Learn Digital Painting from Scratch: Autodesk Sketchbook

Learn how Autodesk Sketchbook enables digital painting for beginners to professionals, free to use with multiple layers, custom brushes, and tools for zoom, perspective guides, and symmetry.

Learn how to download Autodesk SketchBook from the official site, choosing Windows or Mac, with a free download and straightforward steps to install on your computer.

Install Autodesk Sketchbook on your desktop by downloading the free software, running the installer, and accepting the license to complete the setup. Create a desktop shortcut for easy access.

Explore the Autodesk Sketchbook user interface, from the toolbar and color options to brushes, brush palette, brush library, layers editor, and color editor, preparing you for practical digital painting.

Learn to create and customize a sketchbook canvas, set width, height, and resolution, choose units (pixels, inches, centimeters, millimeters), and use tools, zoom, and navigation for efficient painting.

Master the pencil and marker tools in Autodesk SketchBook to plan and create digital art with adjustable brush size and opacity, then export your work.

Explore how to use the airbrush and paint brush in Autodesk SketchBook, adjust brush size, opacity, pressure, and spacing, and create clouds, shadows, and highlights with basic and advanced options.

Learn to use chisel tip and felt tip pens in sketchbook to create calligraphic strokes, build artwork, and add shadows, highlights, and lighting.

Explore using an inking pen and a ballpoint pen in Autodesk Sketchbook to craft glass-like effects. Adjust size and opacity to build detailed digital artwork.

Learn digital painting from scratch with Autodesk SketchBook as you explore smear, blur, and sharpen to blend colors, adjust edges, and refine details.

Learn how to use hard and soft eraser tools in Autodesk Sketchbook, erase on a specific layer, manage background and colors, and control erasing edges for precise digital painting.

Explore color puck in Autodesk Sketchbook to pick and sample colors from your artwork, adjust hues and value with the color wheel, and apply airbrush with adjustable size and transparency.

Learn to use the brush in Autodesk Sketchbook, adjusting color, size, and opacity via the color book, color pack, and brush back dashboard to control value, stroke, and texture.

Explore the Sketchbook toolbar and undo/redo controls, then learn to use the spacebar to manipulate the canvas—zoom with the magnifier, rotate, and pan across the workspace.

Master selection tools in Autodesk Sketchbook, including rectangle, freehand, lasso, polygonal lasso, and magic wand, adjust tolerance, sample across layers, and use add, subtract, replace, and invert selections.

Master flood fill and gradient tools in Autodesk Sketchbook, including solid fills, linear and radial gradients, and color sampling. Then learn the crop tool to select and crop canvas areas.

Learn how to use the transform tool and quick transform tool in Autodesk SketchBook to resize, distort, rotate, and move selections, while understanding canvas boundaries and aspect ratio.

Add a text layer in Sketchbook by selecting bold font and white color, then edit the text with the layout editor and quick transform tool to place Autodesk text.

Learn to create precise circles and ellipses, straight lines, and mirrored shapes in Autodesk Sketchbook using the ellipse, ruler, and French Curve tools for clean digital painting.

learn to create one-, two-, and three-point perspective drawings in autodesk sketchbook, using vanishing points, horizon lines, and lockable guides to shape buildings and landscapes.

Explore symmetry tools in Autodesk Sketchbook to create mirrored drawings with vertical, horizontal, and radial symmetry, using lock points, hiding lines, and center-stroke options to craft consistent artwork.

Master steady stroke and predictive stroke in Autodesk SketchBook to craft guided shapes with smooth outlines. Adjust stroke distance and leverage predicted lines to minimize zigzags and enhance drawing accuracy.

Explore how to use draw style options in Autodesk SketchBook, applying tool properties to lines, rectangles, and ovals, and combine brushes, area tools, and smear for creative shapes.

Explore layer editor in Autodesk SketchBook to manage background and layers, adjust opacity, apply blending modes such as normal, darken, and multiply, and control visibility by hiding or showing layers.

Explore the color editor in Autodesk SketchBook, using the eyedropper, palettes, and color wheel to select colors and darker tones, adjust lightness and saturation, blend, and erase with transparent color.

Explore the Copic library in Autodesk Sketchbook, revealing two categories—elicitation and design—and how to drag, drop, and customize color palettes to suit your digital painting needs.

Explore texture essential brushes in Autodesk Sketchbook, learning to apply signature ink, soft, spectrum, watercolor, and dusty textures to create varied surface appearances for digital painting.

Explore Copic brushes in Autodesk Sketchbook to simulate varied ink effects. Adjust density, size, color, transparency, and pressure, and explore tools like Copy Drawing Panov and Copy Superposition.

Explore 18 synthetic paint brushes in the Autodesk Sketchbook brush library, test tools from soft to flat to splatter, and learn blending colors and creating textures on backgrounds.

Explore traditional brush tools in Autodesk Sketchbook, adjusting color, size, opacity, and spacing to create varied textures with pencils, soft areas, and painted surfaces.

Discover texture brushes in Autodesk SketchBook, comparing multiple brush tools and textures, and adjusting color, pressure, and patterns to build varied digital painting textures.

Explore shape brushes in Autodesk Sketchbook to create varied textures and forms, adjusting size, color, and stroke for paper-like, feathery, and abstract effects.

Discover how to create varied splatter effects in Autodesk SketchBook using seven color splatters, adjustable brushes, and options like spacing, rotation, and scaling for dynamic digital painting.

Explore glow brushes and globalizers in Autodesk SketchBook to create neon glow effects by applying the same color to different background textures.

Master the smudge brushes in Autodesk SketchBook by selecting colors with the eyedropper, blending multiple colors with different brushes, and creating water-like textures and shadows.

Explore designer brushes in Autodesk SketchBook to create digital artwork, using pencils, watercolor pencils, paints, markers, and erasers while adjusting brush properties and stroke patterns.

Explore how to use artist brushes in Autodesk Sketchbook, including pencil, ink pen, salty water watercolor, blending and wash tools, and how to adjust size, spacing, and rotation for textures.

Explore pastel brushes in Autodesk Sketchbook, using pencil brushes from the Precious Library to drag snake strokes and observe color values decay and blend across 11 brushes.

Explore how colorless brushes blend colors to create value without adding color in Autodesk Sketchbook. See how different tools, brushes, and pressure affect blending.

Explore lagoon features in Autodesk Sketchbook, from enabling the lagoon and color editor to managing layers, brushes, erasers, and file options for digital artwork.

Discover the primary colors—red, blue, and yellow—and learn that these pure colors create all other colors, with secondary and tertiary colors arising from their combinations.

Explore how primary colors red, blue, and yellow combine to form secondary colors—orange, green, and purple—shown with digital painting techniques and tools like the smudge tool and eyedropper.

Learn how tertiary colors form by blending a primary with a secondary in digital painting using Autodesk Sketchbook. See how blending blue with green or red with purple creates hues.

Learn how tinting adds white to pure color to create light and highlights in digital painting, using color palettes, tools, and step-by-step examples.

Master shade and shadow techniques in Autodesk SketchBook by gradually adding black to build value, control lighting on objects, and distinguish near and far forms for digital painting.

Learn to create tone by mixing a pure color with gray and black, using flood fill, then render a simple object with brushes, textures, and blending in Autodesk Sketchbook.

Set up a canvas for one point perspective in Autodesk Sketchbook, create a new document, choose the perspective option, unlock guidelines, and place the vanishing point to begin drawing.

Create one-point perspective guidelines in Autodesk Sketchbook by establishing a vanishing point, drawing endpoint lines, adding depth, and building scenes with buildings, roads, water, mountains, and walls.

Learn digital painting in one point perspective by constructing separate buildings, creating a street view, and detailing windows and doors with adjustable lines and clean erasures.

Explore one-point perspective by building depth with lines and guidelines, then refine walls, windows, doors, and landscapes like a lake and mountains in a digital painting.

Color a simple one-point perspective drawing in Autodesk Sketchbook by applying sky blues, warm tones, and contrasting colors to houses and foreground, while adjusting light values to enhance the perspective.

Set up a two-point perspective in Autodesk SketchBook by enabling guides, placing two vanishing points on the canvas, then start with black using a pencil or felt-pen brush.

Learn two-point perspective to construct a fence, height with a vertical line, connect the points to form the fence, add wood segments, and a walking platform on both sides.

Construct a house in two-point perspective by laying guiding lines, defining building height, and adding a door, window, and partitions to a street layout.

Remove guideline remnants and unwanted areas using erase and selection tools, preserve trees and key structures, and address gaps before color filling to refine a two-point perspective drawing.

Finish two-point perspective drawings by refining lines and filling closed areas with greyscale colors. Add light and shadow using Autodesk SketchBook to create colorized compositions based on your creativity.

Learn to set up a three-point perspective grid in Sketchbook by enabling the three-point guides, placing the three vanishing points, and starting a drawing in black.

Create a three-point perspective building by drawing guiding lines from the second point, establish top and side views, then colorize and add a window and door to finish.

Colorize a three point perspective drawing in Autodesk Sketchbook by filling areas with blue tones and applying light and dark shades to build a complete city view.

Learn pre-canvas setup in Autodesk Sketchbook by setting a 2000-pixel canvas, importing a reference image, and using the quick transform tool to place it on its own layer before painting.

Learn to create a digital painting of a capsicum in Autodesk SketchBook by building a rough sketch on layered canvases, then fill solid colors and finish with detailing.

Apply base color in Autodesk Sketchbook for a live digital painting, using a bottom layer named still life, and pick red and yellow from a reference image with the eyedropper.

Place and fill base colors on separate layers to render a still life with capsicum, using blue, red, and green hues, outlines, and flood fill for clean edges.

Add lights and shadows to a red capsicum in a digital painting workflow using the airbrush and blending tools on color reference layers.

Master the lights and shadows of yellow capsicum by selecting colors, applying midterms and shadows with airbrush and wash brushes, and blending to build form and depth.

Learn how to enhance a still life with lighting, shadows, and highlights using Autodesk Sketchbook, adjusting layers, choosing brushes, and building values to achieve realistic form.

Learn to create digital art highlights in Autodesk SketchBook by using inkpen, selecting and blending colors, adding white highlights, and building shadows on a separate layer.

Learn to create convincing grass foliage in Autodesk SketchBook by exploring various brushes—from traditional to synthetic—building grassland with texture, color variation, and fine details.

Learn to create a grassland scene in Autodesk Sketchbook by layering blue sky and green grasses, adjusting brush opacity and flow for irregular shapes and structure.

Create a grass-like background for foliage in digital painting using brushes and the pencil tool, using dark colors for depth and lighter tones toward the water at the bottom.

Learn how to add grass details and water textures in digital painting with Autodesk SketchBook, blending colors from dark to light, and layering with brushes and tools.

Learn how to create a standalone grass field in Autodesk Sketchbook by using multiple brushes, color choices, and brush properties like value, flow, dilution, and pressure to build grassland.

Learn how to create foliage with Autodesk Sketchbook using texture and camo brushes, apply dark base colors, add shadows, and finish with highlights for shrub rendering.

Learn to sculpt a sunlit shrub in Autodesk SketchBook by layering dark greens and color variations, adding directional shadows, highlights, and texture brushes to create realistic light and detail.

Master pink shrub shadows by using the same brush to build a solid shrub with black tones, then brainstorm ideas to paint your own digital painting world.

Learn to create a pink shrub scene in Autodesk SketchBook by choosing colors, applying charcoal and various brushes, blending values, adding highlights, and layering details to build a botanical illustration.

Add a new layer below the shrub to build details with airbrush and inkpen brush, blend colors on the shrub layer to create clouds, finishing a landscape in Autodesk Sketchbook.

Learn to paint a small plant in Autodesk SketchBook, create custom brushes from shapes, build the stem, add branches, adjust color values, and blend for realism.

Learn to create custom leaf brushes in Autodesk Sketchbook by using predefined brushes, adjusting preset pressures, and creating custom shapes on new layers, then download and load custom loops.

Learn to create a custom leaf brush in Autodesk Sketchbook by duplicating and transforming layers, selecting shapes, and capturing textures to build a reusable brush.

Learn to add leaves to a plant in Autodesk Sketchbook by creating a new layer, adjusting spacing, rotation, size, and randomness, and applying color variation and ink pen details.