It depends on you, the artist, on how long it will take to become a "good" artist. Artists who are "good" have worked very hard for a long time to reach the level they are at. I can't tell you it will be two years or three years, etc, because I don't know how much work you plan on putting into it, and it's a hard thing to pin a number to anyway.

The cost depends on what tools you want to use. If you plan on just getting a tablet and GIMP (a free program) the cost would be about $150 if you get a small Bamboo tablet. This is for starting out, however. In the long run depending on what programs you want it may cost much more. Most professional artists use Photoshop, and the latest, CS5 is a very expensive program.

There are lots of free trials though, so I wouldn't worry about that yet. As for me, I have a Bamboo Pen and Touch tablet, and I usually use Photoshop Elements 7 (which came with the tablet) and OpenCanvas 1.1. That said, however, I am not a digital artist. I refuse to give myself a ti
tle I do not deserve. I dabble, but I have not reached a level I am satisfied with. I practice more with traditional materials first, and usually this benefits me when I turn to a digital art program.

Your number 3 question is a silly question. All art is fun, if it is something you enjoy doing. So yes.

However, digital art is not "easier" than traditional art. It takes just as much work as traditional art. On the plus side, you do not have to mix paint or be constantly buying more supplies (I would recommend however, that you actually dabble in traditional art first because you should).

As far as supplies and availability, digital art can be easier to create art, but it is not easier to learn. Of course, it depends on the artist.

 In short, there is no magical formula on how to be a better artist, and digital art is no exception.

Now, to your original question about whether you should take a cla.ss or not. A lot of artists boast about being "self-taught". Well, they're not self-taught. No one is. The artist may have discovered things on their own, but they weren't sitting in a cave with no outside influences when they did this. Hence, not self-taught, since they actually learned it from someone else— they just did it without taking a cla.ss.

So, I would say that taking a cla.ss can be helpful, if one is offered to you. It is easier to take a cla.ss and learn how to use the tools from a more experienced person, rather than try to figure things out on your own.

Now, I hope this is actually helpful and not just the ravings of a deranged art lover. I really did not intend to give such a long answer.

1. How many months/years does it take to get as good as all those amazing artists like Kraine, hj42, AngelKiss, TBP and all those guys?
2. Then how many years does it take to be able to draw like THIS?
3. How much does it cost?
4. What application do you use, and which tools?
5. Is it fun?
6. Is it easier than normal art?

1- That. Depends. I have no idea who those people are; but it depends from person to person. You could be amazing at anime art (Like Huke/Supercell stuff), realistic (that Faries dude), little fuzzeh animals (Fabo) or anything. Some things take longer than others and some take shorter. It depends on YOU; e.g. how much time and stuff. And how people view 'awesome'

2- It could take months or weeks. As I said before (and Grayvs) that it DEPENDSS :SPAZZ:

3- That. DEPPPENDSS~ You could be a mouse artist, a tablet artist or what ever. I use a mouse and I think their fairly good for a mouse xD (You can check my art out on this forum somewhereee). I use SAI; which I downloaded for free (FREE TRIAL BTW) which I still use since it still allows you to use the program after it expires (only you can't save or open stuff and do some things). If you plan on buying a tablet; I'd look at WACOM for some stuff there. It also depends on the program. You could use CS 5,4,3,2, Corel Painter, Paint, or whatever. Some cost WAY more than others. But bleh.

4-I use Paint Tool SAI and Flash. I would use GIMP, but I'm uber lazy so I haven't downloaded it. And a mouse. 

5- CHEEE- Yeah its fun :P Look at what Grayvs said.

6- That- DEPENDS. Do remember that the tablet is not some magical item that will make your art look super magical. (Although it may; that doesn't depend on the tablet) Personally I think that you should master traditional art first (theres other things in traditional that you can do that are really fun albiet expensive i.e. copic markers which are AMAZING). It's not whether it's 'easier' or not; more of a bit like, do you have the skills so that when you use the tablet/mouse that you will have the ability to do blahblhabhabh.

I'd probably take clas.ses first; or "learn by yourself" (as Gravys said xD Don't kill me). YARPKAIILLBEQUIETNOW.

I personally do not believe art requires a tutorial. So I will leave this post very vague,

Practice every day. Do not skip, if you are really p*censored*ionate about drawing, you will not view it as a chore. If you are only in it to be 'good', and not so p*censored*ionate about it, you will find it difficult. Learn how to digitally paint/ line art/ texture, do not resort to lazy tools such as the blur/burn and dodge tool. This will take time. Overall improvement will require you to critique your work. Keep your old drawings from a past couple of months and note your improvement, and what you can improve on.

Learn the colour theory. Sit down and LEARN IT. It is TOO USEFUL FOR WORDS. Anybody colouring their art should know about the colour wheel and more importantly, what colours work well together. 

Reference from photos. Do not trace. Tracing does not make you a better artist, it makes you better at tracing. (And if you know the internet, you'll know how we can so easily pinpoint a tracer. :x) 

Thank you both! I have one more question. What is the application where it smooths out your digital lines?

There isn't. If there is; TERRU MEH D;

There are programs that automatically smooth your lines. E.g. Flash. I really love flash o3o

Adobe Illustrator is a vector based program. It doesn't work with pixels, like Photoshop/GIMP/Paint Tool Sai/etc. It is a very different tool when compared to bitmap programs.

But, because it is a vector program all it makes are crisp, specific lines. For graphics and such it is very useful. I use Adobe Illustrator for logos and the occasional illustration. (or used, since I do not have a copy anymore)

So it may be Illustrator that makes the crisp lines you're refering to. I'm not sure. I know that whenever I needed crisp lines I used Illustrator. But it is also an expensive program.

 You probably want the pen tool, which I'm pretty sure GIMP has. You can make crisp, nice lines using the pen tool.

answer 1: It takes as long as you want it to. You just need to practice as much as you can, whenever you can. That's the most important thing. Even if you don't have any ideas, just draw something infront of you, anything you draw is considered practice. ^^ Looking up differrent ways you can shade things and different styles also helps you create your own style.

answer 2: See answer 1.tle="Tiger cub by *Kamirah, Jul 11, 2008 in Digital Art > Drawings > Animals"> 

1. How much does it cost?
2. What application do you use, and which tools?
3. Is it fun?
4. Is it easier than normal art?

answer 1: Well.. I used to use Paint tool Sai, and that costed about 64 dollars. It depends on what you buy and where you buy it from. At the moment, I use Photoshop cs4 and I bought it [not from adobe] for 100 bucks.

answer 2: Like I said, I use Photoshop cs4, but paint tool sai more often than that. On Sai, I usually use the watercolor, blur, pil paint, and airbrush the most.

answer 3: It is a lot of fun. Sometime I'll just open up Sai to doodle some stuff, but I think Paint Tool Sai is the easiest out of all the art programs to use. You know where everything is within a few hours of using it and it's a bunch of fun to add new brushes and textures.

answer 4: I really do think digital art is easier than traditional in the sense that it's easier just to draw it. You don't have to worry about erasing and the eraser getting tiny so you can just get rid of little mistakes with a click [or tap, depends if you have a tablet]. I found it a lot easier to draw things digitally.

FFF

Y IS MAI NEEM ON HEER.

ok, LISTEN TO LOLBOT

BLASPHEMY D:<

'is it fun?' is absolutely a retarded question. if you want to be a good artist you must ENJOY DRAWING

IF YOU DONT THEN GIVE UP FFF

if you love drawing you would probably draw whenever you can. i draw like, every day. on my homework, napkins, EVERYWHERE.

if you love drawing naturally you would draw every day. if you loved sining you would sing every day. if you love NYTHING you would want to be involved with it every single day BECAUSE you love it.

oops. your talking about digital art, arnt you? FFFFF

well, digital art has nothing to do with the amount of fun you have while drawing period. it might make some things easier, but drawing is drawing, it doesnt matter where or how you draw it.

as for progarms, i use SAI. start out with that. FFF

tablets are not cheap. well, sometimes. i would go for a bamboo. I got a bamboo pen and touch for like, $250 with a warrenty. i could have got it cheaper, but i was young and retarded. dont go for something like in intous LOLOL those are very expansive. start out with something small then work your way up.

PS LOLBOT IS SO PWN YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

NO.

IDEEA.

ಠ益ಠ

Thanks guys. o3o

And how much would CS5 and a tablet cost? c:

Hj: Lol, I tend to draw on my body. xD Right now, I have a wolf head on my hand.  

you can go here:

 http://www.wacom.com/index2.php?gclid=CM3ClIWY_6YCFQRubAodvDdlgQ

and pick your ablet

i think only intos come wih CS5 LOL

the program by its self is roughly $400, i think. maybe you can get it on sale or something, but good luck c:

and i once drew a mustache on my face with a blue highlighter and forgot about it... 

Oh gush hjay.

What is it, April Fools day come early?

fff oh jeez. from now on De just rmail me; I have all the answers.

Photoshop CS5 is $700-$1000, basic to extended. There is a 30 day trial. Go to the adobe website and look at their products: http://www.adobe.com/

I would reccomend a Wacom Bamboo tablet to start out with. They can range from $100-$200 depending on which you are getting. You are looking at $800 dollars with a Bamboo and basic Photoshop CS5.

Free programs you can use instead of CS5 because that can really REALLY wait if you are just starting out:

GIMP: http://www.gimp.org/

openCanvas: http://wistinga.online.fr/opencanvas/

SAI Paint Tool is a good program, but I don't use it because I have CS5. But that goes to say that I can, at school, draw something pretty neat with just using my mouse & CS2. The program doesn't really matter as long as it allows layers, brushes, etc. Provided you play around with the programs a bit, you can realize you don't need something expensive to draw something awesome. In my case, I'm working towards a future degree in graphic designing/etc and working for other pet sites, commissions, so... what I'm saying here is that if you are only drawing for fun or as a hobby, there's no need to buy something extremely expensive like CS5. 

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