Category: Digital Art

A painting of a lake in winter, snow covered trees on the horizon line and a blue sky with some orange and yellow accents.

Upgrading and continuing to learn new skills

A painting of a lake in winter, snow covered trees on the horizon line and a blue sky with some orange and yellow accents.
©2024 Carolyn A Pappas, Morning Light after the Storm. Digital painting.

Last year I did more drawing on Procreate than I ever have before. For the first time, I started feeling comfortable in the app. I still have a lot to learn though. Learning to draw digitally is really like learning a new medium altogether.

This is my first finished artwork of the year and I did it on Procreate. I just upgraded my iPad to a newer and bigger type and of course, I wanted to make a picture on Procreate immediately after setting it up. This is based on a photo I took of the lake the morning after a big storm (the only one we have had so far this winter). I also got some new brushes and I was trying them out here. In this painting, I was using brushes meant to simulate fountain pens, alcohol markers and oil paint with a dry brush.

I am always looking for brushes that would most closely approximate my own drawing style with ink and watercolor. In this case, I deviated from my normal style, but I had a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to doing a lot more experimenting this year and building up my confidence and competence in Procreate.

A digital drawing of a monarch butterfly with open wings.

Mid year review

A digital pen and ink style drawing of a robin's nest in a brown color with a single egg in the nest, set against a brown kraft paper background.
©2023 Carolyn A Pappas, Robin’s Nest with Egg (with paper texture background). Digital painting on Procreate.

I feel a shift in energy now that half the year is over. In June, I took a nine day trip to Wisconsin for work for training and I am feeling so relieved that I have finished my project and passed my exam. (Check out my instagram for some reels I made from my trip.)

We also threw a big 4th of July party which took a lot of prep work and planning. I have also done a few other bigger chores around the house which were hanging over my head for some time. Now that I have cleared some mental space, I feel like I can start working on some more art projects again.

These are some drawings that I have done recently on Procreate. I do miss working traditionally in my sketchbook, but I also know that I need to continue to practice in order to learn all the features within Procreate and just get comfortable with it. I was gifted the robin’s nest and it was fun to draw it from life. I drew the monarch from a photo but did not trace it. I have a few ideas for some other things I want to draw on Procreate in the near future so keep your eyes peeled.

A digital drawing of a monarch butterfly with open wings.
©2023 Carolyn A Pappas, Monarch. Digital painting on Procreate.