If you ever delved into the world of digital artists, you will know the word ‘hardworking’ is never enough to describe their effort. Not only do they have to keep improving their skills in order to triumph, the cost of the tools they need could always put them into the state of starvation (and I’m only half-joking). Art burns money. So if you have plans to help out a fellow digital artist friend, we have for you the ultimate gift guide.
(Image Source: Pogo Connect)
In this list you will find 50 down-to-earth products â€" hardware, software, apps, books and courses â€" will be the ideal gift(s) for a digital artist. Help them upgrade their skills, gain new insights, or be more productive, and with comfort in mind .Let us know your favorite.
Read Also: 26 Advanced Digital Painting Tutorials To Greatly Elevate Your Art
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Hardware & Accessories
Intuos Pen and Touch Tablet (Small). Formerly Wacom Bamboo, Wacom Intuos Pen and Touch tablet is perfect for digital artist wannabe to discover the world of digital painting. [$99.00]
Intuos Pro Pen and Touch Tablet (Small). Intended for the experienced artist, Intuos Pro is built with 2048 levels of pen pressure sensitivity and better control panel, and with the purchase you also get a set of nibs that mimic traditional brushes. [$249.00]
Cintiq 13HD Pen Display. Wacom surprised the world months ago by releasing Cintiq 13 HD, the most affordable luxurious graphic tablet with interactive pen display, allowing artists to draw on screen like they do on paper. [$1379.99]
Cintiq 22HD Pen Display. Cintiq 22HD is the dream of every digital artist. Not only does it have all the features of the Intuos and Cintiq family, this gigantic tablet also allows you to adjust its position for your comfort. [$1999.00]
Bamboo Feel Stylus. Unlike most affordable stylus, the best thing about Bamboo Feel stylus is that it comes with pressure sensitivity, allowing you to draw and paint dynamically on the tablet surface. [$39.95]
Wacom Inkling Digital Sketch Pen. This magical pen has the ability to let you draw on paper, then transform your physical sketch into a compatible digital format, but mind you, it’s purely intended for sketching, so its accuracy is not up to production standards. [$99.00]
Bamboo Stylus Mini. If you prefer mobility over all, Bamboo Stylus Mini could follow you everywhere. You could even attach it to your tablet or smartphone’s audio jack â€" that’s what its strap is for! [$9.95]
Sensu Artist Brush and Stylus. Imagine painting on a tablet with a… brush! Sensu can make this a reality for you. [$39.99]
Jot Touch 4. You deserve a great product if you are wiling to fork out a premium price. Jot Touch 4 features 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity, and a palm rejection feature which ignores hand movement on the touchscreen (talk about usability)! [$89.99]
Pogo Connect. Promoted by Procreate, Pogo Connect is a Bluetooth-enabled pen that lets you draw with different line widths on the iPad and yes, it comes with pressure sensitivity. With a few extra bucks you could even get 4 extra tip options including the brush tip. [$79.95]
TruGlide Duo Stylus Pen. Want to draw traditional and digital artwork with the same pen? TruGlide Duo Stylus Pen makes it possible. Ink refill is possible too. [$19.95]
TruGlide Pro Paintbrush Tip. Yes, you can equip a paintbrush tip onto TruGlide Pro Stylus, then paint like a boss. [$14.95]
Nomad FLeX Paintbrush Stylus. Here is the Nomad FleX stylus that promises an all-synthetic brush tip, with flexibility as its advertisement tagline. [$29.99]
12″ Wooden Male Figure. Made of seasoned hardwood and stuck firmly to a stand, this wooden guy is ready to pose any way you like for your reference. [$6.99]
Software
Adobe Photoshop CC. Besides photo editing, Adobe Photoshop CC is also a perfect painting software with highly customizable brush settings. It includes all professional features of its predecessors and comes with an incredibly low monthly subscription fee. [$19.99/Month for Annual Plan]
Adobe Photoshop Elements 12. Although its painting capabilities is limited, Photoshop Elements 12 excels in post-processing including level, contrast, saturation, etc. And it helps to organize your files! [$99.99]
Adobe Illustrator CC. If you love making icons, or are of the hardcore type that takes account where each pixel lands, Adobe Illustrator CC is for you. It is now available with an affordable monthly subscription fee. [$19.99/Month for Annual Plan]
Corel Painter X3. Painter X3 is known for its power to mimic most traditional brushes, textures, wet and dry media to an amazing level of perfection. [$399.00]
Painter Lite. You could kickstart your digital painting life easier (and cheaper) with Painter Lite, and it still keeps the realistic natural-media painting feature (it behaves like traditional art tools). [$69.99]
Clip Paint Studio PRO. Though it’s originally intended for manga drawing, Clip Paint Studio has evolved far enough to be used in industry-standard digital art production. Its tool customization is the killer feature. [$49.99]
Paint Tool SAI. Do not be tricked by SAI’s clean interface, as it is the de facto standard of painting software for most professional Japanese Anime artists. It also comes with line correction feature for a smooth drawing experience. [$53.50]
Autodesk Sketchbook Pro. Sketchbook Pro makes painting a relaxing and enjoyable journey, and it is specially designed for pen tablets. [$59.00]
ArtRage 4. In under $50 you could obtain this software and its surreal painting tools and, a whole bunch of features to make your painting life easier. [$49.90]
Xara Photo and Graphic Designer 9. Photo editing, check. Drawing tools, check. Creative effects, check. File format compatibility, check. Quality software with affordable price, check. [$89.99]
Poser Pro 2014. The key to good art is correct perspective and posture, and Poser Pro 2014 lets you achieve them with less effort. [$499.99]
Apps
Adobe Photoshop Touch. Photoshop Touch offers a slew of features for quality photo editing and adjustment. On top of that, you could share your proudest results to social networking websites. [$9.99 for tablet, $4.99 for iOS]
Procreate. Procreate truly lives up to its name with this professional interface design, its brushes, performance, and an up to 4096×4096 canvas size! No wonder it won the Apple Design Award. [$4.99]
Sketchbook Pro for iPad. Using the same engine from its desktop counterpart, Sketchbook Pro makes sure your painting experience is pleasing on the tablet. [$4.99]
Sketchbook Ink. Different from most painting apps, Sketchbook Ink focuses intensively on the line art, the critical factor that makes an art even bolder and more impressive. [$4.99]
Inspire Pro. It’s not just about painting, but also how fast you can paint. Inspire Pro allows you to paint as fast as possible with its performance-based painting engine. [$4.99]
ArtStudio for iPad. ArtStudio certainly has its edge in the mobile painting world with its 450 high-quality brushes and 21-layer blending modes, and 40 filters! [$4.20]
ArtRage for Mobile. Since there’s no Corel Painter for iPad, ArtRage for mobile is your best bet for a realistic painting experience. [$4.99 for iPad, $1.99 for iPhone]
Brushes 3. Brushes is free and has a layers upgrade as an app purchase but it’s another fun sketching app you can try out on your mobile device. [Free, $2.99 for Layers Upgrade]
Bamboo Paper. Wacom came out with this digital notebook app to streamline your collection process. You can draw, write and even import photos as reference. [Free, $1.99 for Full Version]
Paper. Paper is designed with mobile interactivity in mind, so it has no complicated interfaces that mess up your painting process. Its ink engine even tracks your movement and optimizes its tools for a better outcome. [Free, $6.99 for Essentials]
Handy. If you need a 3D sculpture to draw better body parts, you have to try Handy. Pose or change the perspective of the sculpture or shine a light on it to get great color and depth observation that will help you create more realistic paintings. [$1.99]
MARA3D Facial Expressions. Even with 3D software, capturing precise facial expressions could prove a daunting task for an artist, but MARA3D simplifies the process into 2 easy steps: touch and show. [$5.99]
Books and Magazine
ImagineFX. ImagineFX could be one of your best investments as it comes with inspiring artworks, aspiring artist profiles, premium brushes and software. Also included, professional tutorials in both written and video format. [$8.30/Issue, $31.25/Yearly Subscription]
2DArtist. Whether you are beginner or expert, 2dartist will keep you improving with its collection of techniques, tutorials, reviews and galleries, all jam-packed in each issue. [$4.20/Issue, $33.10/Yearly Subscription]
Fantasy Artist. Fantasy Artist will not only make sure you got plenty of wild resources to inspire great ideas, it will also show you the ways to handle painting tools for even more fantastic production. [$8.30/Issue]
EXPOSÉ 11. Your mind could explode from the awesomeness you will be getting from EXPOSÉ. Get all the best digital artworks (in the known universe) here. [$69.00]
EXOTIQUE 7. If you are having a slow day with creativity, EXOTIQUE is certainly the solution for you to spark more inspiration in your mind while on the go. [$59.00]
Digital Art Masters 8. Just as its name suggests, the book showcases the best artworks from art masters around the world. Plus a sweet bonus: detailed tutorials explaining how each image is done! [$44.10]
3D Artist. Seeking enlightenment in digital sculpting? 3D Artist is the magazine where masters share their tips and techniques for you to improve. [$8.30/Issue, $86.00/Yearly Subscription]
3D World. Modeling, animation, showcase, software, you could discover the entire world of 3D in this magazine. [$5.50/Issue, $62.50/6 Issues]
3DCreative. Are you ready to take your modeling technique to the next level? 3DCreative has the resources you need. [$4.20/Issue, $33.10/Yearly Subscription]
Advanced Photoshop. The more you know, the better the artwork you could produce. Advanced Photoshop uncovers all Pro techniques and secret features of Photoshop for more efficient post-processing works. [$8.30/Issue, $85.80/Yearly Subscription]
Computer Arts. There are times when we need to look more into design cases and business tips, and Computer Arts is published for these purposes. [$5.50/Issue, $62.50/6 Issues]
Courses
The Gnomon Workshop. Personal success means aggressive improvement, and aggressive improvement means lots of practice and professional tutorials. Gnomon Workshop is ready to boost your skill aggressively. [$499/Year]
Digital-Tutors. Pay $45 a month and you have complete access to 1300+ courses split among 60+ industry standard software. Smooth difficulty curve guaranteed. [$45/Month, $225/6 Months]
That’s all we have to offer! Artist or not, do share with us which product you will love to receive, or give!
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