Drawing on my mobile phone
Earlier this year, I got my hands on a Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ as part of my postpaid mobile plan. I was initially going for a cheaper phone, but the customer service representative was insistent I get the Note 10+.
I was, for a lack of better words, swayed. I ended up purchasing the Note and subsequently using it for my meetings at work instead. (I love how I only had to bring my phone during meetings.) Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened. The whole country was placed in lockdown and I was sent home on a work-from-home setting. And in between moments of uncertainty, I definitely needed something to do.
And now here I am.
That's me at the center. All these were speed paintings.
Even before the Note 10+, I used to doodle on my prior phones' note apps. I would draw my teammates' quirks during technical meetings and some scenes that interested me every time I went home. I drew with my fingers, so they mostly just ended up to be stick figures.
Beyond that, I would draw with my laptop's touchpad, which was made easier because of Photoshop's pen tool. But I wasn't... satisfied with just that. I wanted to digitally paint, the way I would do with a watercolor and a piece of watercolor paper. I wanted to draw and color naturally, the way I would with my colored pencils.
Autodesk Sketchbook
Because I came from Metro Manila, I was instantly put under a mandatory 14-day quarantine as soon as I arrived back at my parents' home. More than my laptop, my phone had become a really great companion.
I explored different apps I could use to draw, and was glad to have come across two drawing apps that I got to try from the onset.
The first app I tried was the Autodesk SketchBook. I fell in love with its simplicity and the wide range of art media available. The Aciel Park drawing alone used a couple of pencil options — from 2H down to 3B. And there were more! Even the Sevi and Elyse work was colored with the use of Copic markers.
But I had a problem.
My projects would suddenly get corrupted. I would draw, leave it in WIP for a couple of hours, and when I return, the work that was worth a few hours was gone. I also refused to not have a layer clipping functionality — something I only tolerate in traditional arts. So I switched apps.
MediBang Paint for Android
The brushes weren't as phenomenal as in AutoDesk SketchBook, but MediBang Paint was definitely on another league of its own.
The drawing on the right was one of my initial attempts at drawing with MediBang. The many functionalities allowed me to draw and color more comfortably this time.
The usual brush settings I used in MediBang are the following:
- Base sketch: pencil (100%)
- Base color: pen (100%)
- Details: airbrush (37%), watercolor (40%), pencil (100%), smudge (80%)
Drawing in Hive
There are a lot of things that push me to draw and share them here in Hive, more than the crypto-related incentives. There's the part that wanted to try digital painting that's foreign to me, but is something I have been wanting to try for so long.
There's also wanting to see if I can find my own style (I think I'm getting there), and wanting to immortalize the whole process in the blockchain. I couldn't stress this enough. I may or may not regret putting something personal in the blockchain, but it serves its purpose for things I wanted to stay.
Then I also wanted to see how I do things...
...and realize that I actually have a pattern of my own!
Many times in the past I would draw and paint on intuition alone. I still do. But I have become more aware of how I do things now. Maybe because I am older? Maybe because the quarantine has set my mindset haywire that I had to make up for it with control. Either way, finding my own constant process at an ever-unpredictable circumstance like this somewhat balances my days.
Finally, there are the random but meaningful prompts. These prompts come to mind while listening to keshi (gosh, I'm an incorrigible fangirl) or Aimer or Kenshi Yonezu. With their meaningful words, a lot of scenes and inspiration flood my mind. They also help me get through 8 hours of work! Listening to them non-stop got me to time my works, too, and I realize that everything was mostly a speed painting.
That said, I'm happy to even spend an hour to 3 hours a day drawing. Man, I always use pen and markers at work, but using them in drawing felt a thousand times better.
The Hive Journey so far
More than 10 drawings in under 3 weeks! That's definitely more than the drawings I completed in the last three years combined. No kidding! I think the last time I was in this kind of drawing spree was around this time three years ago, while participating in @tonyr's Learn to Draw with Friends. That was fun! I met a lot of other artists, and some of them I still talk to once in a while until today.
The Hive journey wasn't to start without the insistence of my big sister @arrliinn, now just the same as 3 years ago. My good friends @debilog and @charlocked also got my back, in and out of Hive. Of course, there are the awesome art communities, too: OnChainArt and Sketchbook and their just-as-wonderful members that comprise hobbyists and professionals alike. I feel like I was transported back to the Learn to Draw with Friends era, only this time, we actually have communities for the art niche.
In summary, I enjoy engaging in my newfound (and at the same time old) hobby, meeting new people (mostly other artists), and seeing improvements in the stuff I love doing. I hope in my next update, I can tell more — something better — but for now, this should do.
That said, me out (for now; you'll see me again in a few hours LMAO).
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