need artpad / digital drawing/ sketching help

[afklamer]

hi

Well I've a couple of questions so lets just get started :)

1.) I've got a wacom artpad, it's not verry large 16cm I think thats something about 6.5 inches. At present im a newb in digital drawing but i hop this will change in time. I'd realy like to know which size is optimal for "advanced" drawing?

2.) Up to now I've used Photoshop now ive seen som digital colorations that impressed me very much. The way android draws, or the concept arts of episode2. I tried to copy that style but never got the hang of this, i I ve read already in some threats that i'll have to change brushes, I ve also read that painter seems to be the tool im looking for...
Well some hints/tuts would be great

I´ve also problems with colors how do you get the fiting color ? Is it experience? any way to get used to it?

3.) Hm my sketching skills are something between newb and advanced. Im some sort of cramped when im drawing im loosing ideas my creativity reached a very low level....
again any tips ?

hm thats all
im german an I really hope that my english was readable ^^

[gekitsu]

hey nagasch

i'd say that artpad is enough for now. i myself use a wacom intuos 6x8 (~din a5) and it was the right tool all the time i used it.
there sure will be a point when you can draw advantage out of a larger sized tablet but the smaller one is enough as long as this point isn't reached. does the artpad recognize bearing of the stylus? i found that a valuable feature. maybe even more valuable than sheer size.

as far as tools are concerned, you have to try what's your weapon of choice.
there are some hard facts that are:
photoshop is best at image manipulation, color balancing, all the editing. and photoshop is best with handling layers.
painter, on the other hand is THE tool if you are searching for the brush tool.
painter is like a hardcore sports car: great performance but no airbags, no well-designed interface, no servo-steering no anything. the GUI is frustrating at the beginning. no fancy or user-friendly features, just one option/value/checkbox next to the other. once you got into it, you won't give it away for anything else. (as ugly as it is, as effective it is - nothing is hidden inbetween some menu stuff) it's like a brush engine built into a bulky software chassis.

color: for me, color is also a lot about knowledge and observation.
make a google search for color theory, learn what you find, experiment around how colors react with each other.
with color knowledge in your head, you will see the world with totally different eyes. you will be able to name and describe a shade when you see it.

skwetching is done best when you are relaxed. just let the pencil flow, draw what you see, draw something you imagine, draw something you never thought of drawing. (tin cans, tomatoes, phones... anything)
if it won't work at all, just do something different for a while. if the juices aren't flowing, you can't force them to do.

just my 2€c.

[amphex]

geiktsu makes some good suggestions.
All I can offer is that you really just need to experiment, experiment, experiment!
Find what you like, find what works for you, then expand on that.
You cant always rely on the way someone else does things, sometimes you need to just do it =D (like the nike logo, yes. =P)

[afklamer]

thx

well practicing seems to be the keyword as usual ^^

[Darrell Bowman]

Go for a color you will never match it unless
you have the ability to pick up the color.
The "look" is what ur after getting it bang on
is difficult. Mostly people will never notice.
we have a saying - a blind man be glad to see that.
if a person gets to anal about it.
>The first for or five brushs in photoshop i use is
one two three and four as photoshop skips alot to
balance out the brushes.
i use 11 brush to bang in backgrounds.
depends on the resolution to a higher resolution may
alter your brush sizes.
>Keep you drawing light at first and build up to dark
saves alot of erasing too.
>Gentle touch is better then a hard touch.
>So many factors come into play here some wether
ur hand is big or left handed right handed hard to
match other people work.
Some people spent their whole lives matching a style
only to be told it wasnt pen and ink but scratch board.

some were between a one and a two to ink
then color is fill the shape.

some guys use a 0 brush and scan it in.
some use a 2h for line and H for shading darks
a HB.

The nice thing about painter classic is it alows u to go
one point 2 or 3 wher as photoshop you are at 2.

hope this helps