It is colored pencil! Thank you! I’ve heard of colorslive before and I really want to learn how to do digital art. Is it harder than drawing on paper?
Some parts are harder, and some are easier. It is easier because you can hit undo, and you don't have clean-up! And you have unlimited supplies. It is harder because you have to get accustomed to drawing on a much different surface. And even with a pressure sensitive pen you don't have quite the same dynamic brush strokes.
You don't have to mix color, but that means you also don't learn as much about mixing, and it is harder to use a brush effect with multiple colors.
You can be very precise in the size, amount of transparency, softness of the brush, etc. So that is helpful.
If you have a Nintendo 3ds you can just get the download for about 8 bucks and try it out with the built in stylus. It does not have pressure sensitivity, but it does have three brushes, (soft round, hard round, and bristle) an eraser, undo, layers, etc. It is actually a great way to get started on digital painting as it is very simple.
I have a pen tablet for the computer, and I have an android phone with a stylus, but I find myself picking up the Nintendo more often because I like the shortcut buttons. It really makes the process easy once you get accustomed to it. And the simple tools let me focus on getting right into the painting without worrying about what brush I will use, etc.
If you have a Switch you can get a retail package or order online and it comes with pressure-sensitive pen, some different brush options, a simple select and move tool, etc. But it costs more.
Traditional art is good for building skills. But I do enjoy digital.
The other nice part about colorslive in particular is that you can watch playbacks of people's art to see how they do things. The gallery is why most people stay on colorslive. It is not the most capable program. But it has a built in audience. And with the recent Switch release the gallery has been pretty active.
I usually make updated post-process versions of artwork from colors using another program to adjust levels. But here is my colorslive gallery so you can see what it looks like with the playback:
Colors Live - tall73
While you are there you might check out this artist who uses only an old ipod touch with colorslive, using his finger! So it is possible without a stylus, but a stylus makes it easier.
Colors Live - mcollins
If you have a smartphone you can get some free programs such as autodesk sketchbook to get a bit of a feel for how things work. Or if you prefer the desktop Krita is a good free program. But you might have to use a mouse there unless you have a touch screen or tablet.
That is still possible though! A lot of artists in the old days used just a mouse.
I think this one I used a mouse because my tablet broke:
