Getting over the hurdle in drawing, painting or sketching with your phones and tablets

Introduction

Most people mistakenly think that drawing on your phone or tablet requires some technical knowledge to get started or other excuses of defeatism ie. ‘I can’t draw’. You are doing yourself a great injustice by putting up this blocker and missing out on a great pastime that has kept many children and teenagers busy and very happy. Don’t think for a moment that drawing, painting etc. are long forgotten activities buried in your past, soon to be forgotten and replaced with stricter adult codes with the burden of life resting on the shoulders. It is exactly for this reason, you must allow yourself to momentarily escape and drawing like meditation helps you do this.

Now that practically everyone has access to phones and tablets, it is easier than ever before to rekindle those moments when you were lost doodling away and getting lost in the moment. In my personal experience of drawing and painting, it remained dormant for decades since I went on to do O levels, then A levels and opting for the stronger sciences that would lead me to good jobs that would become my sole career path. It is unfortunate that such an activity as drawing becomes a distant memory for many but it doesn’t have to be this way. We all understand that the the first hurdle can be the greatest hurdle to cross when it comes to drawing, painting, sketching, making models etc. the very things once cherished as a child. Let’s go through that process and see if it relates to you.

The drawing, painting & sketching hurdles

I see my children drawing, ‘ahh it was fun when I was a kid’. These memories becomes even more distant as you dismiss those tender moments as a child and say to yourself ‘those days are far gone’ as you go about the duties of your daily adult life. This becomes a trend where you think less and less about picking up this activity yourself and becomes buried deep in your list of ‘things to do’.

You maybe wondering through a shop and the toy section for your kids and all of a sudden something catches your eye and think back to the past when you used to love doing this craft. You decide to buy it for your kids since you enjoyed it so much yourself. Unfortunately, this will also not go over your hurdle for doing this.

We come to a point in time, where you have changed your mind and decided that you are somehow going to take up this activity and had found some time in your busy schedule to restart this hobby. With anxious eagerness, you buy the tools for your project and put this away when you get around to it… unfortunately that time never appears on your calendar and it too becomes a distant memory. You may have decided on one or two occasions to bring it out and dabble in it but you were so much phased by your results and the old feeling of ‘I can’t draw’ creeps in and shatters your ideas of going forwards. All the tell tale signs of lack of confidence, complacency, laziness, procrastination creeps in to add weight to your decision making.

It was by sheer accident that you managed to pick up the tools again and was finally able to produce something that registered with you where you can finally say, ‘I am impressed with what I have done, maybe I can do better’. Just like a child that is looking for acknowledgement in their new found ways, you find something that can finally propel you into this space. The rest becomes history and you obtain a sense of pleasure and pride that you had finally managed to conquer all those unassuming doubts in your head that has kept you back. You even wondered what all that fuss was about that stopped you doing this earlier.

Let’s now come back to the real world and help you in this journey of drawing and painting that is surely a great health benefit also.

Most of us including many artists of traditional mediums such as pencil, graphite, charcoal, pastels, watercolors, oils, acrylics and so on, feel that the digital medium is not for them without even trying. I too had this uneasy feeling drawing on a phone or tablet and now it is almost like drinking a cup of tea or coffee. This feeling always stems from our own unease at doing something different or making a change in what we do, it is a natural human feeling. Unless you can make the first step in saying ‘I should know more about this and give it a try’, that notion of doubt will always linger in your head and prevent you going forwards. We are also used to the herd type of mentality which allows us to follow the rest of the mass only because others in large numbers are doing it or talking about it. This may not always be the barometer of how we decide to do certain things because it removes your own personal needs and wants and places is amongst the many.

Your first step towards this change in the context of the arts should be something that is within you and not on the basis of many. This makes you genuinely different from other people and shows you to have unique skills and interests which does not have to conform with the many. If you are interested in something, why hold back, as a kid you surely did not and the reason that made you unique and lovable by your extended family members.

The joy of painting and drawing!

Most will surely remember Bob Ross and his TV series, the joy of painting. In the space of half an hour, he showed us what you can do with a brush and filled us with marvel on the painting he produced on the canvas under half an hour. We marveled at his skills and some decided to give a hand in this and never looked back. Many loved to watch half an hour of pure bliss with the voice of Bob Ross as he went about producing a great painting.

Draw, painting and sketching is a fun activity providing you allow yourself a little time to learn the basic techniques of drawing and sketching. Now that we all have access to the phones and tablets, it is more easy than ever to embark on this much loved hobby of drawing for fun!

In the beginning, you may find it awkward to draw but so does a child when they first start learning to walk or talk. Bit by bit you feel more confident and begin to see yourself improve and with time just like that little child, you won’t be told where you can walk or do the talk. I personally have been drawing on the tablet and phone for almost two years and I cannot tell you all of my experiences but I can tell you this, even though I was told that I am very good, I still feel that I have a lot to learn. What can be more pleasurable in a hobby that will grow with you till the end of time. It is just like a dance you pick up like salsa or tango, there is simply no upper limit to how far you can grow. The question becomes how far do you want to go? You can only decide but the hurdles you have faced thus far needs to be overcome.

Believe me, in the same manner that you pick up pencil and paper, your phone is no different. You just need to have some great drawing apps that will get you go over your hurdles a lot faster and at the same time foster your drawing and painting techniques and skills.

Some great drawing apps

There are many good drawing apps on both the Google and Apply play store. The important point to understand is that drawing apps by itself are great but if you are a beginner you need all the help and guidance that can be provided. Unfortunately, this is a tall order for many drawing apps since the purpose of many is to provide the essential tools to get anyone drawing but have fewer resources to guide them along. Fortunately, for you, there is one app that sticks out from the rest of the drawing apps out there and this is Paintology.

I have done some extensive research into the capabilities of three such apps including Paintology to help you get started, please check the previous blog post below.

Top three recommended drawing apps for beginners & advanced

The sketching apps are ideal for you to get started and the Paintology app goes beyond the other apps as it provides a huge section on video tutorials along with a community feature that is shared by thousands of other users just like you. The drawing canvas right out of the box is easy for any beginner and powerful enough for any advanced artists and they can even do photo realistic drawings with this amazing app. Check out a quick video guide on the latest features of Paintology.

Here are some useful videos to get you started with drawing and improving your techniques and skills in drawing.

This is a great tutorial to get you started drawing on your phone as it uses the traced method of drawing which helps you build your skills in drawing strokes, appreciation of colors and more.

This video will help you understand tones in drawings which is critical to making great drawings. The video will show you how easily you can create tones with just using one brush tool, the shade.

In this video, you will be able to draw this loveable cartoon character Bugs Bunny with just your finger using the Paintology app.

There are hundreds of video tutorials that you can do using the Paintology app and you can find them directly from the Paintology app installed on your phone/tablet and from the links below.

App link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.paintology.lite

Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/Ferdouse
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrR1Ya_KHuHyudP48FiR99A

Udemy:
https://www.udemy.com/courses/search/?p=2&q=paintology&src=ukw

Quora:
https://www.quora.com/profile/Ferdouse-Khaleque

We hope you enjoyed this post to help you get over your hurdle in drawing and painting. It’s a beautiful hobby and something everyone should do since everyone has access to a phone or a tablet.

Happy Painting & Drawing!