amateur art #3, gohan

so I enjoyed digital art enough to go out and get myself one of these, a Wacom Intuos:

Magic not included (I didn't draw this; people ask)

You can pick them up for about $75 street, or $100 if you like having a cord longer than 3 feet. It definitely took some getting used to, but within a couple of hours it felt pretty natural. The tablet is surprisingly light, and at the inexpensive end of the tablet spectrum, feels a little cheap. The thing performs just fine, though. It has a semitextured surface, not dissimilar to what you'd find on a trackpad.

The first thing I decided to draw was Gohan from Dragon Ball Z. I'm hoping I'll get to do his multiple forms, and thought it appropriate to start with normal. The original reference image is here, as I'm still not yet confident enough to start making my own forms. The original is also shrunk and pinned to the corner, as usual.

Teen Angst, ho!

I think it's pretty good for a first attempt. I built out the skeleton as normal, and became familiar with the tools as I worked. I'd never used any paint software to draw anything from scratch before; I've always just done photo cropping, like putting my head on Arnold Schwarzenegger's body. I've never used layers before, and have never had to use airbrush, marker or pencil tools for anything but making hilariously bad alterations to pictures. I'm also realizing that his left (that's your right) leg wasn't shaded completely because I forgot. Eh. Next time.