Much advice needed on drawing digitally

[Haunting Paranoia]

Okay, so long ago my close friend gave me an old tablet of hers that didn't have as many features and treated it as a spare. She knew I was wanting one so she shipped it off my way. When I first got it, I practiced for a day realizing that I couldn't simply draw. I gave up the idea of drawing because I was disappointed in my ability to have beautiful, successful results. I've recently, today, tried picking it up again and looking through every free tutorial possible and none seem to work. Even the most simple of tutorials seem complex to me as I can't even draw a simple straight/curved line and I'm one that doesn't have much stamina for practicing day in and out. I get discouraged easily and it's truly a pain to try and pick up drawing out of the blue as I haven't looked into the hobby early on in my life to get the embarrassing practice out of the way. Am I even cut out for drawing?

Now that I have my tablet again and a blank canvas to draw on, it's almost as if I don't want to even touch the blank canvas because I know my drawings will be pitiful each time. That, and the fact that I've no idea what to draw or how to develop my style of drawing in the first place. How did you find your style and what do you like to draw? I'm just fed up with my lack of skill and idea for where to even start. I can barely get out the most simplest of lines. I guess everyone starts somewhere, but do they start out as horribly and as discouraged as I am?

The main question is: Where do I start and how do I start?

 

[Haunting Paranoia]

Bump.  

[Haunting Paranoia]

Bump.  

[Kairanha]

Just draw what you think is interesting. Technical ability will come with time.  

[Kitalpha Hart]

I personally find playing around with it helps
But then again, I'm using the Zen Brush app for iPad...  

[Haunting Paranoia]

Bump.  

[MonkeyGirl188]

I'm still trying to get better at drawing myself and I think I found my style of drawing but I did so by drawing using different styles and then I just fixed it to where I like drawing.

I've also used a tablet, not my own, it was my school's tablet, but I just drew the way I did on paper and if I had to use a straight line, I'd use the line tool on the program I'd be using, which I'd use fireworks and flash.

But it all comes down to practice. Just practice drawing what you like or maybe just find a picture you like and try to replicate that, maybe in different styles or whatnot. But all I have to say is that you should just practice.  

[Luscenta]

My journey with my tablet, Tabulus (whose pen is falling apart and my sister pulled it apart the other day):

The first day wasn't pretty, it gets a while to take used to drawing on a tablet, one day won't be enough, heck, I think it took me a few days to a week to become really happy, then was the daunting task of clawing through all those pens etc.

Straight lines and curves, I would like to murder, it takes me about 50 tries and many ctrl+z pressing later to get the perfect line. Ctrl+Z is your best friend!

A finished product isn't something I happily dump out in one day with a flourish of my pen, no, it doesn't work like that. Let's say I'm drawing an OC: It takes a lot of table flipping before I sketch out the skeleton of a pose I like, it takes some more table flipping before I give my character an outfit, then hours to line it, then I agonise over colouring it. Many many layers later, ta-dah. But something always feels off about it and it's probably because I spend so long staring at the damn thing I get sick of it.

I still haven't found my own style, I'm searching for 'the one', same with colouring style. You just have to experiment with different brushes and their settings (not sure what program you're using), just do a scribble and see how they come out, how the blend.

Even cut out for drawing? Everyone develops at a different pace, you have to practice, that's the only way you get good at anything and the more you draw the better you'll get.

Where do you start? Well, what do you want to draw? If it's people or animals, I would say go see some anatomy or take a look at pose sheets on DA. Sketch... lots, they don't have to be neat or super swanky. Try out different styles, go look at some artists see how they draw and colour. What their lines are like.

Copying is a good way to develop, tracing over might help you to get a sense of what kind of brush appeals to you, something softer or something harder?

Of course, you could always start off by finding the right brush for you for sketching, which just involves fidgeting with a lot of settings (like i said before, I'm not quite sure what program you use)  

[Isis Sister Of Osiris]

Just keep testing brushes and thicknesses, and keep practicing. Tablets aren't the same as pencil and paper AT ALL. Once you get used to it, you'll find what works best for your style.  

[Scarleey]

Just don't give up, practice, experiment, research and have fun. Try looking for beginner's tutorials or references in deviantart or youtube. Or if you can afford, enroll in art school.

Oh and before you do digital art, try the traditional pen-and-paper method first to get you to practice on the basics and get comfortable with the strokes.