With every digital art, there comes an art program.

Whether the program be well known or not. In order to do digital art you obviously need an art program it is not physically possible to do digital art without one.

Keep in mind just because some artists are great at using one doesn't mean you will, some other one might fit your taste and way of drawing much better.

 

Paint: This one actually comes with most computers, it is not the best. I wouldn't recomend using this, but if you must then use it until you either get something better or

 

Sai: This program is actually one of the most well kown ones. Sai offers you a variety of brushes to use, Not only that but you can create your own. It allows you to instal textures and everything onto it, I tend to take advantage of this, but it is best if you don't rely on it too much when it comes to things, after all you must learn how to draw it yourself without any sort of help. With Sai you get things called layers, these are vital when it comes to drawing. On on elayer you can sketch then create a new one and the the lineart of even more sketching. I tend to do everythign on seperate layers, for a sketch I use up quite a few before merging them together. Then I finally do the lineart. With that done I create another layer and move it under the lineart to colour, then create more underneat it to do shading, lighting etc. I recommend Sai to you but it is not free.

 

Clip art Studio/ Manga Studio: These are actually the same art programs, just one is the downlod verison and the other is an actual physical copy. If you want to make manga's or comics then this is the one for you. In this program comes with some tools, and one of those tools is the option to use manga borders. This is helpful because you already have the boxes ready for you. Another helpful thing is the option to use dummies as references, yes they come with a dummy that you can take advantage of and move it into any pose you want. The burshes in this art program are extreemly swift and very comforting to use, well that is my opininon, but I do recommend this program. It is not free, but at times the do have special sales going on.

 

Photoshop: I am sure you all heard of Photoshop, anyway it is actually difficult to use when it comes to drawing things, the brushes all have different shapes and sizes and you can't really change them much without it being too difficult to change back. It can be quite hard to navigate at first but you can learn how to. This is not a free program you must pay for it.

 

Fire Alpaca: I actually used this one before, it was swift and is actually similar to Sai in a way. It has different brushes, textures etc. You just have to learn how to use it. This program is free.

 

Gimp: I only used this once, but when I did it was very easy to use. It has various brushes just like every other program. I am pretty sure you can even animate things with this program. This program is also free.

 

Pencil: This is actually an animation program, but none the less it still counts. Pencil is very easy to use when it comes to animating things, you just need to let your imagination take control. Pencil is also a free program to use.

 

Flash: This is actually an animation program too, but you can in fact draw pictures using it. It's a cell shader's best friend for it works best in flash. This program is not a free program.