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Questions, Discussion, and Tutorials

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Posts

  • rtsrts Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Conte. It's funny, when I posted my reply I had literally just got out of his class 15 minutes earlier. But yeah we mostly use these:

    conte_charcoal_1.jpg

    I assume you saw how to sharpen them on his blog or his thread.

    rts on
    skype: rtschutter
  • JeckalHydeJeckalHyde Lord Awesome New ZealandRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Err, dumb question. How do you change a thread title?

    JeckalHyde on
  • The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Had difficulty with this too once.
    do a full edit of the first post.

    The_Glad_Hatter on
  • JeckalHydeJeckalHyde Lord Awesome New ZealandRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Thanks Hatty

    JeckalHyde on
  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Thanks, Cake! I'll give those a whirl.

    When I posted my question you're just the guy around here I was hoping to hear from BTW!

    Edit: Is that a different pencil than the regular Conte pencils, which say "Pierre Noire" on them in the spot where those say "Fusain Charcoal"? I can't find any pencils for sale online that look like the ones pictured...

    Lamp on
  • rtsrts Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I have no idea what the difference is. Keen eye, I believe the ones we use say Pierre Noire though.

    rts on
    skype: rtschutter
  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Ok -- I actually only asked because I called the art store down the street to ask if they carried them and the woman instructed me that they sell "Conte crayons in a pencil shape" and that she didn't think that they made Conte charcoal pencils. That's when I noticed the difference in the label compared with what I was seeing online.

    However, I went down and picked a few up and they seem like charcoal to me, but with more of a soft/powdery touch that I haven't found in any other charcoal pencil. I love them!

    Lamp on
  • ChicoBlueChicoBlue Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I probably would've been confused, too, if someone had asked for a conte charcoal pencil.

    Conte is charcoal or graphite with a wax binder. Charcoal is charcoal.

    Confusing brand names and labeling.

    ChicoBlue on
  • rtsrts Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    There are a few different brands we use at Watts Atelier... but mostly you will see Contes. Most of the instructors actually use Wolff Carbons. Too pro for me though. All charcoal pencils give me that 'nails on a chalkboard' feeling...which has lead to me mostly dropping charcoal lately. Plus, I do so little life drawing these days that I really like to take my time and do a nice job on the ones I do, so graphite just makes more practical sense from an archival perspective.

    But it's still an amazing medium for practicing and doing lots of drawings. I am hoping to convince Erik to create a how-to type video for my forum to help promote both it and the school but we'll see. If we manage it I will definitely post it up here as well.

    Actually the model I am doing a drawing of in the long drawing class seems to really want me to give him the drawing I am doing of him...so I am going to see this next week if he will trade an hour or two of photoshoot for the drawing so I can put up some really high quality free figure reference for people to use online. But we'll see. I will obviously post that as well if it happens.

    rts on
    skype: rtschutter
  • JeckalHydeJeckalHyde Lord Awesome New ZealandRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Ok guys, I feel like im stuck in a rut with drawing etc. As you might of seen in my thread I have like 3 things im working on digitally. With the stuff im drawing or redrawing I seem to start one, work on it till i stop, for reasons like sleep etc.
    When i come back to it, and see that there is something wrong with it, fundamentally or otherwise. (I know its rather self critical, but I am not taking it to heart, just the perfectionist in me) Anyway I try to fix it, over and over to no avail. So the fact Ive done this 3 times now, I know something must be up, right?

    So Ive kinda taken the morning gone over the stuff at the beginning of this thread, tutorial wise and such in Bacon's post. Downloaded the art books there... I now im wondering where to start from, should i just open a book a start from square one, look at everything or should i be a bit more specific in what i want to look at.
    With intention for what I specifically get into with my art down the road?

    In saying that It should be known by now, that im a face man, etc. So portraits, caricatures and all that is where I want to head.

    Thoughts Anyone?

    JeckalHyde on
  • UlisesUlises Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    i got a dip pen and some nibs yesterday, been giving them a try. the finer nibs are just way too flexy and split immediately on any of the paper i use with even the lightest touch. that or the channel doesn't let ink through properly.

    granted i might be stuck with some bum nibs, but what sort of paper does one do the india ink and dip pen scratchy drawings on? also any general advice on pen drawings would be appreciated

    Ulises on
  • The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    JeckalHyde wrote: »
    Ok guys, I feel like im stuck in a rut with drawing etc.
    Hey Jeckalhyde, i think that perhaps it's time to let the eternal-works-in-progress works go a bit. I've seen that jared leto one floating around for some time, and i found that i can spend an eternity dicking around with my works, but that won't necessarily improve them greatly.

    What i picked up from a Jeffrey Watts dvd (he's the teacher most of the amazing people on here seem to visit) is that he often won't hit the painting fase untill his pencils contain all the (correct) info he needs. And the correctness is where you need to work on.
    I think if you'd focus more on "measuring" and comparing shapes and distances, that you'd work'd be so much better.
    Take that Matthew Bellamy one, if you'd just move around and transform some stuff it'd look pretty damn decent.(lower his shoulders!).

    i've head tremendous succes with posting early works in progress in the doodle thread, where it's likely to get some quick comments, so that the earlier stages of are allright to continue from.
    When it comes to learning from books, just copy the hell out of 'em, but try to recreate the drawing in steps, much like the artist would've done, instead of just starting at the upper-left corner and working your way out. Start with the broad lines and work your way in. Try to apply what you've learned to some pictures of, even better, life.

    The_Glad_Hatter on
  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    JeckalHyde wrote: »
    In saying that It should be known by now, that im a face man, etc. So portraits, caricatures and all that is where I want to head.

    Thoughts Anyone?

    Checked out your thread. I've gotta say if you want to learn to draw the human head then drawing from celebrity photos is a bad approach. Photos in general can make for pretty crummy reference, but for faces especially so. Flash photography utterly destroys shadows, tone and anything that would even remotely help you grasp or describe the forms of the head. Airbrushed celebrity promo shots are even worse. Find some references with a good range of tones and a single light source, or take your own. Better yet, work from life -- if you can't find a life drawing class around you, get friends/family/significant other to sit still and draw them, or do what I do and draw from the mirror.

    My other suggestion would be to study (draw) the skull and the planes of the head. There are a lot of different approaches to the latter, most figure drawing books will break it down in one way or another.

    Lamp on
  • initiatefailureinitiatefailure Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Does anyone know a good source of stock photography? Shutterstock memberships are a little out of my range even with an AIGA discount and some of the free ones I've seen have been really bad.

    initiatefailure on
  • MustangMustang Arbiter of Unpopular Opinions Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Good stock costs money. You can try Deviant Art, but most of that is a mixed bag of shit, with some occasional nuggets.

    EDIT: Unless your looking for pictures of dicks, because deviant art is where it's at when it comes to cock photography.

    Mustang on
  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited June 2011
    Does anyone know a good source of stock photography? Shutterstock memberships are a little out of my range even with an AIGA discount and some of the free ones I've seen have been really bad.

    Most of the DA stock people don't allow for commercial use/use outside of DA anyway, most of the good people are trying to make good reference for drawing, not so much stuff for design. Have you tried searching for photos in public domain? What Do you need photos of, exactly?

    Iruka on
  • nakirushnakirush Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    What's proper protocol for asking professional artists if you can practice inking on their pencil work? Also, can inker be a viable career path?

    nakirush on
  • SiegfriedSiegfried Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    What do you need the images for? If you're just doing drafts or a school project, veer.com has the ability to download decently high-res comps without watermarks. You just need to make an account I think and they're all free.

    Siegfried on
    Portfolio // Twitter // Behance // Tumblr
    Kochikens wrote:
    My fav is when I can get my kiss on with other dudes.
  • HonkHonk Honk is this poster. Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited June 2011
    If you need regular photos I don't know, if you only need photos of elements and materials though check out cgtextures.com.

    Free membership, really neat stuff if it fits what you're looking for.

    Honk on
    PSN: Honkalot
  • NibCromNibCrom Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    CSS Question: Does someone have a link that explains how to make a repeating background that has an additional background on top of it that does not repeat? I can get one background to work, but I can't get both of them at the same time despite various coding tries and Web searches.

    NibCrom on
  • NightDragonNightDragon 6th Grade Username Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Do you have an example of this in action somewhere? It's hard to figure out what you're trying to accomplish, exactly...and to what end.

    NightDragon on
  • MagicToasterMagicToaster JapanRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Does anyone know a good source of stock photography? Shutterstock memberships are a little out of my range even with an AIGA discount and some of the free ones I've seen have been really bad.

    iStock.com is the cheapest Ive seen. Its gotten some expensive collections, but as long as you stay clear from the "Agency" and "Vetta" collection, you should be fine. It works with a credit system. You buy 30 credits or more and each picture, according to its size and resolution, costs a certain amount of credits. Most pictures, excluding Agency and Vetta, are between 6 to 20 credits.

    MagicToaster on
  • BroloBrolo Broseidon Lord of the BroceanRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    NibCrom wrote: »
    CSS Question: Does someone have a link that explains how to make a repeating background that has an additional background on top of it that does not repeat? I can get one background to work, but I can't get both of them at the same time despite various coding tries and Web searches.

    body {
    background-image: url("marble.png");
    background-repeat:repeat;
    }


    #content {
    background-image: url("wood.png"),
    background-repeat:none;
    }

    like that?

    Brolo on
  • BroloBrolo Broseidon Lord of the BroceanRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Hey AC

    Can someone point me towards a good tutorial for painting skin in photoshop? I'm trying to get more natural looking colour gradients and better tones, but no matter what I do the skin tones I create look blotchy and my colour transitions seem too harsh.

    Brolo on
  • rtsrts Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    The solution to that problem, as with most problems, is just better drawing. You need to work on your edges in particular. Get some good high quality reference, and put some real time into doing a study from it. There really aren't going to be too many tricks. It's about confidence, and confidence comes from mileage.

    rts on
    skype: rtschutter
  • NibCromNibCrom Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Sorry if my question was unclear, ND. That's basically it, Rolo. I got it to work now, not sure why it wasn't working before. Now I need to get a background image at the bottom as well. I used this:

    #background_bottom {
    clear:both;
    background: url(images/background_bottom.png);
    background-repeat:no-repeat;
    background-position: center bottom;
    }

    Is that right? Do I put that as a div at the bottom of the HTML or use it as a wrapper? I can't get it to work either way.

    NibCrom on
  • JeckalHydeJeckalHyde Lord Awesome New ZealandRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Err im getting sick of my budget arsed pencils for drawing all this loomis stuff.
    What should i get? maybe like a drafting pencil?

    JeckalHyde on
  • NamNam Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    http://i.imgur.com/4fymf.jpg

    Does anyone know who drew this comic? I saw it posted somewhere without credit given to the artist and wanted to get that fixed. Swear I used to know who did it... wracking my brains.

    Nam on
  • SiegfriedSiegfried Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Okay, Photoshop brushes question: Whenever I use larger size brushes in photoshop cs3 I often get this bullshit where it doesn't really "blend," but instead looks like a bunch of circles meshed together in a line. I've done the same thing in CS5 on another computer and it works fine with no error. I wonder if its either A) brush settings problems, B) tablet settings problems, or C) version differences.

    For example, the black lines are pretty much fine, but something like the light green is aw hell naw.

    brushexample.png

    Any help?

    Siegfried on
    Portfolio // Twitter // Behance // Tumblr
    Kochikens wrote:
    My fav is when I can get my kiss on with other dudes.
  • Angel_of_BaconAngel_of_Bacon Moderator mod
    edited June 2011
    Sieg: in the Brushes window, under Brush Tip Shape, reduce the value on the spacing slider. The reason that it looks like a bunch of circles meshed together is because that's exactly what Photoshop does- just draws a series of circles (or whatever brush shape) in succession. The spacing slider effects how far apart the circles are spaced.

    Angel_of_Bacon on
  • SiegfriedSiegfried Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I gathered that's how photoshop made lines with the series of circles, I just couldn't figure out why it would do it sometimes and not others. Thanks!

    Siegfried on
    Portfolio // Twitter // Behance // Tumblr
    Kochikens wrote:
    My fav is when I can get my kiss on with other dudes.
  • ProspicienceProspicience The Raven King DenvemoloradoRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Nam wrote: »
    http://i.imgur.com/4fymf.jpg

    Does anyone know who drew this comic? I saw it posted somewhere without credit given to the artist and wanted to get that fixed. Swear I used to know who did it... wracking my brains.

    From what I can find it was John Pading, the guy who did the 1up webcomic Crazy buffet.

    Prospicience on
  • ninjaininjai Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    So I guess this is a question directed @ Iruka (since she recommended the book) but to anyone who's done any "classical definition" studying for art.
    What do you do?
    I'm going through that anatomy book, but I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing on top of reading it, am I just supposed to draw the images she has in the book or wha? Cuz thats pretty much what Im doing. Help?

    ninjai on
  • NamNam Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Nam wrote: »
    http://i.imgur.com/4fymf.jpg

    Does anyone know who drew this comic? I saw it posted somewhere without credit given to the artist and wanted to get that fixed. Swear I used to know who did it... wracking my brains.

    From what I can find it was John Pading, the guy who did the 1up webcomic Crazy buffet.

    Good find, yep, looks like the same style. It's nice to see his other works, these are pretty awesome;

    racoons.jpg

    Nam on
  • IrukaIruka Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited June 2011
    It kinda depends on what you want out of your work... I've been going through the 5ish books I have and have been trying to implement the bones into characters/break down images that I collect on DA (NSFW) into simpler forms. I've basically been trying to go from copying an image to thinking of it as a spacial puzzle. I am kinda just working on my own with no real access to life drawing at the moment, I'm sure the watts folk would have different suggestions for you.

    If you have money to throw down on books, amassing anatomy books is actually beneficial. They all have different approaches and you really want to have them all in your tool box.

    Iruka on
  • ShizumaruShizumaru Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    ninjai wrote: »
    So I guess this is a question directed @ Iruka (since she recommended the book) but to anyone who's done any "classical definition" studying for art.
    What do you do?
    I'm going through that anatomy book, but I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing on top of reading it, am I just supposed to draw the images she has in the book or wha? Cuz thats pretty much what Im doing. Help?

    I think it really depends on what kind of art you want to do in some cases. Anatomy alone is just one little piece of the art 'puzzle' so to speak. For just general drawing, I'd start with Bargue Drawing Course above anything else. Start copying some plates. Its what they have you do in all the classical ateliers in italy and a handful of other schools. From there move on to some casts/still lifes or whatever you have available to you. The Bargue plates alone though are a great place to start. Proportion, placement, shape recognition,etc. are more important in the beginning than anatomy. Get more comfortable with building/shading simple forms to start out with.

    That said for studying anatomy, its great to study in conjunction with life drawing classes if at all possible. And like Iruka mentioned, if you have money to throw around, theres a lot of books each offering a slightly different take on the subject and its very much worth having several different books. For starters however, I'd recommend anything by Robert Beverly Hale. Ultimately you will have a small little library of just anatomy books depending how deep you get into it. Study the diagrams, copy drawings, get reference, use everything you can to study it. There's many different ways to go about it and any of them are good so long as you keep drawing and working on it.

    Shizumaru on
  • ninjaininjai Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    THanks shiz, iruka. I'm almost done over here, when I get home there was a life drawing session I went to for 6 months (2x a week) before I deployed, when I started taking drawing seriously, and I do plan on going back to that.

    I bought, "Anatomy for the Artist" by sarah simblet off iruka's suggestion. I'll look into what you recommended as well, though I probably won't buy anything til I get home (if I order it now, it'll probably get lost in the mail, or get here after I leave haha)

    ninjai on
  • SiegfriedSiegfried Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    I can change the settings/mapping on my wacom radial menu, and it seems like they saved properly, but when I go to use the menu it's still the default buttons.

    Help? I'm using a Mac btw.

    Siegfried on
    Portfolio // Twitter // Behance // Tumblr
    Kochikens wrote:
    My fav is when I can get my kiss on with other dudes.
  • SiegfriedSiegfried Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Also, Photoshop is being lame again. For some reason whenever I try to crop the image it always crops down to 1 pixel! WTF

    Siegfried on
    Portfolio // Twitter // Behance // Tumblr
    Kochikens wrote:
    My fav is when I can get my kiss on with other dudes.
  • The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Siegfried wrote: »
    Also, Photoshop is being lame again. For some reason whenever I try to crop the image it always crops down to 1 pixel! WTF

    Check the toolbar in the top, is it set to 1px x 1 px? delete these numbers.

    The_Glad_Hatter on
This discussion has been closed.