Well, personally, I use a tablet for my drawings, just to start. I'm left handed, making mice hard for me to draw with. Some pen tablets /computer graphic tablets are cheap, but most aren't. Wacom/Intuos tablets run on the expensive side, though used ones can usually be bought for a bit cheaper from people getting rid of them. The one I just bought (Though have not used much because I left it at home when I left for work) was an Intous tablet. It was $100 and plugs into a computer. There are some cheaper options out there that I have been reading about. If I am not mistaken, the up-and-coming graphic tablets are from a company called Huion. From what I've heard, they rival Wacom for much cheaper.

Tablets allow for pressure sensitivity, which goes a lot into my style. The thick to thin lines are all thanks to my tablet and my taking some time to learn how it will react to my hand/pen pressure. There are settings you can change on your computer, if you're savvy (or just really lucky in guess work on where to click, like me), and these settings help change how the tablet will react.

If you haven't used a tablet before, I would suggest getting a smaller/more simple tablet to just learn how it'll work. My first tablet went through everything I could put it through, and it shows. It has a lot of issues now. It'll be retired in a month or so. (Mind you, it also managed to last 9 years. If you care for a tablet, it can last you a long time.)



Another tip is to just just practice drawing and play with the program. Don't worry about completing something, or making anything serious. I have about 8 or 9 scrap images that I just mess with. Be them brush practices I just so happened to like (Especially learning the symmetry brushes), or just layers upon layers of ideas and rough sketches I can use in the future. If I am afraid of forgetting something, I'll take notes on the sides of what ever I did so I can always find it. These pictures never see the light of the public eye, but they have helped me more than anything. These scrap images allow you to see what you may or may not like about the program or tools. I have personally found that I am not the biggest fan of the curve tool, but I also have not found a reason to use it in every drawing I make. It doesn't make it a bad tool, just something I don't always find myself reaching for. I always find myself using the Crisscross snap and the Circle snap, however. Easy straight lines and circles, and that's personally what I found I like as I messed around with the program in non-serious drawings. This all had to be found by just clicking everything and using it, seeing what I could or couldn't do with it. I still do this with the program, just to see if I can make something faster or easier for myself.



As for the outlines, I may just be too tired to read/think correctly, but if you're talking about the thick outlines around Neo, it's just a quick selection around the entire drawing, grabbing all of the extra spaces that I have no trouble selecting with the Magic wand tool, (So if it's super small and I end up selecting the line work more than once it's left alone. Example being the small holes in the "Wings") then I go to "Select" up at the top of the page. the drop-down menu will have an "Inverse selection" I click that. Now the image should be regular color and the background is a blue/purple. From there I go to "Select" again and this time click "Expand selection" and depending on the size or subject of the drawing I expand the selection anywhere between 6 and 13 pixels. I add a layer under everything I already have and use the "Fill" tool (the tool that will leave a solid color of the foreground in a square, circle or polygon depending on the setting <- Mentioning because of "bucket fill" tool being of similar name and can be confusing... Or I'm just that tired. )and add the color of the line art in the selected area. This is just a personal thing for my art. I like how it looks in my traditional drawings, so it carried over.

If that was not what you were asking about, I am very sorry. I am extremely tired.



I hope that all helped, and I hope I didn't leave too many typos behind in that. Happy drawing, and don't forget to have fun while drawing, as well. ^^ there's no "One correct way" of making art in any drawing program, so if it works for you, you're doing it right. Digital media takes time to learn, just like traditional media, so don't be afraid of trying something different or experimenting with any of the tools. It won't hurt the program if you're just clicking the buttons provided.