| Hello! professional design manager and illustrator here. :) So glad you added the example of the scientific illustration - funnily enough, I strongly suspect that was made using vector illustrations which is a slightly different method than your vanilla 'draw in ink, color the shapes' mindset for mediums. It almost feels like you're asking two separate questions here - (a) how best to improve your observational skills, and (b) what medium/tools should you optimize for. The good news - yes, absolutely you can learn the observation skills digitally; that was pretty much my path (you can see my work on the profile link) - it's rare when I touch a physical piece of paper for drawing. (b) tools-wise, it sounds like you already have a good idea of where you want to go there, whether it be a tablet or ipad. There's pros and cons to both and it wholly lies on what you are most comfortable with as well what works best for your setting. rule of thumb is if you're spending most of your time at a desk, it doesn't hurt to invest in a larger tablet, but if you're spending most of your drawing time on the go, ipads are invaluable. (a) to beef up on the observation skills, there's more than a few youtube series of videos that'll walk you through the basics of shape, form, color, line. Proko's series may work well with you given he also uses digital art -- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClM2LuQ1q5WEc23462tQzBg If you're long on cash and short on time, mentorship with other artists is also a thing to level up much faster and in a more focused manner. I've invested some time with Jayd (https://www.jaydaitkaci.com/services.html) which was an investment I'd do all over again. Happy to answer any follow up questions! |