n00b getting pwned by Photoshop

[DeuceRok]

Hey guys,

I can't seem to transfer my analog skills to the digital world. I've been trying, but I can't seem to make some "real" artwork. Actually, the best tutorial that I've found for doing any kind of Photoshop drawing was by Jeph Jacques of Questionable Content. It's a simple step by step that's vague on the what, but precise and short on the "how." Can you guys recommend some other tutorials that do the same?

Also, I want a brush that works like traditional graphite. How do I make that happen? Any settings recommendations?

-Deuce.Rok

[SIMPLEatLife]

Brush pallete>Brush tip shape>spacing 0>size whatever you desire>check other dynamics and set opacity jitter to pen pressure. And set whatever shape and size you think is nessasary. Hope this helps when I got my tablet it was like having to learn a new program using all the brush variations and shapes.

[Crysalis]

Do you draw with a tablet or with a mouse?

[DeuceRok]

Genius tablet. (Check the gallery for current stuff). I feel like I'm not getting the full potential of it.

-Deuce

[Crysalis]

You'll find that the problem lies in the fact that tablet drawing is not messy and doesn't fill in the white space with different values like pencil drawing does. That is why there is something "off". You will either have to learn to draw clean lines or paint with smudgier brushes. Also try playing around with the opacity and flow jitter in your brushes panel. It is located in the "other dynamics" part of the menu.

Good luck :)

[Brashen]

well it usually takes a couple of months to see any decent work .

[DeuceRok]

Brashen. HOLY CRAP! I went through your Sketchbook. WOW! Awesome stuff. I'll look through it a bit harder and find more tuts and see what I can glean from your stylings.

-Deuce.Rok

[Brashen]

Thanks man if you need help in anything or just a push in the right direction feel free to ask!!

[Syle]

Brush pallete>Brush tip shape>spacing 0>size whatever you desire>check other dynamics and set opacity jitter to pen pressure. And set whatever shape and size you think is nessasary. Hope this helps when I got my tablet it was like having to learn a new program using all the brush variations and shapes.

is the opacity setting for a brush defaulted to Jitter? or does one have to adjust that?

[Smashed_Pumpkin]

I felt exactly the same way when I first started using photoshop and my tablet. The opacity jitter deffinately does give a more natural feel, the flow jitter is important too otherwise you can get a bit of a "mouse drawn" feel to your lines.

Another reason you might be finding it difficult to get your digital work looking as good as your paper work is because of the hand-eye factor of looking at cursor on a screen instead of at the surface beneath your hand. Unless you have the money to spalsh out on a tablet screen you'll just have to get used to this idea of controling a disembodied hand. I struggled for a little while but once you get the feel for it, it's fine. In a way you are at an advantage because you can see the entire surface on which you are drawing without your hand/pen/pencil being in the way.

Also, what resolution are you working at? If you PC is ok with it, I'd suggest working at quite a high resolution, you can always shrink your images down on completion. I usually put up a 3000x3000 canvas (I was working with 8000x8000 for a while but that was excessive) when just sketching because you obviously don't need to use the entire thing but still have enough room to play around. I have a feeling some of the more experienced artists would disagree with some of this but I'm not saying it's the best way, just the way I do like to work, heh.

And again, you'll probably hear this over and over, the most important thing to solving your problem is practice, practice, practice!. I still havn't quite got my head round that fact!

[DeuceRok]

I draw at 4000 x 3000 at 300 dpi. That usually eliminates a lot of jitter because I draw with solid magnification. I'll try using the jitter stuff when I get my Vista partition working.

-Deuce