Info: Digital art and basics of art - Creative Contraptions - WarpPortal Community Forums

Jump to content


Photo
* * * * * 3 votes

Info: Digital art and basics of art


  • This topic is locked This topic is locked
54 replies to this topic

#1 Mayhem

Mayhem

    Awarded #1 Troll

  • RO Fungineering
  • 890 posts
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online

Posted 15 December 2011 - 06:18 AM

Spoiler Updates

 
artprograms.gif
To Start off a wise Kitten said something that I had to make sure I put in here,
"If you have ability, experience and patience you can do more with the "basic" tools than someone lacking in those qualities could with the "professional" ones." ~Kitten
Remember to keep this in mind if you are new to the digital art scene. Whatever tool you choose you will have to master to make your art better.
Also that going digital has a ton of advantages but its just a new art form that you have to practice and learn techniques for.
This thread is only to help you find the right tools and resources for you to use.


Things to keep in mind while looking at these programs.
1. How much you are willing to pay.

         (note to self to add in link to free programs links)
2. How many tutorials are out there.

         In the "list of programs" below I have ☪ next to the more popular programs. They have more tutorials
3. What you are wanting to accomplish

         If the program allows you to animate/record/etc
4. Much time you want to put into learning a program.

         Which ever program you pick, it will take time to learn that program. You will have to put time and effort into it. If you pick one, then stick with it till you got it down
5. How powerful your computer is versus the software you want to run.

          Basically all these programs will run on just about any computer made in the last ten years. The more layers, effects and things you have open in the program take more memory and processor power. Adobe Flash for instance can be a huge hog of memory when your working on things.

 

 

 

 

 

Program List (being updates soon 02/28/2016

 

Photoshop
PS_app_frame_floating.jpg
Dev. by Adobe Systems Incorporated, Site here http://www.adobe.com.../photoshop.html
Cost: Heart Attack ok to be honest I like having the newest version of photoshop because this is the program I know the most. Now you can rent this program month to month for about 20$ But the starting price of buying the newest program Photoshop CC is around 1000$. ......ok you awake from fainting yet? Ok not the price for last years Photoshop CS4 is around 350$ oh I bet you see where I am going with this. If you are paying for this program look around. After CS2 they havent added a TON of new features for the artist. CS2 has great set of new things that older versions didnt have. Also dont forget Super Tip #1
This program has a ton of uses and you can basically think of Sai and such being the basic program of this. This program has such things as allowing you to automate tasks. Also you have highly customizable options for brushes and everything else.

note to self to update with links to cheaper or free photoshops


Corel Painter X
jkjkjkjwiwiwiwiw.jpg
Dev. By Corel Corp. Site here http://www.corel.com...languageCode=en
Cost: Free Trial, then around 400$
My super classical art program. This emulates so many type of media its crazy. You have everything from watercolors to oils. So you can see how this program is really special for artists. This program is highly used in other countries other than America. Most of the magazines for this program come from other countries.
I suggest this and Art Rage to people who already have a history using classical media. The developers of this program put a lot of time into making the media act the same way it does in real world. But being digital if you mess up your a click away from correcting it, Mixing media, or even just using traditional in ways that you never thought of before.

note to self to update with links to cheaper or free copys

 

Open Canvas 4
opencanvas-6.jpg
Dev by Portal Graphics, link to official site http://www.portalgraphics.net/en/oc/
Cost: Has a free trial for you to test out, after that it is roughly 75$ American

Open Canvas 1 (best thing about this old program is the ability to link up in the program with someone else and draw together)(also free)
shotocde4.jpg
Link to Dl . http://sites.google....?attredirects=0
How to switch it to english- http://wistinga.online.fr/opencanvas/
Explaination of that I had found on deviantart. http://pixieface.dev...part-1-50415876
 

Sai
sai_shot.jpg
Dev by Systemax, site here http://www.systemax.jp/en/sai/
Cost: Free 31 day trial, Then roughtly 70$ American.
Since I posted this 5 years ago sai has become my go to program for art. It has EVERYTHING you need for a low cost. Great program to start out with. The lineart pen is a miracle for new artists.

note to self to update with links to cheaper or free copys. I think there is a free sai 2.0 on the website also
 

 

Art Rage
98201032616pm.jpg
Dev by Ambient Design, site here http://www.artrage.com/artrage2.html
Cost: $19.90
This program is great for traditional artists that have painted and such coming to the digital world. This program and Corel Painter (below) emulate real world paints and such. I use this program to speed paint for practice, its just smooth and nice.
I think I have a free trial somewhere on my comp, ill try to upload it. If someone knows a trial hosted online, hit me up so I can add the link.


Adobe Flash
1222196091adobeflashcs4.png
Dev by Adobe Systems Inc http://www.adobe.com...ucts/flash.html
Cost: Around 300$


Gimp
gimp_nicky.png
Dev by The Gimp Team at http://www.gimp.org/
Cost: Free


Manga Studio/Comic Studio
Manga_Studio_4_EX___Screenshot_by_AmarAl
Dev by Smith Micro Software
Cost: $300 at http://manga.smithmicro.com/ms_ex.html
 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Art Program buying tips:
1. Maybe buy an older version of the program you want. You wont have all the features but it gets you going.
2. See if the program you wants comes cheaper if you are upgrading from an old version, if so look up whats the oldest version that allows you to upgrade from. Then buy that really old program.
Dont forget Super Tip #1 Hit up your local college art departments. A lot of colleges have free shareware versions of these programs that sometimes they dont mind giving out to aspiring artists.



List of Art Programs
((The ones with ☪ are used by most professional artists that do art for a living. Also means there are tons of tutorials for these programs))

☪Photoshop - http://www.photoshop.com/
☪Paint Tool SAI - http://systemax.jp/en/sai/
☪Corel Painter - http://www.corel.com....id=prod4030123
SketchBook Pro - http://usa.autodesk.....&siteID=123112
Artrage - http://www.artrage.com/
Oekaki - Various art boards.
FireAlpaca - http://firealpaca.com/
openCanvas 1.1 (Network) - http://wistinga.online.fr/opencanvas/
openCanvas - http://www.portalgraphics.net/en/
MyPaint - http://mypaint.intilinux.com/
GIMP - http://www.gimp.org/
Artweaver - http://artweaver.de/

Paint.NET - http://paint.net/

PaintShop Pro - http://www.corel.com....id=prod4900067

 

Animation

☪Flash - http://www.adobe.com...ucts/flash.html

GraphicsGale - http://www.humanbalance.net/gale/us/
EZToon - http://www.truploader.com/view/009556
ToonBoom - http://beta.toonboom.com/
Giotto - http://vectorian.com/giotto/

 

Vector
Illustrator - http://www.adobe.com...llustrator.html
Inkscape - http://inkscape.org/
Xara X - http://www.xara.com/us/


3D
☪Maya - http://usa.autodesk.com/maya/
☪ZBrush- http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/
☪Blender - http://www.blender.o...ad/get-blender/
SoftImage - http://www.autodesk.com/softimage
Lightwave - https://www.lightwave3d.com/
Marmoset - http://www.marmoset.co/
Unreal Development Kit - http://www.unrealengine.com/udk/
Unity - http://unity3d.com/
CrazyBump - http://www.crazybump.com/
xNormal - http://www.xnormal.net/1.aspx

3DSMax - http://usa.autodesk.com/3ds-max/

Mudbox - http://usa.autodesk.....&siteID=123112

 

 

Messenger
Tegaki Messenger - http://tmsg.pipa.jp


Collaboration
iScribble - http://www.iscribble.net/


ForumSthingakak-1.gif

 

 

 

 

 

ArtTablet.gif

How to Choose the right Digitizer Tablet for you.

Strokes matter

  • Do you use Brood long strokes when you draw?
    This mean you really need a larger tablet compared to your hand so that you wont have to get over any change in HOW you draw. This mean starting out you have to buy a larger surface area tablet. (as in a 6x8 active area tablet)
  • Do you use Short little strokes when you draw?
    Oh cool then, that means you can get away with a cheaper version and smaller one.

    Dont let anyone scrub the small ones. (personally I hate them) But I know some American comic book artists that use the cheap Wacom Bamboo (65$) one from Best Buy. Larger area ones will cost you more than the small ones for a good one.

    Now note there are many more out there than just from the company Wacom. So shop around.
    A lot of them now come with tons of functions too, like extra buttons to quickkey brushes and actions.
  • How big is your monitor?
    Wierd question huh?
    Ok there are two ways to set up your tablet.
    largetablet.jpg
    This is the defualt setting of a tablet. The active area is your entire screen. So when you put your pen on the tablet in the upper left corner. Your cursor on the screen will be in the upper left corner. I use a large tablet so its not a problem. But if you have a LARGE display and a little tablet, you will notice that your when you move just the smallest bit on the tablet, you are drawing a large long line on the screen. sooo....
    smalltablet.jpg
    People do this. They change the active setting to a certain portion of their screen. That way you aren't making strokes that are way out of the normal limits. So keep this in mind.
  • Do you have a heavy hand?
    That means do yo push down hard with the tip of your pen or pencil when you draw.
    With the pen that comes with the tablet it has a little nib at the end, if you are heavy handed you are going to have to learn to not push down hard, you will just either wear down the tip or break the pen. Replacement tips arent very expensive but if you are having to order them often it might become something to be aware of

Choosing The BEST Tablet

  • Size (Active Area)
    wacomSize.jpg
    As I told you earlier why the size matters. But to explain farther, this area in the middle is your active drawing area. So judge accordingly.
  • Sensitivity (Pressure Sensitivity)
    The higher the better. 2048 seems to be the standard in most now. This is so you can alternate between large and small lines. The higher the sensitivity the better line quality with your pressure you will see.
  • Pen Tilt Range
    This allows you to hold your pens at angles and create more effects. Kind of like calligraphy. You can change the angles of your brush in game.
  • Nib Replacements
    Most the new tablets your nib (the tip of pen) will eventually wear down. Make sure whatever tablet you buy allows you to replace the nibs. That way your not just having to buy a new replacement pen for it.
  • Warrenty
    Well thats enough said. Anyways I like to have a warrenty on anything expensive I buy. That way at least I can have it fixed if something happens to it or there is a technical flaw.
    Technical flaws happen from time to time with anything, so its good to have a warrenty if you are unlucky enough to get a bad chip or something in it.
  • Extra Buttons and Features
    WacomExtras.jpg
    In this picture you can see that some tablets have buttons. These are generally fully customizable. So you can set up brushes fast, or even with photoshop you can set up actions (like when I click mine it creates a new layer and sets it as the active layer)
  •  

1. Pen Displays
These can be rather expensive but you are able to draw directly on the screen of what you are painting. If you can afford one of these I highly suggest you go this route. They are amazing and such a close link between classic art and digital.
Wacom-Cintiq-21UX-Interactive-Pen-Displa
 
The top of the line one that everyone compares everything to is Wacom Cintiq.
 
I am going to make list in order of price and give a few pros and cons of each for you later.
 
 
Other: Wacom Inkling
http://www.wacom.com...ts/Inkling.aspx
Yea I would just avoid this to be honest. Its expensive and for the same price you could get into a lot of other better gear.


ForumSthingakak-1.gif
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TUTORIALS

 

Warning – Some links may be NSFW (not safe for work), I will try to go through the list as I make it and update it and put the NSFW next to the ones that may be risqué. Most people need to understand that art references may have nudity and most offices don’t differentiate between nudity and sexuality.

New artists: I thought I would point out to you something that was brought up in another thread. You can have all the tools in the world and books stacks next to you, but it takes practice to learn how to use them. Dont get overwhelmed by the sheer number of tutorials. Some of them are for certain styles or to help with learning certain techniques or theories. Make yourself goals for your improvement then seek out tutorials to help you improve on that goal. Practice. Create a sketchbook thread in the forum and ask for feedback. Tell them what you have been practicing and you will get feedback about that technique. If you dont ask in there people will think you are using it as a second gallery like a lot of people are using it for right now.



Art Videos
There are links that I think any digital artist should explore that wants to become better.
 
1. http://www.ctrlpaint.com/
Ctrlpaint.com is an amazing site. This a great starting place that goes over ALL the basics in short tutorial videos for FREE. Basics are important for a reason. The foundation of how you build your art is what makes the difference between an "ok artist" and that artist everyone admires.

2. https://www.youtube.com/user/KienanLafferty/videos
Kienan is a great guy and a professional artist. It wont take long for you to realize that you have already seen his art on a major game. Look through his videos and go way back to the beginning of them and work your way up. Even him just doing the videos he has grown even more as an artist and he shares tips with you that will make you a better artist in the long run. He uses photoshop but most of what he shows can be used in any program.

 

Basics
Drawing the female body video tutorial
Proportions of the female body
Proportions of the male body
Children and Teens part 1 http://www.youtube.c...D4C899&index=79 part 3

How to draw NECKS!

Upper Back
Arm / Forearm
Upper Leg
Legs by McFarlane

Hands and Fingers

Feet 1 and feet 2
Feet and Hulk Feet by McFarlane

Eyes by McFarlane

 

Proportions
Sycra 1 part 2 -

 

Ways to practice
Drawing what you see by Sycra -

 

NSFW-nudity Video - This set up is a great way to practice

 

Color Theory
Good Info
Making it easier
Balance the colors
Mixing
More Mixing
Mixing for flesh ----works in programs

Intermediate
Crosshatching
Negative and Positive Space
Sedate Alert Dynamic
Rule of thirds
Scale
Odd Numbered Elements
Leading the eye
Tips for fight scene

--Sketching
Sycra Tut
Drawing Interesting Poses
Drawing poses with purpose


Advanced and Workshops

Genzoman part 1 -- Great video taking you through the entire process
Genzoman part 2 -- Ditto

Great Paint Tool Sai Tutorial Video

Amazing Painter Tutorial part 1
Amazing Painter Tutorial part 2

Peter Mohrbacher's Photoshop Tricks

Gnomon Workshop Training -- Amazing Pro Artists giving you step by step instruction. Free videos are great, Bought ones are worth it but expensive.
Youtube Channel
Other Youtube video 1
Other Youtube video 2
Other Youtube video 3
Other Youtube video 4
Gnomon Site

Art Videos by Nicholas Kay - I have learned quite a bit from watching his things. I hope you learn a lot also
NSFW Warhammer
Warhammer 2
Curious Drake
Warhammer 3

Imagine FX
Personally I own a few of these magazines and when I found out they had FREE youtube videos I was amazed. The mags use painter a lot but are full of tutorials. After finding out they finally have a website and ship over here directly for a good price I am going to start a subscription.
Amazing Website - with tutorials
Youtube tutorials

FZD School of Design -Need First Hand Info? (please) -
Website - Has classes and WORKSHOPS , now ok I have heard of this site but I cant think of anyone that told me about it. Not sure on the costs and such but youtube has free videos
Free Youtube - Great Advanced Tutorials and videos to watch and learn new tricks to add to your artistic bag of goodies.




Anthro/Furries
Here are a few things to help you get going after you got your basics down.

Photoshop Walkthrough for Beginners by Kaytothelink
Sai Lesson by Koul2078
Anthro dogman by Sycra
A tron furry by Avyris
Dog paint by Yena -
Wolfies123 - inking process
Head by Rena
Bloody Dog by Kaytothelink

 

 

 

 

 

Art Tutorials non video
✰Basic Foundation
Anatomy of by Stan Prokopenko
Drawish Resources - free figure drawing resource that also has articles highlighting certain points of anatomy

Light and how to use it -- light

DA Link - Moni's Anatomy and Drawing Tips
DA Link - Nice little flash tutorial

Practice your poses for human and animal

✰Perspective
DA Link - part 1 -great guide to Perspective and Composition
DA Link - Part 2

✰Anthro
Awesome with the anatomy break down and anthro tips
Animal joints -Great for animating, and to know the movement structure for drawing

Canine
DA link - Jaekilo Guides and pictures - good source for reference

Feline
DA link - TamberElla Guides - This helped me a lot- Still using this for reference

Tauren
DA link - Shalinka Tauren guide

✰Background


✰Color Theory
FA link - Fun interactive guide

http://colourlovers.com - Palettes, patterns, things for inspiration and practice
http://www.isdntek.c...ernetcolors.htm - Color blending
http://www.w3schools..._colormixer.asp - Color blending
http://meyerweb.com/...ls/color-blend/ - Even MORE color blending
http://colorschemedesigner.com/ - Designing color schemes of all kinds
http://www.colorsont...colorwizard.asp - Color schemes
http://www.livepaint...m/gamutmask.php
http://www.pictaculous.com/ - upload an image and this site will spit a palette for it at you
Another Color Scheme -

http://www.colourlovers.com/ -- color pallets
http://colorschemedesigner.com/ -- color pallets





All encompassing sites
GREAT place to start out

Harrie has compiled his own site with a HUGE number of tutorials, really worth a look
http://ctrlpaint.com/library/
http://androidarts.com/art_tut.htm - massive general art tutorial
http://enliighten.co...gory/tutorials/
http://hippie.nu/~unicorn/tut/xhtml/
How to Digital Paint - A repository of digital painting tutorials.
Artist that has extra tutorials


Program Tutorials

✰Sai
Intro to Sai Coloring Video
Great Paint Tool Sai Tutorial Video

✰Photoshop
--brushes
http://theroundtable....till-required/ - free to download photoshop brushes

✰Corel Painter
Setting up Painter


Community Canvas Sites - Sites that allow you to draw with other people at the same time
Art Grounds
iScribble

J-tablet - Quick install to allow your tablet to have pressure sensitivity in flash


Texture Resources
Cgtextures - large texture database, many open source
Lost and Taken - blog of textures
Mayangs free texture library - good resource for a lot of misc
Texture King - Good realism textures

3d.sk - $$$ - need more info on it


Image Resources
http://grimace-project.net/ - simple facial expression tool
http://www.human-ana...for-artist.com/
http://www.female-an...for-artist.com/
http://www.lovecastle.org/draw/
http://www.pixelovel...guredrawing.php
http://www.posemaniacs.com/
A tumble image resource -
A Reddit!! image resource - wow reddit has something useful!!!


Pose Practice
Quickposes - A timed gesture drawing tool.
Life Drawing Poses - Warm-up pose sketching videos.
AlienThink’s Pose Tool 3D - A 3D pose tool for mobile apps.
Belief Engine’s Handy Art Tool - Another 3D pose tool for mobile apps.
Posespace - This one has photos in crazy high resolution, so you can zoom in and practice working on all the tiny wrinkles and details. Some of it's free, some of it's paid.
VirtualPose - Similar to Posespace but software-based. Not free, but it looks fairly comprehensive.


Anatomy Reference
Fineart.sk - Anatomy references for artists.
Artnatomia - Facial muscle/expression reference tool.
ArtistAnatomy.com - Muscle & bone reference sketches.
Veterinary Anatomical Illustrations - Animal anatomy references @ UWDC.
A Comparative View of the Human and Animal Frame - More animal anatomy references @ UWDC.
3D Interactive Anatomy - 3D interactive models of the human skull & extremities, as well as some animal skulls. Available as regular video turnarounds or as downloadable 3D PDFs. Hosted at Ohio University.
3D Museum - 3D bone anatomy of everything right on down to invertebrates. Requires Java and plugins to view, which is slightly obnoxious, but it's worth it. Note: it hasn't been updated in a few years.
Gray's Anatomy Online - the definitive classic. Hosted at Bartleby.
Muscle Atlas - Clear views of each muscle, its endpoint and anatomical context. Hosted at the Dep't of Radiology at the University of Washington.
Mammalian Crania Photographic Archive – High-resolution side and front photos of skulls from hundreds of species. Hosted by Dokkyo Medical University of Japan.


Other Reference
The Facial Expression Repertoire - Photographic reference for various facial expressions. Requires registration, but it's free (and totally worth it).
ArtMorgue.com - General reference images for various items.
The Costume Page - Reference images for historic costume.
Great Buildings - Architectural reference images.


Art History
SmartHistory - An interactive art history site.
Artcyclopedia - Indexed guide to famous artists online.
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History - Hosted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.
Art History Resources - A comprehensive list of links to sites for specific periods in art history.
Voice of the Shuttle - Another comprehensive links list, organized by time period and location.
The Art History Research Centre - Slightly dated but still incredibly useful.
The Mother of All Art & Art History Links Pages - exactly what it sounds like.


Light & Color
Virtual Lighting Studio - A virtual method of modeling multiple light sources on the human head.
Photoworkshop’s Light Cage - Another virtual lighting simulator.


Textures & Brushes
1000 Skies - Cloud textures.
Grunge Textures - Weathered and worn surfaces.
Subtle Patterns - Less obvious textures.
Brusheezy - Makes finding brushes, uh, eezy.
Brush King - Tons of free Photoshop brushes.
Ray Frenden - Maker of kickass brush sets for Photoshop, MangaStudio 4, and MangaStudio 5.


Miscellaneous
Elements of Perspective - A comprehensive tutorial on drawing multiple types of perspective.
CharacterDesigns.com - A resource for artists wanting to learn more about character design.


Art Supplies & Related
CarpeDiem Store Artist supplies, portfolios, studio furniture, craft tools and a lot more.

Scrapbooking Warehouse Mostly scrapbooking and papercraft supplies, but they also have markers, pens, paints and a handy storage section that has folios, craft bags and the like.

Merri Artist I highly recommend this site. Not only do they have an excellent selection spanning many different art and craft mediums, but after much comparison they also more often than not have the best prices as well.
Jetpens - Awesome specialty art pens from Asia.[/quote]


Edited by Mayhem, 15 April 2016 - 02:08 AM.

  • 7

#2 Kitten

Kitten

    Too Legit To Quit

  • Members
  • 3077 posts
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online

Posted 15 December 2011 - 01:06 PM

D'awww.
  • 0

#3 Oda

Oda

    Overseas

  • Community Managers
  • 10261 posts
  • Twitter:@Oda_CM
  • LocationAmatsu
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online

Posted 15 December 2011 - 01:12 PM

Must...have...Lebowski art...
  • 0

#4 Mayhem

Mayhem

    Awarded #1 Troll

  • RO Fungineering
  • 890 posts
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online

Posted 15 December 2011 - 01:21 PM

Rofl, when I was looking for a picture, I HAD to pick that one. OMG I didnt even notice your new icon said that!!!! awesome.

Kitten: Mhm Of course, credit goes where credit is due. Help me when ever I forget anything btw.


And well trying to finish up a few more things before stopping the daily updates.

Just realized this first post is going to be LOOONG

Edited by Mayhem, 15 December 2011 - 02:04 PM.

  • 0

#5 Channa

Channa

    Amateur Blogger

  • Members
  • 459 posts
  • LocationOn, Canada
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online 2
  • Server:Odin

Posted 15 December 2011 - 05:01 PM

Nice start!
I haven't done much digital art lately. I still prefer to draw originally by hand. And it's not a bad way to start. Rough pencil sketch scanned in and then "inked" digitally.
  • 0

#6 Mayhem

Mayhem

    Awarded #1 Troll

  • RO Fungineering
  • 890 posts
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online

Posted 15 December 2011 - 05:07 PM

I used to do it that way a long time ago too.
  • 0

#7 Channa

Channa

    Amateur Blogger

  • Members
  • 459 posts
  • LocationOn, Canada
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online 2
  • Server:Odin

Posted 15 December 2011 - 06:08 PM

still love traditional media. Hard not to when you work in an art store and are surrounded by it.
  • 0

#8 Okii

Okii

    Too Legit To Quit

  • Banned
  • 1733 posts
  • LocationAppleton, WI
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online
  • Server:Ymir

Posted 15 December 2011 - 08:05 PM

I am getting a tablet in January and I was wondering which digital art program to get with it...
Humm..

Well, seeing as I'll be 100% new to the digital art scene, what would you recommend?
Obviously as a starter I'm not going to buy the 400$ Corel Painter X, but I was wondering in terms of newbie friendliness which would be a good program that could easily introduce me into digital art and then carry me a long way even after I get the hang of things.

So basically... quick to learn the basics but lots of experimental brushes, techniques, etc. for later on.
  • 0

#9 Mayhem

Mayhem

    Awarded #1 Troll

  • RO Fungineering
  • 890 posts
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online

Posted 15 December 2011 - 08:29 PM

Okii: Well I did leave a few off that I have to add on that I did totally forget about.

Ok to be honest I wrote that first sentence then just stared at the keyboard for like 20 mins. Its hard to say really, its mainly personal preference. What are you wanting to draw? how technical do you want to get? I found that the ones that are the easiest to pick up (Artrage) end up being pretty limited in what they can do.

If I HAD to personally suggest one to someone starting out I would suggest finding an old copy of photoshop or corel painter (older versions cost a ton less. You could get photoshop cs1 or corel painter 10 for the same price as the others (70$ish).

Here is the reason WHY I would suggest either of those: There are a :glomp: ton of tutorials for both of them. Much more than the rest of the programs. Also more resources, brushes, stamps, video tutorials. Basically for a beginner I think that is what would make them the best to get, just because you would have so much at your finger tips to learn and work with.

If you happen to get photoshop you can also hit me up anytime with questions also.

Later this week I should have this post finished and then a ton of links up to tutorials.

Edited by Mayhem, 16 December 2011 - 06:55 AM.

  • 2

#10 Mayhem

Mayhem

    Awarded #1 Troll

  • RO Fungineering
  • 890 posts
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online

Posted 16 December 2011 - 06:45 AM

dont know why I posted again

Edited by Mayhem, 16 December 2011 - 06:55 AM.

  • 0

#11 Okii

Okii

    Too Legit To Quit

  • Banned
  • 1733 posts
  • LocationAppleton, WI
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online
  • Server:Ymir

Posted 16 December 2011 - 11:25 AM

dont know why I posted again


Post it once or twice, it's till great information that's helped me decide what to get for my birthday x3
(you saved me a huge headache, that's for sure)
Sooo, thank you :>
  • 0

#12 Mayhem

Mayhem

    Awarded #1 Troll

  • RO Fungineering
  • 890 posts
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online

Posted 16 December 2011 - 11:57 AM

Okii I just remembered something!!!! Also depending on what tablet you get, you should see if its coming with photoshop elements or something like that.

I forgot they sometimes comes with it, I need to add elements to my post. Its not a great program but its good since its free when it comes with something.

So before you run off and buy something, make sure your not getting it for free with your tablet ^.^
  • 1

#13 Satra

Satra

    Amateur Blogger

  • Members
  • 198 posts
  • LocationYuno
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online

Posted 18 December 2011 - 10:23 PM

Ahhh, Manga Studio's awesome...
Thanks this post, I wanna draw comics again, when I have no time... Damn it xD
No, really, thanks =3

Also, I saw MS's tutorials somewhere. And seems, it wasn't in english. So, I can't help you, sorry =( But, MS's easy to use, really =3
  • 0

#14 Okii

Okii

    Too Legit To Quit

  • Banned
  • 1733 posts
  • LocationAppleton, WI
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online
  • Server:Ymir

Posted 23 December 2011 - 12:00 PM

Ahhh, Manga Studio's awesome...
Thanks this post, I wanna draw comics again, when I have no time... Damn it xD
No, really, thanks =3

Also, I saw MS's tutorials somewhere. And seems, it wasn't in english. So, I can't help you, sorry =( But, MS's easy to use, really =3


Can't wait to see your next strips =)
  • 0

#15 ZeroTigress

ZeroTigress

    My Offline Life is Nonexistent.

  • RO1 Member
  • 15204 posts
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online
  • Server:Sakray->Iris->Ymir->Chaos

Posted 24 December 2011 - 03:49 AM

There's also Adobe Illustrator for those who want resizable art without losing quality. (Industry standard for graphic artists.) It's tricky to use, though, because it utilizes vectors to preserve quality. I usually use it to make lineart and then color it in Photoshop.


Adobe Flash is similar to Adobe Illustrator in which both give you resizable art without losing quality (via vectors). What makes Flash different, though, is that it's developed to be used for animation. It can be used for art as it has some of the same tools as other art programs, except you use the timeline to substitute for layers. It's great if you like varying thickness in lines, but if you want consistent lines you're better off using Illustrator.

Flash art tutorials:

http://johnsu.devian...-Flash-78802236 (step by step)




I've tinkered around with Manga Studio a bit and it's got pretty good tools. Doesn't like my generic tablet, though, so I can't say much on that.
  • 0

#16 Mayhem

Mayhem

    Awarded #1 Troll

  • RO Fungineering
  • 890 posts
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online

Posted 24 December 2011 - 09:33 AM

Oh I did forget about Adobe illustrator. I wouldnt call it a standard in the industry. Since I know a lot of pros and most of them use different things.
Adobe did however solve the resizing issue in photoshop I think after CS2. I think it was because people were using illustrator then swapping to photoshop or another program.

I remember a good friend back in the day SWORE by this program. It was ALL about vectors back in the day. I think she still uses it. I am going to have to grab her tutorials when I finish up the tutorial section.'


but yea after reading your post and thinking about it, i need to put Illustrator down under profesional tools.

Thank you so much for your post.
  • 0

#17 rhapshiee

rhapshiee

    I made it Off Topic

  • Members
  • 88 posts
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online
  • Server:Chaos

Posted 15 June 2013 - 11:48 AM

As the title suggest, Adobe Flash is a tool used for mostly animation purposes. It allows people to draw, however it is not an amazing software to use if you solely want to do this. It has limited colour in the palette and it does not allow you to select extended colours (unless you use colour picker). It is an alright software for simple sketches with flat colouring though. If you are planning on animating, however, Adobe Flash is very user friendly and caters for a lot of different functionalities.

I hope that helps.
  • 0

#18 Zerion

Zerion

    I made it Off Topic

  • Members
  • 26 posts

Posted 03 November 2013 - 12:05 PM

Oc1.1

I'd like to share my extensive experience with OC 1.1
I'm probably one of the guys out there who've used it the most.

It's not a shabby program, And here's proof.
This was done by me in OC1.1 (except the text, OC cannot text)

epsellis_by_zerion-d57rg3o.jpg

It's great for a beginner program.

OC1.1 is free and very portable, i always find myself having a copy of it on my keychain or phones, just in case.

1+ Hr Paint job
58fOV.jpg
http://puu.sh/58fOV.jpg

It's strength is speed. 15 mins in OC does not look anything like 15 if you know what you're doing.
I've done work for my storyboard classes for it,
Also, Drawing with other people allows you to study how they think and approach visual problems. Great tool for learning.

Instead of dealing with opacity, IT's 3 layer types kind of work with a black/white instead of an alpha channel, so it only has multiply,add and subtract
This makes the layers really simple and not a headache like photoshop, or god forbid maya hypershade.

The online function needs some modem settings right, and disconnects often mean you have to restart everything with your friends.
But I've Drawn doodles and even Roleplayed comics with friends on it.

The drawbacks are
- Old program and does not handle large resolutions like 10000x6000 too well
- No layer naming
- Limited layer count
- Limited tools.
- No effects
- Hard to be very neat with this

But none of that are really a problem at "having-fun level".
Things look nice for minimal effort.

To sum it up, It's a great basic program great for beginners, If you need a crash course on it, give me a ring.


Edited by Zerion, 03 November 2013 - 07:18 PM.

  • 0

#19 Zerion

Zerion

    I made it Off Topic

  • Members
  • 26 posts

Posted 03 November 2013 - 12:13 PM

As the title suggest, Adobe Flash is a tool used for mostly animation purposes. It allows people to draw, however it is not an amazing software to use if you solely want to do this. It has limited colour in the palette and it does not allow you to select extended colours (unless you use colour picker). It is an alright software for simple sketches with flat colouring though. If you are planning on animating, however, Adobe Flash is very user friendly and caters for a lot of different functionalities.

I hope that helps.

Adobe flash is used for web animation purposes.

For Vector drawing, Adobe Illustrator is better
For Video Animation Adobe Aftereffects is much much better.

You can import and export files from one to another in the Adobe suite quite easily.


  • 0

#20 ZeroTigress

ZeroTigress

    My Offline Life is Nonexistent.

  • RO1 Member
  • 15204 posts
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online
  • Server:Sakray->Iris->Ymir->Chaos

Posted 03 November 2013 - 07:57 PM

Adobe flash is used for web animation purposes.


Although the program is designed for animation, it can also be an art tool. This artist uses Flash on most of his art.


Edited by ZeroTigress, 03 November 2013 - 07:58 PM.

  • 0

#21 Zerion

Zerion

    I made it Off Topic

  • Members
  • 26 posts

Posted 03 November 2013 - 08:10 PM

I'm just giving my 2c on other stronger programs that are missing
I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying there are better programs out there that you should look at.

Paint.exe can be used for art. Anything can be used as an art tool,
But there's really nothing paint can do that photoshop can't do better is what i mean.
There's nothing flash can draw that Illustrator can't


And yeah i know johnsu

Not to say its a bad program, But it's being squeezed out here and there by various programs, Unity makes better games, Aftereffects animates better, Illustrator makes better vector drawings.
 


Edited by Zerion, 03 November 2013 - 08:33 PM.

  • 0

#22 ZeroTigress

ZeroTigress

    My Offline Life is Nonexistent.

  • RO1 Member
  • 15204 posts
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online
  • Server:Sakray->Iris->Ymir->Chaos

Posted 03 November 2013 - 10:14 PM

I'm just giving my 2c on other stronger programs that are missing
I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying there are better programs out there that you should look at.

Paint.exe can be used for art. Anything can be used as an art tool,
But there's really nothing paint can do that photoshop can't do better is what i mean.
There's nothing flash can draw that Illustrator can't


And yeah i know johnsu

Not to say its a bad program, But it's being squeezed out here and there by various programs, Unity makes better games, Aftereffects animates better, Illustrator makes better vector drawings.


It's up to the artist to decide which program they can work with best. Johnsu finds Flash easier to work with over Photoshop even though Photoshop is better. I can't use Illustrator for the life of me but I can do anything in Photoshop, even though Illustrator is a superior program in terms of preserving image quality. My graphic designer of a sister uses multiple art programs (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign) to do a single artwork while I prefer to stick to one program.

Yes, each program is designed to specialize in creating a certain kind of art, but that's not all they can do as you can clearly see.

A good artist should explore all media to decide which ones they prefer. Suggestions are fine, but an artist shouldn't just pick one to use extensively without exploring other options.
  • 0

#23 Zerion

Zerion

    I made it Off Topic

  • Members
  • 26 posts

Posted 04 November 2013 - 06:41 AM

It's up to the artist to decide which program they can work with best. Johnsu finds Flash easier to work with over Photoshop even though Photoshop is better. I can't use Illustrator for the life of me but I can do anything in Photoshop, even though Illustrator is a superior program in terms of preserving image quality. My graphic designer of a sister uses multiple art programs (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign) to do a single artwork while I prefer to stick to one program.

Yes, each program is designed to specialize in creating a certain kind of art, but that's not all they can do as you can clearly see.

A good artist should explore all media to decide which ones they prefer. Suggestions are fine, but an artist shouldn't just pick one to use extensively without exploring other options.

Yeah, thanks for supporting my comment. I don't know why anyone would think otherwise though?
Are the newbies here oblivious enough to not know that things can be used outside of their designed purpose. and they can choose?

Newbies should be pointed to the right direction. 
If you know one program better than another, then by all means, use one you're accustomed to.
Newbies are accustomed to nothing. therefore they should be pointed to programs that have the highest capabilities in regards in what they're trying to do.

But yeah, Learn everything else if you have time.


Edited by Zerion, 04 November 2013 - 06:42 AM.

  • 0

#24 rainbowichi

rainbowichi

    Amateur Blogger

  • Members
  • 177 posts
  • LocationPayon
  • Playing:Nothing
  • Server:Ymir

Posted 01 June 2014 - 10:22 PM

@mayhem
I can give a quick review of Manga Studio 5 (not EX), I got a copy for $50 with $30 rebate before thanksgiving weekend 2013 (some software are way cheaper before Cyber Monday) I recommend checking smith micro's facebook page to find out about their weekly deals now and then, my art friends share around if there's a good deal and that's how I heard about the rebate.

manga_studio_brush_engine_zps73efe98f.jp

  • Its almost like photoshop, but has more features that I love very much (I'm comparing this to my old Photoshop 7) It uses a different file formatting *.lip however it can also open and save .psd (photoshop) files. One thing I've noticed that doesn't carry over from photoshop to MS5 is the effects you add to a layer, so I recommend applying the effect to the layer itself before opening it in MS5 (that is unless you're like me who's very finicky about effects, then you'd probably want to start wiht MS5, then switch over to Photoshop for final touches)
  • It was literally a plug-and-play instantly with my old graphire 2 tablet (the series before the intuous tablet line) Of course you have to have installed the latest driver for your tablet to match the current OS you're working with.
  • Its brush engine is amazing, there are several ways to tweak the characteristics of the brush, you can change opacity, flow, density, texture...etc and if you like using a certain configuration you can just click the 'eye' beside the setting you want from the sub-tool panel and it will appear on your active tool panel to tweak on the fly. Vice-versa you can turn off the 'eye' to remove a setting you don't want to use to unclutter yourself as you draw/paint You can also make your own custom brushes courtesy of this nice youtube video.
  • Comparing to Manga Studio 3, they have less screen tones. However unlike MS3, you can add custom screen tones to your Materials Library
  • You can rotate your canvas either using 'R' or use nifty small icons at the bottom of the document or on your navigation window and immediately flip horizontally or vertically.
  • You can easily dock 2 or more documents to stack however you want it. Top, bottom, right or left and they'd snap.
    manga_studio_docking_zps5c868067.jpg
  • Versatile layers, just like photoshop you can do several things on the layers menu, you can set a layer's color so you can tell which layer is which. Masking layers, Layer Modes, transparency locking, group to previous layer (called c'lip at layer below' in MS5), folder layers, separate layers for guides.
  • A lot more that I haven't explored....

  • 0

#25 Facekiller

Facekiller

    They pay me to post.

  • Members
  • 9781 posts
  • Playing:Ragnarok Online
  • Server:CHAOS

Posted 01 June 2014 - 10:31 PM

i literally took one look at this thread and thought "entirely too complicated"... exactly why i never got into digital arts...


  • 0




0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users