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Learning Art
Juergen Hubert
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I'm very new to creating my own digital art - I bought my Wacom tablet last spring, and before that I hadn't created any serious art since my mandatory art classes back in school. Nevertheless, I think I am slowly making progress...
This is an illustration I made for a monster which I have created for a fantasy setting (see my signature) I am developing. Basically, the larva of this creature burrows into the skull, devours the brain, and then uses the body as a host while it searches for additional prey. More details on its life cycle can be found here.
This is an illustration I made for a monster which I have created for a fantasy setting (see my signature) I am developing. Basically, the larva of this creature burrows into the skull, devours the brain, and then uses the body as a host while it searches for additional prey. More details on its life cycle can be found here.
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Drawing from reference will greatly help you as well.
Truth to be told, I started with digital art directly simply because it is a lot quicker - it's easier to reverse the last brush strokes, to erase areas without leaving any marks, and to add all sorts of special effects quickly. And using layers is very convenient indeed.
That, and my work table is so full of stuff that I wouldn't have any room for drawing on a level surface anyway....
I actually practiced a lot with references - my earliest practice with the tablet was to draw random photos from a dating site. But for this picture I wanted to see how well I could draw without references...
Right now this picture is incredibly flat. The light source doesn't look like it's coming from the torch since it illuminates only the left side of the characters. The darkness looks more like soup than actual shadows - for some reason it affects only the bottom half of the man. The top half is just flatly shaded, regardless of the torch light.
Creative pieces like this are great, but you have to improve your skills with studies before you can effectively make them say what you want them to say. Relying on photoshop and your wacom will be a crutch that can stop you from learning how to really draw, or at least make the process take longer than it should.
If you're serious about this stuff, brush that desk off and get a sketchbook.
Don't. Stay away from special effects, they always look terrible.
Indeed. And you're still not structurally sound. If your anatomy and perspective are bad, no amount of special affects can make your art look good.
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the coloring is really bland, and the lighting is completely wrong. They look like two magical torsos floating in some sort of purgatory. Candle light would only give a teeny bit of light, yet the characters are lit up brighter than a flashbang in a total eclipse. You really have no good concept of lighting or color yet, so stick to traditional work for a while. Pencil and pen are the best way to improve.
Also, I didn't read any more into the concept of how the creatures work, because it has all been done to death before. Aliens, Bodysnatchers, ect ect.
Clean off that desk and stay far from a computer for a long time. Unless you are scanning some figure/gesture drawings to show us your progress. Sorry to sound so harsh, but you are just using the computer as a crutch. You can also take back unwanted strokes on paper, it's called an eraser.
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Still, I'm not entirely convinced that I need to practice with pencil instead of the computer. If I am only using the brush tool and draw in black and white, then why is this any different from using pencils?
(Incidentally, here is a recent drawing for which I did use a reference...)
I bet in that picture from reference you spent at least half the time one the hair. Spend more time constructing the skull and facial anatomy, because it is all sorts of fucked up. Also, you may want to pay attention to a little guy called value, as there is no real scale of it, specifically in her skin tones.
This picture is the exact reason why you would want to pick up a pencil. You are getting ahead of yourself, and the results are less than satisfying. You see, with digital, you have every option at your disposal. What working in traditional media does is it eliminated things you dont need to worry yourself with just yet.
If you dont heed this very basic advice, I doubt you will get very far on this forum in terms of constructive advice.
Anybody who is worth a damn at digital art has practiced their ass off to get to that point. You apparently felt the need to skip everything and jump staright to making pictures on your compubox. It has yielded unsatisfying results.
You are most likely very young and have a great deal of time ahead of you. Use that time to practice, like the great masters have. With hard work and paper, not Wacoms and Photoshop.
Damn I wish I had a tablet though! :evil:
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Your primary goal right now should be to get a solid foundation with strong observation skills and planting the seeds of understanding light and form. For most people it's much easier to simply sit down with a pencil and pad and go at it raw and describe your forms with line and simple grayscale value. This way you aren't tempted by all the tools available to digital artists.
You're welcome to continue trying to paint and learn color theory on your own, in which case I say the tablet *IS* the most cost effective way to learn, but right now you need fundamental drawing skills. Color can (and probably should) come later on when you have a more complete understanding of light and you don't have to juggle so much with value and and form at the same time.
A good exercise is to find some kind of good headshot like the ones you've been using from dating sites, convert them to grayscale in photoshop and spend 15 minutes on the head (or whatever you're studying) with a pencil trying to flesh it out while paying close attention to proportions and alignment of features. Post that stuff and we'll be able to help a lot more.
Actually, I am 31 years old and only draw things as a hobby in the limited spare time my day job (research assistant - and my boss expects me to work a 50 hour work week...). I don't expect to become good at drawing any time soon (let alone "professional") - becoming "halfway decent" is my main goal, and I am aware that that will take me a lot of time...
That doesn't mean you shouldn't start from the basics in the same way as everyone else. Drawing from refs (as in the girls face) is a good way to start but A) you are not ready to approach colouring yet in my opinion, get the structure and anatomy at least a bit better first and then learn how to colour.
That said, I look forward to seeing your progress.
I also draw maps from time to time. The most ambitious map I have drawn can be found here (that map is much too large to post in this thread...).
I've mostly used filtering effects for this map, starting from simple Inkscape lineart - I describe some of the methods I used here. The main reason for this is that the map is still somewhat mutable - I'm still developing the world, and thus many elements might still change, and I don't want to put too much effort into a map which I will have to redo later anyway (once I finish the world design).
However, I will redo the map at some point. I don't really like many of the effects, and what's worse, the map looks really ugly when I print it out in greyscale.
With that in mind, I thought I'd ask around how you draw maps - what effects and techniques you use to paint various terrain features...
A tablet does not behave like a pencil. When you draw with paper, you are more careful about your technique. Learning how to avoid things like dragging your fist across your pencil/pen lines and smudging them, or thinking about where you're gonna draw the next line because you can't erase it makes you a more inteligent artist.
This was inspired by a magazine of the Jugendstil period of art. Ultimately, I plan to add a golden-toned drawing of a city into the middle, and a human adventurer to the middle and right (using the same color scheme as the upper and lower parts). But that will have to wait until I get better with drawing people, obviously...
What isn't, precisely? Apart from what the others have said, I mean?
I'm too broke to invest in a scanner. And while I probably could borrow anatomy books from the local public library, in all fairness I must admit that I am too exhausted from work on a typical day to read textbooks - especially since I read dry science texts all day. Doing some drawings helps me relax from my work and take my mind off things, and having to read books on it would be counterproductive to my relaxation, and probably ultimately take the fun out of this hobby. Unfortunately, I am too old to pretend that I have unlimited time for all my hobbies any more...
I will try to do some more with my sketchbook, concentrating on anatomy - I did buy one some time ago, though I haven't used it much - but all I'll be able to provide are digital photographs of the sketches instead of scans.
The attachment picture just shows as a broken image tag for me and if I try to "view image" it takes me to a login screen. Apart from that, you really should start with or go back to the fundamentals.
With that kind of schedule/attitude, i would think the best thing you can do is grab the sketchpad and a pencil and draw from life. You don't have to open a book that way, and if you do it enough, you will get better.
Blast. Now it should work...
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I am relatively sure that it isn't. I mean, I have to admit that I didn't take notes when I downloaded the reference pictures, but from a second glance the White House (at least the American one) does look different from either of the two buildings...
YMMV.
That image looks pretty good for what you're going for - reminds me of an old hardcover book or something. What're you doing with the empty space in the middle?
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Quite possible. If you do figure it out, please tell me.
A cityscape in gold tones. I will also try to draw a "gentleman adventurer" to the right, in the same colors as the upper and lower parts.
Well, learning is stressful most of the time. At least, this is true if you actually want to be good at something that actually requires effort of some sort. Obviously, you don't have a great deal of natural ability to draw straight and steady lines with your hands. This requires practice. Also, learning the simple measures of the human form and realistic perspective are important things to know. They are not hard to learn or put into practice. You can find tutorials on these things online rather easily. In fact, there is a great deal of knowledge in our tutorials thread here. If you actually want to learn then take the time to learn. Otherwise, stop waisting our time here.
Look, I get the message - I need to practice more. And I will. All I am saying is that I simply don't have the time to work as much on art as many other posters here apparently have. It is simply unrealistic for me to, say, work 10 hours every week on artwork - I am very lucky if I manage five. And that's not whining on my part, that's simply stating a fact of my life. I chose to become a research assistant and to try to get a Ph.D., and now I have to deal with the resulting work load (like the 17 hour work day yesterday). I am very much trying to improve my artwork, but I should also be aware that it cannot be more than a second-tier priority for me.
I came here for advice, and I got it aplenty, and I am grateful for that. But if you are implying that I should quit my day job so that I can have sufficient time to improve my art at the speed you'd prefer, then I must say that I simply can't do that.
And if you feel that I am wasting your time, then I am sorry about that - but maybe the better solution would be if you simply stopped reading this thread.
And fucking hell, five hours???? Wait till you hit the end of your grad work, that'll head right down the drain.
Here's the thing...
If you are working on your Ph.D... and you still have time to post/argue on the internet, you have time to draw.
Stop making excuses.
This attitude really bugs me. Why does working to improve a hobby necessarily have to add stress to your life? You don't have to "quit your day job" to do it, and you certainly don't have to take on a tremendous workload to make some kind of progress. Ya just have to manage the little time you have to draw a little better. You don't have become a full-time artist to improve. However, if you choose small improvement goals and try to work toward those in each short drawing session you have, you will become better. For example, you seem to enjoy drawing people, but your basic anatomy needs improvement. Focus on that in your next few sessions. For example, spend a few sessions on just the face, then move your focus to other areas where you need to improve. All of those little bits of time add up, and I'm willing to bet that you will start to see some improvement if you give it a try. And, you might even find that it can be relaxing and fun as well.
I completely understand your time concerns. I'm in a very similar boat right now, and yeah, it sucks... hard. However, it doesn't have to be an excuse for not progressing. And, making progress doesn't have to be another stressor in your life. It's your call.