I know a guy who was a real-estate agent until he was 30, then quit, went to learn kickboxing in China for a year, came back to the US, went to art school, got a job at a small mobile company, then at EA, and then finally became a concept guy at Maxis at age 34. So yes, it's possible.
And for what it's worth, I can tell you that by looking at your thread, you are hardly starting at zero. Yes, there are some issues with nailing down structure in the ones done from imagination that you could stand to solidify a bit more, and you could stand to finish off some of those figures to completion, but you're demonstrating a great sense of observational skill in your sketches that shows a hell of a lot of promise, IMO. You've certainly got a greater amount of skill than probably 97% of the people that came from of my 'fine arts' college BFA program (given, probably 96% of them never got jobs doing art, but...).
If you had the luxury of just dropping everything and spending 1-2 years just doing art under the guidance of a really good set of art teachers (ie: Watts Atelier, LAAFA or the like-"generic Art School" won't get these results), learn yourself some basic photoshop painting skills, I'd say in all likelihood that you'd be at the very least employable- 3 years+ and you'd likely rate as 'very good' (at least, in terms of pure skill level- a lot of talented people with the requisite amount of skill don't get jobs because they don't have enough/strong enough connections in the field, or don't have a portfolio that fits a particular niche being sought in terms of subject matter/style, or they're just looking in the wrong place at the wrong time, or they give up looking too soon.)
People tend to get a false impression that you have to be at a Ryan Church level of skill just to get a job doing concept art; you only have to be at a Ryan Church level of skill to steal Ryan Church's particular job.
But most working artists out there, are working on projects you've never heard of, and have been hired by companies you've never heard of, and consequently you've likely never seen the vast majority of what falls under the purview of 'concept art'. Shit, in terms of rendering at least, you're probably better at it than when I first got a job, and I've been employed in the VG industry for a good number of years now. Most of the people that get hired, their big first break, it comes about because they have a passable level of skill, but they happened to personally know a guy who needed to hire somebody at the time, so they brought him in for an interview and he came across having some ambition to improve and he didn't seem like an asshole so bam now he's a Concept Artist. Right place, right time, knew the right guy. After that you've got a title on your resume, you'll have worked with people who will go to other companies that will then recommend you.
Which isn't to say it's not difficult to get a job doing it, it's just that a great deal of the difficulty isn't, 'is it physically possible to learn this much in this amount of time'; sure, that's a huge challenge (and something that never stops being challenging, as you must continue to work at it for the rest of your career), but it's all the other stuff that can hold you back.
Like I said, if you can drop everything, just study art at a great school for an extended period, great, that would go a long way. But I don't know your financial situation- good chance that isn't possible. So maybe you could only go to school part-time, which would make it take a bit longer. Maybe you can only afford learning from books and the internet in your off-hours- that's still a doable proposition, you can still get there going that way, but again it's probably going to take a bit longer. Maybe you've got mouths to feed, a mortgage to pay off, maybe you're working 2 jobs already so you have no time, maybe you've got crazy medical expenses hanging over you- all of which would make doing this take longer or be more difficult to do. And maybe at long last you get the skill, but you're located nowhere near the industry so you don't know anybody to give you an 'in'. That's going to make things tougher. Maybe when you look at working through crunch time in the VG world you may decide it isn't for you, or it would mean an unacceptable pay cut from whatever you're doing now, or maybe you don't want to deal with the job security issues. Who knows.
What's realistic to have happen in a certain amount of time is going to depend on your own unique circumstances and your own level of motivation- I'm not going to pretend that life is fair and that everyone has the same level of opportunity; somebody only mildly motivated but is independently wealthy enough to leisurely do all the right things is going to have an easier time than someone existing under the poverty line who wants it like crazy. Where you fall on the spectrum and whether you think it's a good idea to pursue the idea, that's up to you to decide.
(This isn't all to depress or discourage you, not at all- I just personally feel that when I get the 'all you need is a dream in your heart!' type of motivational speech, it usually just makes me feel I'm getting smoke blown up my ass and roll my eyes. Boiling it down to facts and having a reasonable pro/con argument about the issue makes brings it back into the realm of reality, rather than that of fantasy; hopefully it motivates you in the sense that it turns out not to be an impossible dream, but shows it's a tangible, attainable goal.)
The key to improving is taking your weaknesses and areas you could be improving and tackling them, exercising the fundamentals and applying what you've learned to your personal art. After that it's just putting the hours in and the repetition of making what's initially difficult easier and eventually done with finesse, if you do that you will improve without a doubt.
If you don't know what those weaknesses are, posting on ac and getting feedback is always a good place to start.
Thanks for all the encouragement guys. I'm struggling to get out of a depression at the moment (cry me a river) and the things you've said AoB have actually made me feel a little better.
I've gotten the gnomon anatomy workshop volume 1 on DVD, which is pretty good. I also got hold of a Loomis book, but to be honest I find it pretty daunting. Maybe using it as a step by step is wrong since it seems better suited as more of a guide. I've also had a look at various online courses (since I don't live in the US, and they seem best) such as the CGMA academy. The downside is they're damn expensive, but look like they could be beneficial.
Anyone know of any good tutorials on how to add some color to a really polished pencil drawing while preserving the line quality and shading of said pencils? I guess what I'm trying for is something like http://www.keiththompsonart.com/ achieves. Maybe I should just buy his tutorial DVD: http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/product/203/#.UnLFH_msiG4 Anyone seen it? Is it worth the money?
I can't say for certain, but it looks like he might be creating a layer group, setting that group to Multiply and then just making as many layers as he likes in that group.
Play around with Multiply and maybe Color and Overlay layers on top of your linework and see how that works out for you.
ChicoBlue on
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NakedZerglingA more apocalyptic post apocalypse Portland OregonRegistered Userregular
Chico is totally correct.
Import your image. Create a new layer on top of the image. Se that layer to "multiply" and color away.
So I took a handful of graphic design classes in uni, and I feel that by taking all my art classes from teachers with very solid reputations, that each course was truly beneficial. However, my degree was in another field of art, so I've got some gaps in my design skills. Now I've found myself in a graphic design heavy job, but I'm lacking in some areas and need to self-study to improve.
These areas are typography and layout. I'm working through inDesign tutorials now to pick up the skills, and I have a solid list of fine art design courses under my belt to aid in the aesthetic, but I need some more specific guidance.
tl;dr: where can I learn the arts of typography and layout online or in book?
So I'm looking for a specific digital painting tutorial that I remember seeing some time ago, but now can't find. The premise was that a guy took a "clean" robot and dirtied it up. Used various techniques to add scratches, dirt, and rust, so it had an aged and realistic look. He walked through each step of the techniques he used to make it look right. The robot was a concept-art style piece.
Try as I might I can't find it again. Does anyone happen to know the one I mean?
SO, im learning to drawing on the photoshopz and paper n' stuff. And I want to start rendering with full colour * gasp*
Now I know there are a few techniques for rendering, such as using flat, unsaturated colours first then laying down the shadows and highlights etc.
Ive been just using the hard round brush and laying down globs of paint and then softening or hardening the edges but I feel like this is really inefficient.
Ive been working on a figure master study and its just taking me forever to rendering it correctly. I feel like I keep going over areas Ive already done and :S
If anyone has any good tutorial series or tips or links on rendering with colour in Photoshop, it would be greatly appreciated
ya this is why mma fighters like fedor look 'fatty' around the waist 'cos they train throwing tractor tires n shit around so they can pick up their opponents, not doing bicep curls n junk to look pretty in a movie like brad pitt, thats a great guide
Painter Lite is $9.99 (reg. $69.99) until Nov 20th. I used Painter quite a bit back in the day (up til version XI I think), but I think Painter Lite is new. I'm not sure how it stacks up feature wise, but it also seems if you have Lite you can get the upgrade price for the full version, so it's probably worth it if you think you'll ever want Painter.
Custom SpecialI know I am, I'm sure I am,I'm Sounders 'til I die!Registered Userregular
Anyone have quick tips for getting started with oil painting?
I'm planning on doing a bit of a recreation of Hopper's Nighthawks with some...modifications as a gift for someone. Any tips are most welcome.
I've done a few small paintings with acrylics the past few years, but am new to oils.
tl;dr: where can I learn the arts of typography and layout online or in book?
Also, basic rules or principles of each.
Oh god, I'm trying so hard right now to brush the cobwebs away and remember all the relevant design studios I use to love cause that's generally how I learned good typography and layout. Pentagram has amazing work, they're one of the top studios in new york. Paula Sher, Michael Bierut, Stephen Sagmeister are all well renown, before them were the Swiss Modernists who made good design what it is today. The AIGA always has awesome stuff, look at annual design catalogs, get yourself familiar with what good design looks like, what you like, and why.
My old professor wrote a serious in depth awesome book called Designing Type by Karen Cheng. I would recommend more but all my books are currently in storage. I believe somewhere on the AIGA website somewhere there is a list of suggestions.
Everything you've learned up to this point will be relevent, it all boils down to having an underlying grid + the basic fundamentals of art: unity and variety, use of negative space, balance, symmetry vs asymmetry, contrast, big vs small, hard soft , ordered chaos.
Form follows function, design visually communicates a message and it's generally most effective when it's simple, clear, and clean. It's all about subtracting enough away until there's nothing else that can be taken away without breaking the design. So picture a bunch of invisible threads holding everything in a balance, all relying on everything to keep it in that stasis, that's how you create tension, and that's what makes exciting design.
Experiment, lots. Move stuff around, see what works and what doesn't. There's an option in InDesign to set your grids' borders and gutters, mess around with that. It's a balance between following the grid you've set out for the layout, and finding places to break it.
Anyone have quick tips for getting started with oil painting?
I'm planning on doing a bit of a recreation of Hopper's Nighthawks with some...modifications as a gift for someone. Any tips are most welcome.
I've done a few small paintings with acrylics the past few years, but am new to oils.
I'd like to second this request. I'm starting out on oils, without any prior painting experience whatsoever. A list of common do's and don'ts, or some essential tips from someone with more experience would be super appreciated.
Included are some brushes and .psd files that show the whole process layer by layer, like this purdy work, really cool stuff! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
(◎｀・ω・´)人(´・ω・｀*)
I'm trying to make a custom brush, but it doesn't seem like there is an option to lock the Brush Tip Shape settings in the Brush menu. I'd like to have the spacing always be set to 1% for this particular brush but when I flip between presets, the spacing reverts back to 25%. I feel like I'm missing something obvious, but I've read a bunch of tutorials now and I can't figure it out. HELP A FOOL.
Edit: nevermind, I got it! You just have to make it a new brush preset altogether.
I got something printed on 12pt photo paper and then bought a frame and put it in. Where the "things that you twist to hold the back on" are, you see it pressing the paper on the front. Any ideas to stop that besides getting a new frame?
I talked about this briefly in the chat thread awhile back.
I got a Yiynova MSP19U, and have had nothing but trouble with it from the start.
When I first got it, I had to switch between it and my monitor, as I only had one available VGA port. At this time, it worked great. It was just inconvenient.
Since then, I got a monitor that I could hook up to my DVI port. So I should be able to have both running right? Wrong. I dicked around with it for a long time and finally, for whatever reason, it just started working (displaying). I'm not even going to try to understand why, I'm just thanking whoever made that possible.
Anyways, new problem(s). Now it displays, but....
1) I have to reinstall the drivers every time I restart my computer, otherwise it wont recognize the pen. Annoying. But I can live with it.
2) Once the drivers are reinstalled, it only displays the pens movement on the primary screen. So if I have the monitor as primary, and tablet as secondary, and use the pen on the tablet... it moves around on the monitor. So I have to set the tablet to primary in order for it to display on the tablet. Annoying. But another thing I can live with, if I have to.
3) This is the big one that drives me nuts. It has no pressure sensitivity. And every solution I find for it is just "Go to devices or whatever and pick the pen tool and adjust it there!" Except when I go to my devices, I can see the tablet monitor, but not the pen. So I don't even have that as an option to try. This is not something I can live with. And for me, defeats a lot of the purpose of having the tablet.
Edit: maybe this isn't the right thread/section for this. But I know some others have bought this, and thought maybe someone had similar issues.
It's been awhile since I had to troll through the internet to get my Yiynova working, but I had/have similar issues, so I might be able to help.
Some basic questions, first:
-What operating system are you using? I'm on a Windows machine, so if you're on Mac, I won't be able to help much, unfortunately.
-What version of the UC Logic drivers are you using? Are they the most recent version? (You can download the latest drivers here)
-On your Windows system tray, do you see the icon for the UC Logic config utility? (Example)
-Do you have any other tablet drivers installed on your machine, such as a Wacom?
-What art programs are you using/having problems with? If Photoshop, which version of Photoshop, and is it 32 or 64 bit?
Without knowing the answer to those questions, I can still give some general advice.
Some of the problems, like the tablet not functioning when you boot up your computer, can stem from Wacom drivers or Windows' generic tablet drivers interfering with the device. Some components of Wacom's drivers can also remain even after you run an uninstall, so you will need to find those and delete them, either with another program, or by running a Windows search for anything Wacom-related and deleting them manually.
Other problems, like a lack of pressure sensitivity, can be attributed to a number of issues. It could be driver interference like above, the tablet drivers might not be installed properly, or the art program you're using might be blocking some functions of the device. One way to test the device is to open up the UC Logic config utility, go to the "pressure" tab, and make a few strokes. If you have pressure-recognition there, it's likely a problem with the program you're using. Photoshop is especially obstinate, and wouldn't recognize pressure-sensitivity on my Yiynova until I stopped choosing the "run as Administrator" option under the PS shortcut. Incidentally, you can also use the config utility to set which screen the tablet is mapped to.
If you can't find the config utility, it might mean your drivers aren't installed properly. If that's the case, I'd recommend the following: 1) Purge. Uninstall the UC Logic drivers, ensure you have completely wiped away any leftover Wacom components, unplug your Yiynova's USB plug, and restart your computer. 2) Download the latest UC Logic drivers from the website I listed above. Install them. Restart your computer. 3) Plug your tablet in. Let Windows do whatever it's doing, I guess. 4) If your tablet isn't working, open up your "Services" window and look for "Tablet PC Input Service". If it's there, disable it. 5) If your tablet still isn't working, or you still don't see the config utility, there might be other problems at work. We can diagnose those when we get there, though.
I didn't have a chance to really do anything with it yesterday after work. But I decided to start "clean" and at least uninstall everything. However it wont let me uninstall the tablet drivers because I'm missing a Setup.inf file or something, so I'll have to figure that out first....
I can tell you I'm using Windows 7 64bit, and Manga Studio 5. I also have things like Gimp, but the pressure sensitivity doesn't work in anything. So it's not just the program(s).
Also, I never had the UC Logic utility, even after getting the latest drivers directly from them.
But that was then. We'll see how it goes now when I try to start from scratch.
EDIT: After messing around a while, it seems I'm somehow missing several necessary files. I can't even reinstall the drivers for some reason. So I'm just going to reinstall windows. Lost my original disc though, so I ordered another copy, just waiting for that to show up.
I have a question about tablets. I've done mostly pencil and charcoal drawing, but working digitally sounds very appealing, given how much I end up erasing and changing portions of my sketches. I'm not sure if I'll ever work professionally, but at the very least art is a serious hobby for me. What would be a good hardware/software combination to start out with?
Drawings and short stories: sketchatron.tumblr.com
I'm getting frustrated by the lack of any usable, decent reviews of the Toshiba Excite Write tablet. It's a 10" Android tablet with a Wacom digitizer and pen. It's got a high resolution Tegra 4 display (2560 x 1600 - although it's middle-of-the-road for 3D performance, not surprising given the resolution), 32GB on-board storage memory with plenty of ports for additional peripherals and storage, and the pen has 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity (but no tilt).
It's not cheap at about $599 but even though it's smaller than a Cintiq, it's almost a bargain at the price. The only tablets that come closer are the Samsung Note (much lower res display) and any of the Surface Pros (more expensive, but you can at least install real Photoshop, etc. and play PC games on it)... it's a hard call to make: save up the pennies for a Surface Pro?
Without any decent, artist-oriented reviews of the Toshiba, I don't know if it's a good purchase. All of the reviews have been by writers who have no f*cking clue how to draw and therefore do a half-assed job of reviewing and typically declare any tablet with a stylus to be "over-priced". YouTube is full of useless video reviews as well, basically just journalists/writers/bloggers posting either from some event where they have 5 minutes with the tablet or conducting a next-to-useless unboxing.
Does anybody have anything to say about this tablet? Seen any useful reviews?
I have a question about tablets. I've done mostly pencil and charcoal drawing, but working digitally sounds very appealing, given how much I end up erasing and changing portions of my sketches. I'm not sure if I'll ever work professionally, but at the very least art is a serious hobby for me. What would be a good hardware/software combination to start out with?
if you're mostly doodling and not sure how "serious" you'll be about it, I can recommend the Asus 7" Nexus Android tablet pretty readily; I bought one as a casual step up and in terms of bang/buck ratio, I definitely have already gotten what I paid for out of it in under two months' use.
I use Sketchbook Pro on the Nexus a lot with a relatively inexpensive tablet stylus (Targus Slim) and I find that I'm able to grind through drawings on there pretty swiftly and I feel like I'm making a lot more progress artistically because it's a lot less hassle to use my tablet when I'm sitting at the coffeeshop or on the train, etc., than having to dig out a sketchbook AND a pencil AND an eraser AND... you get the gist of it. I find I'm less hung up on the materials to create the drawing when I'm not really limited-- Sketchbook Pro is pretty flexible with brush settings and functionality. I also don't feel like I'm "wasting good materials" on doodling and I feel a bit more confident when I do bust out the 30$ brick of Arches watercolor paper at home after a few days of sketching in a more or less infinite arena, for example.
Downsides: size is only 7", which for me was pretty much exactly the right "book size," but some people like a bigger work area. (I can use resolutions of 1920x1200 in SBP, though...)
The 10" Nexus is a Samsung device, which is a slightly different ecosystem and tbh I'm not wild about Samsung after a couple of years with one of their phones.
If you're more serious about it than that you might want one of the Surface Pro machines instead? That'd be a different level of commitment though.
I didn't really see that he wanted anything portable per se, just a digital drawing device? in which case I'd say just get a low-end Wacom and go from there.
I didn't have a chance to really do anything with it yesterday after work. But I decided to start "clean" and at least uninstall everything. However it wont let me uninstall the tablet drivers because I'm missing a Setup.inf file or something, so I'll have to figure that out first....
I can tell you I'm using Windows 7 64bit, and Manga Studio 5. I also have things like Gimp, but the pressure sensitivity doesn't work in anything. So it's not just the program(s).
Also, I never had the UC Logic utility, even after getting the latest drivers directly from them.
But that was then. We'll see how it goes now when I try to start from scratch.
EDIT: After messing around a while, it seems I'm somehow missing several necessary files. I can't even reinstall the drivers for some reason. So I'm just going to reinstall windows. Lost my original disc though, so I ordered another copy, just waiting for that to show up.
That's... huh
Anyway, uh, @ tag me whenever you're back up and running, I guess? I routinely forget that this thread exists.
I didn't really see that he wanted anything portable per se, just a digital drawing device? in which case I'd say just get a low-end Wacom and go from there.
He said "tablet"-- I wasn't clear from that that it was a "Wacom" question, so, eh.
I talked about this briefly in the chat thread awhile back.
I got a Yiynova MSP19U, and have had nothing but trouble with it from the start.... [snip]...
Edit: maybe this isn't the right thread/section for this. But I know some others have bought this, and thought maybe someone had similar issues.
You should contact this guy: http://frenden.com/contact he's an expert on these tablets, apparently. Although he uses Macs, he has had some advice for PC users in the past.
I'm getting frustrated by the lack of any usable, decent reviews of the Toshiba Excite Write tablet. It's a 10" Android tablet with a Wacom digitizer and pen. It's got a high resolution Tegra 4 display (2560 x 1600 - although it's middle-of-the-road for 3D performance, not surprising given the resolution), 32GB on-board storage memory with plenty of ports for additional peripherals and storage, and the pen has 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity (but no tilt)...
Does anybody have anything to say about this tablet? Seen any useful reviews?
If anyone's interested, I went ahead and purchased one, anyway. Bought it thru Costco and it arrived next day, free shipping (not bad). So far, my experiences/observations are:
The Toshiba Excite Write tablet is essentially the same size as the Galaxy Note 10, and since I couldn't find the Galaxy Note 2014 edition in stores, the Toshiba has it beat at least in the screen resolution and performance department. The Excite Write is one of only a few decent and decently-priced tablet with a pressure-sensitive pen that isn't a never-heard-of-it Chinese brand. It's still fairly pricey, so if you can afford the extra $400+ (and you're cool with Windows) you should definitely try out the Surface Pro2 before making up your mind (if only to keep the number of tablets you carry around to a minimum).
The Excite Write comes in the plainest brown box you can imagine, and the printed manual is pretty much the same caliber as one you'd find coming with a $20 clothes iron, but the tablet itself is well-built, attractive, and is light enough not to fatigue your arms when holding it. The pen is 100 times better than the tiny triangular unit that come with the Galaxy Note as it's full a Wacom pen complete with toggle switches and eraser button on the end. There is no slot or holder for the pen on the tablet, however, which means you'll likely lose it at some point. I'm going to research what alternate pens are compatible with it and see if there's one available that has a replaceable nib (the stock unit is not removable as far as I can see). I was able to purchase a "Universal" sized tablet sleeve for the Galaxy Note at Target for a decent price that fits great except for the camera notch, which is in the center edge of the sleeve while the camera on the Excite Write is located on the side.
I immediately purchased Alias Sketchbook Pro for the Toshiba and began playing around. My first impression is that the screen resolution is VERY nice but - as some reviewers have also pointed out - the colors are not as vibrant as they are on an iPad and on typical computer screens. It's possible that there are some controls for modifying gamut, saturation, etc. but until I start running into major issues with comping not matching production, it's not something that I'm worried about just yet.
Performance in Sketchbook Pro is definitely acceptable, feeling much like a Cintiq. I occasionally experienced a half-second lag when using the UI but when I paid attention to trying to catch a lag, it never occured. Possibly I've not been properly clicking to begin drawing first (to dismiss the controls). Otherwise, drawing is excellent, precise, and real-time. In doing my typical large and fast figure-8 tests, there was a tiny bit of follow-through, similar to a Bamboo tablet, but sampling was excellent, with no polygonalization of large, fast curves. Fast fine-line cross-hatching was definitely real-time, even with stroke smoothing on (although I think it drew less lines in that mode) and stippling felt like the real thing. The combination of high resolution, speed, and stylus provides very precise control.
So far, it's a commendable drawing tool, 100% more enjoyable to use than an iPad for the same purpose.
I also tried the Splashtop Streamer App (it's included) and it worked great even with my high-res PC display (you might need to upgrade your WiFi to get the best performance out of it, though). I'll be buying a blutooth keyboard and mouse at some point to take full advantage of this tool (my goal is to be able to play Borderlands2 on it ;-)
Ok, I've re-installed windows. So there's no chance of wacom drivers or anything.
Downloaded the UC Logic drivers. Installed those. Restarted. Plugged in tablet, let it install drivers and do it's thing.
Tablet displays. Tablet does not recognize pen.
Tablet monitor does not show up in control panel.
Disabled Tablet PC Input Service.
Oddly enough, if I click any of the buttons on the pen, while touching the tablet with it... it'll act like a right-click. But otherwise wont recognize it.
UC Logic utility IS in the bottom right. Calibration doesn't work since it wont recognize the pen.
I've been trying to figure out two things recently, and have come up completely snake-eyes. Surely someone here knows about this.
I've been using post-its to sketch on the commute to work, and plan on sticking with that rather than a sketchbook for a good while. I'm tired of the ugly yellowish notes that keep coming unglued though - I have loads of these just falling off everywhere, and it makes keeping them stored a bother.
They sell super-sticky white post-it blocks on Amazon, but they won't ship them to Sweden. Nor will any other website from what I've found, AFAIK this doesn't get shipped into Europe at all. Does anyone know a place you can get them at? I've heard of some reputable companies that will forward postage to you when you purchase items that can't be shipped to your location, anyone have experience with that?
As an addendum, the pens I use keep either breaking or running out of ink when used on these. I usually go with sakura pigma microns, but after a week or so the ink just stops flowing almost completely, and they become useless. I tried switching to pilots, and got 2 hours out of them before they gave out. Not sure if it's me just misusing the thing, or if they're not meant for this. I have a rollerball pen that just wont write on post-its at all, so I wonder what the deal is.
Ok, I've re-installed windows. So there's no chance of wacom drivers or anything.
Downloaded the UC Logic drivers. Installed those. Restarted. Plugged in tablet, let it install drivers and do it's thing.
Tablet displays. Tablet does not recognize pen.
Tablet monitor does not show up in control panel.
Disabled Tablet PC Input Service.
Oddly enough, if I click any of the buttons on the pen, while touching the tablet with it... it'll act like a right-click. But otherwise wont recognize it.
UC Logic utility IS in the bottom right. Calibration doesn't work since it wont recognize the pen.
It sounds like Windows might be causing interference when it installs those generic drivers after you plug the device in.
I dug up this troubleshooting guide, which I used while working out my own tablet problems. The next fix that hasn't been tried yet is to disable your Windows driver verification as laid out in Q6-2. It's a bit on the extreme side, but it's about the last thing I can think of, given everything else you've done. This SHOULD prevent Windows from installing its generic drivers over your UC Logic drivers. To ensure a clean slate on this, you'll need to follow the directions in Q6-3 to clear out your current generic HID drivers.
I had a similar problem where the pen wouldn't work, or would ONLY work when the window for the UC Logic utility was open. You're likely getting close, it's just going to be a matter of determining what Windows is doing to interfere with the device.
Posts
And for what it's worth, I can tell you that by looking at your thread, you are hardly starting at zero. Yes, there are some issues with nailing down structure in the ones done from imagination that you could stand to solidify a bit more, and you could stand to finish off some of those figures to completion, but you're demonstrating a great sense of observational skill in your sketches that shows a hell of a lot of promise, IMO. You've certainly got a greater amount of skill than probably 97% of the people that came from of my 'fine arts' college BFA program (given, probably 96% of them never got jobs doing art, but...).
If you had the luxury of just dropping everything and spending 1-2 years just doing art under the guidance of a really good set of art teachers (ie: Watts Atelier, LAAFA or the like-"generic Art School" won't get these results), learn yourself some basic photoshop painting skills, I'd say in all likelihood that you'd be at the very least employable- 3 years+ and you'd likely rate as 'very good' (at least, in terms of pure skill level- a lot of talented people with the requisite amount of skill don't get jobs because they don't have enough/strong enough connections in the field, or don't have a portfolio that fits a particular niche being sought in terms of subject matter/style, or they're just looking in the wrong place at the wrong time, or they give up looking too soon.)
People tend to get a false impression that you have to be at a Ryan Church level of skill just to get a job doing concept art; you only have to be at a Ryan Church level of skill to steal Ryan Church's particular job.
But most working artists out there, are working on projects you've never heard of, and have been hired by companies you've never heard of, and consequently you've likely never seen the vast majority of what falls under the purview of 'concept art'. Shit, in terms of rendering at least, you're probably better at it than when I first got a job, and I've been employed in the VG industry for a good number of years now. Most of the people that get hired, their big first break, it comes about because they have a passable level of skill, but they happened to personally know a guy who needed to hire somebody at the time, so they brought him in for an interview and he came across having some ambition to improve and he didn't seem like an asshole so bam now he's a Concept Artist. Right place, right time, knew the right guy. After that you've got a title on your resume, you'll have worked with people who will go to other companies that will then recommend you.
Which isn't to say it's not difficult to get a job doing it, it's just that a great deal of the difficulty isn't, 'is it physically possible to learn this much in this amount of time'; sure, that's a huge challenge (and something that never stops being challenging, as you must continue to work at it for the rest of your career), but it's all the other stuff that can hold you back.
Like I said, if you can drop everything, just study art at a great school for an extended period, great, that would go a long way. But I don't know your financial situation- good chance that isn't possible. So maybe you could only go to school part-time, which would make it take a bit longer. Maybe you can only afford learning from books and the internet in your off-hours- that's still a doable proposition, you can still get there going that way, but again it's probably going to take a bit longer. Maybe you've got mouths to feed, a mortgage to pay off, maybe you're working 2 jobs already so you have no time, maybe you've got crazy medical expenses hanging over you- all of which would make doing this take longer or be more difficult to do. And maybe at long last you get the skill, but you're located nowhere near the industry so you don't know anybody to give you an 'in'. That's going to make things tougher. Maybe when you look at working through crunch time in the VG world you may decide it isn't for you, or it would mean an unacceptable pay cut from whatever you're doing now, or maybe you don't want to deal with the job security issues. Who knows.
What's realistic to have happen in a certain amount of time is going to depend on your own unique circumstances and your own level of motivation- I'm not going to pretend that life is fair and that everyone has the same level of opportunity; somebody only mildly motivated but is independently wealthy enough to leisurely do all the right things is going to have an easier time than someone existing under the poverty line who wants it like crazy. Where you fall on the spectrum and whether you think it's a good idea to pursue the idea, that's up to you to decide.
(This isn't all to depress or discourage you, not at all- I just personally feel that when I get the 'all you need is a dream in your heart!' type of motivational speech, it usually just makes me feel I'm getting smoke blown up my ass and roll my eyes. Boiling it down to facts and having a reasonable pro/con argument about the issue makes brings it back into the realm of reality, rather than that of fantasy; hopefully it motivates you in the sense that it turns out not to be an impossible dream, but shows it's a tangible, attainable goal.)
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If you don't know what those weaknesses are, posting on ac and getting feedback is always a good place to start.
I've gotten the gnomon anatomy workshop volume 1 on DVD, which is pretty good. I also got hold of a Loomis book, but to be honest I find it pretty daunting. Maybe using it as a step by step is wrong since it seems better suited as more of a guide. I've also had a look at various online courses (since I don't live in the US, and they seem best) such as the CGMA academy. The downside is they're damn expensive, but look like they could be beneficial.
http://lexiconmegatherium.tumblr.com/
It could be done very easily digitally. Is that an option for you?
http://lexiconmegatherium.tumblr.com/
Play around with Multiply and maybe Color and Overlay layers on top of your linework and see how that works out for you.
Import your image. Create a new layer on top of the image. Se that layer to "multiply" and color away.
These areas are typography and layout. I'm working through inDesign tutorials now to pick up the skills, and I have a solid list of fine art design courses under my belt to aid in the aesthetic, but I need some more specific guidance.
tl;dr: where can I learn the arts of typography and layout online or in book?
Also, basic rules or principles of each.
Try as I might I can't find it again. Does anyone happen to know the one I mean?
what site you might have seen it on? approximation of the author's name? 3D/2D? program(s) used?
Specifically this video -
http://lexiconmegatherium.tumblr.com/
A. Where's the best place to start coloring? Is there a certain program I should use or start off with colored pencils?
B. Should I get a tablet?
C. Should I just learn to draw on my laptop or wait until I have a desktop next year? (I'm at Uni in a military program)
Source: http://coelasquid.deviantart.com/
Now I know there are a few techniques for rendering, such as using flat, unsaturated colours first then laying down the shadows and highlights etc.
Ive been just using the hard round brush and laying down globs of paint and then softening or hardening the edges but I feel like this is really inefficient.
Ive been working on a figure master study and its just taking me forever to rendering it correctly. I feel like I keep going over areas Ive already done and :S
If anyone has any good tutorial series or tips or links on rendering with colour in Photoshop, it would be greatly appreciated
ya this is why mma fighters like fedor look 'fatty' around the waist 'cos they train throwing tractor tires n shit around so they can pick up their opponents, not doing bicep curls n junk to look pretty in a movie like brad pitt, thats a great guide
http://www.corel.com/corel/product/index.jsp?pid=prod4950148&cid=catalog20038&segid=8700076
http://lexiconmegatherium.tumblr.com/
I'm planning on doing a bit of a recreation of Hopper's Nighthawks with some...modifications as a gift for someone. Any tips are most welcome.
I've done a few small paintings with acrylics the past few years, but am new to oils.
Oh god, I'm trying so hard right now to brush the cobwebs away and remember all the relevant design studios I use to love cause that's generally how I learned good typography and layout. Pentagram has amazing work, they're one of the top studios in new york. Paula Sher, Michael Bierut, Stephen Sagmeister are all well renown, before them were the Swiss Modernists who made good design what it is today. The AIGA always has awesome stuff, look at annual design catalogs, get yourself familiar with what good design looks like, what you like, and why.
My old professor wrote a serious in depth awesome book called Designing Type by Karen Cheng. I would recommend more but all my books are currently in storage. I believe somewhere on the AIGA website somewhere there is a list of suggestions.
Everything you've learned up to this point will be relevent, it all boils down to having an underlying grid + the basic fundamentals of art: unity and variety, use of negative space, balance, symmetry vs asymmetry, contrast, big vs small, hard soft , ordered chaos.
Form follows function, design visually communicates a message and it's generally most effective when it's simple, clear, and clean. It's all about subtracting enough away until there's nothing else that can be taken away without breaking the design. So picture a bunch of invisible threads holding everything in a balance, all relying on everything to keep it in that stasis, that's how you create tension, and that's what makes exciting design.
Experiment, lots. Move stuff around, see what works and what doesn't. There's an option in InDesign to set your grids' borders and gutters, mess around with that. It's a balance between following the grid you've set out for the layout, and finding places to break it.
I'd like to second this request. I'm starting out on oils, without any prior painting experience whatsoever. A list of common do's and don'ts, or some essential tips from someone with more experience would be super appreciated.
Included are some brushes and .psd files that show the whole process layer by layer, like this purdy work, really cool stuff! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
(◎｀・ω・´)人(´・ω・｀*)
I'm trying to make a custom brush, but it doesn't seem like there is an option to lock the Brush Tip Shape settings in the Brush menu. I'd like to have the spacing always be set to 1% for this particular brush but when I flip between presets, the spacing reverts back to 25%. I feel like I'm missing something obvious, but I've read a bunch of tutorials now and I can't figure it out. HELP A FOOL.
Edit: nevermind, I got it! You just have to make it a new brush preset altogether.
I got something printed on 12pt photo paper and then bought a frame and put it in. Where the "things that you twist to hold the back on" are, you see it pressing the paper on the front. Any ideas to stop that besides getting a new frame?
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I got a Yiynova MSP19U, and have had nothing but trouble with it from the start.
When I first got it, I had to switch between it and my monitor, as I only had one available VGA port. At this time, it worked great. It was just inconvenient.
Since then, I got a monitor that I could hook up to my DVI port. So I should be able to have both running right? Wrong. I dicked around with it for a long time and finally, for whatever reason, it just started working (displaying). I'm not even going to try to understand why, I'm just thanking whoever made that possible.
Anyways, new problem(s). Now it displays, but....
1) I have to reinstall the drivers every time I restart my computer, otherwise it wont recognize the pen. Annoying. But I can live with it.
2) Once the drivers are reinstalled, it only displays the pens movement on the primary screen. So if I have the monitor as primary, and tablet as secondary, and use the pen on the tablet... it moves around on the monitor. So I have to set the tablet to primary in order for it to display on the tablet. Annoying. But another thing I can live with, if I have to.
3) This is the big one that drives me nuts. It has no pressure sensitivity. And every solution I find for it is just "Go to devices or whatever and pick the pen tool and adjust it there!" Except when I go to my devices, I can see the tablet monitor, but not the pen. So I don't even have that as an option to try. This is not something I can live with. And for me, defeats a lot of the purpose of having the tablet.
Edit: maybe this isn't the right thread/section for this. But I know some others have bought this, and thought maybe someone had similar issues.
It's been awhile since I had to troll through the internet to get my Yiynova working, but I had/have similar issues, so I might be able to help.
Some basic questions, first:
-What operating system are you using? I'm on a Windows machine, so if you're on Mac, I won't be able to help much, unfortunately.
-What version of the UC Logic drivers are you using? Are they the most recent version? (You can download the latest drivers here)
-On your Windows system tray, do you see the icon for the UC Logic config utility? (Example)
-Do you have any other tablet drivers installed on your machine, such as a Wacom?
-What art programs are you using/having problems with? If Photoshop, which version of Photoshop, and is it 32 or 64 bit?
Without knowing the answer to those questions, I can still give some general advice.
Some of the problems, like the tablet not functioning when you boot up your computer, can stem from Wacom drivers or Windows' generic tablet drivers interfering with the device. Some components of Wacom's drivers can also remain even after you run an uninstall, so you will need to find those and delete them, either with another program, or by running a Windows search for anything Wacom-related and deleting them manually.
Other problems, like a lack of pressure sensitivity, can be attributed to a number of issues. It could be driver interference like above, the tablet drivers might not be installed properly, or the art program you're using might be blocking some functions of the device. One way to test the device is to open up the UC Logic config utility, go to the "pressure" tab, and make a few strokes. If you have pressure-recognition there, it's likely a problem with the program you're using. Photoshop is especially obstinate, and wouldn't recognize pressure-sensitivity on my Yiynova until I stopped choosing the "run as Administrator" option under the PS shortcut. Incidentally, you can also use the config utility to set which screen the tablet is mapped to.
If you can't find the config utility, it might mean your drivers aren't installed properly. If that's the case, I'd recommend the following: 1) Purge. Uninstall the UC Logic drivers, ensure you have completely wiped away any leftover Wacom components, unplug your Yiynova's USB plug, and restart your computer. 2) Download the latest UC Logic drivers from the website I listed above. Install them. Restart your computer. 3) Plug your tablet in. Let Windows do whatever it's doing, I guess. 4) If your tablet isn't working, open up your "Services" window and look for "Tablet PC Input Service". If it's there, disable it. 5) If your tablet still isn't working, or you still don't see the config utility, there might be other problems at work. We can diagnose those when we get there, though.
I can tell you I'm using Windows 7 64bit, and Manga Studio 5. I also have things like Gimp, but the pressure sensitivity doesn't work in anything. So it's not just the program(s).
Also, I never had the UC Logic utility, even after getting the latest drivers directly from them.
But that was then. We'll see how it goes now when I try to start from scratch.
EDIT: After messing around a while, it seems I'm somehow missing several necessary files. I can't even reinstall the drivers for some reason. So I'm just going to reinstall windows. Lost my original disc though, so I ordered another copy, just waiting for that to show up.
It's not cheap at about $599 but even though it's smaller than a Cintiq, it's almost a bargain at the price. The only tablets that come closer are the Samsung Note (much lower res display) and any of the Surface Pros (more expensive, but you can at least install real Photoshop, etc. and play PC games on it)... it's a hard call to make: save up the pennies for a Surface Pro?
Without any decent, artist-oriented reviews of the Toshiba, I don't know if it's a good purchase. All of the reviews have been by writers who have no f*cking clue how to draw and therefore do a half-assed job of reviewing and typically declare any tablet with a stylus to be "over-priced". YouTube is full of useless video reviews as well, basically just journalists/writers/bloggers posting either from some event where they have 5 minutes with the tablet or conducting a next-to-useless unboxing.
Does anybody have anything to say about this tablet? Seen any useful reviews?
Thanks!
if you're mostly doodling and not sure how "serious" you'll be about it, I can recommend the Asus 7" Nexus Android tablet pretty readily; I bought one as a casual step up and in terms of bang/buck ratio, I definitely have already gotten what I paid for out of it in under two months' use.
I use Sketchbook Pro on the Nexus a lot with a relatively inexpensive tablet stylus (Targus Slim) and I find that I'm able to grind through drawings on there pretty swiftly and I feel like I'm making a lot more progress artistically because it's a lot less hassle to use my tablet when I'm sitting at the coffeeshop or on the train, etc., than having to dig out a sketchbook AND a pencil AND an eraser AND... you get the gist of it. I find I'm less hung up on the materials to create the drawing when I'm not really limited-- Sketchbook Pro is pretty flexible with brush settings and functionality. I also don't feel like I'm "wasting good materials" on doodling and I feel a bit more confident when I do bust out the 30$ brick of Arches watercolor paper at home after a few days of sketching in a more or less infinite arena, for example.
Downsides: size is only 7", which for me was pretty much exactly the right "book size," but some people like a bigger work area. (I can use resolutions of 1920x1200 in SBP, though...)
The 10" Nexus is a Samsung device, which is a slightly different ecosystem and tbh I'm not wild about Samsung after a couple of years with one of their phones.
If you're more serious about it than that you might want one of the Surface Pro machines instead? That'd be a different level of commitment though.
Uncanny Magazine!
The Mad Writers Union
That's... huh
Anyway, uh, @ tag me whenever you're back up and running, I guess? I routinely forget that this thread exists.
Uncanny Magazine!
The Mad Writers Union
You should contact this guy: http://frenden.com/contact he's an expert on these tablets, apparently. Although he uses Macs, he has had some advice for PC users in the past.
If anyone's interested, I went ahead and purchased one, anyway. Bought it thru Costco and it arrived next day, free shipping (not bad). So far, my experiences/observations are:
The Toshiba Excite Write tablet is essentially the same size as the Galaxy Note 10, and since I couldn't find the Galaxy Note 2014 edition in stores, the Toshiba has it beat at least in the screen resolution and performance department. The Excite Write is one of only a few decent and decently-priced tablet with a pressure-sensitive pen that isn't a never-heard-of-it Chinese brand. It's still fairly pricey, so if you can afford the extra $400+ (and you're cool with Windows) you should definitely try out the Surface Pro2 before making up your mind (if only to keep the number of tablets you carry around to a minimum).
The Excite Write comes in the plainest brown box you can imagine, and the printed manual is pretty much the same caliber as one you'd find coming with a $20 clothes iron, but the tablet itself is well-built, attractive, and is light enough not to fatigue your arms when holding it. The pen is 100 times better than the tiny triangular unit that come with the Galaxy Note as it's full a Wacom pen complete with toggle switches and eraser button on the end. There is no slot or holder for the pen on the tablet, however, which means you'll likely lose it at some point. I'm going to research what alternate pens are compatible with it and see if there's one available that has a replaceable nib (the stock unit is not removable as far as I can see). I was able to purchase a "Universal" sized tablet sleeve for the Galaxy Note at Target for a decent price that fits great except for the camera notch, which is in the center edge of the sleeve while the camera on the Excite Write is located on the side.
I immediately purchased Alias Sketchbook Pro for the Toshiba and began playing around. My first impression is that the screen resolution is VERY nice but - as some reviewers have also pointed out - the colors are not as vibrant as they are on an iPad and on typical computer screens. It's possible that there are some controls for modifying gamut, saturation, etc. but until I start running into major issues with comping not matching production, it's not something that I'm worried about just yet.
Performance in Sketchbook Pro is definitely acceptable, feeling much like a Cintiq. I occasionally experienced a half-second lag when using the UI but when I paid attention to trying to catch a lag, it never occured. Possibly I've not been properly clicking to begin drawing first (to dismiss the controls). Otherwise, drawing is excellent, precise, and real-time. In doing my typical large and fast figure-8 tests, there was a tiny bit of follow-through, similar to a Bamboo tablet, but sampling was excellent, with no polygonalization of large, fast curves. Fast fine-line cross-hatching was definitely real-time, even with stroke smoothing on (although I think it drew less lines in that mode) and stippling felt like the real thing. The combination of high resolution, speed, and stylus provides very precise control.
So far, it's a commendable drawing tool, 100% more enjoyable to use than an iPad for the same purpose.
I also tried the Splashtop Streamer App (it's included) and it worked great even with my high-res PC display (you might need to upgrade your WiFi to get the best performance out of it, though). I'll be buying a blutooth keyboard and mouse at some point to take full advantage of this tool (my goal is to be able to play Borderlands2 on it ;-)
Downloaded the UC Logic drivers. Installed those. Restarted. Plugged in tablet, let it install drivers and do it's thing.
Tablet displays. Tablet does not recognize pen.
Tablet monitor does not show up in control panel.
Disabled Tablet PC Input Service.
Oddly enough, if I click any of the buttons on the pen, while touching the tablet with it... it'll act like a right-click. But otherwise wont recognize it.
UC Logic utility IS in the bottom right. Calibration doesn't work since it wont recognize the pen.
@Fugitive
I've been using post-its to sketch on the commute to work, and plan on sticking with that rather than a sketchbook for a good while. I'm tired of the ugly yellowish notes that keep coming unglued though - I have loads of these just falling off everywhere, and it makes keeping them stored a bother.
They sell super-sticky white post-it blocks on Amazon, but they won't ship them to Sweden. Nor will any other website from what I've found, AFAIK this doesn't get shipped into Europe at all. Does anyone know a place you can get them at? I've heard of some reputable companies that will forward postage to you when you purchase items that can't be shipped to your location, anyone have experience with that?
As an addendum, the pens I use keep either breaking or running out of ink when used on these. I usually go with sakura pigma microns, but after a week or so the ink just stops flowing almost completely, and they become useless. I tried switching to pilots, and got 2 hours out of them before they gave out. Not sure if it's me just misusing the thing, or if they're not meant for this. I have a rollerball pen that just wont write on post-its at all, so I wonder what the deal is.
It sounds like Windows might be causing interference when it installs those generic drivers after you plug the device in.
I dug up this troubleshooting guide, which I used while working out my own tablet problems. The next fix that hasn't been tried yet is to disable your Windows driver verification as laid out in Q6-2. It's a bit on the extreme side, but it's about the last thing I can think of, given everything else you've done. This SHOULD prevent Windows from installing its generic drivers over your UC Logic drivers. To ensure a clean slate on this, you'll need to follow the directions in Q6-3 to clear out your current generic HID drivers.
I had a similar problem where the pen wouldn't work, or would ONLY work when the window for the UC Logic utility was open. You're likely getting close, it's just going to be a matter of determining what Windows is doing to interfere with the device.