General art queries

Painter or Photoshop

Acidannie — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:48:43 GMT

I'm not sure whether to buy Painter 11 or Photoshop CS4. My trial versions ran out before I got to look at them in detail. The main thing is which would be easiest to navigate with a view to drawing and painting in 2D. I am a traditional artist venturing into digital. So enlighten me if you would.

Oh yes and which would have the best blending tools? TY, Annie

Ipod painting Q&A

edart — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:34:55 GMT

I keep getting asked the same questions about painting on a Ipod Touch / Iphone so I've started this thread to hopefully answer some of your questions!

Can I use a stylus?

- Yes but not any old stylus as the ipod has to have a special type.

Can I export the paintings created on my ipod into Photoshop?

- Yes most of the painting apps save the files as jpg's and some can even save layered PSD's.

What programs / apps can I get?

- There are many, here's a few:

Colors Also available on Nintendo DS (where it started)

3D and CAD programs:

Itracer 3D creation from primitives and more

Cadtouch 2D traditional Cad with snap points etc

Sculptmaster Like a very cut down Zbrush

Animation:

Flickmation Flickbook animation with onion skinning!

Will add other Q&A's as I come across them!

If you have a question to ask about Ipod painting I'll do my best to answer it!

Can't take it anymore ( Characters gragghhhhh!! )

Lethn — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:30:24 GMT

I don't know about you lot but when I run into these mental brick walls it pisses me off like crazy.

Here's my dilemma, I can picture animals, mechanicals, robots, environments in my head with all the details to the point that they look real and when I draw they look reasonable enough, but when it comes to drawing something like a humanoid character I run into one of those irritating mental brick walls that I'm sure you've experienced and I've been trying to bloody figure out why this is happening because I'm sure you saw the last anime character I drew, it was a much better composition than the others I had drawn so it showed I was actually improving.

When it comes to imagining up the anatomy of a character is when this happens and I can't get round why everything keeps going balls up when I start drawing.

Anyone else experience this with other stuff they draw? I'm just wondering if it's lack of knowledge or simply that my mind isn't built for characters or hell even that I might not be practicing enough.

About Line Art

David7500 — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:39:33 GMT

How are manga artist able to get such clean line art?

Are they inking their drawing before scan or re-drawing the lines after scanning? I'm using Photoshop and would like to duplicate the kind of line art I see in manga art.

Thanks,

Greyscale to Colour.

bladien — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:03:24 GMT

Hi everyone, i've been reading IFX for awile now but have only recently joined the forum. I had great fun entering the 50th issue cover competition.

I have often seen artists state in the magazine that they paint in black and white (and greys) to get the values correct for their images, which sounds like a great idea. However once that is done what is the best way to convert that greyscale image into a colour one? Any suggestions?

Suggestions?

chaox — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:09:21 GMT

Hi there!

My name is Alex and I'm looking into a career as a Freelance Illustrator. Where I've been so far...

I started out getting into Anime forums - a kid still - and after I joined this one in particular I became hugely fascinated with the signature "banners." Had an awesome friend who got me a copy of Paintshop Pro and started learning how to make my own. Paintshop wasn't anywhere near as powerful as Photoshop as I saw in "Show off" threads. It did teach me to think about how I could achieve effects with my limited cababilities though. Later on I made the move onto Photoshop, my knowledge from the previous blended nicely into it, with the help of a couple tutorials my work jumped a few notches that made me one of those excited kids over something that seems quite silly to any adult.

From there I got into making Web graphics, photo-manipulation, desktop wallpapers, and a little "painting" - with a mouse.

I've been wandering and thinking to myself, where do I want to go. It came down to something in art. I'm far to unconventional and detest the idea of a routine desk job. So after looking over several avenues in the Arts I have settled on Illustration, because its so versitile. Do I think its going to be easy? Not at all, I'm being as realistic about this as possible and would love any suggestions and directions from any of you fellow artists.

I'm a beginner in drawing and want to work on this greatly. I would love to hear suggestions in regards to a good foundation for someone getting into Illustration. I wish to work as a concept, character designer, illustrator in the anime/manga/fantasy, the person who draws up ideas for projects etc.

Please no posts saying "Just draw." That I'm already doing. Anyhow, I appreciate any advice anyone has to give.

TTFN - Ta ta for now!

Biomechanical techniques

Mephistos — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:30:53 GMT

Is there anyone around here who could do a workshop on Giger's Biomechanical style, I love his work and want to learn that particular style so I can involve it in my own art.

art supplies

carly801 — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:46:17 GMT

I'm looking for an Online place to buy my art supplies....especially watercolor pencils....can someone help? Looking for my best value for money.

Can't figure it out

Devil Jack — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:42:21 GMT

I am having trouble creating a hair brush. I am under the assumption that I can create one by placing small dots and then adjusting them in the brush settings to stretch them out into lines. I can only get dotted lines. I see the effects of these brushes not only in hair but some paint with what it seems is a cool brush that creates a kind of "combed" effect. Advice please.

Building a Strong Portfolio

Pochifux — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 06:56:21 GMT

So in the latest issue, Wil Overton gives the folowing advice to artists looking to break into the gaming industry: he basically says that diversity is key, that he sees alot of applications that have "... the spark of talent there, but haven't got the breadth of subject matter. You need to be able to draw anything you can think of. People come in thinking they'll be able to draw monsters and space marines, but that's not the case..."

So my question is: what should my portfolio consist of, in terms of conceptual art? Should I have pieces depicting lampposts, trash cans, telephones, and other mundane subjects? How can I prove to them that I can draw anything, while also showing off my imagination and style?

Basically, what types of pieces consist a strong portfolio?

Also, this quote and question are in regards to concept art, but do they also apply to book illustration?

Colouring what are the methods you use?

Senra — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:04:10 GMT

So I think I'm getting to a point now where I need to learn about colouring because I get to a point in my lineart where even though the lineart is mostly correct I end up making my artwork look really cheap or unprofessional.

I'd really like it if you guys tell me how you do your shading/colouring or even better could point me to some tutorials that give some detailed info on some colouring and shading techniques that will help me get that finish that other pieces of artwork have?

Beginner with Painting scenery and mood

williamfu — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:31:05 GMT

Hi All, My name is William.

I've been drawing figures and characters for a long time now, but now as I am trying to start with painting scenery and environments, I find it difficult to start since I'm having trouble to decide which colors are good for specific mood and emotion. Is there any way to help myself to get it started? or is this another rhetorical question that everybody has to go through in order to achieve their vision?

All comments and suggestions are welcomed^_^

Peace!

Copyright Question

Black-Sh33p — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:25:58 GMT

Something i have been interested in doing for a while is sculpting. I have been planning to sculpt things like final fantasy characters as well as other games and animes. I was planning on selling these sculptures however someone recently brought to my attention that it may be illegal. However, I know of people making fan art and buttons... and other things of that sort, who sell them at anime conventions without any legal issues.

I was wonding if anyone had any sort of insite into this matter as i cannot find anything definative online reguarding this.

PVC-a-like...

Troo — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:19:27 GMT

Afternoon all. Yes, I emerge from the depths to pick your brains

Does anyone know of a decent tutorial for painting material to look like PVC (not leather - I want that really fake, shiny look)?

Who knows, I might actually post a finished painting if I can get this bit sussed out

Comic cell shading

Brooke — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:51:30 GMT

does any one know any good online tutorials on the above topic, im looking for the really slick mange style effect like that featured in dreamwave comics. Aother way to put it would trying to produce images that look like stills from an anime.

cheers!

Brooke

How do you protect copyright in your picture if you do album art for someone?

Nimh — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:15:32 GMT

My daughter has just designed an album cover for a fellow student at uni, who is in a band. She put a lot of work into it- it's all been her original artwork scanned and digitized for commercial printing. On the back of that she has been asked to do more. She has just texted me

(quote)

"I kinda got a job at a record label based in norwich, iv designed two bands logos n a poster, n been asked to do (another) band's album art- front,back n insides n stuff, so cool, do u know if i have to join sumthin to protect my artwork?"

do any of you professionals know how to advise her?

Minimum Backups?

Conscious Bob — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:38:12 GMT

I've just had the eye watering experience of having my PC crash. I was saving changes to one image while my backup file was open, both files were corrupted. It's not entirely a waste but it is a fair setback. I need to review my backup strategy. I've only been writing to disk on finishing.

I'm asking forumites, particularly those that have invested time in images, what they consider to be reasonable safeguards. Thank you for your time.

Copyright/Art Ownership question...

Mantastic001 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:01:25 GMT

Hello! :) Perhaps someone can help me out with this question...

Am I legally able to sell an original illustration/artwork (that I created) of a character or title that I don't own? In other words, is it legal to make money from fan art?

For example: Could I submit an illustration of a character in an upcoming videogame to a games magazine for them to potentially use as a cover? Or would I need to get permission from the original owner of that character/title first.

Thanks, any help is much appreciated :)

Imagination is artist's tool - but what if there's a lack of it?

nete — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:45:16 GMT

I'm in a middle of character design. The thing which has been with me all along has become crucial now when I am part of little team making things for real, not just for desk drawer.

I have shuffled through lots and lots references and I kinda now what usually helps with this kind of things. Practise. But you know the situtation when studying for the test? You have learned everything and when test is over, all is forgotten. I have similar feeling with this. Although I would look dozens of references and inspirative pics, still when it comes to design my own thing, I just can't do nothing but character with "random shirt" and "random shorts". Funny is, that I love details. But my work aren't imaginitive. This is one of my work, little of it is still in wip-category but you see what i mean.

I know reality helps sometimes, but times when you'd need to invent something new.....that seems too difficult to my brains. Of course, lacking of this important artist feature affects to other things than in art, too.

birds eye view perspective.

jonnymarvel — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:27:36 GMT

how the hell do you do it. i know about 123 point perspective, but how do you get it to work if your doing a birds eyeview of a city??

Photoshop Newbie - Which Software is the Best For A Beginner?

Drizztina — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:14:47 GMT

Hi,

I recently purchased a copy of ImagineFX magazine (the gothic issue) and was totally blown away by the art. I fancy trying to do a bit of gothic artwork myself and was wondering, what software would be best for me as a newbie to computer artwork? (I have a PC) Any info would be great, thanks! x

Help me improve my portfolio - this is my recipe!

jimsvanberg — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:31:26 GMT

Ok, here is the deal. I want/need to make better images for my portfolio. As it is now, it can be seen here: http://www.jimsvanberg.se

I want to find a job as a game concept artist and for that I have put together this "recipe".

This is what I figure I need in my portfolio to make it appealing to game companies. I'm aming at having about ten pictures at most. And I would like to hear what you guys think? Did I miss something, your thoughts on this etc etc...

Paintings:

* gun, rifle, ect
* landscape
* interior, some kind of building seen from the inside
* exterior, landscape scene with soem kind of industrial complex seen from the outside
* humans, character and costume design
* some kind of vehicle, car, boat etc
* a robot, droid or mech
* monster/demon - supernatural creature
* a portrait/close up of a characters face

Things that should be in the paintings above in one way or another:

* buildings/city
* three point perspective
* different styles, my regular style and at least one more cartoony
* some painting with really strong colors
* some painting with really desaturated colors, almost monochromatic
* different moods - calm, action, happy, dark etc
* different seasons like summer and winter
* night and day
* water
* different styles such as fantasy, sci di, steampunk
* paintings with and without outlines
* different scales, some with small objects/scenes and some with laaaaarge
* both men and females

Thanks for reading /Jim

Confidence in art

joeuk89 — Sat, 23 May 2009 19:58:37 GMT

Hey everyone. This isn't so much a question about something specific, but just an issue I've come across, and I'm interested in what others have to say about it. (sorry its quite a long post)

I, like many people I know, didn't think I could ever draw, then I bought a book called 'right side of the brain', (which teaches how to let your creative side take over ect.), and discovered wow I can draw! Great. Since then, I bought absolute tons of 'how to' books on drawing. Its only recently I realised that I just have no real confidence in my drawing, and buying all this material was my way of trying to fix that. "buy enough of these books, then I'll be good enough!" Even my subscription to ImagineFX was partly due to this (I love the magazine though, I'm not criticising it).

Problem is, the more 'how to' material I bought, and the more I saw the great looking illustrations on their pages, the more downhearted I felt about my own drawing and the less I did! Truth is I've got enough books to start a library on drawing and yet I've hardly read any of them. I've even bought all the equipment/software I'll ever need - wacom tablet, painter ect.

Its like I've tried to do everything but actually draw - everytime I pick up a pencil I put so much expectation/pressure on myself that it takes away any of the fun you're meant to have doing it.

Well, recently, I bought a book called 'Drawing from Within'. (yes another book, I read this one though!) What was different about this book is that it said "stop reading 'how to books' and just express your own creativity" (not a direct quote, but that was the gist of it).

What I've realised is there seems to be 2 'sides' to drawing, theres the 'learn how to draw everything!' side to the 'just express yourself' side. I'm sure this isn't new to most of you, but I guess it just took me a while to recognise both of these.

What my problem at the moment is, the kind of drawing that I want to do requires knowledge or 'skill'. I want to draw scenes imagined in my head, incredible looking landscapes or an amazing looking portrait. At the same time I want to just express myself and enjoy drawing! I guess my question to you guys is; is there a balance that you look for between these 2 sides? Is there way of combining creative freedom along with pushing yourself to get better and learn specfic drawing skills?

At the moment I have 2 little voices inside my head, one is saying "Forget about skills, ability or formulaic, step by step drawing, just enjoy drawing and express yourself" while the other one is saying "Anything you 'express' will look horrible, admit it! Learn everything you can about drawing, then one day you can show off!"

So I'm stuck between the two :( I'm sure there must be a middle point though.

Would love to hear what you guys think

Tips on painting maggots/slimy creatures

Nitr0gene — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:26:59 GMT

Hey guys!

I've started a concept of a huge mutant maggot using CS2 and it's in its basic painting stages...composition's sorted, lighting source is done...but I'm REALLY having difficulty getting the slimy wet-look effect. I also want to give the skin of it a real buldging, fatty effect but all my efforts look really flat. Got any useful tips?

Cheers!

Nitr0gene x

Making a Drawing Grayscale?

conker — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:13:55 GMT

Hey guys.

Grayscaling an image is my weakest point in drawing/painting mainly because once im done doing so I start to paint and it turns out crap. To grayscale I use both the burn and dodge tools; using the burn tool for shadows and dodge tool for lighting. Am I doing this right???

The main problem here is that....I suck at it.

I was wondering if there were any tips or tricks in grayscaling an image? Maybe you can give me a few examples of how it should be done or point me to some videos that might help me.

If so I would be very grateful.

Thanks

-Conker