A group of art instructor Sara Henry’s current students are sketching a portrait with charcoal. At least their drawings look like they are using charcoal.
In reality, they are using an electronic pen tablet and computer in a Digital Art class at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts. The One by Wacom pen tablet allows students to create artwork on the computer. The tablet comes with software that allows it to mimic various art tools and supplies, such as charcoal, paint, paint brushes and more.
Henry said it’s an advantage for students to be able to gain experience in different mediums while using one tool.
“You can do can just about anything you can think of — graphite, pastels, water color, acrylic painting,” Henry said. “It’s kind of limitless as long as you have the necessary plugins.”
The tablet is approximately 8 inches wide and 5 inches tall and connects to the computer via a USB cord. The accompanying stylus has small nibs that help the artist create precise marks. The software allows students to zoom in to see small details and back out to see the larger piece in whole.
It also provides students advanced methods that wouldn’t necessarily be possible on paper. Henry used the example of drawing faces. If an artist sketches a face on paper, they may initially draw a grid to determine the proper dimensions for the head. Using pencil, the artist would then need to either erase or somehow incorporate the grid into their drawing.
With the Wacom tablet, students may develop layers within their drawings. So a student could potentially use the same kind of grid to determine dimensions but place it on a different layer than their drawing. Once they no longer need the grid, they may delete that layer, Henry said.
Henry said she previously had considered integrating a digital art aspect into her drawing class. The COVID-19 pandemic which forced ASMSA to move to remote instruction only in the spring helped spur the plans along a little more quickly.
A traditional drawing and painting class would be difficult to do virtually. The supplies required for the class would not be easy to ship to individual students nor would it be convenient for them to submit their assignments. Using the Wacom tablet, however, allows students to create a digital file to turn in when the project is completed. All of the students in class, even if they are present on campus, are participating in the class virtually, she said.
But just because the students are using technology for their assignments doesn’t mean they aren’t learning the basic skills for art created using traditional media.
“I’m still teaching the traditional skills on how to build up layers, how to do shading, how to get a face to look three-dimensional on a two-dimensional plan. They will be able to go into a beginning drawing class in college and have the skills needed,” she said.
That also includes using the stylus to improve their hand-eye coordination. Depending on the setting the student is using, the stylus and board can be very sensitive, allowing the artist to barely touch the stylus to the tablet to create a faint line or press harder for a dark line. It’s a more natural artistic movement than using a mouse to draw on the computer would be.
Henry said she has seen the use of a pen tablet help improve a student’s physical artwork as well. One student in a drawing course during the 2019-20 academic year wanted to use digital methods more than traditional methods. Henry had the student learn the traditional way of drawing first but allowed more work to be completed digitally throughout the year. By the end of the class, the student was drawing strictly on tablet, but their basic skills had improved.
That was what initially gave Henry the idea for a digital class, although she had not taught a Digital Art class previously. This semester’s class has been a learning experience for her as well. She has been drawing using a tablet along with her students.
“It’s been challenging,” she said. “Sometimes if you want just the tiniest line somewhere, it might be difficult to get it the first time, but you just have to practice and put in the time. The good thing is, however, when you’re done for the day, you may just put it aside. It’s not as messy.”
The next project she has planned for the class is developing a character for a comic book. She will give each student a prompt about what their character looks like, what they can do, and other details. They will have to design the character.
After that, the students will have to create their own comic book, creating their own characters and designing a two-page layout complete with coloring and dialogue that tells a short story.
Those projects will showcase the versatility of the Wacom tablet, Henry said. “It’s just one thing that they need — one piece of equipment for many different projects,” she said.