As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

Questions, Discussion and Tutorials

GrifterGrifter BermudaModerator mod
edited November 2009 in Artist's Corner
Use this thread for:
  • asking questions pertaining to the forum or art instead of making a new thread for them
  • discussing said questions or issues in the forum
  • posting links to useful tutorials you come across on the Internet
  • post tutorials that you made yourself

Mods, please add links, tutorials, and links to useful posts to this post whenever you see them.

Constructive Criticism by Blinky
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=875


Downloads
Tutorials

A Few Notes About Inking - Michael Cho
http://chodrawings.blogspot.com/2009/02/few-notes-about-inking.html

Watercolor Painting Guide
http://handprint.com/HP/WCL/water.html

Paul Duffield's How To Draw Beta
http://spoonbard.deviantart.com/art/How-To-Draw-v1-3-40590655

Quick Sketching
http://www.drawalot.com/smblog/2007/11/17/quick-sketch-the-fastest-way-to-learn-professional-drawing-techniques/

The Structure of Man: Video Tutorials on Anatomy by Riven Phoenix
http://the-structure-of-man.blogspot.com/

Over a Dozen links to Misc Reference Photos
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=5329

Basic Lighting/Texture/Form Tutorial and Reference Guide
http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm

Alduar's Abstract Art Tutorial/Process
http://alduar.iseenothing.com/tutorials/abstract/

Feng Zhu Design Tutorials
http://www.fengzhudesign.com/tutorials.html

Tom Nguyen's "how to draw breasts"
http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=39;t=000176

Another good Tom Nguyen article
http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=39;t=000144

Team Special Olympics Tutorials
http://www.teamspecialolympics.com/tutorials.php

Portrait Artist Tutorials
http://www.portrait-artist.org/

Scanning Line Art
http://www.steeldolphin-forums.com/htmltuts/scanning_lineart.html

Speedpainting Tutorial by Angel_of_Bacon
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6167278083166388456

A Buttload of Drawing Tutorials
http://www.drawspace.com/

Erik Gist Drawing and Painting Principles
http://www.erikgist.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=131
http://www.erikgist.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=132

Walt Stanchfield Notes on Gesture Drawing for Animation
http://www.animationmeat.com/notes/waltstanchfield/waltstanchfield.html

Glen Vilppu Drawing Articles
1. Never Underestimate the Power of Life Drawing
2. Gesture
3. Spherical Forms
4. The Box
5. Introducing Material and Proportion
6. Drawing Ellipses
7. From the General to the Specific
8. The Landmarks of Anatomy
9. Seeing Anatomical Masses
10. Seeing The Figure As A 2D Object
11. Using Tone To Draw
12. Getting a Handle on Direct Lighting
13. Using The Idea Of Atmosphere

Eatpoo.com Guide for Art NOOBS
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=876

References

Concept Artist Link Index
http://www.turtleart.net/artists.php

Photographic Lighting Schemes (with examples)
http://uk.fotopunto.com/articulo-explained-lighting-schemes_60

Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Work
http://joeljohnson.com/archives/2006/08/wally_woods_22.html

Colour Theory Guide
http://www.worqx.com/color/

Blambot Comic Fonts
http://www.blambot.com/

Microsoft Web Development
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/beginner/web/tier1/

Pose Maniacs Drawing Tools
http://www.posemaniacs.com/blog/

Grid and perspective brushes for CS2:
http://www.photoshop-free-brushes.com/brushes/32_perspective_grid_brush_14.zip

Books

Essentials/Basics

The Natural Way to Draw by Kimon Nicolaides
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards

Color

The Elements of Color by Johannes Itten
Painting With Light by John Alton
Color Theory by Jose Maria Parramon
Color Management: A copmrehensive Guide for Graphic Designersby John Drew and Sarah Meyer

Design

Design and Form: The Basic Course at the Bauhaus and Later, Revised Edition by Johannes Itten
The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams
The Non-Designer's Scan & Print Book by Sandee Cohen
The Non-Designer's Type Book by Robin Williams

Anatomy & Illustration

Dynamic Anatomy by Burne Hogarth
Dynamic Figure Drawing by Burne Hogarth
Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery by Burne Hogarth
Drawing Dynamic Hands by Burne Hogarth
Dynamic Light and Shade by Burne Hogarth

Human Anatomy for Artists by Eliot Goldfinger
Anatomy For The Artist by Sarah Simblet
Artistic Anatomy by Richer & Hale
Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing From Life by George B. Bridgman

Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters by Robert Hale
Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters by Robert Hale and Terrence Coyle

DC Comics Guide to Pencilling and Inking Comics

Learning Software

Photoshop CS2 Bible
Illustrator CS2 Bible

Comic Book Storytelling

Graphic Storytelling & Visual Narrative by Will Eisner
Comics & Sequential Art by Will Eisner
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
Perspective! For Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea

Animation

The Illusion of Life by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas
The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams

Grifter on
«13456764

Posts

  • GrifterGrifter BermudaModerator mod
    edited May 2008
    Time for a new one of these.

    Grifter on
  • MKRMKR Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    How do I make a camera see into the future?

    MKR on
  • BroloBrolo Broseidon Lord of the BroceanRegistered User regular
    edited May 2008
    MKR wrote: »
    How do I make a camera see into the future?

    Wait

    Brolo on
  • TamTam Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Ahahaha. Nice.

    The "Pens n' Pixels" tut is either a bad link or is dead.

    Tam on
  • The LittleMan In The BoatThe LittleMan In The Boat Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Me and my roommates are looking to put our money together and buy a tablet for are website we want to do art for. I've looked through plenty of listings, but I was wondering if there was one Grifter DMAC or AoB would recommend. I value their opinion and if anyone would like to suggest one, great. We are willing to spend around $200 each and there are four of us.

    The LittleMan In The Boat on
    yerf.jpg
    I don't suffer from Insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.
  • bombardierbombardier Moderator mod
    edited May 2008
    Wacom.

    bombardier on
  • MangoesMangoes Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Wacom. There is simply no other option when it comes to Tablets.

    http://direct.wacom.com/stores/5/Bamboo_Fun_-_medium_-_black_P1198C86.cfm?UserID=3251129&jsessionid=a630def6d529NwB$FB$C

    I'd recommend the Wacom Graphire4 6x8, but those are a bit hard to come by. I don't have any personal experience with the Bamboo Fun, but going by what other tablets from Wacom I've owned, I trust it's quality-made.

    The Intuos is much more pricey, and unless you are really dedicated to your art, you probably don't need one.

    I work with a Graphire myself, and it suites my needs.

    Mangoes on
  • MKRMKR Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Who was that person who came and posted his (or her) independent film about a future where all the men had died, and the main character was escorting a sexbot somewhere?

    MKR on
  • The LittleMan In The BoatThe LittleMan In The Boat Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Thanks Bombardier and CapnMango. We just don't want to waste our money on something that isn't recommend well. I am so tired, but thank you again.

    The LittleMan In The Boat on
    yerf.jpg
    I don't suffer from Insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.
  • TheJacksTheJacks Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Are there any in depth tutorials on how to paint textures in photoshop? I don't know where to start.

    TheJacks on
  • GrifterGrifter BermudaModerator mod
    edited May 2008
    Me and my roommates are looking to put our money together and buy a tablet for are website we want to do art for. I've looked through plenty of listings, but I was wondering if there was one Grifter DMAC or AoB would recommend. I value their opinion and if anyone would like to suggest one, great. We are willing to spend around $200 each and there are four of us.

    You should get one of these.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEI97_Ka-n4

    Grifter on
  • TamTam Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    That is the sexiest video I have ever watched in my life.

    Tam on
  • The LittleMan In The BoatThe LittleMan In The Boat Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Agreed. Thanks for the suggestions guys.

    <3

    The LittleMan In The Boat on
    yerf.jpg
    I don't suffer from Insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.
  • MangoesMangoes Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Grifter wrote: »
    Me and my roommates are looking to put our money together and buy a tablet for are website we want to do art for. I've looked through plenty of listings, but I was wondering if there was one Grifter DMAC or AoB would recommend. I value their opinion and if anyone would like to suggest one, great. We are willing to spend around $200 each and there are four of us.

    You should get one of these.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEI97_Ka-n4
    Doesn't the Cintiq have a delay? I thought the technology wasn't all there.

    EDIT: Guess not. Gizmodo said the viewing angle is deceiving.

    Mangoes on
  • Chop LogicChop Logic Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    So, how does one go about getting prints made of thier work? A few people have contacted me asking me if I have any prints of my stuff for sale, which suprised me, but I don't know anything about it.

    Where do you get it done? How much does it cost? Is it ever cost effective to just get a run of 10 or 15?

    Thanks.

    Chop Logic on
  • TamTam Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Chop Logic wrote: »
    So, how does one go about getting prints made of thier work? A few people have contacted me asking me if I have any prints of my stuff for sale, which suprised me, but I don't know anything about it.

    Where do you get it done? How much does it cost? Is it ever cost effective to just get a run of 10 or 15?

    Thanks.

    Just submit it to a DeviantArt account and you can get prints made and sell them. You do get a percentage though, since it costs cash money to make the prints.

    Tam on
  • GrifterGrifter BermudaModerator mod
    edited May 2008
    You can buy a printer if you have a high demand. That's the most cost effective solution. Then you just have to get some decent quality paper and you're in the print making business.

    Grifter on
  • Chop LogicChop Logic Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    ^Do I just print it on high quality photo paper? The glossy kind? I have a photo printer here at my house. My main issue is actually getting an acurate digital copy of the work. For example, this is just something I happen to have a photo of:

    2538351597_b15ecc0179.jpg

    Isn't 100% accurate to what the real picture looks like. How should I go about fixing this? Adjusting the levels in photoshop? Scan it in? Take my pictures differently? Would I just print this image as is, obviously bigger?

    Thanks a lot.

    Chop Logic on
  • MagicToasterMagicToaster JapanRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Chop Logic wrote: »
    Isn't 100% accurate to what the real picture looks like.

    It isn't accurate how?

    Also, glossy paper isn't the only kind of fancy paper available. Check with a paper supplier or a print shop to see if you can get a paper sample book. Beware though, some papers jam printers!

    MagicToaster on
  • Chop LogicChop Logic Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    The pink in the actual picture is richer, less sickly and pale I guess you'd say. But if I were to print that picture out, would I want to adjust it in photoshop so that the backround is white, like the white paper I did it on, or would I leave it greyish? Are most prints done on glassy paper? I don't think they are.

    Sorry I'm asking so many questions, I just literally know nothing about all of this.

    Chop Logic on
  • GrifterGrifter BermudaModerator mod
    edited June 2008
    There's all kinds of papers out there. If you print on heavier stock there's a chance that it will jam because your printer isn't designed to handle it. Like MT said, you may want to head down to a print shop and see what kinds of paper they have or if they have a sample book then make a judgement on what you think will work best. Semi-gloss or gloss might be good and you may or may not want to print it on plane white paper. And off white might work better. However, this will probably take some experimentation on your part.

    As far as your picture is concerned, you'll probably want to scan it into photoshop and adjust the levels to get a good white background. Remember that white doesn't print so if you choose to use and off white background it will only print the colors in your image. If you have any shadows or such then that will print as well and will probably not be beneficial.

    At the end of the day, a lot of these decisions need to be made by you as the artist.

    Grifter on
  • MagicToasterMagicToaster JapanRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Grifter wrote: »
    white doesn't print

    A surprising number of people don't know this.

    MagicToaster on
  • PROXPROX Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    For anyone interested in animation-

    The $8 animation course- http://www.animationarchive.org/2006/05/meta-100000-animation-drawing-course.html#links

    PROX on
  • TamTam Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Awesome, PROX.
    Grifter wrote: »
    white doesn't print

    A surprising number of people don't know this.

    Are you saying that there are actually people that think there is white ink that is printed onto white paper?

    Tam on
  • BroloBrolo Broseidon Lord of the BroceanRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Tam wrote: »
    Awesome, PROX.
    Grifter wrote: »
    white doesn't print

    A surprising number of people don't know this.

    Are you saying that there are actually people think there is white ink that is printed onto white paper?

    You need additive ink, and you mix them all together.

    Brolo on
  • MagicToasterMagicToaster JapanRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Tam wrote: »
    Awesome, PROX.
    Grifter wrote: »
    white doesn't print

    A surprising number of people don't know this.

    Are you saying that there are actually people that think there is white ink that is printed onto white paper?

    No, but when you want to print on a diffrent color paper, you have to explain that there is no white ink comming out of the printer. You can actually print white material over a dark surface, like Rolo said, but it's a diffrent process.

    MagicToaster on
  • supabeastsupabeast Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Chop Logic wrote: »
    The pink in the actual picture is richer, less sickly and pale I guess you'd say. But if I were to print that picture out, would I want to adjust it in photoshop so that the backround is white, like the white paper I did it on, or would I leave it greyish? Are most prints done on glassy paper? I don't think they are.

    Sorry I'm asking so many questions, I just literally know nothing about all of this.

    Chop, you should try contacting your local art school and see if some of the students can run you through the process of producing digital art prints. They’ll also be able to help you locate the best suppliers of ink and paper in your area. There might even be a class you can take that would give you access to high-end inkjet printers. At my school we had the same Epson inkjet printers used by big-shot artists who sell prints for tens of thousands of dollars—donated by the guy who prints their stuff.

    One thing that’s really important is to research the life of your ink/paper combination before you sell the prints. Some inks will completely disappear after a year, even with no exposure to light! Other inks can destroy papers they weren’t meant to be used with, and so on. Start here.

    supabeast on
  • mimizumimizu Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Can anyone provide me a link to a truly ancient (bigger than 840x840 pixels) deep crow image? thank you.

    mimizu on
  • MKRMKR Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Your best bet is probably to commission someone to draw one for you. Not only do you get a large scan, but you also get to decide how you want it to look. :)

    MKR on
  • bombardierbombardier Moderator mod
    edited June 2008
    Lavish this guy with sexual favours: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=58455

    bombardier on
  • XALXAL Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    So basically I am total failure at digital painting in photoshop.

    Looking at Craig Mullins' stuff and watching this http://www.vimeo.com/927695 boggles my goddamn brain (and bacon's speedpaint tut).

    No matter what I do I end up with something that looks nothing like either of those when they're 2% of the way through it. My stuff just looks blurry and blobby and total crap. Probably because I have no idea what I'm doing...

    Is there like an online guide or book (PS books are all about image editing) how to digipaint?
    Like...what kind of opacities/flows are best, etc. Something that goes over basics like that.

    I've been playing around for the better part of a year in CS2 with my tablet and I'm just not grasping how to paint well in photoshop.

    -A Massive Failure

    *I took my first painting class like 5 months ago and that class somewhat mirrors my experience with photoshop - having little to know instruction.
    My teacher basically said nothing but "hey go paint what's on the table" without teaching teaching us how to do underpaintings/washes or even how much paint and how much water we should be using. I basically had to stumble through it and I have a better physical painting ability than a digital painting ability (more paint = better, but does more solid colors = better in photoshop? or low, mid opacities?)

    I just have too many questions and need to learn everything from the beginning...

    XAL on
  • PiousPious Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Is there a place where artist can collaborate together? I want to do a collab with someone.

    Pious on
    Untitled_1_4.jpg
  • monsterrormonsterror HEY ASSBUTT Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    I just got a tablet for my laptop, and realized something photoshop is doing that I just can't stand. I never really used the pencil tool until now, since it sucks if you have a mouse.

    If I draw a line, then start a new line anywhere on that line, it will use my background color instead of my foreground.

    Is there anyway I can change this, outside of keeping both my back and foregrounds the same color? It's CS2.

    monsterror on
  • MagicToasterMagicToaster JapanRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    If I press CTRL,ALT and the down arrow, my monitor's image does a 180 degree rotation, rendering the image upside down.

    It used to be that I could control the mouse normaly when I had my image upsidown. Just this week, I tried to do this and my mouse control got inverted when in this mode.

    Anyone know where I can change this setting?

    MagicToaster on
  • HeadlessChickens.IncHeadlessChickens.Inc Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Since someone was already talking about the new mini-Cintiq, I thought I'd bring this up here.

    I picked one of these up about a week ago to try it out. Had to find one in a physical store since I knew there was a decent chance I was going to exchange it for something else and Wacom charges a restocking fee 100% of the time.

    Basically, if you're coming from using an old "draw here, look there" tablet, you're going to love working directly on screen. I never could get used to doing anything serious with my Intuos, simply because I like to constantly adjust the angle of my drawing surface, which really doesn't work if your surface and screen aren't the same object. What I've been able to produce with the Cintiq in a few days is a massive improvement over anything I ever did with the Intuos.

    That said, the 12WX suffers from significant accuracy and jittering issues which will annoy you if you're even remotely a professional artist. The center of the screen is completely accurate, and if you draw only here, it works great and is worth $1000 without question. Unfortunately, the farther you go from the center, the more the cursor is off from the pen, regardless of how many times you calibrate the device. Worse yet, as the cursor becomes more offset, it also starts to jitter more. Within the bottom left corner of the screen, the jittering is significant even when the pen is set down on the screen, a test which removes any posibility of this just being a problem with holding the pen still.

    The general consensus online is that the tablet suffers from RF interference from its own internal power supply, and that there is no way to fix this issue without literally ripping the unit open and replacing the power unit.

    I should mention that turning down the backlight helps the jittering a bit, but doesn't seem to have any impact on the actual accuracy drift.

    It's also worth mentioning that there's nothing portable about the unit; while the tablet itself is a good size to go with a laptop, it has a second interface box that it plugs into, which itself has a DVI, USB, and power cable running from it. The power cable goes to a standard one of those little power converter boxes. Basically, this isn't coming to a coffee shop with you unless you're the type who brings a PC to Starbucks. :P

    I'm returning this and trying the 21UX in a few days. I've heard that it has the same issue, however here we're talking about losing accuracy around the edge of a 21 inch screen, basically making it a 19 inch drawing area, which would be more than suitable for how I work.


    Just thought I'd share that, since I doubt I'm the only one who has been thinking about getting one of these. It'd be great to hear back from anyone who's worked with the 21UX or the new widescreen 20 inch version.. I went with the 21 since I thought 4:3 made more sense as a drawing surface than 16:9, but I'm more interested in a technical comparison between the two in terms of screen quality and pen accuracy.

    HeadlessChickens.Inc on
  • MagicToasterMagicToaster JapanRegistered User regular
    edited June 2008
    Colorwise, how does it handle? Also, how does it display gradients, does it show too much banding?

    MagicToaster on
  • monsterrormonsterror HEY ASSBUTT Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    I figured out what was going on with my copy of photoshop.

    Apparently, I had checked "Auto Erase" on the pencil tool at some point.

    monsterror on
  • projectmayhemprojectmayhem Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    I half hate myself for even having to ask this, but how do you set the background in photoshop? I need it to be black. I am used to just grabbing the paint bucket and doing the whole thing that way, however, I am trying to do a design and that way just won't cut it.

    projectmayhem on
  • TamTam Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    HeadlessChickens.Inc's post is what consumer review is all about. Thank you, sir- should I ever decide to buy a Cintiq, I know what to avoid.

    Tam on
  • MaydayMayday Cutting edge goblin tech Registered User regular
    edited June 2008
    How do I make an swf that has a transparent background? And I don't mean in a browser, I mean EVERYWHERE.

    Mayday on
This discussion has been closed.