N00bie question

[omgitsduane]

Just wondering how most of you go about planning your art when you do it completely digital.

I've tried doing rough colors in photoshop and going over it with details and lines, then building up the layers, it works pretty well, or the other way I typically do it is laying down the lines and smaller details, colors underneath and just go from there as more details are done, erase fills and incorrect lines.

I've included 2 drawings I've done using both the styles I've mentioned above.

The first is for a friend, just a sketch of a sort of "lizard-queen" and the second is a about-to-be possessed chaos space marine.

[Eryn]

both styles are actually quite good. umm depends what kind of finish you are going for i guess. but you mean planning the art? First i develop a concept - either by pictures or by words. Develop my own world, eg, medieval kingdoms at war, with focus on a hero who has a magical hat! etc basic stuff....

But anyway for a scene, i will first plan all the elements in it first, separately as other artworks then put them together. eg. scene, two knights fighting on mounts in a snowy field - first i plan each knight separately as different sets of concept art. then their equipment style look etc. then put them together. Then choose a nice scene, plan that also, weather etc, then put them all together. (so total: 2knight concept arts, 2 mount arts, 1 landscape art = 1 final scene of knights etc)

This way i find myself less often going back to change characters or scenes etc. and the world fits more nicely into one piece.

thats how i plan. doesnt matter which style of the two you described that i end up using. as long as it adds to your final idea or leads to something else that is cool. Object ideas i prefer for Lines. MOOD ideas i prefer for colour splodges.

[omgitsduane]

Ah, I've never been much for a planner, unless its something that needs a ton of details, I tend to add as I go, thats why photoshop works so well for me, I can lay down the basic skeleton, then skin and muscles on top, armour and clothing, and any trinkets and whatever else, and under all that the color.

Layer upon layer works so well for me, but as I said, tons of planning is something I've never done, maybe its why I give up so quickly on my drawings.

[GriNGo]

Personally I just start sketching and working on one layer in grayscale (erasing, adding detail, etc), then when it looks good in grayscale i turn it over to RGB add add layers for coloring, on different modes (multiply, overlay, color, etc). Planning is essential, but not tons of it. Just get some thumbnails down, choose the one the best suits the project, find some photo ref (or make them yourself), and print them out, and then start the big picture. About your pictures, the look great, i would suggest you start zooming in and work out the details, on just one additional layer. Too much layers will confuse you, specially if you are still a beginner.

[aea]

For me, it's lots and lots of thumbnails. I'm still working on the process of getting things from the imagination to paper.

When looking at the second one, it looks like you could've benefited from stepping back from the screen and taking a look at the anatomy. Something feels funny about those legs. Because they don't give the impression that they're coming towards the viewer, they feel kinda flat.

I dunno. I like thumbnails and silhouettes. They always seemed to work for me in the past. Depending on the sketches though, I usually prefer pencil. Sometimes I like to pull out a huge sheet of 18" X 24" any paper with some loose mediums and really scribble huge forms. It helps my mind stretch. It kind of reminds me of like how a video gamer might sit there and do thumb exercises ...like my brain needs an exercise sometimes?

[omgitsduane]

For me, it's lots and lots of thumbnails. I'm still working on the process of getting things from the imagination to paper.

When looking at the second one, it looks like you could've benefited from stepping back from the screen and taking a look at the anatomy. Something feels funny about those legs. Because they don't give the impression that they're coming towards the viewer, they feel kinda flat.


Yeah, I have a HUGE problem with legs, its mainly the suit of armor in that drawing that gets me, I just wasn't sure how to make it look like the other leg is forward a tiny bit in a sort of bent motion...


I dunno. I like thumbnails and silhouettes. They always seemed to work for me in the past...

It kind of reminds me of like how a video gamer might sit there and do thumb exercises ...like my brain needs an exercise sometimes?

I assume thumbnails are when you just draw tons of rough sketches? To be honest I have drawing books with anatomy and stuff but I just can't be bothered drawing body parts over and over, maybe now is the time to start... with legs first.

I would suggest you start zooming in and work out the details, on just one additional layer. Too much layers will confuse you, specially if you are still a beginner.

I did zoom in to a degree, both those pictures nowhere near finished, but as it seems most people I get bored with working on the same team over and over.

Once I am happy with most of the layers, I just join the layers together, before I put them all together there was something like 5 layers condensed into three, the background, the lines and the color.

[aea]

You might do better having some idea of what you want your final project to look like. Because right now, there doesn't seem to be a goal in mind.

I bought a book for anatomy, mostly for drawing looser and life driawing. But as far as copying the pictures from the book, I am more motivated by drawing what I see in person. We have an Art Center nearby where I access model workshops. That doesn't mean I won't attempt to copy images from the book, I just think it works better for me.

Thumbnails are good for getting down what you want from your imagination, making quick sketches, etc. I mean as in actually a small block for what the composition will be, or even small character designs. Yes. I've got tons of papers with tiny fragments of characters stored away. Sometimes I will scan them in and develop a piece from that small bit of inspiration.

Those are just some of my own method.

[omgitsduane]

I still don't get what thumbnails are, is this maybe when you draw the smaller details of a single picture in order to get a better grip of how it should all look together? thats my best bet.

[aea]

I still don't get what thumbnails are, is this maybe when you draw the smaller details of a single picture in order to get a better grip of how it should all look together? thats my best bet.

That, or just smaller scribbles. It's like those story boards that some people will make that show a story line like even on something as small as napkin. Like clipart small

[shega]

sketch first, pick an environment based on your imagination because it will effecting your object color selection, roughing it, then add detail. if you already detailed your object, make it a different layer

well...that's me

[GriNGo]

thumbnails basically are small sketches of the entire composition you intend on making for your illustration... Check out the first small pencil sketches that James Jean does for this Fables cover: http://www.processrecess.com/?uid=A97E5D (the first image, on the right side). As you can the thumbnails don't necesarilly represent what the final image turns out to be, but they do help in establishing some basic paramaters (like composition, size & position of objects/characters in the illustration, certain effects, etc).

[omgitsduane]

ah good, I've been trying some stuff lately trying to get better ideas of different styles, I want to start up a sketchbook but most of you guys are updating daily, I don't draw anywhere near enough to do that although I probably should..

[GriNGo]

yes you SHOULD!

[omgitsduane]

Well as soon as I can get a few more pictures done, I'll throw them up here but it will be all very wip, drawing with the mouse just gives me hand cramps.