Getting Started

[BlahTeeb]

I'm pretty new here, so bare with me as the search button did not yield what I was looking for.

I have been sketching and that sort since I was very little. I am pretty decent on pen and paper, but would like to be better at both that and digital art. I am sort of stuck right now, because I can't decide whether to go to school and get a degree or start fresh and work with the cheaper things that I can get online.

So before I rush heads first into this career, I need some advice. What sort of material/references can I use to start the digital drawing/concepting? I understand there are online schools, but that is A LOT of money. I'm looking for something not so expensive, but I can also learn a lot from. I'm willing to buy tutorials and what not, as long as someone can confirm that it was worthwhile. I'm not too familiar with this site and cannot find good "beginning" tutorial type stuff. Any direction you can point me in would be great help.

I am interested in learning photoshop, especially in character/creature design and landscaping. I am VERY interested in the concept art style, nothing TOO dramatic and realistic, though that would not hurt.
I have also slightly touched modeling, so learning in that field would benefit too.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can lend.

P.S. - I know there is a tips category in the forums, but I'm not necessarily looking for tips on how to draw hands and heads... I'm looking more for advice and direction. Thanks again. :D

[Sebastard]

There's a thread with reading materials that every aspiring & established artist should own/peruse as a sticky in this forum. I highly recommend Loomis books, which seem to be available on online libraries. My favourite anatomy books otherwise are books by Jack Hamm. Anthony Ryder also has a nice book on figure drawing, and to design creatures you should always begin by knowing anatomy, even human :). Shameless advertising once more for my favourite bookstore, bookdepository, which has books such as these at a lower price then amazon and ships worldwide, completely free of charge.

Secondly, get a wacom tablet. There are many models to choose from. If you're serious about digital art, and you know you're going to stick with it, get an intuos4 in a size you like (or intuos3 if your budget is limited). if you want to try it out first, give it a few months of playing around, get a bamboo. Don't make the mistake i did by first buying a bamboo and after only 35 days thinking of replacing it with an intuos4 large. (which i am in the process of doing)

Photoshop is a good piece of software, but i'd recommend you trying out Corel Painter as well. The two softwares complement one another very nicely with Photoshop's editing qualities and Painter's reproduction of classical mediums such as graphite, acrylics and general brushes. I'm seriously thinking of upgrading from the Painter trial to a full version, that's how good it is.

Newbie as well though, so someone with more experience, jump on in.

[Anid Maro]

Also, if your budget is tight you can pick up programs like the GIMP (free) or SAI (not free, but pretty cheap). All the different programs out there are just different tools for one medium (digital). If you can crank out some good work in the GIMP then when you can afford Photoshop it's primarily a matter of learning the new buttons and hotkeys, the basic digital techniques will transfer between the two.

I dunno how practiced you are with traditional tools, but I'm a big fan of gaining proficiency with those prior to digital. Not that one cannot start with digital but there are so many options that it is easy to become lost. Traditional mediums, on the other hand, can do this and not that.

Once you get used to the limits of whatever traditional medium you use (watercolor, ink washes, acrylic, et cetera) only then would I suggest moving to digital. That way you already have a default method of thinking and working, essentially a launching point from which you can develop your digital techniques.

Oh, and for the love of art go get a tablet for when you go digital (be it now or later). I don't have one, and let me tell you that working digitally with a mouse is both tedious and infuriating.

[BlahTeeb]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I already have the wacom tablet. It's pretty small, not a bamboo, but I'll probably be getting a larger intuos 4 when I am better/when the price lowers. I am looking into those books and will probably buy one VERY soon. Also, I am thinking of buying the Guild Wars 2 Art book when it comes out. This thing looks like it has a really nice reference of how to go about getting that concepting look. Once good enough, I'll transition with own style.

Thanks for the advices guys.