cool deal! yeah painters got a steep learning curve, the brushes themselves can be exceedingly overwhelming but once you figure out how the brush creator works, it will all sorta click for you and everthing will flow so much faster.
Good all around brushes are
pens: scratchboard tool; thick and thin. Scratbhoard Rake
Blenders: Just add water
Pallete knife: smeary pallette knife with resat set to 40
Glow tool
Oil pastel with resat 65 and well 75
If you create a pallette with just those brushes, your pretty much set and won't need anything else. Glow tool acts like a ps airbrush on a color dodge layer, but its extremely useful. Just add water a necessety for blending colors, and oil pastel is a popular choice for colorblocking and blending as you go. Just remember, figure out how the brush creator works, and your life will get so much easier.
Mykonos on
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
"I was born; six gun in my hand; behind the gun; I make my final stand"~Bad Company
Dee, I hope you're going to put some kind of shadow element back in. I've been oscillating between liking and disliking the white background, and without the shadow to make some kind of plane for him to be standing on, it's a solid dislike.
Yeah, I would reiterate what Sublimus and Kazhiim said, and say draw from life, CommieCow. There's also stuff like Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain, which I think it's been mentioned is essentially an entire book dedicated to getting the point across to draw what you actually see, and not what you think you see.
A lot of people start off with pencils rather than pens, though I can't think of any compelling reasons why you'd need to, so I'll let other weigh in on that bit. I would, however, recommend a sketchbook, if for no other reason than that lined paper is thin and...well, lined.
As for more specific stuff, you've got the short quick stroke thing going on, which is pretty typical of beginners, and so which you should work on eliminating. If you look at some of the other drawings here, you'll see that even when you've got sketchy stuff with multiple strokes per contour, those strokes are often longer, and much looser. There's a sense here where drawing is a bit like learning how to dance or play an instrument; you've got to build a fluid control over the movements of your arm. So first off, use your arm, and not your wrist (or fingers) when drawing; the movements are more controlled. Second, loosen up, and that means everything; something I learned from cello is that tension in one part of the body (like, say, the fingers of your drawing hand) lead to tension in many other parts (like the aformentioned arm), so loose grip, loose wrist, loose arm. Third, build up some coordination between your eye and your arm so that you have more control over that longer line your arm should be drawing; best way of doing that: blind contour. Draw your free hand, slowly, paying attention to each subtle nuance in the contour, and (here's the catch) without looking at the paper. Even once. It will look super shitty and near unrecognizable, I promise you. But you will be practicing following contours and shapes with your eye, and translating that into movements of your arm, and you will be a better draughtsman for it. Which, in most cases, leads to better artist.
Thanks, DeeLock! I agree with Toji though that your figure looks kind of strange so dramatically lit against a white background.
I also made a panda:
I think this is wonderful
wooooooork in progress
Definitely looks more like some sort of black robin than a crow, but I've been working on it for two hours and it is time for a lake break. LAKE BREAK.
Have you ever posted any tutorials, DMAC? I couldn't find any on your site.
Not really. What kind of stuff would you be interested in? I've had a few requests lately. I could show how I do digital coloring but doing a tutorial on pencil drawing is kind of hard.
I guess I'm curious about your drawings done in the style that you just posted. Is it just pencils enhanced in Photoshop? Although if you ever found the time to do a coloring tutorial I would totally read that.
I'm off to class, but getting the subject of my submission to the poster challenge thingy wrapped up. Lots more to do but figure now's a good a chance as any to snag some crits since I'm off to school. No real refs as usual so there's probably plenty of things that could be fixed.
He is a reverse centaur. He will be fighting Hitler. Robot hitler. I must finish this tonight. ;D
I guess I'm curious about your drawings done in the style that you just posted. Is it just pencils enhanced in Photoshop? Although if you ever found the time to do a coloring tutorial I would totally read that.
Yeah, just pencils scanned into Photoshop with the levels adjusted slightly. Like I said, it would be kind of a hard thing to do a tutorial for. It's really just a matter of building up shading. I could probably scan a piece in stages as I'm working to show my process.
It actually starts out redder. I do most of my pencil drawings using Col-Erase colored pencils in a "Tuscan Red" color and then tone it down in Photoshop.
This actually gives a better idea of the original unmodified look of my pencil drawings before I do any adjustment:
Thanks for the info, sir. Thems good pencil drawings!
Actually, I remember you kind of doing a tutorial a few years back with that dragon in your signature. Pencil drawing with overlayed colors or the original scan multiplied onto the colors? Is that still your technique?
Just take that screencap, enlarge it, and continue to work on it. I've had to do the same thing with a couple of my pictures and it works just as well.
MustangArbiter of Unpopular OpinionsRegistered Userregular
edited February 2009
WCK has an obsession with Conan, Jay Leno and Michael Jackson, not necessarily in that order. But if he could invite 3 people to dinner I'm guessing it would be them.
WCK: I like that you are working on your lines. They are getting smoother and more confident, keep at it man!
Thanks. The Guile pic in particular shows more confident lines. I think my mistakes are more visable now. Which is good because now i know where exactly i need to improve.
WCK has an obsession with Conan, Jay Leno and Michael Jackson, not necessarily in that order. But if he could invite 3 people to dinner I'm guessing it would be them.
It's like you personally know me
BTW my folks are goin to Vegas this year at the same time Leno is performing stand up. i'm trying to get them to take a small painting over there and get him to sign it:) I'm sounding like an obsessed 12 year old Miley fan!
Posts
Good all around brushes are
pens: scratchboard tool; thick and thin. Scratbhoard Rake
Blenders: Just add water
Pallete knife: smeary pallette knife with resat set to 40
Glow tool
Oil pastel with resat 65 and well 75
If you create a pallette with just those brushes, your pretty much set and won't need anything else. Glow tool acts like a ps airbrush on a color dodge layer, but its extremely useful. Just add water a necessety for blending colors, and oil pastel is a popular choice for colorblocking and blending as you go. Just remember, figure out how the brush creator works, and your life will get so much easier.
"I was born; six gun in my hand; behind the gun; I make my final stand"~Bad Company
Shit, actually - not just when starting out, I've been drawing a lot more from reference lately, and its paying off big time.
Ok thanks. Does this still hold true if you drawing cartoon-ish stuff?
IE would you just basically look at other cartoony drawings and try and copy them?
draw from real life- cartoons are stylized, and you need to understand the basics behind drawing before you can stylize it
---
Time to study anatomy and do life drawings!
A lot of people start off with pencils rather than pens, though I can't think of any compelling reasons why you'd need to, so I'll let other weigh in on that bit. I would, however, recommend a sketchbook, if for no other reason than that lined paper is thin and...well, lined.
As for more specific stuff, you've got the short quick stroke thing going on, which is pretty typical of beginners, and so which you should work on eliminating. If you look at some of the other drawings here, you'll see that even when you've got sketchy stuff with multiple strokes per contour, those strokes are often longer, and much looser. There's a sense here where drawing is a bit like learning how to dance or play an instrument; you've got to build a fluid control over the movements of your arm. So first off, use your arm, and not your wrist (or fingers) when drawing; the movements are more controlled. Second, loosen up, and that means everything; something I learned from cello is that tension in one part of the body (like, say, the fingers of your drawing hand) lead to tension in many other parts (like the aformentioned arm), so loose grip, loose wrist, loose arm. Third, build up some coordination between your eye and your arm so that you have more control over that longer line your arm should be drawing; best way of doing that: blind contour. Draw your free hand, slowly, paying attention to each subtle nuance in the contour, and (here's the catch) without looking at the paper. Even once. It will look super shitty and near unrecognizable, I promise you. But you will be practicing following contours and shapes with your eye, and translating that into movements of your arm, and you will be a better draughtsman for it. Which, in most cases, leads to better artist.
I also made a panda:
facebook.com/LauraCatherwoodArt
I know I should like kick him in the shins....or send him milk and cookies. I'm not sure which.
Thanks for the advice lovely crustacean!
I think this is wonderful
wooooooork in progress
Definitely looks more like some sort of black robin than a crow, but I've been working on it for two hours and it is time for a lake break. LAKE BREAK.
Have you ever posted any tutorials, DMAC? I couldn't find any on your site.
NERD!
Not really. What kind of stuff would you be interested in? I've had a few requests lately. I could show how I do digital coloring but doing a tutorial on pencil drawing is kind of hard.
He is a reverse centaur. He will be fighting Hitler. Robot hitler. I must finish this tonight. ;D
Yeah, just pencils scanned into Photoshop with the levels adjusted slightly. Like I said, it would be kind of a hard thing to do a tutorial for. It's really just a matter of building up shading. I could probably scan a piece in stages as I'm working to show my process.
This actually gives a better idea of the original unmodified look of my pencil drawings before I do any adjustment:
http://d-mac.deviantart.com/art/Original-Pencil-Art-For-Sale-76666116
Actually, I remember you kind of doing a tutorial a few years back with that dragon in your signature. Pencil drawing with overlayed colors or the original scan multiplied onto the colors? Is that still your technique?
Duplicate of the color layer set to "Color" at about 60% to tint the pencils
___
Pencil layer set to "Multiply"
___
Color layer
I have no idea what I'm even doing anymore. though I fixed up the crow a little and am just a smidge happier with it
PS froze on me, and so I had to do a screencap and that's why there's a brush outline in the middle of the fucking picture
edit: yeah and all that work is gone
fucking shit
I think I do
Still in progress, got a few more hours, yes?
Thanks. The Guile pic in particular shows more confident lines. I think my mistakes are more visable now. Which is good because now i know where exactly i need to improve.
You're absolutely correct. I draw while watching Late Night so i can help but do doodles of him.
It's like you personally know me
BTW my folks are goin to Vegas this year at the same time Leno is performing stand up. i'm trying to get them to take a small painting over there and get him to sign it:) I'm sounding like an obsessed 12 year old Miley fan!
Leaf mass is all that's left and I have a sinking feeling it's going to be the hardest part
I have no idea what this assignment is, but as a piece of concept art, I absolutely love the idea/execution.
thanks to everyone who commented on the lost version
facebook.com/LauraCatherwoodArt