drawing - Made Mistakes

Oil pastels are not pencils

Not to overstate the obvious here, but oil pastels do not behave like colored pencils...

Inktober failure

Like previous years, I started out with the best of intentions for Inktober and then quickly lost steam...

How to draw straight lines

To draw straight lines on the iPad in apps that don’t have a ruler tool, I use whatever straight edge I have laying around: plastic ruler…

Learning to draw on iPad

How did I git gud at drawing and painting on an iPad? The answer that no one likes to hear is ”practice, practice, practice.” I wish there…

iPad stylus recommendations

Long story short, if you have an iPad Pro do yourself a favor and get an Apple Pencil. If you have an older (or non-Pro) model below are all…

What tablet do you use?

If it wasn’t obvious from the artwork on this site, I draw, paint, and create on Apple’s iPad. My current model is a 12.9″ Pro (256GB) with…

Switching tools with Paper

How to switch tools in the app Paper for iPad and iPhone.

How to paint smoothly with the brush tool

A smooth gradient can be achieved layering washes of watercolor on top of each other. Speed and pressure play an important role in how clean…

The path to iPad Pro

Convincing myself that I need an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to fulfill all my digital illustration needs.

Mastering Pencil by FiftyThree

Learn how to create impressive effects with 53's Pencil stylus and Paper app, using exclusive features like Blend and Surface Pressure.

Faux layer technique for Paper

Learn Paper's faux layer technique and how it can aid in sketching and tracing on iPad.

Drawing experience

I’ve been drawing with traditional tools and materials — on and off for the last 20 years. And drawing with digital tools on iPad, the last…

Drawing outer space with Paper

Learn how to draw stars, galaxies, planets, black holes and more with Paper on iPad and 53's Pencil stylus.

How to use Paper's color picker

Tutorial explaining how to use Paper's new color picker tool to sample, mix, and share colors.

Pencil by FiftyThree stylus review

An avid Paper creator's impressions of FiftyThree's new iPad stylus, Pencil.

Mastering Mix by FiftyThree

Download these templates for Paper and discover how to use Mix to Learn, Sketch, Play, Write, Design, and Think.

How to undo and erase in Paper

Learn how to use Paper's eraser tool to undo and cover-up mistakes on iPad.

Mix by FiftyThree initial thoughts

Mix by FiftyThree makes finding, sharing, and learning from inspiring Paper creators easy and fun.

Watercolor brush improvements

Discover the secrets of Paper's newly updated watercolor brush in this short tutorial and video.

PaperFaces retrospective

A look back at two years of drawing over 800 portraits using an iPad and Paper for iOS.

Paperfaces digital drawing giveaway

Enter to win a portrait of your choice drawn by Michael Rose in his signature PaperFaces style.

Grid method of drawing

How to use the grid method of drawing to improve your accuracy when drawing with the app Paper on iPad.

How to zoom while painting

Learn how to reposition Paper's zoom loupe mid-stroke to help add detail to your drawings.

Drawing realistic portraits with Paper

Advanced Paper tutorials and techniques for drawing and painting faces with an iPad.

Inspiring faces want to know

Finding inspiration from the faces of strangers on Sktchy for iOS.

Drawing and painting basics

Beginner friendly Paper app tutorials covering basic drawing and painting techniques, inking, and color theory principles.

Contour line drawing on iPad

How to use blind contour line drawing and the iPad app Paper, to improve hand eye coordination and observation skills.

Drawing textures with Paper

Tutorials for drawing bricks, wood, and rock textures with the Paper app on iPad.

Blending with Pencil by 53, first look!

53's Pencil stylus and new Blend feature is full of promise. Here's a taste of what is possible when using both.

Printing Moleskine books on iPad

Impressions of a handmade Moleskine book designed and printed on iPad with the app Paper.

Drawing water with Paper

Techniques for drawing water and waves using the app Paper on iPad.

Drawing clouds and skies with Paper

iPad tutorials and techniques for drawing blue skies, clouds, and sunsets with the app Paper.

Drawing trees and grass with Paper

Techniques on how to draw trees, grass, and other foliage using the Paper app on iPad.

365 days of drawing faces

Year one of my 365 day portrait project may be over, but I'm just getting started.

Getting started with Paper

An introduction to Paper's tools and how best to exploit them for drawing realistically.

Pogo Connect iPad stylus review

The Pogo Connect is an iPad stylus that brings pressure sensitivity and enhanced functionality to devices and apps that support it.

Drawing faceless portraits with Paper

Quick tutorial for drawing faceless (e.g., PaperFaces) portraits on iPad with the Paper app.

Drawing hair with Paper

Learn how I draw hair quickly with the Paper app for iPad.

Quick tips for iPad sketching

How to sketch faceless (e.g., PaperFaces) portraits and landscapes on an iPad, with the app Paper.

Sketching PaperFaces portraits

An experiment in humanizing the web — drawing a portrait everyday on iPad with the app Paper.