I was planning to write a very, very, very long post about how I draw using my phone and MediBang Paint for Android, but my brain can't keep up. Words always fail me when I try to describe something, and I find that actually showing how it's done is the best way to go.

But I suck at editing videos, how much more tutorial ones? I thought I would try, but maybe not today. In the near future, though, I would. For now, I think my timelapse videos give a general idea of how I do my digital drawings.

Salient point: I draw by pure gut feeling. Which hinders learning, to be honest, but that's what I got used to over time.

No one-size-fits-all

This will probably make you cringe, but I hardly even understand values. I know the bare minimum about arts as far as art classes in high school went. I do watch online tutorials on Youtube, but I haven't exactly applied them.

If there's something I learned about online tutorials, there's no one-size-fits-all formula to drawing. Every tutorial you'd find online is something that worked for a particular artist, and will probably work for others, too. Here's mine, that I developed over the time I've been practicing.

The Drawing: Park Bo-Gum

The reference for today's drawing is from a Pinterest post I found online. It is a photo of Park Bo-gum, a South Korean actor. He's pretty popular among girls because he makes our hearts flutter without even trying! Hahaha. (Just getting that last bit out there.)

Drawing Park Bo-Gum

1. Draw that sketch.

This is my favorite part. When I said draw that sketch, I meant draw it without worrying about accuracy. I would draw the initial sketch and find that no, it didn't resemble the reference at all. Most of the time, it would look hideous (hence, I always only share the clean ones here).

• Brush: Pencil, 100% opacity

After making a very rough sketch, I would adjust it (select, transform, erase, draw) so it gets the general form of the drawing. Then create a second layer and draw a cleaner sketch based on the reference that's more accurate, while still following the form of the messy base sketch.

2. Base colors

Then I would add in the base colors following through the cleaner line art. I do them in separate layers for different parts: a layer for the base color of the skin, another for the hair. Then another for other parts.

Sometimes I worry about the color to use. There are times I use lighter colors, sometimes darker, sometimes in between. Here, I used the in between.

• Brush: Watercolor, 100% opacity

3. Shadows

Previously, I would color the details one by one. The skin first, then the hair, then the rest. I had a change of "formula" since coming back to draw after a month-long hiatus.

I would add all shadows first before penning in the details. I enjoy seeing the drawing take form, no matter how vague. I think that thought contributes to this choice.

• Brush: Watercolor, varying opacity

4. Details... details... details

Finally, the arduous task of painting the details. I normally start with the face. In particular, the nose. I don't know why, but I liked seeing the nose finally have shape. It would be followed by the eyes, mouth, eyebrows, then the rest of the skin.

I would play around with the watercolor brush's opacity and color pick in between colors. One of my favorites is adding the highlight. It was a little difficult, but still fun nonetheless.

Therapeutic

I always say this, and I'll say it again. Drawing is therapeutic... to me. I takes my mind off things in the long period I engage myself in it. It also makes me discover things I thought I already got covered, making me realize I have lot I can learn as long as I keep going.

Details

• Device: Samsung Galaxy Note 10+
• Apps:
  • MediBang Paint for Android
• Brushes: watercolor (at varying opacity settings); pencil (100% opacity); pen (100% opacity); blur

Notes

I actually really like Park Bo-gum. Since watching one of his shows a few years back, I've become really aware of him and his following filmography. He has this really kind look that's so charming, it's difficult not to like.

I haven't been meaning to draw him, but I found it while going through Pinterest and I can't help it! One of my friends, @glenduuuuuh, is a big fan of his, so I'll dedicate this piece for her. (Unfortunately, she hasn't been active here since 2 years ago.)

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