This is a great lesson for beginning digital artists looking to build fluency in digital drawing skills and improve their understanding of using digital layers. This blog post features step by step photos with instructions, a video tutorial, and photo examples of finished projects. I hope you enjoy and don’t forget to follow Make a Mark Studios on Facebook to keep up with the latest resources, lessons, and more! Here are 3 different color variations of this activity…
In this tutorial, I will be using the free, web-based digital drawing program called Kleki. I love this program for beginners because it’s simplified with just the essential tools (brush tools, layers, and some basic editing options). It’s a very teachable program and I’ve had great success with it.
Artist connection
One artist comes to mind when I think of “drip art” and that is the amazingly talented Jen Stark. She creates colorful, layered artwork in a variety of mediums ranging from 2d to 3d to digital. Her art greatly inspired this lesson!
In addition, this is a great lesson to explore the principles of design– rhythm, repetition, and movement.
Step by step instructions
Step one: Once your digital canvas size is established, we will begin adding our first layer. To do so, go to the layers tab > ‘+’ add a layer.
**Be very sure not to draw on the white layer. It is not transparent so you will not be able to do anything “under” it. **
Step two: On layer 2, draw your first drip layer. Go to to the brush tab, select a black color, and begin drawing towards the top half of the canvas. Be sure to use a smaller brush size to enhance the details of the drip and make it more visually interesting.
Step three: We will now add another layer of drips UNDER the black drip layer. To do so, go to the ‘layers’ tab > ‘+’ add a layer > drag that layer under the previous layer. You will be dragging layer 3 under layer 2.
Step four: Go to the ‘brush’ tab and choose a dark color. Follow the curves and contours of the first layer to create a sense of repetition and rhythm.
Step five : Following the same steps as before, we will now add another layer of drips UNDER the previous drip layer. To do so, go to the ‘layers’ tab > ‘+’ add a layer > drag that layer under the previous layer. You will be dragging layer 4 under layer 3.
Step six Go to the ‘brush’ tab and begin slowly lightening the color of your choice. Follow the curves and contours of the previous layers to create a sense of repetition and rhythm.
Are you noticing a pattern by this point?
Step seven : Add another layer of drips UNDER the previous drip layer. To do so, go to the ‘layers’ tab > ‘+’ add a layer > drag that layer under the previous layer. You will be dragging layer 5 under layer 4.
Step eight: Go to the ‘brush’ tab and add another layer with a lighter color.
Step nine: Repeat steps above using the format:
(1) add a layer
(2) drag it below
(3) lighten the color as you go…
Hey, that rhymes!
Kleki will allow you to do 8 layers total, so add until you can no longer add anymore.
Step ten: You may choose to leave your background white, but you might also want to explore another color. To explore background, you will go to the ‘layers’ tab and select your white background layer. Explore away with colors that enhance your drips!
Once finished, go to the ‘file’ tab and SAVE YOUR WORK!
Additional options to explore digital drips
In addition to changing the color scheme of your digital drips, an option that really takes this digital drawing to the next level is adding shadows. Underneath each layer, use a low opacity brush to suggest a subtle shadow. This creates a really cool 3d effect and is really fun to explore!
Video tutorial
Student examples:
Here are some examples created by middle school students. It was the first time many of these artists ever used layers to create a digital drawing. They had a lot of fun exploring layers, colors, and organic shapes.
Thanks for checking out this blog post. If you use these steps to create your own digital drip composition, I would love to see it! Feel free to tag me on Instagram and possibly get featured in this site! Also, please follow Make a Mark Studios on Facebook to keep up with the latest posts! Thanks in advance!
Want to check out more digital drawing lessons by Make a Mark Studio? Click the links below…
