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The [chat] Who Circumnavigated Fairyland

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Posts

  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    I once called a teacher mom.

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • Lamp wrote: »
    Thanks for the advice @Angel_of_Bacon ! That makes me feel better. I definitely think that getting to spend time with those artists is the No.1 draw of the workshop for me, far above any particular bit of instruction I might get.
    Well, I would say go and and at least try- I doubt that all of a sudden you're going to be an amazing oil painter or something, but more important than that is getting to spend time with illustrators that really, really know what they're doing, not just in technique but ethos and career development as well.

    So do you think my best bet would be to try to find a way to do some oil painting at the workshop no matter what? I am absolutely going to try to do some of those oil exercises you suggested, and I'm kind of excited about it! Although I am admittedly very intimidated by the idea of painting with oils (never touched them before), and I'm skeptical of the idea of painting with them much in the future without any prolonged instruction to get me started. So part of me thinks it would be more productive to just go in and work digitially during the workshop and hopefully get some good feedback and direction regardless of medium.

    Perhaps I'll have a better idea though once I actually get my hands on some paints and try them out this weekend.

    Ah, I think I slightly misunderstood your post- I took it as, "I'm going to this oil painting thing but I've only done digital previously, how should I deal with having to work in oils?", and not that you'd gotten the go ahead to work digitally during the workshop.

    As to whether or not to actually go with oil painting or not, uh...for me it'd kinda depend on the curriculum of the workshop, which I admit I haven't looked into. If it's mostly about technique or basically going through the sort of classes you'd normally get at Watts except in a more brief, intense dose, I'd certainly suggest going with the materials suggested by the class. Even if you decide oils isn't for you (or is just impractical to use in your living circumstances), working with them can still be valuable is learning discipline of technique- a valuable thing that can be sorta elided over when working digitally, but you'll be a better digital painter for having the training.

    On the other hand, if the format is more, "Come with an idea for an illustration, you'll be executing this one illustration start to finish during the whole length of the workshop", then perhaps digital could be the more sensible option. If it's a mix of both classes and executing an illustration, trying your hand at both would probably be good. I can't give you a super strong, definitive opinion on what you absolutely should do, but any way you go I think you'll be learning something, so no matter what I very much doubt you'll come out of it feeling it to be a waste.

  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    edited September 2016
    Thanks! I know it would be kind of silly to ask for a definite "yes/no" answer for something like that, it's a judgement call on my part. But since I know you went to Watts I thought I'd probe a bit deeper to help assuage my own doubts :D

    I don't have the schedule for this year yet, but judging by last year's schedule it looks like all but one of the lectures were basically medium-agnostic (with the exception of "Glazing in Oils"), and most of the rest of the time was spent executing an illustration.

    Last year's schedule
    Monday 1/11/2016
    10am- introduction
    11am- Jeremy lecture on "Business of Art!"
    12pm- open critique
    1pm- lunch
    2pm- get to work!
    Tuesday
    9am- workshop open
    10am- Erik lecture on "Staging an Illustration"
    2pm- Chris paint demo "Using Reference to Paint Fantasy Characters"
    7pm-10pm Drawing from the live model (optional)
    Wednesday
    9am- workshop open
    2pm- Lucas lecture on "Working on Magic The Gathering"
    4pm- Mike paint demo "Glazing in Oils"
    7pm-10pm Drawing from the live model (optional)
    Thursday
    9am- workshop open
    10am- Erik paint demo "Theatrical Lighting"
    2pm- Chris lecture on "Cool and Mood"
    7pm-10pm Drawing from the live model (optional)
    Friday
    9am- workshop open
    2pm- Lucas demo "Painting Dragons"
    4pm- Mike lecture on "TBD"
    7pm-10pm Drawing from the live model (optional)
    Saturday
    9am- workshop open
    11am- Jeremy Cranford lecture "Don't Be Afraid to Stylize"

    Regardless, thanks for the encouragement and thoughts on how to dip my toe into oil painting! Much appreciated.

    Lamp on
  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    Lamp, I hope you'll tell us all about it afterwards.

  • WassermeloneWassermelone Registered User regular
    N0vmx6g.jpg

    THIS IS MY OC

    DO NOT STEAL

  • m3nacem3nace Registered User regular
    Gearing up for SPX as I write this. Anyone else going?
    Also, headed for Pittsburgh immediately after spx is over, to stay with Frank Santoro for 3 months, hello America!

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    I'm so excited!! have fun at the residency.

  • ProspicienceProspicience The Raven King DenvemoloradoRegistered User regular
    Yeah @m3nace can't wait to see what you learn and produce out of there.

  • m3nacem3nace Registered User regular
    And I, in turn, can't wait to try going to a wal-mart.

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    hahahaha, please record your first adventure in a walmart.

  • m3nacem3nace Registered User regular
    Iruka wrote: »
    hahahaha, please record your first adventure in a walmart.
    3o6ZtcZrVAUW2SmqzK.gif

  • GolemGolem of Sand Saint Joseph, MORegistered User regular
    Hello, Im a returning user it's been awhile since I've been on the forums. There used to be a draw everyday thread is that no longer a thing here?

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    @Golem Welcome back!

    We dont have a daily drawing thread anymore. You are welcome to make your own thread and update it once a day, if you'd like! I think some users found that they were pushing themselves to just doodle everyday rather than actually trying to learn something everyday. If you want to draw every day, I suggest blocking out some days for specific studies, and some days for just doodling.

  • gavindelgavindel The reason all your software is brokenRegistered User regular
    You know, I think it was worth the fifty bucks to buy the model sets from Proko just so I don't have to go hunting for poses on reddit or something. I also bought his anatomy course, but it will take some time to see how that holds up compared to my mainstay Watts diet and Vilppu sides.

    Book - Royal road - Free! Seraphim === TTRPG - Wuxia - Free! Seln Alora
  • GolemGolem of Sand Saint Joseph, MORegistered User regular
    @Iruka that makes sense, I have a really really old artwork thread still up should I resurrect that or can I make a new post?

  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    @Golem thats up to you. If you want to start fresh, you are welcome to. Some people like the continuity, I use my thread like a time capsule.

  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    edited September 2016
    So I downloaded this cool (and free!) reference viewing/organization tool called PureRef after seeing it in this video on CtrlPaint: http://www.ctrlpaint.com/videos/a-better-way-to-use-reference-images

    It's super useful and is making my life easier while I work on my current project. You can drag and drop images from pretty much anywhere, including directly from Photoshop, and build a little reference map. Then you just set PureRef to always-on-top mode, so it hovers over Photoshop while you're working (it's easy to move and resize the window). From there, it's super simple to pan and zoom to particular bits of reference you want. You can rearrange items, resize and flip them, everything. I set the zoom/pan/transform controls to mirror Photoshop so I can seamlessly jump between my painting and my reference pallete. I really recommend it!

    Admittedly it's not SUPER different from just using a separate Photoshop .PSD window as a reference pallete, but it has a bunch of neat organizational features that just make it a hell of a lot more versatile and easier to use (some are shown in that CtrlPaint vid). One of my favorite things is that you can set it to auto-downscale large photos. That way everything you drag onto your canvas is about the same size and eliminating the need to do a bunch of transforming and resizing. I also love how the program takes away the headache of trying to figure out which layer a particular refernece image is on when you want to manipulate or move it -- you just click on an image and you've selected it. Being able to select, group, align, resize and flip multiple items at the same time is also excellent.

    z1y2b8fs68rv.jpg

    Lamp on
    refs.jpg 358.1K
  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    I just started using pure ref. I really like that it saves how I oriented it on the screen, makes it fast to jump back into a painting.

  • tynictynic PICNIC BADASS Registered User, ClubPA regular
    Oh that looks good. I usually just use the default image viewer open in a different monitor, but for multiple reference files that might be considerably more convenient.

  • FlayFlay Registered User regular
    That looks really handy, thanks Lamp!

    So how many of you have gotten tendonitis from drawing? I haven't been able to draw or use a computer much for a week and a half, and I might go insane.

  • GolemGolem of Sand Saint Joseph, MORegistered User regular
    @Flay I work in a meat packing plant, while I don't have full blown Tendinitis, I wake up some mornings with my hands curled into ricktis claws, I've found a few stretches that can help loosen you up. Also I recommend getting some wrist wraps, and sleeping on your back with your hands over your chest...do not let yourself roll over onto your hands (this is my issue)

    https://i.imgur.com/C1TDm9t.jpg

  • m3nacem3nace Registered User regular
    Hey somebody in here lived in Pittsburgh right?

  • FlayFlay Registered User regular
    Golem wrote: »
    @Flay I work in a meat packing plant, while I don't have full blown Tendinitis, I wake up some mornings with my hands curled into ricktis claws, I've found a few stretches that can help loosen you up. Also I recommend getting some wrist wraps, and sleeping on your back with your hands over your chest...do not let yourself roll over onto your hands (this is my issue)

    https://i.imgur.com/C1TDm9t.jpg

    Oh geez I didn't think about how I was sleeping, that's a good point

  • NightDragonNightDragon 6th Grade Username Registered User regular
    Yeah I've had some wrist problems that I exacerbated with how I sleep, which is frequently with my hands curled inward. No bueno for your drawin' hands

  • gavindelgavindel The reason all your software is brokenRegistered User regular
    I still have no idea what photobashing actually is. It seems like one of those playground insults you lob at anyone you don't like - meaning TBD.

    Book - Royal road - Free! Seraphim === TTRPG - Wuxia - Free! Seln Alora
  • gavindel wrote: »
    I still have no idea what photobashing actually is. It seems like one of those playground insults you lob at anyone you don't like - meaning TBD.

    It means using photos/textures to kind of collage together an illustration in Photoshop, then using painting/blending modes/whatever to make it look like cohesive, painted scene. This is how a lot of environment concept art and matte painting for AAA games and movies is done (incorporating 3d elements is also common to these pipelines).

    When used by someone who really knows what they're doing, ie: someone that has learned composition/painting in the traditional way, the photo elements and painted elements will all come together nicely and it'll just look like a well-rendered painting. When someone that doesn't know what they're doing tries it, the photos stick out like a sore thumb because of things not being in perspective, conflicting light sources, painted elements making for a huge style discrepancy with the photo elements, etc.

  • GolemGolem of Sand Saint Joseph, MORegistered User regular
    So I'm drawing again after a long break, been using some of the resources posted in the guides we have here, some suggestions from fellow artist here, and etc to start working on things. And I've been hitting a weird issue lately. Like I've been doing fundamental breakdowns and exercises from books and lately anytime I go to doodle, I just look at it and see every flaw and mistake, a million things wrong with it. (things that need fixing that I'm not too in my lesson plans) When I was a kid, I would draw a super hero or something I dreamed up and I was fucking proud of that shit, and thus I was drawing all the time non-stop.

    Is there a way to kinda close that Pandora's box of everything that is wrong with you and your stuff and just kinda enjoy drawing again?

  • ScosglenScosglen Registered User regular
    Golem wrote: »

    Is there a way to kinda close that Pandora's box of everything that is wrong with you and your stuff

    Nope. You looked into the abyss and it looked back. Best you can do now is get used to this shit:

    7442a79787f593d2f54062557f04367d.jpg
    and just kinda enjoy drawing again?

    This is more a matter of developing a healthy attitude towards learning and improvement, which really is specifically about having a healthy attitude towards failure and frustration. Childlike naivete seldom survives adulthood, you're not going to recapture that, so adjustments are necessary. I always say that it's okay to make bad art, and that it is necessary to make mistakes in order to improve, so the sooner you learn to see your mistakes as stepping stones toward progress the better.

    If you care at all about becoming a better artist, it would be a far more serious problem to be completely oblivious about your shortcomings, even if it gave you peace of mind to be.

  • gavindelgavindel The reason all your software is brokenRegistered User regular
    Fun fact #1: Cats will carefully and methodically shred newsprint.
    Fun fact #2: They won't actually wait until you're done drawing to start.
    Fun fact #3: The cats are not allowed in my room while I work.

    Book - Royal road - Free! Seraphim === TTRPG - Wuxia - Free! Seln Alora
  • MagicToasterMagicToaster JapanRegistered User regular
    My company sold its 2013 iMacs... for $150... These were top of the line models... $150. 12 iMacs sold in 15 minutes... I got there 3 hours too late.

  • Red_ArremerRed_Arremer Registered User regular
    edited October 2016
    EDIT: Found it on the Watt's site.

    MT: That sucks. Why were they selling them so cheap?

    Red_Arremer on
  • tynictynic PICNIC BADASS Registered User, ClubPA regular
    My company sold its 2013 iMacs... for $150... These were top of the line models... $150. 12 iMacs sold in 15 minutes... I got there 3 hours too late.

    jesus. That's gotta hurt.

  • NSDFRandNSDFRand FloridaRegistered User regular
    So what ever happened to Shane Gline's Drawing Board?

    I used to be on that forum every day when I was in middle and high school but the last few years I haven't been active there and it's gone now.

  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    edited October 2016
    So I thought I would share this goofy thing I made. I take my Surface Pro 3 to figure drawing each week, but I was getting fed up with tiny touch screen buttons that are hard to press and take up too much space on my screen. I'm sitting on a drawing horse so there's no place to set a physical keypad, and it's too wobbly trying to balance it on my knee. So I took a bluetooth ten key number pad, wrapped it in cardboard and duct tape, and stuck a little belt through it. The keys are remapped using AutoHotKey. Now I have a handy little utility belt that I stick on my leg so I can draw and paint the same way I would at home. So I feel about 100x more comfortable Photoshopping at figure drawing. Looks kinda goofy but oh well! It's also nice for sketching on the couch!

    2dciqgedzo4b.jpg

    1vksuwred2yt.jpg

    qxhyxmckj4sy.jpg


    Lamp on
  • MagicToasterMagicToaster JapanRegistered User regular
    EDIT: Found it on the Watt's site.

    MT: That sucks. Why were they selling them so cheap?

    We get new equipment whenever the old one goes out of warranty every 4 years. Last time, they had the Mac Pros priced so high that they sat there for years unsold. This time, they might have gone too low. I'm waiting for this Cintiq to go away so I can get it at the company lot.

  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    edited October 2016
    Just noticed a 1-inch scratch on my Cintiq screen. It's admittedly not really super noticeable, but it's RIGHT in the middle of the display where I spend most of my time looking, and has a tiny bit of a rainbow effect to it. Considering how expensive this thing was, I'm feeling pretty bummed out about it. Especially since I've been pondering a screen protector for a while but hadn't gotten around to it.Two years of scribbling on a Surface with no scratches spoiled me I guess. I'm guessing I got a bit of grit under the stylus nib at some point and that was that. Out of curiosity I called Wacom to ask what kind of screen replacement service they offer and they said it's $700. Not surprising, but still, UGH. Thankfully I had an old matte-finish tablet screen protector laying around and I stuck it over the scratch to see how it would look. The scratch becomes invisible. So I went ahead and bought a matte protector for the Cintiq. Not ideal since I'm not crazy about the slight hazy effect you get with matte protectors, but I'll get used to it.

    I feel like kind of an idiot for not buying a screen protector to start with, but I have a feeling that this glass is not as tough or high quality as the Gorilla Glass kind of panel you get with modern smartphones and tablets. I've had hands and styluses all over multiple tablets and smartphones for a couple of years and never gotten a scratch that was anything like this. I'm also dreading trying to apply a screen protector to such a big display. Those things are a pain even on a small smartphone screen.

    Anyway, PSA to people: cover your screens!

    Lamp on
  • MagicToasterMagicToaster JapanRegistered User regular
    edited October 2016
    My coworker who bought the Mac is trying to flip it, it's more than double what he paid for, but it's still 1/3 of the price of a similar one on eBay. Gonna pick it up on Saturday! YEEEES!!!

    Hopefully, it turns out to be the one that was on my desk.

    Edit:
    Got it! On. My. Desk.

    MagicToaster on
  • Dunno if it comes across as grossly egotistical to cross-post stuff, but a post I wrote in response to Peas' question of "How Do I Be A More Creative Person?" may or may not be of interest/use to people here as well.

    http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/36181540/#Comment_36181540

  • MagicToasterMagicToaster JapanRegistered User regular
    I loved your post. I don't think I've felt "inspiration" like I used to in high school since I started approaching design as a problem solving tool. I get in a zone after a while where everything just kinda falls into place, but I've realized that it's a mental state that I can get to when I've already visualized a solution.

  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    edited October 2016
    Just want to say thanks for writing and sharing that, Bacon! Gives me a lot of things to chew on. Reminds me of the advice you gave me about costuming a few weeks back -- basically, try to solve a character design problem first instead of just starting from a blank page and trawling for reference that inspires me. I've been trying to think that way lately and I think it's helping.

    Lamp on
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