Info: Digital art and basics of art

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

You just need to tinker around with a program until you get the hang of it. Just like any other art tool you've never used, it takes practice. Heck, when I show my kid cousins how I draw a character with a pencil, they look at me and say "that's so complicated." All a matter of perspective.

What I typically do is draw my stuff by hand, scan it into Photoshop, and then outline and color it via Photoshop. I don't have access to nice color pencils (stuck with a bag of leftover Crayola stuff from my grade school years) so I prefer to color via an art program.

You just need to tinker around with a program until you get the hang of it. Just like any other art tool you've never used, it takes practice. Heck, when I show my kid cousins how I draw a character with a pencil, they look at me and say "that's so complicated." All a matter of perspective.

What I typically do is draw my stuff by hand, scan it into Photoshop, and then outline and color it via Photoshop. I don't have access to nice color pencils (stuck with a bag of leftover Crayola stuff from my grade school years) so I prefer to color via an art program.

 

i use crayola color pencils... they are my color pencil of choice... really one grade down from prismacolors but alot cheaper... i have started adding lettering with the Paint program since its way better than my own lettering... but its the closest thing to a art program i can afford... and i dont believe in piracy
 

i use crayola color pencils... they are my color pencil of choice... really one grade down from prismacolors but alot cheaper... i have started adding lettering with the Paint program since its way better than my own lettering... but its the closest thing to a art program i can afford... and i dont believe in piracy

MS Paint's not too bad. (I've seen people make pretty good pixel art with it.) I started out using MS Paint before transitioning to Photoshop. And even then, I was using Photoshop 7 for... a good 10 years or so before getting Photoshop CS5 as a gift last year or so. (CS5 doesn't really feel all that much better than 7 so if you can find a copy of Photoshop 7, go for it.)

If not, I hear good things about GIMP (it's free). You can check out this deviantART group for an idea of what can be done with GIMP: http://gimp-artists....rt.com/gallery/

Edited by ZeroTigress, 02 June 2014 - 09:14 PM.

i use crayola color pencils... they are my color pencil of choice... really one grade down from prismacolors but alot cheaper... i have started adding lettering wi th the Paint program since its way better than my own lettering... but its the closest thing to a art program i can afford... and i dont believe in piracy
 

You can download Photoshop CS2 for free from Photoshop's website if you don't have the money to afford the newer versions. It isn't much different anyway (as far as the basic feature goes).

.....nobody mentioned firealpaca? the thing is free and i use it 80% of the time. (the other 20% is photoshop but eh)

 

Website for FA >> http://firealpaca.com/en 

Also available in TEN languages.

 

Good points: 

> FA's program's UI is simple too, so it doesn't look as intimidating as Sai or MS / CLIP. Good for beginners.

> The watercolor brush blends color really nicely

> TABLET PEN STABILIZATION. god bless

 

Bad points:

> Free programs = ads. Every time you open the program, a pop-up comes up with an ad. So far, I'm cool with it.

> Program is too simple for advanced artist as it lacks many features

> Is still in development, and is reaaallly slow at it. As in, one update per month or two, so every damn time there is an update, you have to re-download and re-install the program. (your brush settings won't be deleted, but it's still kinda annoying.)

You can download Photoshop CS2 for free from Photoshop's website if you don't have the money to afford the newer versions. It isn't much different anyway (as far as the basic feature goes).

Just need to create an Adobe account to download it, though.

http://www.digitaltr...oshop-for-free/

I havent tried the older versions of Manga studio because i heard they werent as good. But the Manga Studio 5 is pretty good.

 

It has pretty much anything you might like from the Corel Painter/SAI kind of program that feel a little more traditional (it also has a pen stabilizing feature that helps with the shaky linearts). And you also has tools that work like the brushes on Photoshop. It also doesnt lag as hard as Corel Painter does for me when working on big files.

It allows for saving PSD too.

I cant really find any cons. Maybe the price and the fact that it doesnt have a big userbase which makes for finding tutorials harder. On the brightside you can probably use a Painter or Photoshop tutorial and  work from there.

 

I currently use this program for drawing if anyone wants to know anything specific you can message me.

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

 

I had a look at a pencil once and thought exactly the same.

Just discovered this free alternative to Adobe Illustrator.

https://inkscape.org/en/

nice. i badly needed a substitute for Illustrator because i couldnt finish my vector files also i dont have license either >< i hope the controls are almost the same as AI  

OMG WOW people are still looking at this 5 years later. Ok when I get a day off I will update this to standards of 2016!!

Is anyone interested in icon editors? I can link to a few.

Link it Zero. I will edit the first post later or make a new thread and just include everything. I think I have a more extensive thread on another forum that I can port a lot of stuff in.

I've used a couple to make desktop icons, but I can't remember what the first program was (it was ages ago). This is the current editor I used to make the favicons for both the Ragnarok Wiki and the other wiki I help manage.

http://icofx.ro/

I typically draw what I want in Photoshop and then import it into IcoFX, but you can choose to draw what you want straight up in IcoFX, too.

There's these two I've come across, but I haven't gotten around to tinkering with them. I'll let you guys decide if IcoFX isn't working for you.

http://www.free-icon-editor.com/
http://www.xiconeditor.com/

Started updating the main post. Please anyone feel free to post things and I will try add them as a resource no the main page. Still have a lot of updating to do

very useful, especially for me    im still learning to digitalize my art 

Can this be stickied again?

If anyone's interested in a graphic tablet for art, I highly recommend the Ugee.

http://ugee.net/prod...sp?articleid=17

It's got an insane amount of drawing space (even more than Cintiq), it's very affordable at around $550 (you can find it on sale for as low as $430), and it comes with an insane amount of extras (2 pens, 8 nibs, gloves, screen protector, cleaning cloths, etc.). Although it lacks quick buttons like the Cintiq, it's not too big of a deal for me. Only issues I've come across is having to re-calibrate it every once in a while, but it's a very quick fix.

If anyone's interested in a graphic tablet for art, I highly recommend the Ugee.

http://ugee.net/prod...sp?articleid=17

It's got an insane amount of drawing space (even more than Cintiq), it's very affordable at around $550 (you can find it on sale for as low as $430), and it comes with an insane amount of extras (2 pens, 8 nibs, gloves, screen protector, cleaning cloths, etc.). Although it lacks quick buttons like the Cintiq, it's not too big of a deal for me. Only issues I've come across is having to re-calibrate it every once in a while, but it's a very quick fix.

 

Oh good a review.

How is the drivers? Can you use Wacom drivers or do you have to make sure you uninstall them?

 

What kind of stand does it have? is it adjustable? On the back is there the standard mount holes to mount it on a different stand?

 

The nibs, are the same ones from the wacom or is there an easy way to replace them?

 

How long have you had it?

 

It says it has replaceable backlights? have you had any trouble with them at all?

 

Does the pen itself have a battery or is just a magnet?

How is the drivers? Can you use Wacom drivers or do you have to make sure you uninstall them?

Driver was simple enough to install on my Windows 7. I don't have any Wacom tablets so I can't comment on their compatibility with Ugee.
 

What kind of stand does it have? is it adjustable? On the back is there the standard mount holes to mount it on a different stand?

It has an adjustable stand that lays the screen at an angle on its flattest setting. The version I have doesn't look like it has mounting holes, but there is a mounting stand version of the tablet.
 

The nibs, are the same ones from the wacom or is there an easy way to replace them?

The nibs look a little thinner than the Wacom ones I've seen, so I don't think they're compatible with Wacom pens (don't have a Wacom pen to test). I find them easy to replace and you store them inside the pen rest that comes with the set so you can't lose them.
 

How long have you had it?

I got mine December 2015 and aside from a couple of initial hiccups, it's working great.
 

It says it has replaceable backlights? have you had any trouble with them at all?

Haven't had any issues with the backlights, I take pretty good care of it.
 

Does the pen itself have a battery or is just a magnet?

The pen is rechargable, so you can plug it into the USB charger to charge it up. It'll blink red when it's low on battery and glow blue while charging; light turns off when it's done charging. I find it troublesome if a tablet pen does have a magnet since it would mess up the monitor itself.

Another question is how long does the pen last on a full charge?

 

 

Now that you have had it for a year has that time shortened any?

Can this be stickied again?

 

It's done.

Another question is how long does the pen last on a full charge?

I charged it back in December and haven't needed to charge it yet. Then again, I haven't been drawing on it every day so your mileage may vary.
 

Now that you have had it for a year has that time shortened any?

December 2015 was just 3 months ago...

December 2015 was just 3 months ago...

 
Lol Oops for some reason I thought you said 14.
 
Thank you so much for the review of this. I actually think I might buy it now.


I will update the main page this weekend with your review. Thanks so much for telling everyone all about it.

Edited by Mayhem, 23 March 2016 - 05:56 AM.

Lol Oops for some reason I thought you said 14.

Thank you so much for the review of this. I actually think I might buy it now.


I will update the main page this weekend with your review. Thanks so much for telling everyone all about it.

Be aware that the box that it comes in is VERY inconspicuous. I guess they couldn't find anyone to decorate their boxes with a logo or something. But it does come with a handle so it makes for a usable carrying case.