing pressure sensitivity of more than 8,000 levels and precision down to the last pixel.
Best Entry-Level Screen Tablet
Wacom One
- Built-in 13.3′′ HD display with AHVA technology
- Real-feel responsive pen + compatibility with other pen brands
- Affordable alternative to the Cintiq 16
Best Alternative to the Pros
Wacom Cintiq 16
- Great overall specs for a mid-range drawing tablet with screen
- High levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt responsiveness
- Least expensive higher-end Wacom display tablet for hobbyist & professional artists
In case you don’t want to purchase a drawing tablet right away, you can start out with your regular tablet as well. If you have an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil, you can start making amazing creations using Procreate (more on that later on in this post).
2. Stylus
The second essential tool for digital artists is obviously the stylus or pen you use to draw on the tablet.
Each drawing tablet comes with a standard stylus that provides you with a certain range of pressure sensitivity. Some pens also feature tilt sensitivity, an eraser at the end, and a number of side switches. You will also get several replacement nibs included in the package.
The standard stylus is perfectly fine for a variety of digital editing methods. But usually there are multiple styluses that are compatible with a specific tablet and that are tailored to different kinds of digital editing needs. For example, you can purchase special airbrush pens, art pens, ballpoint pens, and so on.
There is something for all digital requirements. You just need to make sure that the pen you are purchasing is compatible with your drawing tablet.
To get an idea of the available Wacom pens and their compatibility, check out our post about Wacom Pen Compatibility & Replacement Pens.
3. Software & Apps
What mustn’t be missing among the essential tools for digital artists is software. Besides the hardware that we talked about above, this is a must-have in every digital art starter kit.
There is a plethora of software programs and mobile apps available in the market, for all creative requirements and all budgets (some are even available for free).
Let’s start with the most famous program that everyone knows: Photoshop. It is arguably the best tool for digital art.
Adobe Photoshop is the best all-round software for digital painting, photo manipulation & retouching, graphic design, illustration, etc. It is world-famous and the most powerful program out there. New features are being added regularly and available at no extra cost within Adobe’s Creative Cloud subscription plans.
Corel Painter is tailored to digital painters. It is probably the main tool used in digital painting. But it’s also great for illustration, manga, anime, photo and concept art. It is professional software with heaps of sophisticated brushes that perfectly emulate natural media, such as oil paint, acrylic, watercolor, spray paint, crayons, and many, many more.
Clip Studio Paint is a popular drawing app for manga and comic artists. It’s available in two versions: the PRO (standard) version and the fully featured EX (expert) version. The PRO version is sufficient for most creative needs of beginners. If you’re not planning to print out your art on a professional level, you most likely won’t need the additional features of the EX version.
Affinity Photo is a more affordable alternative to Photoshop and is almost as powerful as the industry giant. It has a similar user interface, layer-based workflow, and all standard editing tools like adjustments, blending modes, layer styles, and so on.
ZBrush is the industry standard for digital sculpting and painting. It is the most advanced 3D sculpting program out there and used to create high-resolution 3D models for movies, video games, and special effects. ZBrush is used in professional film and video game studios all over the world.
Cinema 4D is sophisticated software for 3D computer animation, modeling, simulation, and rendering. Cinema 4D makes it easy to create stunning visuals for design, motion graphics, VFX, AR/MR/VR, and game development. The software is easy to learn, and therefore a great option for beginners, too.
Procreate is a powerful drawing app for the iPad and iPhone (Procreate Pocket) that allows you to create art anywhere in the world – on a professional level. In fact, many professional artists use Procreate. It features many of the tools that you know from common desktop apps, like blending modes, layers, layer groups, masks, and more.
• Free options
There are free alternatives to almost any program. The best free alternatives to Photoshop are Krita and Gimp. With Photoshop Express, you can even get Photoshop on your mobile device at no cost! Autodesk Sketchbook is a free program for digital painting. If you are into 3D modeling, you can try out Blender.
4. Color-accurate monitor
The last component of the essential tools for digital artists is a color-accurate monitor. Not all monitors feature accurate color representation and high levels of brightness and contrast.
However, when it comes to creating digital art, it’s all about picking the right colors and blending them together perfectly.
A lot of monitors in the lower price range cannot be calibrated correctly. If your monitor isn’t calibrated, your images may look dark and washed out when viewed on a correctly calibrated screen. Additionally, when you print your artwork, the colors will be different from the way they look on your computer. If an art print looks dull and dark, your customers might be disappointed and you as the artist might lose sales and fans…
That makes is definitely worthwhile investing into a high-quality monitor that is up to industry standard and able to display colors accurately. A good choice is the ASUS ProArt Display PA247CV .
Calibrating your monitor is pretty easy and straightforward. All you need to do is place a so-called colorimeter in front of your screen and then the device will run a calibration routine to set the correct color profile for your monitor. I recommend the Datacolor SpyderX Pro to color-calibrate your screen.
Datacolor is a well-known brand in the field of monitor calibration and the SpyderX Pro offers good value for money. The SpyderX Pro is extremely color accurate and much quicker than the previous models. It can also detect the light conditions in your working environment and comes with multi-monitor support.
My name is Angie and I’m a self-taught digital artist. On this blog, I am sharing my knowledge and discussing the best software and hardware for different artistic needs. My desire is to offer options for all creative stages and budgets so that everyone can follow their dream and create art!
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Thank you for this! What kind of tools (iPad, computer, etc.) and software do you like to use?
Cheers!
Hi Tamara, I’m using a MacBook, Photoshop and a Wacom tablet to create my art!