Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Patchouli]

I've been meaning to ask but keep forgetting; what brand of tablet do you guys generally use and what program(s) do you guys use?

From what I've seen, if I were you I'd honestly just start off with the much cheaper and frankly more educational pencil and paper for drawing instead of splurging on a $150+ tablet that you'll never adequately paint with because you have no technical foundations to work on.

I don't know, I believe technical foundations carry over between tablet and pencil/paper. If you're good with one, you're pretty much going to be perfectly fine switching to the other.

The main boon with starting with pencils is that it's cheaper, easily available to use, and familiar to most.

[Askot Bokbondeler]

a tablet is seriously crippled compared to a pencil because it's so less portable. it is impossible to do enough life drawing using a tablet, and one doesn't properly learn to draw using pictures as references

[Ogdibus]

.

[strongrudder]

I've been meaning to ask but keep forgetting; what brand of tablet do you guys generally use and what program(s) do you guys use?

You don't actually have to go too expensive while still getting a Wacom. I've got the cheap Bamboo Pen and it's pretty adequate. I draw small anyway though, so small tablets have never been a hindrance for me. They tend to run around $70. Not too terrible.

Programs are even more subject to personal preference, I think. Photoshop isn't that great for sketching unless you've got a nice fast computer (and it's expensive), but it's really useful for tons of other things. GIMP is free, but since I'm used to Photoshop, I've found it to be nigh unusable. Open Canvas 1.1 is free, but limited in its tools. I really like the way the brushes respond to tablet pressure, though, so I use it for quick sketches and paintings. SAI I haven't played with properly, but I know people who swear by it. So I guess free trials can be your friend, here.

Also I'll crosspost a drawing for people to tear apart, so I'm not just babbling in an art thread. This one was done in Open Canvas.

Spoiler: Nolthag the forgotten beast (click to show/hide)

[Jopax]

The shading and lightning on the dwarf are spot on, on the beast itself not so much, more of it should be lit up I think, and it's legs cast no shadow on the ground giving the impression of floating. Even if they are in the shadows they should be casting some to the ground, even if a slight change in lightness just to indicate where they actually are.

[freeformschooler]

Strongrudder, I like that. The way the scale portion only shows in the light - and isn't visible as a texture in the dark parts - really stands out to me.

Lately I've been drawing a self portrait every couple of days for shading practice. Once I figure out how to scan my drawings without destroying them tone- and shading-wise, I'll post one here. I've only been drawing my head and neck because I don't have access to any full-size mirrors in my house. I have one small one in my room and one medium-sized mirror nailed to the top of my bathroom wall but that's not efficient as it is. I'll have to see about investing in a larger one or getting that one down for practice purposes.

I have a problem, though. I've been trying to do that thing LNCP recommended where I just draw the head just as I see it: as an anonymous 3D object... but FOR THE LOVE OF ME, even when I am looking straight at them, I can NOT figure out how to draw/shade the lip area to where it doesn't look like I'm drawing lips (as opposed to a variation in tone). It's like there's something I'm seeing that I don't understand how to translate into subtle variations of tone. The rest of the face/head in general I'm a little better about, but lips escape me. Then again, my lips aren't really sculpted out at all like some peoples'... has anyone ever had this problem?

[Ogdibus]

.

[freeformschooler]

That would make sense, yeah. I'll see if I can clear those preconceptions somehow. Thanks, Ogdibus.

I'm not sure what you mean by create rather than copy... aren't I supposed to be copying and pasting exactly what I see - light, shadow, color - with my pencil/paintbrush when I draw from life? Some more detail on this would be great and might help me get in a better mindset for drawing from life.

EDIT: I read it backwards. I understand what you mean now. Never mind.

[Ogdibus]

.

[freeformschooler]

Don't worry, I THRIVE ON FAILURE. Seriously, I eat challenges for breakfast.

My webcam actually takes better pictures than my scanner, so here's what I've got right now:



Way too many problems to count (everything is in the wrong place and it's tilted/warped, shading is off on both sides, the nose is too outlined, etc. I have really bad hand-eye coordination, as I've said before, but I'm working on that.), obviously, but I'm still a beginner. This was pre-blurring: I showed it to my dad and he told me the main problem with the lips was they didn't "fade in", as in make a gradual change like they do when I look at my face, which could be achieved with an eraser, a finger and a very, very light touch. That's what I'm trying to do right now.

[Vector]

FFS,

Put on some lip gloss.  You will never see your mouth as a 2D, symbolic object again.

[freeformschooler]

Hehehe.

Actually, that's not bad feedback. I may have to try it.

In fact, I think I've figured out what's confusing me when I try to draw them (ignore improperly-placed symbol-nose and erased symbol-eyes):



The colors. The red parts of my lips are throwing me off here. I feel like if I could see - and imply - just the shape my lips make, not the color, I would draw it better. It's actually easier for me see it as a 3d change in the shape of my head when I'm looking at them as a flattened picture than as something I'm drawing for some reason. Hmm...

[lordnincompoop]

Don't worry, I THRIVE ON FAILURE. Seriously, I eat challenges for breakfast.

My webcam actually takes better pictures than my scanner, so here's what I've got right now:



Way too many problems to count (everything is in the wrong place and it's tilted/warped, shading is off on both sides, the nose is too outlined, etc. I have really bad hand-eye coordination, as I've said before, but I'm working on that.), obviously, but I'm still a beginner. This was pre-blurring: I showed it to my dad and he told me the main problem with the lips was they didn't "fade in", as in make a gradual change like they do when I look at my face, which could be achieved with an eraser, a finger and a very, very light touch. That's what I'm trying to do right now.

You're improving. Nice.

If you want smoother gradients, you could try using several different grades of pencil and that feather touch you have.

Just out of curiosity, how are you currently "blurring" your pictures?

The colors. The red parts of my lips are throwing me off here. I feel like if I could see - and imply - just the shape my lips make, not the color, I would draw it better. It's actually easier for me see it as a 3d change in the shape of my head when I'm looking at them as a flattened picture than as something I'm drawing for some reason. Hmm...

It is difficult, but you'll get better once you work on it.

I really wish I had more to say, but I don't have the time to think deeply yet and when it comes to this there isn't much I know that can help besides "practice makes [near] perfect".

[freeformschooler]

For the blurring I did with the gradients on my face there, I did that just by smudging my thumb. As for the lips, I've started softly gradiating them via the tip of my eraser and my index finger (noticeable in the bottom lip on the more recent one). I still don't have the hang of it, but it's a nice technique to use. I'm glad my dad used to be a good artist because he sometimes has interesting advice on drawing techniques.

Hearing you say I'm improving is good, though. I'll try to have a "complete" head portrait with all I've learned lately soon. I'm just terrified of attempting to do the hair...

[lordnincompoop]

For the blurring I did with the gradients on my face there, I did that just by smudging my thumb.

Gah, no - there's a reason people tell you not to do that.

Your hands have oils that will stain the paper as you rub it; this will eventually degrade both texture, paper quality and the quality of new markings and erasures. If you want to be able to do lots of fine detail work or just keep your paper's integrity, finger-smudging is less than ideal.