Celebrating the perfectly imperfect first steps on a new digital art adventure.
The postman delivered a little bit of anticipated excitement today: my new paper screen protector, fresh from Amazon. I’d actually spent a fair bit of time looking into the best and most budget-friendly options, and this particular one had the “Amazon’s Pick” seal of approval, which felt like a good sign.
I was pretty keen to get it on the iPad and see what all the fuss was about. As soon as it was applied and I found a quiet moment, I sat down for a test drive. The first thing was just to experiment with different brushes in Procreate, trying to get a feel for this new, supposedly paper-like texture under the Apple Pencil.
Now, it’s probably no secret that I’m still very much a beginner when it comes to Procreate and the whole world of drawing on an iPad. For me, at this stage, it’s all about the pure joy of learning, mucking around with new things, and slowly figuring out how it all works as I go. There’s no grand plan, just curiosity.
So, with that spirit in mind and no real agenda, I pulled up a random image from Pinterest for a bit of loose inspiration and just let the process unfold. There was a fair bit of scribbling, some enthusiastic blurring, lots of layering, and a general sense of just seeing where the digital pen would take me.
And the result of this first creative exploration with the new screen protector? Well, let’s just say it’s… unique. If I’m being brutally honest, it’s pretty ugly. And as for deep meaning? None. But you know what? That’s okay. It’s the very first piece I’ve created with this new paper-like feel, and that makes it significant in its own way. I wanted to save it right here in this post, almost like a little digital marker, a snapshot of “before” in what I hope will be a long and enjoyable process.
Because that’s what this is all about, isn’t it? Every single step, no matter how wobbly or seemingly insignificant (or downright “ugly”), is a crucial part of the journey. And perhaps the real “genius” is just in showing up, trying, and allowing yourself to be a beginner. So, I’m smiling at this one.
Device: iPad Gen 9 & Apple Pencil Gen 1
Apps: Procreate
