Table of Contents

Going Digital

Given I gave up on Analog coloring and drawing due to health and living space needs, I figured it was time to really commit to figuring out digital for coloring and drawing. Note I intentionally avoided making desktop or laptop computers a requirement for my setup. I want to have this whenever/wherever in it’s simplest form.

Changelog

2024-12-01

Significant edits to add clarity, information and more to this post. A basic re-write.

A Problem

One of my biggest ‘problems’ with digital art is the fact it has more constraints than non-digital (analog) art. When working with analog art I usually have a sketch book and some kind of composition book or journal handy so I can cross reference ideas with my actual drawing or reference materials. With digital, all this falls apart and becomes A Problem as digital forces less ‘scattered about the pages’ and more ‘hierarchical folder and file structure’.

This post is about 2 different writing tablets. The Wacom One and XP Pen G430S. Both are very small drawing tablets.

I bought both of these recently to help me with note taking on my computer. For my $dayJob I do a lot of implementation work and I regularly receive PDF specifications that I need to annotate. I’m also a remote worker (work from home) so I can’t just print the files and use a pen to annotate. I also can’t ‘break the glass’ in terms of moving data between my $dayJob environment and personal environment so I need some kind of drawing tablet so I can annotate PDFs as part of my job duties. I also need competent note taking software with a focus on handwritten notes as well as a tablet that has enough precision to allow me to write in cursive or printing within my chosen note taking application.

Changelog

2025-03-03

Add Krita method & Note quirk with Sketchbook

2023-02-17

Initial creation

Using Sketchbook

I’ve not found a good way to use just Sketchbook for converting coloring pages from PDF. I’ve found Krita ‘just works’ for converting PDF to coloring pages. You can export files from Krita using the Photoshop (psd) format to retain the layers when opening in Sketchbook. Basicaly use Krita to convert the pages to Photoshop (psd) and then open the Photoshop (psd) file in Sketchbook.

Change Log

2023-02-27

Cleanup text and add a basic text description of the page.

2023-02-26

Replace exiting page with a better list, add new Krita palettes and remove palettes eclipsed by current set

Palettes

Below you’ll find a link to a color palette generator I use as well as a number of Krita color palettes I’ve created.

The zip files can be extracted into the Krita palettes directory for use. Please see the Krita official docs for more detail on how to setup a new palette.

Table of Contents

Changelog

2025-03-03

Remove ‘Drawing’ from page in favor of a dedicated ‘Digital Drawing’ page. This page is now only about digital coloring. Also rewrote portions to be more topical and reflect my current setup(s).

Going Digital

Given I gave up on Analog coloring and drawing due to health and living space needs, I figured it was time to really commit to figuring out digital for coloring and drawing. Note I intentionally avoided making desktop or laptop computers a requirement for my setup. I want to have this whenever/wherever in it’s simplest form.

Changelog

2025-03-03

Update templates and re-write info detailing how the templates are setup

2022-02-16

Initial creation

Zentangle Templates

The linked files below are templates I created for drawing Zentangle. They are setup to be a 3.5" square with a Circle layer for creating circular Zentangles.

There are 3 layers total in the templates:

1. A Circle layer that is a simple black ‘band’ that allows creating a circular Zentangle. Hide or delete this layer if creating a square Zentangle.
2. A Tangle layer that is meant to be used for the actual Zentangle.
3. A Background layer that’s a simple white fill.

Please Note: