Local artist SammyJo Miller is back in Tracy again this week to teach digital art at the Tracy Public Library.
This is her second year teaching the graphic design workshop, which is part of the Tracy Community Education Summer Teen Art Series, sponsored by the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council.
The workshop will take place over three two-hour sessions, Tuesday through Friday.
This year, five students are registered for the workshop, but only three students attended Tuesday’s session. The class could have up to 12 teens, but the lower attendance was expected.
“The biggest hindrance, I think, to this specific class is the technology required,” said Miller, referring to the fact that each student was asked to bring their own drawing tablet and program that they planned to use. “It’s not accessible to some kids. We’ve been talking about maybe finding a way to provide tablets here at the library.”
Among the three students, there were three different types of tablets used, and three different art programs. Sketchbook, while having similar tools to Procreate, has a different layout, and the same is true for most drawing programs.
Miller’s goal is not just to teach kids how to use one program, but how to navigate the software and understand what each tool does, regardless of which program you have access to.
“I’d like to introduce the students to the software and give them a basic understanding of the tools,” she said. “Everyone here is using a different program, but it doesn’t matter. It’s really the vocabulary that matters. Once you know what to call the tool you’re looking for, you can just Google how to find it.”
She allowed each student to work on whatever personal project they wanted, knowing that most teenagers already know what they like to draw and what they are passionate about. She simply provided ideas for drawings, and helped students navigate their programs.
Miller explained how different layers can be used for digital drawings, as well as how to use tools like select, fill, and undo. She showed them how to change their brush size, brush type, and the transparency of the color they are working with.
All of these tools will help them become better digital artists in the future.
