The Best Starter Digital Art Tools

As my medium of choice, the tools I use for digital art have grown and evolved as I grew more familiar with my understanding of said tools. While I can recommend a specific PC, drawing tablet, or a program, there are numerous articles already that recommend those things. Plus, whether or not you can actually get those things will depend on your budget.

Instead, I will focus on more unique picks and give a good reason as to why. So, here are four great tools for digital art that anyone can use when they are starting out. I will keep these things broad, since the specifics don’t matter too much and price points vary.

A Computer Mouse With Extra Buttons

The mouse I use is a generic from Walmart. It lights up, and it has four extra buttons. Most of the buttons, even the standard ones, are programmable so I can do things such as add short cuts to my mouse. Due to my workflow having my non-dominant hand being on the mouse, having undo and redo just be a click of a button is extremely convenient.

My mouse is easy to work with, and I can change how my buttons work through a menu. I sometimes forget to do this, but once I realize, it takes less than five minutes to make the switch and continue on with what I was doing.

A Laptop

Whether you’re sick, in a hotel, or don’t feel like sitting at your desk, a laptop is a great tool to have in your arsenal. A laptop is a portable option that can be used virtually anywhere. Laptops can be very powerful as well, although that depends on your budget and what you are looking for.

If you are just using it for writing and marketing, you may need less space than you would if you were working on art projects with it. The only brand I would recommend avoiding is HP, as it is common for the hinges to break. A common issue that is not covered by warranty. Beyond that, though, it will depend on your needs and what you want to do with a laptop.

Silicone Keyboard Cover

Keyboards get gross with use, especially if you eat while using your devices. Plus, keyboards are not the easiest to clean, especially if you can’t easily remove the keys and put them back on. While it may not be the biggest deal in the world for most people, silicone keyboard covers are a lifesaver!

These covers are reusable, and cleaning them is as simple as wiping them down. If you are someone who has a disability that makes cleaning difficult, or someone who just hates cleaning, then these covers are worth looking into. The keyboard is still usable while they are on, and many come in neat patterns, colors, or even make the labels for each key larger.

Just be careful when buying a cover and make sure to check their guides. The covers are tailored for different laptops, which don’t always have the exact same keyboard design. It is helpful to have the brand and model number of your keyboard, which should be found somewhere on the device itself!

A Good-Quality Phone Camera

A final good tool to have is a decent phone camera. Thankfully, most people already have one on their cell phone! Due to how much the technology has advanced, most phone cameras will be sufficient for why an artist would use one: art references!

The best way to get free references and be confident that it’s not AI is by taking pictures yourself. If you need a pose or something specific, if you can get there and take a picture, you have your reference! While this is more limited and takes more effort than looking things up on the internet, don’t underestimate how powerful of a tool a camera can be.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, the best tools for you are the ones you will get a lot of use out of. So, while I may use these things, they might just be a waste of money to you. Not every artist works the same way, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t new things out there that would be useless to us. We just need to know about them and give them a shot.