Show us your drawings/artwork

Kristoph said:
I'm not sure I understand 'digital' painting. Is it not just creating a layer over your original image and then just fiddling and using it like its tracing paper? It looks effective but I can't help feel it looks good because its so easy to manipulate? After all, you've got a tool to match the colours. All you need to do is select a brush, drop the opacity of your 'digital' layer and trace away?

edit;

this post just sounds rude. I've looked over some more of the digital paintings in this thread and can see it involves some skill, but why not try the real thing?
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Well I initially learnt with the traditional "real" way of painting. This for example is something I did back when I was into it. Not really a fan of it any more, but painting like this gave me the knowledge necessary to approach digital art.

154298_10150112014906281_545516280_7795472_83449_n.jpg


What you outlined is a method of digital art, but a rather simplistic one at that. I find digital as, if not more hard then actual art. The amount of time put into a good piece of work takes just as long. It's a completely different approach to art with it's own set of skill and tools, and just as hard to manipulate (even if the impression given is easy). I think we could all write books about the differences so I won't get into it, but what I will say is that it's great to have an Undo button! Saves lot's of time and you can experiment more freely with the picture without the fear of ruining it, like with real painting.
 
TheBigCheese said:
Here we go, my first ever attempt at digital painting...or any painting / drawing apart from a couple of Garfield doodles come to that!

Don't laugh, and obviously it's only part way through. :p

Nae39.jpg


I realise now that she's slumping too much. :(
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I'm impressed that you gave it a go! Everyone has to start somewhere!

Here's what I'd suggest:

Take your reference image and blow it up to about 600 pixels wide. Then resize your canvas to 1200 pixels wide and position your image layer over to the left/right. That way you have a 600 pixel wide space which is exactly the same size as your image to work with. This will make proportion guessing MUCH easier! :)

You seem to be doodling her a lot smaller than the reference image? When you paint from an easel you match the height, proportions etc from where you're stood, it's exactly the same process with this. Have your drawing in exactly the same alignment as the reference image.

You should be able to draw a line from the top of the Milas head in the image straight across to your drawing and it should be exactly the same height. Her feet seem to be in line but her head isn't? It'll make life much easier :D

Kudos for the effort, though! :cool:


Kristoph said:
I'm not sure I understand 'digital' painting. Is it not just creating a layer over your original image and then just fiddling and using it like its tracing paper? It looks effective but I can't help feel it looks good because its so easy to manipulate? After all, you've got a tool to match the colours. All you need to do is select a brush, drop the opacity of your 'digital' layer and trace away?

edit;

this post just sounds rude. I've looked over some more of the digital paintings in this thread and can see it involves some skill, but why not try the real thing?
Click to expand...

Digital is a medium just like any other. For me, it's cheap(after the initial outlay for equipment, obviously) and mess free! No drying time, no cleaning up paint and inhaling turpentine fumes and an ability to change anything at a moments notice. That's why it's valued in production environments over traditional tools.

If I spend two hours starring at a charcoal rendering, blending in the strokes. Go away and return to find I've missed a vital piece of proportioning on the reference image that's me stuffed. I'd have to start all over again as charcoal isn't very forgiving.

It can be abused but for us chaps here, what's the point? It's only hindrance, just like tracing paper...There's nothing to gain, we're wanting to learn drawing and digital is the perfect medium for that because it's very forgiving.
 
Kristoph said:
I'm not sure I understand 'digital' painting. Is it not just creating a layer over your original image and then just fiddling and using it like its tracing paper? It looks effective but I can't help feel it looks good because its so easy to manipulate? After all, you've got a tool to match the colours. All you need to do is select a brush, drop the opacity of your 'digital' layer and trace away?

edit;

this post just sounds rude. I've looked over some more of the digital paintings in this thread and can see it involves some skill, but why not try the real thing?
Click to expand...

Nope, you don't understand digital painting. :p

Though that can be done it wouldn't produce a good result, you would still need to colour and shade it manually.

Digital art is painting just done with a pen rather than a brush...I've spent half the evening messing about with different styles of brushes etc., in Photoshop.

I did try the real thing some years ago, I bought some acrylic paints and a proper (but small) pad of paper...(oooh, I'll have to find that out, it's all coming back to me now :D).

I managed to draw and paint (simplistically) a wizard but I was terrified of doing more to it and making a mess...digital gives you a safety net especially when you are just starting out as I am.
 
Cheers for the tips matey, I'll keep working on it tomorrow if I get a chance! :D

Yeah it was just taken from a Windows viewer image to the left of Photoshop, I didn't even think of proportioning it that way, I just used my eye and sketched it by hand.

I'll give you technique a go though!

Tell you what I find Photoshop a bit of a swine for blending, there doesn't seem to be any tools there (unless I'm missing them) to neatly blend one colour into the next, I think I'll have to find out the Painter software and give that a go, I remember when I tried it once before it was simple to blend colours together.

Right I'm off to bed, I'll be interested to see if there are any new images added to this thread in the morning! :)
 
Sorry, had to go pick the misses up from town, slightly regretting it, she's in some state(works night out) :p Anyway, I scribbled that down quickly just before I left to save me writing a description!

Painter: You really have to learn the ins and outs of the package. I've tried using it time after time after time with not much in the way of success, I just get fed up of the interface, most others(from what I've heard) completely prefer the Photoshop interface like myself.

Blending: Simples. Mark in all your colours/values with whichever brush you want. Then select the soft round brush, as demonstrated above^^^(You can really use ANY brush for this but a softer brush blends better). Hit the number 1 on your keyboard which will set the opacity of the brush to 10%(2 selects 20%, hitting 10 twice selects 11% and so on) and brush over the colours you've just stuck in. Blending made easy :)

Hope these basics pointers help people :)

edit: and I know the image above isnt 1200 pixels wide, I sized it down to fit in the forum :p
 
Wow, thanks so much for all the hints and tips Shifty, that's absolutely fantastic, especially writing it all out at that time of night! :D

I'm drowning today in all the work I didn't get done last night after all so I'm not going to get a chance to have a go with it as yet, as soon as I manage to do any more using your tips I'll post the results! :D

Loving the tentacles DampCat!
 
Kristoph said:
I'm not sure I understand 'digital' painting. Is it not just creating a layer over your original image and then just fiddling and using it like its tracing paper? It looks effective but I can't help feel it looks good because its so easy to manipulate? After all, you've got a tool to match the colours. All you need to do is select a brush, drop the opacity of your 'digital' layer and trace away?

edit;

this post just sounds rude. I've looked over some more of the digital paintings in this thread and can see it involves some skill, but why not try the real thing?
Click to expand...

My images started as sketches on paper, scanned, and then painted using either photoshop or illustrator. The photoshop ones aren't much different in technique from traditional methods, only much less messy and easier to correct mistakes.
 
Going to finish of my essays then hopefully sketch for a week or two. If the itch is still there, then my student loan will be in. ;)
 
Limenote said:
awesome work shifty and lance, be sure to post any z brush workings you end up doing.
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Been at it for over an hour now, this is my first attempt at a face...

T22QHl.jpg


Knowing abit of 2D seems to help a lot and doing it on the Cintiq is pretty awesome. If anyone has any Z-Brush material which is worth a read/watch please let me know^^
 
Amazing stuff.

Wish I had a talent like this. Would you say you were born with this talent or taught it?

One other thing, I often think what certain cars would look like in human cartoonish form. Take the BMW M5. I'd imagine it to look something like Drago from Rocky 4 lol.

Whereas a car like the Honda NSX would look a little like bruce lee.

Could some of you put something together?
 
looking good lance, I've used z-brush in the past to bake normals and had to get my head around to way it works compared to something like 3d max.
 
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