Digital Art with a Tablet
NeonSpyder
"Das est NTLDR?" Join Date: 2003-07-03 Member: 17913Members
"Das est NTLDR?" Join Date: 2003-07-03 Member: 17913Members
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">Resources, Tutorials, where to start?</div>Hmmh so I got a wacom drawing tablet for christmas from a friend since I had expressed an interest in tablets within earshot of my friend.
Only problem is I don't really know how to draw. I'm pretty decent with visual/art theory but don't have any hand practice even with pen and paper. I don't really want to start on pen and paper and move to the tablet since after using it for a few hours I *really* like the tablet more than I like paper... but I am not sure where to start.
I find myself needing information about what brushes and tools to use (I use GIMP, but photoshop brushes work basically the same), but also tutorials on anatomy, shapes, etc.
Do any of you have any experience with teaching yourself how to draw with a tablet?
Only problem is I don't really know how to draw. I'm pretty decent with visual/art theory but don't have any hand practice even with pen and paper. I don't really want to start on pen and paper and move to the tablet since after using it for a few hours I *really* like the tablet more than I like paper... but I am not sure where to start.
I find myself needing information about what brushes and tools to use (I use GIMP, but photoshop brushes work basically the same), but also tutorials on anatomy, shapes, etc.
Do any of you have any experience with teaching yourself how to draw with a tablet?
Comments
Also, tons of stock images to learn from, if you are trying to draw human anatomy, there's all kinds of pictures of models in various poses to learn from.
As for not having pen and paper experience, I say good. Tablet drawing will teach you to draw with your hand, while your eyes look elsewhere.
That's a valuable skill if you ever want to draw from observation, even <b>on</b> paper.
I taught myself to draw on a Wacom tablet just that way. And practice, lots of practice.
There are also tons of tutorials on YouTube as well
Kyliegirl started on a wacom quite some time ago and her art is zesty
Most important thing though, is practice. <b>Literally </b>years upon years of practice.
Most important thing though, is practice. <b>Literally </b>years upon years of practice.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
As an art school dropout, I call BS. The only thing art classes are good for is stifling creativity.
Practice however <b>is</b> important.
I would say Figure Drawing classes are pretty priceless and a great way to improve fast. Other than that most art classes are merely an exercise in principles... but Figure Drawing I would really recommend (classes where you sit and draw from nude models). They are often very easy to find/get into and not terribly expensive.
It also helps you develop physical media art skills which are very important ...I prefer to draw using real media, pencil and paper, to using my tablet. It just feels so much more natural and I find it much easier to achieve high levels of detail with much less effort.
good resources I often use:
both of these have great tutorials and brush sets on them:
conceptart.org
deviantart.com
Texture sites (if you don't use texture stock now, I'm sure you will in the future):
cgtextures.com (my favorite)
mayang.com/textures
Contrary to what some people say, I don't find pencil and paper drawing to be that intuitive. I've always struggled with pencil and paper, everytime I pick pen and paper up to try to draw it just always turns to rubbish somehow, I don't get that with the tablet even though I am effectively doing the same thing, (hard brush with pen pressure controls). I don't know why but it feels much more natural for me to use the tablet than actual pen and paper.
I'm familiar with cgtextures from my image editing experience, and who doesn't know deviantart. conceptart.org I have never been to though, I will investigate.
Thanks for all the advice though.
but hmm... these 'fundamentals' that have been spoken of, what exactly are they? Just so I know what to look for.
Don't ignore paper. Drawing on paper with pencil is valuable, shading with graphite will give you better
Learn to draw circles, straight lines and learn to love a protractor.
Perspective drawing: single point, double, triple, radial (similar to single).
Learn to look at anything you want to draw not as what you want to draw, but as a combination of the shapes that comprise what it is you want to draw.
Human anatomy is a must, even if you wish to draw caricatures, knowing how muscles move under the skin helps immensely.
Understanding color and colored lighting, lighting in general, shadows and shading.
Draw a circle and shade it like a ball with pencil, that will help you use the tablet better in the long run. do that about 100 times until you want to end it all.
As a professional artist who judged an art award for BAFTA last year, I'm telling you that you're wrong. Art schools are awful at explaining what you're supposed to be learning and why. You aren't there to learn "creativity", you're there to learn <b>how to draw</b>. How you draw is a teachable mechanical skill, the same as riding a bike or using a keyboard.
They just force you to practice a lot and provide an outlet where you can receive criticism more readily (good thing). I never went to school to learn to ride a bike, I just kept at it until I didn't fall anymore.
I did have one teacher however, in my 2d design class, who taught me to see, the aforementioned breaking down things into composite shapes.
Just show your art work to people who you trust to give honest, constructive, criticism, and save yourself the money. The internet is great for this if you have a decent troll filter in your brain.
Everything I was "taught" in art school, I could have just as easily learned by reading books/internets and by filling up sketchbooks on my own.
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Bamboo-Replacement-Standard-INTUOS/dp/B0050CTUIQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1358041504&sr=1-1&keywords=felt+nib" target="_blank">Like these ones</a>
The felt one is cool, feels a bit more like writing on paper than glass.
I did have one teacher however, in my 2d design class, who taught me to see, the aforementioned breaking down things into composite shapes.
Just show your art work to people who you trust to give honest, constructive, criticism, and save yourself the money. The internet is great for this if you have a decent troll filter in your brain.
Everything I was "taught" in art school, I could have just as easily learned by reading books/internets and by filling up sketchbooks on my own.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You can basically do that for nearly everything in life. Of course you can do it by yourself, but you can also do it by yourself (you have to in fact) and be helped with lessons. Not everybody have people with a good eye to get criticism from, school can help you practice with more means/media than if you were alone, it pushes you to discover and try new things..
Try to do nude sessions while you are alone, it's a lot more interesting to be in a class for that. You get a lot more eyes on your work, and you can view other people work too. You can diversify a lot more your practice, discover new way of practicing, or someone forcing you to practice them.
I know a lot of talented people who worked without the need of art class, but they were NEVER alone. Art class won't make you a great artist, only YOU can do that. But art classes can help.
Doing it all alone can stuck you in ONE way of drawing, and you can't do anything else. After that's done, it's really really hard to change.
Basically, the more you share, the better.
Hey thanks a lot thanks for the tutorials really appreciated...