fbpx

See the Light Art | Homeschool Art Curriculum

Unleash Your Child's Creativity

You are here: Home / Archives for digital art

digital art

Top 3 Digital Art Apps for Homeschoolers

My Top 3 Digital Art Apps

Blue background with art app image. Adventures in Digital Art. Digital Art Apps. See the Light Art

There are tons of digital art apps out there, but I mostly work with 3: Procreate, ArtRage, and Sketchbook. If you’re wanting to get started in digital art, any one of these three will do. However, each app has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. 

I’ll give you a feel for those in this video. To learn more about each app, you can check them out at the following URLS: (Note: these are not affiliate links and I receive no compensation for recommending these apps.) 

Procreate: ($9.99) https://procreate.art/ 
ArtRage: ($4.99) https://www.artrage.com/
Sketchbook: (FREE!) https://sketchbook.com/

Intro and closing music courtesy of Bensound.com

Blue background with art app image. Adventures in Digital Art. Digital Art Apps. See the Light Art

Homeschool Digital Art: What Equipment Do I Need?

What Equipment Do I Need to Create Digital Art?

iPad & laptop with text overlay. Adventures in Digital Art. Equipment for Digital Art. See the Light Shine Blog

What do you need to create digital art? As with any other kind of art, you need three things:
1. Something to draw with
2. Something to draw on
3. A medium
So how does that apply to digital art? In this week’s video, Jim reviews the equipment you’ll need to get started creating beautiful works of art digitally. 

Jim has also created a resource sheet that you can download here:

Adventures in Digital Art Resource Sheet – Equipment

 

See the Light Art Class 9-DVD Boxed Set
Try 3 Free Lessons!

Download 3 video art lessons on us!

What you’ll learn…

The foundational skill of art is drawing.

Whether you’re using a pencil, pen, brush, or a piece of chalk, it’s all about drawing.

In your free lessons, you’ll learn…

…The basics of what makes a drawing
…What you need to have in your drawing “toolkit”
…The most essential skill of drawing
…How to synchronize your hand and your eyes
…The basics of composition

Digital Art: Why Go Digital?

Tired of buying a bunch of art supplies for your homeschool art class? Why not try digital art? The up-front investment is a little larger (but not as much as you might guess), but once you have a tablet, stylus, and software, you’re good to go. In this video, See the Light Artist Jim Pence introduces our new series, Adventures in Digital Art.

Over the next 9 weeks, we’ll give you an introduction to digital art, tools, apps, and fun things you can do as you explore this new medium.

Let’s ask the basic question first. Why go digital?

Landscape background with tablet. Text overlay: Adventures in Digital Art. Why Go Digital? How to Get Started in an Exciting New Medium! See the Light Shine

How to Draw a Beautiful Stylized Rose

Mauve background with a rose. Text overlay: Digital Art Projects. Draw a Stylized Rose. See the Light Art

About the Project

This week we’ll build on the skills learned in the Marigold Mandala lesson by drawing a stylized rose. In addition to working with the symmetry tool, we’ll learn how to use layers, lock transparency, and the airbrush tool to give our drawing some depth and dimension.

Lesson Objectives: 

Learn how to —

—add control to your coloring ability by using multiple layers, 

–lock transparency on individual layers to enable you to color different parts of your drawing independently,

–use the airbrush tool to add depth and dimension to your drawing,

–and tone your background to add “pop” to your drawing.

Resources Needed:

To create this project, I used Autodesk Sketchbook (sketchbook.com) with a Wacom Intuos Pro graphics tablet.

You can download Sketchbook free at: www.sketchbook.com

You can get a graphics tablet and pressure-sensitive stylus as low as $27 HERE

Content Guide:

Skip to the parts of the video you’re interested in:
  • Intro & Project Setup – 0:00
  • Draw the Rose – 3:55
  • Add Layers & Color – 5:46
  • Add Depth & Dimension with the Airbrush Tool – 14:48
  • Change the Line Art & Background Color – 20:46

Devotional Thought:

I just happened to do this project on Mothers Day weekend, and I guess that’s appropriate, since I drew a rose. I gave my wife roses for Mothers Day, and I imagine that quite a few other moms got roses or other varieties of flowers for their special day.

Have you ever wondered why we give flowers on special occasions, particularly when we want to express our love for someone? I’m sure there are many possible explanations, but I believe that we show love by giving the gift of beauty.

To behold beauty fills the heart with joy. That’s why I give my wife flowers. Because seeing those flowers fill her heart with joy. I believe this is also one way God shows his love to us. 

In his great high-priestly prayer, Jesus said, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world” (John 17:24 NIV).

In another place, the psalmist prays that he might dwell in the temple all the days of his life, that he might, “gaze on the beauty of the Lord,” (Psalm 27:24 NIV).

What a gift God has given those who love him–the gift of seeing his beauty and glory. 

How to Draw a Marigold Mandala

Marigold Mandala on green background. See the Light Digital Art Projects

Digital Art Projects 1: Marigold Mandala

About the Project:

Here’s a very basic digital art project. No bells or whistles on this one. Just one layer, using a symmetry tool and flood fill.

This is a good, and relatively easy, starter project for a beginner in digital art. 

I titled this, marigold mandala, but didn’t think of that name until after I did the video. As I was drawing, the design kept reminding me of a particular type of flower, but I didn’t remember the name “marigold” until later.

Lesson Objective:

To gain a basic familiarity with the tools and software we’ll be using for future digital art projects, specifically the symmetry tool and autofill (bucket) tool. Also, how to set up a digital canvas. 

 

Resources Needed:

To create this project, I used Autodesk Sketchbook (sketchbook.com) with a Wacom Intuos Pro graphics tablet.

You can download Sketchbook free at: www.sketchbook.com

You can get a graphics tablet and pressure-sensitive stylus as low as $27 HERE

Content Guide:

Intro & Software/Hardware – 0:00
Navigating Sketchbook – 4:06
Set Up Your Canvas – 8:00
Select Your Brush – 10:15
Set Up the Symmetry Tool – 11:00
Draw the Mandala – 12:42
Color the Mandala – 18:12

Devotional Thought:

Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these (Luke 12:27 NIV). 

All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall (I Peter 1:24 NIV).

It’s interesting to note that when scripture refers to flowers, it is almost always with an eye towards either God’s provision or peoples’ temporality. The two verses above are representative of the divergent thought lines. In one, Jesus instructs his hearers to consider the wildflowers, how God clothes them even more majestically than Solomon in his splendor. In the second verse, Peter is quoting from Isaiah 40 and emphasizing that human splendor and glory passes away with the speed and finality of a flower dying.

They are dramatically different thoughts, and yet there is a powerful connection. I am to trust in the God who created the heavens and the earth, knowing that He will provide for me–whatever I need. The wildflowers are to be my example. 

On the other hand, I should never seek my own glory and power, because I–and my presence and glory on this earth–will pass away quickly and with barely a trace left behind. The wildflowers are to be my example.

As you draw this digital “flower,” remember the wildflowers. They will remind you to trust God and seek his kingdom and glory–not your own. — Jim Pence

See the Light Art Class 9-DVD Boxed Set
Try 3 Free Lessons!

Download 3 video art lessons on us!

What you’ll learn…

The foundational skill of art is drawing.

Whether you’re using a pencil, pen, brush, or a piece of chalk, it’s all about drawing.

In your free lessons, you’ll learn…

…The basics of what makes a drawing
…What you need to have in your drawing “toolkit”
…The most essential skill of drawing
…How to synchronize your hand and your eyes
…The basics of composition