Questions to all the digital artists ;o;

[Nightstar]

Hellow ^^
 I hope that topic is in the right place. x3
So, few days ago I started with digital painting because I wanted to be able to draw such amazing pictures of animals like some people on DA do one day too. After the first attempt with the computer mouse (fail.) I decided to buy myself a tablet, because it just seemed impossible to draw with the mouse.
So, now I've got a wacom intuos art tablet and the program painter essentials 5, afterwards I also downloaded Gimp and a photoshop trial (everything for mac).
My biggest problem with drawing are the outlines.. I just can't draw a straight or smooth line, they look always so shaky and pixelated... are there any special options in the programs for smoother lines, or any special techniques? I've already watched so many tutorials, tried zooming in, changing image size, and all the other suggested things, but nothing really works for me, so I'd be really glad about some useful tips or your techniques.
Also, are there any programs you'd suggest? Idk if Painter essentials is that good since not many people use it, most oft them have paint tool as but there is no version for mac..
Well, I'm trying really hard to improve and I'll practice everyday, but if you have any other tips for me to help improving it would be awesome! ^^
I didn't really find an art forum to ask these questions, and since so many of you do digital drawing, I thought I could ask that here, hope that's okay. :3
Thank you!

[AutumnTheWulf]

I believe SAI is one of the best drawing programs out there.You can set up a lineart brush, It will make your drawings look smooth and pretty.

[Spottedbears]

For paintings I use Krita, but it comes with a pen stabilizer so you are able to ink & do lineart, and won't have those shaky lines.
https://krita.org/
Most if not all digital artists have a shaky or wobbly hand! I can't do digital lineart without a pen stabilizer or it'll look bad. Thankfully Krita comes with one, and you can always play with the settings to fit it just for you.

I wish you much luck with your art!

[Hakumi]

Ooo I have a Wacom as well c:
Well , I've started using the tablet not too long ago , sometime around the beginning of the year and I've tried different techniques that seemed right to me. So far, Gimp alone wasn't helping me too much , that is , until I ended up with ArtRage Lite.
What I do , Is I sketch on Art Rage .... Since it can sense how much pressure I'm applying to the pencil , my lines can be really light or really dark ( if I'm baring down on it ). Once I'm satisfied with my sketch ( Light to very slightly dark lines ), I copy and paste it into Gimp and I outline the line using the brush in Gimp.
I found that the more I zoomed in, the more control I had over the flow of the brush and the lines weren't too thick nor too shaky ....
You can try using this method if it'll help you , that was already mentioned or keep experimenting until you find a technique that's right for you.
Good luck ^^

[Jango_Fett]

I use FireAlpaca, as it has a much simpler interface and is just easier for me to use.

I'd suggest trying to sketch everything out first, and taking advantage of your layers.

[G4RG0YLE]

As a GIMP user myself, there is an option in the Tool Options window where you can apply a smooth stroke; and you can apply a weight from 0-100 to edit how smooth your brush is. However I am yet to find any solutions on the pixelated look. I'll simply edit this post if I find the solution.

[moonstar4]

Paint tool sai has a stabilizer in it, which makes lines look nice and smooth. However :0 as a mouse user I use OP (Opencanvas) Which also has an awesome stabilizer in it ^^ I dunno how well Open canvas works with tablets though, so maybe Paint tool sai would be best for you. c: xD I'm probably late even giving this info. oh wells ^~^