As an new artist starting out, finding the right tools can be a struggle.  Sometimes, access to software or materials will come at a steep price and that can hamper your efforts to improve your work and build a portfolio. So here are few tools and services out there you can use to get yourself started. For free!

And don’t forget to protect your work later!

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1) KRITA.org  Open source Digital Painting Software.

Krita is an open source digital painting software with a rich set of interfaces to help any level of artist create a vibrant digital portfolio. From a large selection of brushes, to advanced masking & selection tools, along with filters and color palette management interfaces, Krita has it all.  And it’s free!

The proof of just how useful this software is can be found in the in the gallery of works created by fellow Krita users. 

Krita is available on the following platforms: Lynx, Mac and Windows.
Website: https://krita.org/

Images provided by Krita with permission.

 

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2) Jerry’s ArtaRama – Lesson Library

Boasting over 10,000 hours of instructional videos by artists from all walks of life, you cannot go wrong starting here. We got lost (in a good way) perusing all of the available videos this site hosts. There are video instructional lessons for new and highly skilled artists, different mediums to choose from, and because JerrysArtaRama is also an art store, they make it easy to purchase the necessary tools to participate.

Website: http://www.jerrysartarama.com/

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3)  Free Supplies.  Thrifty Artists Unite!

Art supplies rank up there with prescription medications. You need them, but you can’t afford them. Occasionally, if you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll find companies or services that advertise free art supplies.

Here’s a list of a few of our favorites:

– Craigslist.org  Every city posted on Craigslist has a free section where people give away all kinds of things. I frequently see artists giving away leftovers like blank canvases, photo frames, paints, tools, and more. Make sure to visit the site often and please be safe when making a transaction.

– College Billboards  Many colleges have online or physical campus billboards advertising freebies. Keep an eye out at your school or nearby colleges for people dumping their left overs at the end of the semester. To this day, one of my favorite picture frames was found inside of a dumpster near the art buildings.

– Paint Manufacturers  Many paint makers will send out free samples of their products. Don’t be afraid to contact them. Some like, Liquitex advertise their freebies because they really want you to try their product.

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4) Free blogging tips.

Every artist at some point should document their process, both for branding/marketing reasons and for self-growth. If you have no idea where to start, this site will get you off on the right road to blogging and creating a body of work that further shares your work with the world.

Start Blogging Online: A simple, step-by-step guide for starting a blog in less than 20 minutes.

Website: http://startbloggingonline.com/

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5) Free Vector Graphics and other Images.

Sometimes you just need a jumping off point when creating. Maybe you’re developing some marketing materials for your brand, or maybe you want to practice changing elements in Adobe Illustrator in order to master it. FreePics will help you with that.  As long as you leave an attribution link on your website or document where imagery was obtained, it’s totally free!

Here’s a groovy example of what’s available:

Website: http://www.freepik.com/

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Do you want us to find more freebies? Email us your questions and we’ll track stuff down!

This article is written and provided by Stacy Porter, Managing Director of Write Vault.