Krita tutorial - Basics by White-Heron

Getting started with Krita isn't too complicated: just start it up, select a brush preset and experiment away. A better understand of the interface will really improve your workflow though. I've added various tips that so-so artists (like me...) may find useful, but ultimately everyone will find his or her ideal workflow.

This tutorial is under a CC-0 / Public Domain license.

To find back other tutorials mentioned in these tutorials and more, visit Krita's resource page: [link]

My Krita tutorial series:
Big thanks to Claus for converting all these to a wiki format as well. Everybody is welcome to submit improvements, updates and translations to this wiki, so it may be more up-to-date. These tutorials were done with Krita 2.5.2 ~ 2.5.3. To my knowledge, Krita 2.6 should have a mostly similar interface.

Part 1 - Basics ( Wiki version )
- Symmetry mode, Interface, Quick overview of some brushes

Part 2 - Layers and Editing ( Wiki version )
- Layer management: alpha locking, layer mask and erase mode, filter brushes, masks and layers, local selections, clone layers, use recommendations
- Image properties and editing: basics, selections, transformation tool and deform brush,

Part 3 - Brushes

Part A: General ( Wiki version )
- Preliminary: common "issues"
- Brush management: Saving/Deleting presets, brush folders
- Drawing modes
- Assistants

Part B - Pixel Brushes 1/2 ( Wiki version )
- Brush tips: Autobrush, Predefined brush, Custom brush, Text brush
- Paint build-up behaviours: Default (Opacity vs Flow, Build vs Wash-up, Airbrush mode), Blending modes

Part B - Pixel Brushes 2/2 ( Wiki version )
- Brush shape dynamics: common settings, opacity, size, spacing, softness and sharpness, rotation, scatter
- Color source, color dynamics, Texture -> Pattern
- Combos!

Pixel brushes - Appendix 1: Gallery of predefined brushes
Pixel brushes - Appendix 2: Brush presets from the tutorial

Part C - Color Smudge Brush ( Wiki version )

Part D - Curve, Particle and Dyna brushes ( Wiki version )

Part E - Sketch, Hairy and Chalk brushes ( Wiki version )

Part F - Hatching, Grid, Spray and Experiment brushes ( Wiki version )

Mykrame Featured By Owner Mar 27, 2018

Thanks you so much

PVIL Featured By Owner Dec 7, 2017 Hobbyist Artisan Crafter

Thanks for the job. I installed KRITA on monday. I begin with that softwar and i see that there lot of intersting possibilty.

SnowShrax Featured By Owner Edited Jul 16, 2016 Student General Artist

i hope someone answers this soon... but i can not find the stabilizer ANYWHERE in 3.0 i believe. plz halp my hand is shaky af ;-;
update: nvm i got it ^-^

AxelEmberFlare Featured By Owner May 17, 2016 Hobbyist General Artist

Hello! I'm new to Krita and I have accidentally closed the Stabilizer bar. How do I go back to it?

Yoloimagg Featured By Owner Jun 5, 2016

you bring it back by right clicking from where it was before lel there's more options tho

AxelEmberFlare Featured By Owner Jun 12, 2016 Hobbyist General Artist

Thank you for responding to my question

I have it back now.

DaBongaKong Featured By Owner Feb 2, 2016 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Did not read it whole yet, but thanks for all the efforts mate! I am sure that there is going to be a lot of useful information, for a self thought noob like me

TheJinJ Featured By Owner Jan 22, 2016 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Great tutorial on the basics, just what the doctor ordered! Hope you don't mind, I included it on cloneables.co.uk - under the Krita heading

APHStamps98 Featured By Owner Oct 3, 2015 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Thank you for the tutorials ^^
Also...my brush toolbar disappeared and I can't bring it back, can you help me with it please?

White-Heron Featured By Owner Nov 29, 2015

I'm totally late but...
Top toolbar -> Settings -> Dockers -> Toolbox.

princesaaid Featured By Owner Aug 9, 2015 Filmographer

Just downloaded the program i m not the best artist but i am going to make a stab at it again. noob==== 100%

darealprice Featured By Owner Jun 23, 2015 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Thank you for this tutorial! It's really handy, but I have one question. How do you turn to grayscale? I've been looking on the internet but I have no answer

White-Heron Featured By Owner Jul 5, 2015

Do you mean you want a layer to be only grayscale?
- Select a layer
- In the upper menu, select Layer -> Convert Layer Color Space
- Choose Model: Grayscale

darealprice Featured By Owner Jul 7, 2015 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Thanks!!

LovelyShibe Featured By Owner Jun 18, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

I have krita 2.9.5 and i cant find the "paint dynamically mode" option. Any idea where it is? Im really stuck x.x

White-Heron Featured By Owner Jul 5, 2015

In the upper menu, there's a square icon with a brush on it, where you can choose the brush types. When you click it, you'll get a drop-down with the different brush types. If you choose Pixel Brush for example, you'll see a number of options in the second column, like Opacity, Rotation, Pattern etc. Check the box next to it to activate the dynamic, and if you want to map it to something other than Pressure, choose what you what in the third column that appears when you choose that dynamic. More on that here:

white-heron.deviantart.com/art…

LovelyShibe Featured By Owner Jul 7, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

Thank you muchly for the help

This program is more complicated than it looks but it seems very worth it!

ynne-black Featured By Owner Feb 28, 2015 Digital Artist

How exactly do you export a file? (It keeps on saying "cannot export file in this colourspace" for .psd, .png, .tif and such)

White-Heron Featured By Owner Mar 29, 2015

Open Image/Properties. Did you convert your image to something weird? It should be RGB and such.

ynne-black Featured By Owner Mar 29, 2015 Digital Artist

I haven't touched the settings before and the file was created in Krita. :c
Now I manually set sRGB and 8 bits (?? or something like that) and it seems to work fine, but I changed the default settings (in some general settings) and then when the program crashes just once they are back to CMYK something. :C
But thank you

MyPassion-Chan Featured By Owner Mar 20, 2015

maybe change CMYK to RGB?

ynne-black Featured By Owner Mar 20, 2015 Digital Artist

I did :/

Angelic-Painter Featured By Owner Feb 13, 2015 Hobbyist General Artist

i just downloaded krita......and umm i still have some misunderstandings, such as.... the brush just wont listen to me, and sometimes when i chose the size to be lower it keeps going up...and some brushes wont work :/ i got some problems with erasing but this kinda helped with the erasing. sometimes the brush lags behind :/ stuff like that, but i'm sure i'l the skills with time. THX for the tutorial!

DaBongaKong Featured By Owner Feb 2, 2016 Hobbyist Digital Artist

brush lags if you use some performance-heavy brushes (big textures, smudging) in big resolutions. And the size might be caused by holding shift? Shift + drag resizes your brush tip

Angelic-Painter Featured By Owner Feb 3, 2016 Hobbyist General Artist

thanks.

Dolahol Featured By Owner Jan 16, 2015 Hobbyist Digital Artist

A very nice tutorial. I am an absolute beginner with Krita.

White-Heron Featured By Owner Jan 17, 2015

Thank you, glad it was helpful!

galacticpink Featured By Owner Jan 9, 2015 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Hope you don't mind another comment!

I AM IN LOVE WITH THE RIGHT CLICK FEATURE.

galacticpink Featured By Owner Jan 8, 2015 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Oooh, thank you. I downloaded the program recently based on the rave reviews of one artist I like and many artists in general but it's super intimidating (as are most good art programs, haha) so this will be very helpful.~

avant5 Featured By Owner Sep 27, 2014

Thanks Heron! I've been using Krita a while, and still found some trinkets in your tutorial that I didn't know, and will help me a ton! I tried finding a way to recenter for mirror mode, but couldn't find anything anywhere, and gave up. Then luckily found this...so now I have a whole new love for Krita all over again!

Thanks so much!

White-Heron Featured By Owner Sep 30, 2014

I'm glad the tutorial was helpful! I hope you enjoy using the program!

Kitti-Featherwolf Featured By Owner Aug 24, 2014 Student Filmographer

Thank you SO much for this!!! I just got Krita, and it is so confusing, but this helps a lot.

One question though; how do you make layers? I don't see any buttons for it or anything. Thanks for your help!

White-Heron Featured By Owner Aug 24, 2014

You're welcome!

You make layers with the first button on the bottom-left of the layers docker, the button with a giant + on it. Pressing it will create a normal paint layer, and you can access more layer types with the arrow button right next to it. In the layers docker, using the 'insert' button on the keyboard will also add a new layer right above the active layer.

Kitti-Featherwolf Featured By Owner Aug 31, 2014 Student Filmographer

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I was having so many problems with Krita, but not anymore! Your tutorials have saved me! :happybounce:

White-Heron Featured By Owner Sep 1, 2014

You're welcome! Glad they helped!

Nightmare-Moon-Fan Featured By Owner Jul 8, 2014

how do you update your finished pictures

White-Heron Featured By Owner Jul 9, 2014

What do you mean? With Krita? When the picture isn't completed, save it as a .kra to keep all the layers and such.
Export the picture as .jpg when you're done and want to upload it somewhere. But if you need to change the picture, do so from your .kra file then export again.
You can modify a .jpg from Krita, but it won't have all the layers and such. ^^

Nightmare-Moon-Fan Featured By Owner Jul 9, 2014

musicalmaxwell Featured By Owner Jun 24, 2014 Student Digital Artist

Just found out about Krita today after my frustration with GIMP. Great beginning tutorial, having a lot of fun with Krita so far. GIMP is great for photomanipulation and for graphic creation (i use it for logos and the such) but Krita embodies everything that I have not been able to do with GIMP. So grateful that everyone is working together to make this program great!!

White-Heron Featured By Owner Jun 24, 2014

Glad you like the program! Krita also gets frequent updates, so check out the site from time to time.

musicalmaxwell Featured By Owner Jun 25, 2014 Student Digital Artist

oh? do the updates not install when you run apt-get update?

White-Heron Featured By Owner Jun 26, 2014

Oh, right. That's true for the 'stable' versions yes. But many of us are compiling the developer versions. xD
Stable versions are safer to use, though the developer versions are pretty stable too.

musicalmaxwell Featured By Owner Jun 28, 2014 Student Digital Artist

Oh, I haven't actually tried the developer versions! It looks like you can just add the PPA and that you don't need to recompile it, though.

White-Heron Featured By Owner Jun 29, 2014

That too. xD Basically, Krita gets improved so fast that few of us are using the last "stable" version.

carysrodrigues8 Featured By Owner Jun 14, 2014 Student Digital Artist

is krita safe? I mean does it contain malware or anything???

White-Heron Featured By Owner Jun 15, 2014

Krita is quite safe. xD It's open-source. The code is completely transparent, and it has a strong community that really won't stand for malware nonsense being inserted into their code.