/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

FROM THE OLD THREAD

>>1943335
explain why they are shit? can you do that in a way that can't be disproven.
battery in the pen, and no tilt don't make them shit.
you want to talk drivers, you need to know how to install the device, but customer service from huion was fantastic when something went wrong on my end. the only real driver issue they have is windows fault because it tries to use its internal drivers with it and will install it to do so if you don't install the right drivers prior to plugging it in.

>>1943360
yea, i would never take what your parents say at face value. once you reach that goal they will move the post back. hell the best thing you could do is find a girl who would fake being your girlfriend to help out. personally if you think you are able to i would get a cardboard cutout and tell them you found a girlfriend... but thats just me, thankfully i never had strict parents.

>>1943390
>>1943648
if you have to keep relearning it like that, you aren't to the point where you can use it yet. its not bad to watch the videos by any means, but if you look at your stuff and don't see the need for more, than watch theirs and forget things, and don't see that you forget immediately, you aren't to the point where that knowledge is needed. you learn best by knowing damn well where your deficiencies are and being unable to not see them.

>>1943854
>What are some "AHA!" moments you've had when learning to draw eyes on a face?

The lower eyelid has a curving corner about 1/3 of the way to the outer side.

Don't make the upper eyelid crease [too parallel] with the edge of the eyelid proper.

Any international students here?

I'm looking forward to study abroad but what really scares me the most is the money since I can't find any info about this, so how much are you paying? is it really worth it? Any of you has earned a scholarship?

>>1944058
my hands hurts. not really bad, but to a degree where drawing is not fun anymore.
(hand muscles feel tired)

i'm not drawing very much, maybe 2hours a day with tablet.

didn't have this problem with pen+paper.

am i just a pussy? do i hold my tablet pen wrong?

>>1944268
*hand, not hands

>>1944268

You may be pressing too hard on the tablet - more than is needed to get the pressure effects necessary. A tired handed is no surprise, I get it too - but I draw all day. Sometimes when you are really into a drawing or focusing on some strong detail you press much harder without knowing.

If it's a persistent issue you may want to examine when it hurts and in what positions more frequently.

If it seems to be more of an actual medical condition maybe get it checked out.

>>1944272
i'll try to press less hard, thanks for the advice : )

>>1944274
Bump up the sensitivity in wacom settings, it will force you to be a gentle giant.

>>1944268
also take breaks. if your hand tendons get sick of this and lodge a formal complaint you won't be able to draw at all for a couple days until they heal

>>1944058
Is there a way to not have those darkened areas when I overlap brushstrokes.

>>1944372
turn off pressure sensitivity

>>1944376
The thing is I want to have the pressure sensitivity (control value with pen pressure) and not have the darkening from overlapping. Don't think it's possible.

>>1944384
Sample the value/color that you already have put down with the first stroke.

1. How do I into muscle anatomy?

2. Whenever holding the pencil normally (as when writing) i switch back to "L-mode". Whereas in an overgrip, my lines are loose.
The problem is, i can only use normal hold when using wacom.

How did you cure this?

Been quite bored with drawing a single object for studying purpose. It feel's like I'm going the wrong way with studying

>>1944431

Do a couple of gestures from ref and look at anatomy books and draw in the anatomy while looking at ref. After that draw Gestures from your imagination and draw in the anatomy on them.

A nice study routine on building up from a gesture, and your learning anatomy without copying the actual anatomy books, and your working your imagination as well. And it should be fun also

>>1944441
can you recommend any specific book on anatomy? so far i have found only with lots of text and very little visual reference to muscles etc.

>>1944446

Have you looked at the Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist, I highly recommend buying it . I like that one alot, Bridgman books are good too, and there are hidden gems sites like this one https://www.pinterest.com/characterdesigh/ that explore more on muscle anatomy

>>1944372
1) stop using opacity and flow
2) see 1, but if you still want opacity do it as a full layer effect and not the brush.

Anybody have guides, preferably video, for beginner drawing? If possible something no bullshit where they know they are making a video people will come back to and watch over and over, with as little of it as possible being basic "draw this line and go over it many times" kind of exercises.

If you don't know videos, I'll take books with the preference being ones that are obtainable online.

>>1944446
Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Peck

>>1944066
i've been studying anatomy for over a year and it still partially slips out of my brain when i'm not looking.

How do I into drawing tablets? What should I buy? Where should I buy it from?

>>1944476
honestly, unless you rarely do humans and it slips because its something you don't use, keep some charts, but over all just stop studying it for now, the key you are waiting for is when you start to see something is wrong, you could try to drill it in before than, but its going to be just that much harder.

keep in mind, i'm imagining you are forgetting very minor forms, things that are barely visible externally without some extreme contortion, i'm not imagining you missing major forms.

>>1944482
practice, some people will never be good at tablets for everything, i can attest to that because of a 3 months stint where i didn't want to buy a mouse, i used the tablet exclusively, drawing, precision tasks all that shit, and i still cant use it effectively, there is just something hard wired in me telling me its wrong to not look where i'm drawing to draw.

i recommend huion, others will recommend wacom even if it means getting a 2 inch bamboo. outside of initial driver setup and windows trying to force its drivers, huion is pretty much as good as the intous pro line for 1/5ht the price.

monoprice also updated their tablet so it may be a more viable option than huion, and they also sell a large format tablet and a penable display that may be the best non cintiq you can get.

and as for where to get it... in person is best, but most likely amazon. i would still check art stores and computer stores in the area though. dont bother with best buy, they stock only the worst of the wacom line.

>>1944384
it's not possible with photoshop.

>>1944492
Thanks man! But I don't think they can ship it to where I live...

>>1944525
where you live?

>>1944492
>its wrong to not look where i'm drawing to draw.

Blind contour drawing; you're not doing it right.
Life drawing is a great way to practice this.
Think about it, you need to capture the subject in front of you in the quickest and most efficient way possible, because it's not stationary.
The most efficient way to do this is to keep your eyes on the subject, while occasionally looking back down at your paper as you draw. Let your pen tip glide on the surface to draw without looking at your paper for every stroke.

Practice enough and your hands should feel like an extension for your observation, efficiently marking what is seen and depicting it as intended.

>>1944532
im actually somewhat ok at doing this, but god damn after 10 years of using a tablet and like i said, 3 months where i used it for everything because im a cheap motherfucker i cant get over how unnatural that shit feels.

dont get me wrong, i can paint, i can do some line work with assistance from tools, but it has never once in 10 years felt right to me.

Does anybody know any good torrent sites with animations in hi def? I'm trying to find a torrent for the Sym-Bionic Titan, but i could only find the ones in 480p. I would buy it but, im saving for an online course in animation.

>>1944527
Denmark
I think meaby I've done something wrong, may look into it later.
http://www.huion-tablet.com/product/product.php?sku=1007 for 60$. It sure looks good, is it?

i have a character design and i want it to wear a giant white coat. are there any visual reasons this could be a bad idea?

Writefag here, got a question for all the drawbros. How would you feel about writers using any of your pieces as a source of inspiration? This can mean anything, from writing a poem about a certain character in one of your drawings to describing a piece of scenery, and maybe adding a bit here and there.

>>1944520
every fucking program that has pressure sensitivity acts that way it's not just photoshop that acts that way

what are some good, inexpensive easels/stands/thing holders to look into?

>>1944645
Check out Art alternatives brand easels .They sometimes have good deals going on

>>1944058
What resolution or settings or whatever do you guys find it best to paint at? Right now i just set it to twice my screen res (3200x1800), but if i begin to zoom in to work on details my painting quicl;y begins to pixelate.

Whats a good res to paint at, or better yet what values do you guys input for pic related ?

>>1944677

everything three fiddy

>>1944542
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DKRLAFY/ref=psdc_16034531_t2_B00GIGGS6A

that one specifically is the one i have. i would say its pretty good, i don't notice anything broken with how it works, if you do, update drivers and if it persists, you likely got a lemon.

>>1944634
yes that is what happens when you have opacity and flow lower than 100%

>>1944632
if its vague and not character specific, i don't mind, if its VERY character specific, and wont work without the character, you better not be selling it and you better be crediting me and making sure we arent working together.

>>1944645
you can always build one yourself, they are fairly easy to make, thats the cheapest. hell, if you have a decent chain hardware store, you can usually have the wood cut there to size.

>>1944677
you set the resolution high, that way when you shrink it it aliases itself... if you are a gamer its called super sampling, its hands down the best AA method but it a mother fucker on resources.

there is probably a rule you can follow about what size the end product will be and how much bigger you should work but i don't know, i set my shit to be 2000x2000 to 5000x5000, i would like to go bigger but i also have to consider my computer isn't top of the line.

>>1944680
Must admit I fefd
>>1944729
Thank you for the honest answer

>>1944541
>>>/co/
>>>/tor/
or maybe
>>>/b/

What's the best position in drawing that doesnt strain any part of your body? Should I tilt the paper 33 degrees or something, I am trying to practice drawing using my shoulders instead of wrists. pls help

>>1944058

any company known for giving work very quickly? i need to pay rent, lol

I can draw ellipses and lines good on paper. But I can't on a tablet. I practiced 5 hours yesterday drawing circles with little improvement and they're still bad. Any tips or just keep praticing? Thanks.

>>1944262
Oh well, nobody answered so I'll bump my question.

>>1945555
>true insanity is repeating same thing and expecting the result to change

Suggest you try to change something in your practises, but keep practising none the less

>>1945555
stick a piece of paper over the tablet?

For someone that draws a lot and is pretty good, what book do you recommend use? I dont think i need drawing on the right side of the brain, or fun with a pencil. I just want better anatomy and more life and movement in my art.

Has anyone else felt that they're confident in the knowledge they have, yet still struggle with basic concepts?

Not sure if I need more practice or if I'm learning the wrong things. Would it be a better use of time to draw X number of Y while trying to identify flaws as I go along, or should I try to read up more on the topic to approach it from a different perspective?

>>1945763

"Drawing on the Right Side" is for absolute beginners, so if you see yourself as pretty good I wouldn't bother. Andrew Loomis' "Figure Drawing For All It's Worth" and Bridgman's "Drawing From Life" are great starting points for what you want to do.

>>1945791
Thanks, I'll check those out then

Please help. I've moved from a Macintosh to a windows 7 recently, and brought the same Photoshop Program with it. Why are my brushes acting like this? I just said fuck it, and used a vanilla preset, but its still curving incorrectly and seems jagged. I can't work like this. SAI seems to be working fine. Is it just my tablet?

>>1945988
Your PC can't handle it. Photoshop also works better on apple's OS

>>1945991
care to elaborate on that?

>>1946001
Same shit here. My PC is an old piece of shit. If I make the brushes, canvas or file too big I get what you have. Photoshop is more optimized for mac than for Windows and SAI optimized for Windows and generally lighter.

>>1945555
check the tablets settings and make sure you have it mirroring your monitors aspect ratio.

>>1945631
if you suck at tablets and you are new to them repeating the process till you are use to it is a good way to practice.

>>1946014
i dont know the validity to that macs being more optimized, but you are right, the pc he is useing cant handle it.

>>1945988
make the switch to manga studio 5

>>1945991
I have a Mac and Photoshop still sucks.

>>1946072
Your canvas or brush size might be too big as I said before.

>>1946069
how exactly do you "mirror" the aspect ratio?

>>1946077
what tablet you have?

How many times can you gesso over an oil painting before it becomes unpaintable? I'm trying to save money on canvasses, so I just gesso and paint over my old stuff.

>>1946077
intuos4 M.

>>1946078

oops
>>1946104

>>1946069
Doesn't mangastudio suck the biggest ass?
I tried converting from sai and it was so unoptimized, there was the typical extra brushes that I didn't need, and was so complicated. And its not for illustrations, but more for inking and the like, as I heard from friends.

Anyone know where I can find ALL mount and blade series artwork? This stuff is inspiring as fuck.

fuck. I don't even. how do I optimize? this wasn't a problem in PSD.

Any good studio rutine? at least the kind of exercises

what's an accessible and cheap way to get into painting? which basic materials, brands, colours, and such. watercolours seem fun and cheap but apparently they're deceptively easy and not beginner-friendly so i'm leaning towards oils.

>>1946247
Watercolor is great for beginners. Gets good results fast, while being a gateway to the more difficult materials. I went from watercolor to gouache, which is similar, but it's still a huge step up.

why can't i post in the ca.org jobs section? do i need to make 30 bullshit posts anywhere first?

Where would I look if I want to get better at designing clothing for characters, currently I'm stuck on that phase where all I can think of when it come to clothing is a t-shirt and jeans.

Would it be a bad to use a tablet to start regularly drawing if I'm a complete beginner?

I'd vastly prefer to use it instead of paper if it isn't a terrible idea in the long run.

I lack the ability to draw anything close to a straight line unassisted, so should I just focus on building a foundation of consistent lines and shapes?

>>1946371
It depends a lot on your intentions for what you're doing. As an artist you should develop ability with any tool you want to use. The reality is that there are too many methods, materials, and platforms of creating work to master them all. Choose a few that compliment one another and work on them. Digital is too powerful of a tool for any artist to ignore completely.
If you ignore working traditionally, your traditional work will be of lesser quality than if you hadn't.
Do you want to make traditional work?

>>1946247
Titanium white and a tube of any sufficiently dark oil paint. Black if you want- just don't ever use it for anything but black and white paintings.
Restrict yourself to two will bring cost down, the big tubes are of better value. Periodically, Blick has coupons for 40% off on one non-sale item- large tubes of white are a great use.

You'll want some other things, also.
Turp, brush cleaner, some rags.
I like gamsol, but you probably shouldn't start with it.

A few brushes- I recommend flats, seems easier for beginners. Take very good care of them and pay a little bit of money and they will last you forever.

Wipe your brushes often. If you don't, after a couple of strokes it will begin to look muddy. Useful if blending.

Think of your brush like a shovel, not like a pen.
Sculpt, don't draw. Directionality is important.

Cardboard and gesso. Work your way towards better surfaces.

>>1946104
>>1946108

dont know how to do it on an intuos, check the software that drives it and see if there is anything in there about keeping aspect ratio... i cant imagine wacom is behind uc logic so something has to be in there for this.

>>1946133
i honestly cant speak to how good it is as im not a digital painter, however, when i use it, so many issues that i have with photoshop are non existent, its also a drawing/painting program from the ground up, they never had photomanipulation as their bread and butter like photoshop does so the painting engine is apparently better. if you are adverse to pirating, you can probably get a trial version and see if you like it.

>>1946192

what is the problem that im suppose to see there?

>>1946247

learn color and all that crap digitally, than go back and apply it to traditional, this is the best way to go about it.

you can also look up watts drawing, he apparently draws the way he does to emulate painting as close as he can so he can learn and teach with a significantly lower cost of entry.

>>1946355
think of the character, than think of what that character, based on personality, would wear... is the person fashionable or are they utility, do they want to fit in with the cool crowd or do they tell the cool crowd what the fuck is cool?

take me. if you want a character based on me they would love large cloths because they got fat, and even when the weight is gone, they still prefer baggy cloths to form fitting. because of weight game as a teen and early adult, they also prefer thick (no breath hole) basketball shorts and unless the situation demands otherwise, will go out mid winter in a t shirt and shorts because they absolutely hate being hot.

once you start thinking of the persons personality new clothing options are something you think about. granted, this is a bit different than just character design so tell me if thats also something on your mind.

Where do you get those nice round cornered sketch books?

Hey PS users. I've just recently jumped from Corel Painter to PS CC and i don't get how the brush there works, in Painter when you brush over one place multiple times (with one long stroke) the line gets thicker and darker (with the same opacity and color of brush). In PS with locked opacity and color you get one final color, which doesnt get nor thicker nor darker. Its kinda confusing for me, is it mandatory and standard, or can i fix it sh? Anon pls respond, my second encounter with PS and i dont wanna crawl back to Painter again

>>1946371

first get a pencil and try to draw with the overhand method for a few hours, see if that is better than wrist for you and draw with your whole arm.

>>1946380

the traditional stuff won't suffer, but it won't be as good because of different ways you have to draw...

honestly my goal is traditional, but i'm learning coloring and all that shit digitally because its FAR more cost effective than dicking around in a traditional setting to learn painting.

>>1946371
>I lack the ability to draw anything close to a straight line unassisted
I'd focus most of your drawing time working with simple media. Pencil/pen/marker on paper. Digital tools are a lot more complicated for a few reasons:
>hand eye coordination disconnect
>scale of marks disconnect (happens if your monitor and tablet aren't the exact same size, which is normally the case)
>the tablet's sensor is inaccurate towards the edges
>you have to learn how to use digital tools like photoshop properly to get the marks you want

Pencil and paper is just a lot easier, intuitive and straight forward. You can freely focus on building up your motor control without having additional obstacles in front of you. Once you get a very basic level of motor control you can start drawing with the tablet, but don't neglect traditional media. Working in a variety of media is conductive to your overall learning.

>>1946466
look up flow and opacity,

flow will make a continuous like overlap itself, opacity makes a hard "you can't get darker than this on one pass" limit.

>>1946461
google?
granted i suggest away from sketchbooks and instead say use clipboards, but hey, thats just me.

Any sites or information on professional artist salary, how much to charge on a single picture and whatnot?

>>1946493
yes and no...

what you want is middle of the road, you are good but you aren't a name, lets be real, its what most people will ever achieve, and its less about the content of your work and more about what size it is and color, as people buy art as wallpaper more often than not, not because the piece looks good though that is a plus.

from what i remember

charcoal>watercolor>acrylic>oil

with oil at a 1 meter by fuck knows, size bringing about 5000$ when sold, than you take into account the 10-30% commission on selling it, and than again subtract material, and you have to know your shit doesn't sell immediately.

through the sony hack, you can see what they pay their employees, and there is a damn good reason people downplay how much you make with concept art and shit... even the low end in there was makeing damn near 6 figures with leads making well above the 6 figure line.

but like i said, just assume you are not going to be in the top of your field, and just assume middle of the road, if you are ok with that, than go for it and aim high, you make make bank, or you may just be middle of the road but at least you are ok with what you make.

>>1946493
It depends. For freelance, take more jobs if you want more money. Studio gigs give a fixed rate aka salary. Anthony Jones gives a good rundown on the freelance side here http://robotpencil.deviantart.com/journal/Starving-Artist-461578661 - Also, some freelance gigs have a fixed rate that they will charge you, like Wizards of the Coast. AJ covered this part in more detail in a FB post.

>>1946501
Oh I was thinking how much digital artists get paid. Like those ImagineFX dudes.

>>1946506
digital gets payed dick to way the fuck too much, but has a higher volume of dick.

the problem with digital is you cant get exclusivity on a piece of art, and it drives the value way the fuck down.

like i said with sony, you CAN make a fairly high amount, but they are outliers in an industry that is drawing more and more people, making the good jobs harder to get, and leaving a fuck load of dick.

if i had to chose i would say traditional is the safer option at the moment, but have a good foundation in digital too just in case opportunity comes around.

Does anyone have a link to good face references? I need to study more faces and expressions (male and female).

Is it worth it to become a 'Jack of all trades' within the entertainment industry? Or should I just focus on one thing and get really, really good at it? Because, frankly, I enjoy most aspects within the industry: Character design, environment design, vehicle design, prop design, storyboarding, costume design, camera operating, video editing, 3D modeling, sculpting, etc.

I guess what I'm asking is: Are employers looking for someone who can do one thing very, very well or someone who can do a multitude of things very well (but not AS good)?

>>1946779
Pixelovely has it, also http://oh-hi.info/

And for things like expressions, you can also study from animation (preferably the more Western and European stuff than things like anime) or comic books.

>>1946789
No body wants to be (or want) a Jack of all Trades in general. Ace something first, and then branch out.

I use a UHD tv to display reference images for drawing.

The problem I'm having is that the windows 7 image viewer is rather shitting at scaling images past their native resolution.

Are there better programs that allow for quick zooming and moving an image around that's also free and doesn't make an image look like shit?

Quick question
does anyone have the cylinder materials sheet?

>>1946790
on the note of anime, i would recommend manga because of how samey the style can be, many live and die based on the expressions they put in the faces.

>>1946791
indie development wants jack of all because you cant have a master of 1 for everything...

HOWEVER, getting good at one thing and being able to to others is always a desirable skill, there are a lot of things that someone early on could predict and actively prevent if they know what is going to happen later on, i'm speaking from a 3d modeling to animation or even just texturing a 3d model standpoint.

>>1946822
ACDSEE, i personally stick with pro (version 8.1) because of design decisions they made with newer versions that im not sure they fixed...

you can also use irfanview.

note, neither of these blur the pixels when you zoom in like standard windows viewer does... at least by default.

and if you go acdsee... you may want to set up a filter to exclude multimedia... i have a download folder that has 20000 objects in it and if multimedia isnt filtered going through it is a mother fucker because of loading times

>>1946954
thanks a ton. I'll check out acdsee. found an 8 torrent.

>>1946967
works great. It's exactly what I was looking for.

The enlarging is exceptional and switching between images is about as pain free as can be. I'll buy it now.

How do you deal with smearing? Just started my first sketchbook and that graphite shit is all over the fucking place, like come on for fuck's sake can't even close the notebook without two pages blending together

>>1946984
What kind of lead are you using?

You could try those sprays.

>>1947003
Regular HB/2B/4B pencils and it's spreading like wildfire all over my hands and the paper. Is it the paper maybe?

>>1947009
If you're doing that much blocking in with pencils, you can't really avoid smearing.

You could trying airing the picture out. I think the lead becomes harder or something.

>>1947009
>>1947003

Hairspray can be a cheap, but yet surprisingly effective fixative.

It'll make your sketchbook smell great to boot!

>>1947009
get a drawing bridge then use fixative. I made my bridge using a slat from an old oak barrel but you can just buy one too.

You could also learn to draw with your arm and wrist rather than resting your hand on the paper. It feels unnatural as fuck for the first few weeks but your quality of line will improve in the long run.

>>1947031
upon googling the correct term is artist's bridge.

>>1947027
Gotta try that shit
>>1947031
Got zero disposable income so I cannot really buy one. Does a wooden plank count as a substitute?

Also I don't quite get that with the arm and wrist - any pics or tips as to what you mean?

>>1947049
no, it has to be curved otherwise the wood will just start to smudge the paper.

>>1947049

Hairspray will yellow and damage your paper over time however, so if you're planning on making some masterpiece to be saved for posterity, use actual fixative.

>>1947049
on second thought it would work. You just have to prop the board on something on each side so it elevates it above the paper.

>>1947053
>>1947057
Okay, I'll try to get something like that up. Doesn't look to hard to smash together some bits of wood and add ludicrous amounts of glue. Thanks for that.


>>1947054
Yeah no I've been drawing for like three weeks now I'm not going to be making masterpieces in the next several years at least haha, hairspray will do for now.

I hear a lot about 30 second pose sketches, are 45 second and 90 second sketches useful too?

What res do you guys draw at?

I draw at 11x14 300dpi. Sorta like traditional comic paper size and feel.

>>1947329
9 X 12 REAL paper

>>1946779
On Instagram straight flexin

>>1947128
>30 sec
Getting the Basic stuff in and gesture
>45 sec
landmarks and distinguishable things
>60
do the jam

>>1947329
A4 or A5 white smooth paper. Cheap and easy to use.

When starting a portrait sketch, should you start with the shape of the head first, then the eyes/nose, or the eyes/nose first and build around it?

I don't want to end up taking the needlessly long path.

>>1947553
Head first always. You generally are always working general to specific, big forms to small forms. The eyes and nose are small forms that are built on top of the structure of the head. The head and it's proportions and perspective must be defined first so that you can draw the rest in correctly.

>>1947553
>>1947558
And FYI, in that ref I'm 90% sure those are her bangs obscuring part of the forehead. Shit is way too slopped. Also you've made the cranium way too tall. It's overall shape is that of a rounded egg laying on it's side, with the narrow part pointing forward.

>>1947553
When working directly from a reference I would rough out the shape of the head for a couple of seconds, then work tighter starting from a detail like an eye.

Once you draw something like the eye, you can expand from that part as the drawing will make more sense, such as the nose is this much eyes long and stuff.

why the FUCK does this window pop up when i try to fucking draw? every time i fucking touch my pad this shit comes up instead of the fucking brushstroke i was trying to make.

>>1947580

mousclick activates it. maybe wacom is broken and clicks automatically or you are a potatokid and don't realize that you are pushing the little button that makes it click.

>>1947580
You have your pen set to rightclick when you hold down for too long, I think. It's set like that as default but you can change it in the control panel

>>1947584
youre right but sometimes the buttoms are out completely out my way which could be explained by>>1947585


thanks for the tips

I want to do lineart so how should I set my brushes in Photoshop so I don't just use vanilla?

>>1947620
Vanilla? What do you mean?

>>1946971
i your welcome, though you may want to stick to 8, i don't know if current versions fixed some of what i consider broken.

i personally use the program as a manga viewer because it can go into archives display and has a fairly good browser.

just a heads up, i found a glitch that will cause the program to crash if you take an explorer window, use find to find everything you want in a folder and than move it to the folder, from explorer to acdsee where it will crash the program and delete the files, its recoverable, but the files no longer retain file names...

also, at least with version 8 to i think 10, i don't know if it was ever addressed, there is a crashing issue where the program may not start up functional, or if you change how files are sorted it may also crash on you. the switch to windows 7 made the issue manageable as it was never failing to start up in an infinite loop, but it would crash on startup.

>>1946984
1) don't get a sketchbook where the papers are loose at all, they will smudge
2) don't draw on both sides of a page if smudging is an issue that effects you.
3) get some tissue paper and put it in between pages if you want to draw on both sides, at least that way it contains what the fuck is going on to one page and not 2
4) get some cardstock, and fit 2-3 layers behind what you are drawing on, this will contain pressure just to that page
5) draw with your arm
6) sketchbooks are not for final pieces so smudging isnt bad, its just practice and getting an idea down to be made better later
7) possibly move from pencil to pen in the sketchbook, you will still have some smudge issues, but should not be as bad as graphite or charcoal.

>>1947128
30 seconds is just a gesture, and yes longer is usefull if you know what you should be doing... try looking at videos from people /ic/ considers masters and see what they get done in that timeframe.

1 minute should get you a full gesture with landmarks and time to add enough detail to finish...

>>1947693
... the drawing at any point in time in the future when you come back to it.

>>1947329
comics are drawn at several times larger than the book scale wise, i believe its something like 4x the books size or larger.

>>1947553
get rough shape of the head, than go in to add just enough detail to tell you where the eyes nose and mouth are, and work backwards.

you are working digitally, so i believe working additively is a good way to do this. if you were doing traditional, i would recommend the same as above, but instead of a new layer to get highlights, you use the eraser.

>>1947580
i think i set up my menu like that to only pop up on a middle click.

>>1947620
if you only want to do lineart i would recommend against photoshop, something where you can get a lazy brush of some description will make your life SO much better.

What's the best equipment for a beginner? I've been watching videos and reading articles about the best pencils and it's quite confusing.

>>1947761
Beginner here as well, but a sharpener, rubber and 2H&HB&2B&4B pencils seem just enough. OFC you'll need paper and shit but that I think you can manage. There's hardly much difference between a Koh-I-Noor, a Staedtler, a Milan and a Ching Chong at our stage, just the hardness for now

>>1947766
I think I'm sorted with the paper. I'm just going to start with some low-quality sketch pads for starters. Are there any packs of pencils you can recommend in particular?

>>1947769
Not really, sorry. I'm using a couple of different pencils: Faber-Castel 2H, Staedtler HB[2], Stabilo HB[2½], a Milan 2B and Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth graphite pencils 2B and 4B, with a no-brand Chinese hand-crank sharpener and a Rotring Tikky20 eraser. Nothing too fancy, and me being a collector I can just buy a replacement pencil when I run out of one without having to worry about whether I should store it away or not. Probably not helpful response, but hey my 2 pf

>>1947772
>Staedtler HB[2]
What exactly is a HB[2]? I'm looking on Amazon and I see HBs, 2Hs, and 2Bs but can't see a HB[2].

>>1947776
I am not sure what it is, but I think it's marginally softer than the rest of the HB[2½] pencils I'm using. IDK why it's like that, but it even says so on the pencils themselves. The red's a Stabilo Swano 4906 HB[2½] and the yellow's a Staedtler Noris HB[2]. They probably don't have the 2(½) on the HB rating itself officially but the print differentiates it

>>1947781
Just worked it out, it's a H. Thanks for the help.

>>1947782
You sure it's a H? I mean ok if it is but it's softer than the other HB I have

>>1947788
Yeah it shows the pencil on Amazon and I see [HB]2 on the side when on the H. I'm going to buy a few different tones and see what's best.

>>1947801
Good luck!

>>1946842
here you go

>>1947894
got another

>>1947894
>>1947950
you are a giant fucking cuck, you know that?

i have been sitting over this thinking hard, but i cant come to a solution on how to determine the earline to be perpendicular to the middle line. It is also problematic for me to get the top and bottom poles right.

Are there any cheaper alternatives to Moleskine sketchbooks? I can't see paying $20+ for a sketchbook. But I do like the style. I'm not talking about those sketch diary things you get from walmart that have the wire binding.

>>1948070
post your attempts

>>1948079
I've seen them, but they aren't that much cheaper. Maybe a few dollars less.

>>1948091
here are some of them

>>1948123
Draw bigger, clean up your lines
It seems you go round with your pencil a few times to make circle. That's quite messy. I mostly ghost before it and draw it in segments.
Maybe you can try that? You're in the right direction, I think.

>>1948159
I am trying to get cleaner, and they were a lot messier a few days ago. I didnt try drawing it in segments, i'll give that a shot. So for the crossing lines, is there no method other than eyeballing?

>>1948164
If you start with the circle, I don't know if there is a way to find the crossing lines without eye-balling it. If I want it accurate I start with the crossing lines itself. A lot easier. There could be a way, but I'm not aware of it.

>>1948171
thanks, im gonna get a real ball then and draw these lines in, and study it. I really need to get this shit perfect.

>>1948123
Doing this really with really thin precise limes improved my drawing ability

Is there a significant difference between a medium and a large intuos? I'm thinking about upgrading.

>>1948242
Not really.

A bigger one means you'll need to have more desk space and have to do longer arm movements.

How 2 make her more aesthetically pleasing /ic/? I'm planning on doing an ink-wash style painting of her figure. Any way of doing this with acrylic on wooden panel?

What are some legal concerns to be considered when setting up to do commisions?

does art with a f translate to fart?

>>1948399
I'm wondering about this too.

I don't think Marvel and DC give a crap if you sell them, but Disney might....

I have been learning to draw for some time now and I have noticed something about my process, thst I just learned all those construction techniques (loomis heads for example) but I am not able to "see" the things I want to draw in my mind. Is there something I am doing wrong ? Is this a skill that develops gradually ?

is line really THAT important for value based work?

>>1948405
it depends on the context. for example arft does not mean fart

>>1948495
Line isn't but drawing is. What that means is you don't need nice clean lines, but your value shapes need to be correct with the right size and placement. Getting these shapes correct is often referred to as the 'drawing' aspect of a painting. Going by Schmid's terminology, a painting's components are drawing, value, color and edges (at least when trying to narrow down a problem in a painting).

>>1947894
>>1947950
Has anyone ever finished the whole thing?
Post your results, even if it's not completed!

>>1947761
what i recommend

prismacolor ebony, i have sharpened these by exposing a crap ton of lead, none have been bad yet,
prismacolor lightfast black noar, a wax based pencil i believe

both of these can be had for i beleive less than 7$ a 12 pack and should be more than enough

i also went with and got a thick stick of graphite for gesture, and some vine charcoal and blick 12 charcoal stick compressed charcoal, this will give you a VERY wide range of value

if you want to do line art, look for ink that is pigment based not fountain pen ink (though it can work, they are different consistencies) that is in a jar without a dropper on it.

and get yourself some crow quills and hunt 512 (i believe this is the number) or 513, i forget what the fine one from the japanese are called but the 512 or 513 equivalent is a g nib.

you may as well also pick yourself up a pentel pocket brush, even if you run out of ink, you can use the ink from the jar and its now a dip brush.

you may also want to pick up a plastic try for water color and experiment with painting with ink of different values.

now on the drawing side, get yourself a 20X26 or something around that size drawing board, and some smooth newsprint at 18X24, this is better than sketchbooks as you can get your own paper and aren't bound to what ever a company decides to bind with... though know news pring is shit for ink... though you are a beginner so normal 20-80 lbs printer paper should be good enough...

>>1948079
if you don't care about paper quality and just like the look, go to an art store and there should be some that are like the moleskine ones for 6$ or less.

>>1948407
>>1948399

rule of thumb is a one off or a special thing so long as you aren't advertising "ill draw you spider man give me money" and its more "ill draw what you want for money" is over looked,

but know you are legal grey area and can get sued even if fair use is on your side.

>>1948494
i assume you mean properly visualizing what you want to draw, such as instead of thinking in forms you are thinking in symbols. i dont have the image on the ready anymore, but i was going to pose a picture a comic artist did for a gnomon tutorial where he shows off how little is necessary to convey a face...

try to find a good person who draws and try to find what they use as their bare minimum to represent a face, and use that as your basework till you find your own.

Let's say you wanted to learn how to write in addition to becoming an artist, but you had absolutely no education or practice with either- would it be feasible to study both at the same time?

>>1948738
should be, you'll end up painting like a writer and writing like a painter though, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

>>1948740
>you'll end up painting like a writer and writing like a painter

That doesn't sound good. Care to elaborate?

>>1948747
it's not a bad thing really, it's just that painters have a certain worldview, a way they see the world and so do writers.

same thing goes for musicians and other such things.

so like kandinsky has super musical paintings because he's a musician.

john fowles has super paintingy books because he studied art.

etc.

>>1948762

Ah. Well, that might not be so bad, I suppose.

Incidentally, is there, like, a One-Stop Beginner's Guide to Creative Writing anywhere, or would I be on my own?

I always feel like my brush settings in photoshop are shit. I see conflicting opinions on the net as well so I'm not sure where to start off. I'm trying to get into digital painting with a tablet but I feel most confused in regards to settings.

One source I saw said to paint with opacity and flow at 100% always, to mimic traditional mediums. I think more commonly in speed painting videos and stuff they have opacity set to pen pressure to allow color blending. What should I be using?

>tfw I will never EVER be able to draw proper faces

Seriously now though my biggest problem is making the features look correct how to fix pls respond

>>1949035
Draw like 20 mouths from different perspectives.
Do the same with eyes, noses and ears.
Don't forget to play with the different subfeatures and possibilities you have (for example the length of the nose, if it is konvex or concave, the direction of the tip of the nose, etc.)
Then study a lot of pictures.
Start with the ones, who have a big value-range. Then study some more.

Basically focus on 1 facial feature first, practice it until you can comfortably draw it, then move to the next one.

going through dodson's keys and decided to take a look at loomis
so what do i do, try to not draw symbolically or try to draw symbolically

>>1949079
Loomis is just an excercise, so you can go ahead and do it in style, and then try to not make it stylized

Any anons, when you do studies do you do them side by side, separate windows or separate monitor?

Previously I was recommended to try using another monitor for my study (I was using them in the same document before.)

Up until now, I haven't had the ref and the image side by side, and once I resized the image I saw that it was elongated. Now on the bottom I resized the image to that of the reference and it was a bit better.

I think I've had an "Ah Ha" moment. I think I'm using the borders too much to judge proportions where I should be using the figure. I know I use the negative spaces, but at this point is it something I should avoid? Is it a crutch?

>>1949191
Also, I think I'm going to start doing them borderless.

>>1949191
>I know I use the negative spaces, but at this point is it something I should avoid?
You can and should use negative space when applicable, but keep in mind there are many ways to check proportions. You can check to find the longest vertical and longest horizontal within the envelope of the object you're drawing. You can check what major landmarks line up along horizontal and vertical lines. You can extend existing lines in the subject (whether they're straight or curved) and see where they would intersect. You can check proportions by establishing a sub-part of the object as a scale unit - with figure drawing this can often be head height, but you could also use the the width of a shoulder, or the distance from the naval to the pubic bone, or naval to the edge of the waist - whatever makes sense and is useful in the context of the pose.

In short, that's checking horizontals, verticals, diagonals, rhythm lines, proportions, positive shapes and negative shapes. Whenever you're drawing from a model/reference, those are all tools that help you place landmarks in terms of 2D space. Even if you're end goal is to construct using 3D forms, these 2D tools are useful for ensuring accurate proportions.

Oh, and I'm the guy that suggested to keep your ref on a separate monitor. I think it's useful it that it forces you to be more consciously aware of all these 2D relationships you're measuring and checking. You should also be painting some still lifes on your desk, as that also cements that skill set. I don't know if I posted this last time but you can see some techniques in use here for translating 3D space into 2D landmarks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hakaoQ9L1RM

Not sure if this is the best place to ask, but I just got a drawing tablet today and it's confusing the fuck out of me. Is it possible to invert the x-y axis on the tablet and make it so that the lines go in the direction I indicate or is that just how it's supposed to be? Sorry if that's a stupid question, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing with this thing.

>>1949221
The cursor is supposed to follow your movement 1:1, with some scaling adjustments if your tablet isn't the exact same size as your monitor. It should feel exactly like drawing on paper, but with you looking up at a screen instead of down at the tablet. Drawing a stroke from the top left corner of your tablet to the bottom right corner should make the cursor draw (click and drag) from the top left corner of the screen to the bottom right corner. If your tablet isn't doing this then something is wrong. What model are you using?

>>1949225
Don't know the exact model name, but I'm using a Huion tablet. It's making the lines go in the opposite way that I move on the tablet and it doesn't feel like drawing on paper at all.

so i started doing digital art while not mastering trad art. was it a bad move?

How much do pressure levels on a tablet matter with digital painting? I currently use a tablet with 512 pressure levels. Should I upgrade?

>>1949244
I'm this anon >>1949221 and I'm also wondering that. I wanted to try it out but it's starting to seem like a bad idea.

>>1949252
>>1949250

>>1949259

>>1949229
Well it's not supposed to do that. Check your drivers, check your tablet settings, and check that you aren't using the think upside down.

>>1949308
>check that you aren't using the think upside down
Oh shit, I laughed, but that's probably it.

>>1949339
Okay, yeah, I am a confirmed retard and was using it upside down. Thanks anon, I didn't think it mattered

I know this seems like a weird question, but: movies or documentaries to watch while drawing? Sometimes I get sick of music, and podcasts don't work because it's nice to see stuff happening on the screen. I'm also getting tired of putting on all the movies I've already seen. I watched Rope (Hitchcock) for the first time while drawing recently. That was nice.

I love putting on King of Kong; I Heart Huckabees; Dog Day Afternoon; The Thing; Hellraiser; that 4 hour Nightmare on Elm Street documentary, Never Sleep Again; The Shining; 2001; anything Wes Anderson, and more, but just a general list for ideas maybe?

I'm really into film and documentaries, so go ahead and throw anything you think might work, my way.

How does one create pixel art?

my pentel brush pen has poor inkflow, I opened to see what's the problem and saw air bubbles kept forming inside, any remedy for this?

>>1949394
Drawing it how it would have been in 400x400, then when resizing it to intended sprite size, going back over the edges.

How do commissions work? Is it:

-Some guy has and idea and you accept.
-You send him like 2-4 thumbnails. He chooses one.
-You finish the work, send him a tiny thumbnail sample, he likes and and pays your through paypal.
-you send him the resized final pic, and maybe ask him if he wants it on dA?

>>1949484

>>1949528

So you're saying I would basically open up a PSD file at 400x400 pixels and then when I'm done drawing I would shrink it down to sprite size?

>>1949536
I haven't done any commissions yet, but I would look at how some of your favorite artist do commissions.

I personally would do a half and half payment, I read a lot of stories of (newer) artist getting screwed out of this.

And fuck that asking thing, do this,

"5 – Exclusivity (the piece will not be posted online by me or used on published or printed works, like Calendars or Prints)

Final Price X 1.5"

Make them pay extra to be exclusive.

>>1944058
i normally only draw half finished figure drawings that people mistake for gesture drawings
ive been doing this for 2-3 years now
how fucking stupid is this and how can i stop doing it.

>>1949618
You're trapped by your comfort zone - you learned how to do something and stuck with it, thereby stagnating your progression for a few years. The only answer is drawing something else, the easiest route to doing so is finishing the fucking drawings.

How do I feel the volume?

>>1949394

http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11299

I believe this is the go-to thread for pixel art 101

>>1949625
topology lines

1) Where would I go, or where would I begin, if I want to make my own anime-esque figurines?

2) In your opinion, should a person bother with the expenses and time of college or art school?

I've been offered a chance to work with making Art for printing on t-shirts. The printer is a DGT that takes photoshop CMYK files.

Anyone have any experience with this?
Can I earn a decent living off this without making huge amounts of fan art?

>>1949728
https://www.mediafire.com/#7k7zvqs0l2qb8

>>1949748
For some reason, the link is not working for me. What is it?

>>1949767
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/7k7zvqs0l2qb8//Wendy%20Froud

>>1949769
Thank you very much!

>>1949191
it depends on what you do when you study,
you appear to have an issue with how you measure.

i would personally stick the image off screen but still on screen, and try to make a VERY basic sketch of the head, represent where the eyes will go, nose start with and end, lips, landmarks basically, and than compare, and find out how off you are.

for this it would be best to use both eyes, as your answer points and see how off you become over time.

>>1949270
this is good, but really, digital art is to new to really say one way or the other if its bad to do it over traditional.

all we know is that all the ways to teach that are well grounded in years of refinement and use, are traditional and you would need to translate it to digital...

i personally dont think digital and digital alone is bad, but for what i want to do, traditional is the better option for me, partially because i cant get use to a tablet (10+ years of use, still cant get use to it, can use it, but never really "use it" alone if that makes sense.)

>>1949250
depends on the program you use, some take GREAT advantage of pressure, and some just make it make the brush bigger or adjust opacity and flow. if you use a 1024 pixel wide brush, than every level of that 512 would matter, but really, only 100 of those level ranges matter in normal use, and those 100 levels are rarely brush size, the long and short is yes and no... sorry i cant be more specific, im sure someone else will go into details were every level matters and contradicts what i say, try and take both mine and their posts with a grain of salt.

>>1949370
anything where the video is secondary to the talking is great.
as in to get full benefits of the video you need to watch it as apposed to you could get the exact same out of just audio.

>>1949557
depends on size, if you are sub 50x50, than each pixel on its own. just remember that in pixel art, every single pixel is a brushstroke and every color is meaningfully placed.

>>1949505
supplement the internal cartridge with a dip ink source?

>>1949484
drawing on a tablet... are you doing line art? if so, look into the pen tool, im sure there are a few programs that will let you plot the stroke direction with the pen tool than let you go over the line like a rule with a tablet pen to very the size.

if this isn't it, clarify with an example of what you are talking about.

>>1949536
know how long work will take, and charge him minimum wage up front,
each step of the process ask him conformation and allow him one change. if more are required, he gets to pay for them, but dont abuse this, this is mostly to make people damn sure of what they are getting.
you may also want to charge him per step. and the excuse is the step is finished, the only way for you to confirm can also mean you could steal it, so pay up now... granted im thinking the sketch-lineart-color-shaded color that is kind of standard with commissions when i say that.

you also add 50% to the cost for exclusivity, and 100%+ if its something you are ok with making, but not something you can show off on any platform... think someone asks for scat porn... i could personally make it, but there isnt a chance in hell i would post it anywhere or sign it.

100% up front with the costs, and if extra time is on him you didn't plan for, charge him, and if any extra time is on you, fucking eat that cost, you sold yourself short and thats your fault and lesson to learn not his.

>>1949618
post something you made and we can better help you.
>>1949622
this is possible, but the way it sounds is he could be on step 1 or 2 of a drawing instead of progressing to 3 and 4, hence i want to see what he calls a half finished figure drawing.

>>1949728
right now... the best way to go about doing this would probably be 3d modeling and a home built 3d printer mixed in with some tlc to smooth everything through wet sanding and re defining some lost details.

>>1949919
>>1949728
you could also get a more expensive dlp or sls printer in the range of 2000-4000$ and be more or less good to go after initial print.

>>1949919
>>1949920
Sadly, I don't think I have the skill to "home build" a 3D printer, however that would be done.

What exactly can I print with a 3D printer? Anything I can model in a 3D modeling program, like weapons? Do you have any recommendations for some 3D modelling programs?

>>1944384
Turn opacity to 100%, make your pressure response change colors, not value, and set your margins within the shades you want. Regardless of your program, this should be possible.

>>1949923
home built is all encompassing, from master works where they take a dvd player and make it into a 3d printer, to reprap kits... what i would suggest is a reprap kit, because EVERY fmd printer malfunctions at some point and you will need to know how to fix it regardless if its a makerbot or a reprap DIY.

as for what you can print... anything modeled in 3d can be printed, however to save material and print time, knowing how to cut the piece to more effectively print is a skill in and of itself... granted dlp and sls printers reduce this need to some extent.

software ranges from build it point by point, to full sculpting in z brush or other sculpters.
if you want to try out sculpting, there is sculptris and blender, if you want to do block modeling methods there is blender and modo, though many people prefer maya, modo is newer and has less legacy baggage.

for anime, you likely don't want to sculpt and instead want to block model, if will give you full control over the model and is easier to learn and get good at as its just pushing vertices with a mouse. if you have some background in sculpture or creating form in 2d traditional... possibly sculpting in z brush will be something you can pick up easier.

>>1949933
I am actually new to sculpture. I was planning on mastering traditional 2D, then moving onto sculpture with a refined understanding of the human form. But I'l look into 3D modeling after learning 2D, I suppose.

Thanks for your help, kind and wise Anon! That explains a lot.

This is probably a stupid question but how much time should I take to go through a book? For example Keys to Drawing has like 200 pages. If I spend 1 hour a day how much days should it take me?

>>1944058
Should I upgrade from my 512 pressure leveled tablet?

I'm losing motivation to draw. I was able to draw for a few hours almost every day last year but now I stop drawing for days on end until I force myself to sit down and draw. I'm afraid that if I don't draw often enough, my skills will regress. What do?

>>1950018
read it like a book.
lean with it and rock with it

>>1950041
find a new hobby

>>1950003
there is one program that you may want to look at just as a curiosity, curvey 3d. i dont think you will ever get something high quality out of it, but you could get a base model out of it to take into a different program for final work, and really all you need to do for that is contour drawing.

>>1950018
read the book all the way through, and note where things that are new to you pop up, or ways to practice pop up you think will help you, than go through those areas again and practice what it says.

>>1950033
see >>1949899 though im sure someone will show you a way that you can get more use out of a 2048 pressure tablet than a 512, i personally dont use the programs that would, or draw in a size that could really benefit from more than 512... that said, my old 512 tablet ran into some coard issues so i got a 2048 replacement.

>>1950041
are you just practicing or are you actually drawing?

What do you guys think about the /r/artfundamentals subreddit? Good stuff?

>>1950267
From what I can gather from a quick glance, it seems fine overall. If that sort of structure gets you to draw more then have at it. Note that a lot of what that dude is teaching is the same stuff you'll find in a lot of the resources linked in the sticky. I personally opt for seeking information from the material of reputable instructors directly, but those lessons aren't very different from what people around here would suggest.

Again, that's just from a quick glance. If anybody else wants to read through it all in detail then go for it.

>>1950041
Look to other parts of your life for answers. I.e. drawing is not the only thing that affects drawing. What are you getting addicted to, what are you spending time on, etc. Yes, drawing skills, especially mechanically, do regress.

You may also be bored, need to do something new. The notion of quitting, or finding a new hobby, is like saying a man should get a new wife when he becomes bored with her. No, what you should do is re-discover art and drawing, learn what you are ignorant of.

As a beginner, should you focus on quick sketches for proportion and composition or finished pieces for line control and lighting?

>>1950304
never do finished pieces because you are a beginner, you are shit.

the most you should be doing is mapping in shadows...
focus on quick sketches and proportions... and for the time being fuck the composition, you are doing practice shit to get better... wow you could apply what i just wrote to why you should do composition...

more or less, you want volume of work, not quality when you begin, because volume brings quality.

I'm trying to learn how to draw pic related kind of details. Like robotic or cyber something, my only resource as of now is the Transformers movies. I've searched in Pinterest but it's such a mess and I only see exoskeletons.

>>1950525

those kinds of details are called "greebles".

>>1950525
just as a heads up, transformers isnt a good source because none of the robots work. there are a cobbled together mess that they try to hide the clipping through various camera angles.

if you want highly detailed mech stuff, try looking around 3 and possibly asking there, hard surface modeling is something they would know more about and where to find the people who do it well.

>>1950525
It's just a bunch of stuff stacked on to each other. Plus the right light and shadows.

Render slowly one by one and go back and fix lighting if it looks off.

What are the planes of the arm? The way I paint it, it's roughly a cylinder with a kind of oval-like bulge (What I assume is fat/muscle hanging off of the bone) on the inner part.

Face planes come easily to me, for some reason, probably due to experience both in real life and studies. Legs and arms seem tangibly easier, yet when I paint them, they look odd/muddy. When I try to push light/dark values, it just starts to look like a cylinder rather than an arm.

>>1950740
So how do you guys create gesture.I have read Ron Lemen, Vilppu ,Reilly and Geist and their approaches, but I dont feel it.

>>1950740
instead of trying to paint a "real persons" arm, push muscle to a stupid extent, and make it so its so well defined you can't tell there is fat on the body whatsoever.

im reminded of a /3/ post a whole back where they had a damn near nude man who was ripped as fuck going up a step... it was a show of anatomical knowledge and this persons study, but it went way over the heads of quite a few people there.

by removing the fat, you are left with muscle and an extreme definition and if you are in any way shape or form wrong, its easily noticeable and fairly easy to pinpoint.

what im saying is the problem may be less you don't know the correct way to simplify the arm and more you may be missing underlying muscle, assuming thats the issue... post a clip of what you are talking about and maybe someone can better tell you where you are going wrong.

About how long is a reasonable amount of time to spend on a study, digitally painting someone's portrait/bust, in color from a photo? Let's say you're towards the higher end of intermediate.

>>1950763
Maybe I should include a picture with this. I'm pretty good at sight drawing people from photos (at least I think), but I'm still learning how to digitally paint and use color, so I figure that together lands in "intermediate". I want to do some studies, I just want a good frame of time to give myself so I don't overwork them or something, just so I can potentially maximize their effectiveness.

>>1950767
for what you did, 15-20 minutes a head.
the top right one, that hair probably wouldnt be defined that much, it would probably look more like the top left, just enough detail there to get the point across

>>1950808
15-20 minutes? It took me like an hour to draw each one of those heads in pencil, a medium I'm comfortable with. Doing it digitally and in color? I thought it was gonna be something more like 2-3 hours...

>>1950755

I have way more of a confidence with lines, so to remedy that, I'm focusing my studies onto pure black and white values with only minimal linework done before hand to paint over. Not only is making the arm look good hard for me, I also can't get it to have the sharp edges (where her arm ends and the background begins) the picture does. Hopefully in more studies my value work will start to improve.

>>1950885

For this study I've also took the lazy route and just made her pose and face different. I'd rather focus on proper values than likenesses or the mishmash that is her fingers/hands, otherwise I'd never finish the study.

>>1950828
oh, i thought you were asking what intermediate skill was going to be for that so you had a bar to compare too...

if you went digitally with color... lets say once you get your shit together, you will probably be around the same time, the big factor is how fast you can chose and judge color.

once you go digital, you need to start drawing like a painter instead of what you are doing now and that transition could take a while.

>>1950980
Drawing like a painter? Like how? Also this is mostly to practice doing color so I guess the studies are going to take a while.

>>1950885
>>1950893

honestly what i see as the issue here is proportions and measuring ability.

what i would say is just draw a circle, than gesture the rest, than overlap the two drawing once you adjust the circle to represent the cranium.

i would do this for a while. than go back to doing value studies when you can get proportions down.

what was there in that study was... not so much what was in the image you were studying from. ill open it up in photoshop and check a bit later by lining up the eyes and see how off you are, but like i said, the issue seems to be less you not knowing the planes and more you not getting the proportions right.


>>1950988
check out how painters paint, when they do a quick sketch, they block the form in with mids and darks and scale back for the whites, its a way of drawing thats kind of a pain in the ass but doable traditionally, but digitally, thats how you are going to want to handle shit.

>>1950991
Okay, I'll try to find some videos of it or something. Thanks anon

Does anyone know the name of a really famous painting where a guy on a ladder is painting a wall red/white. The only colors used were red, white and black.

>>1950991

I deleted it out of irritation and then went back to it. I'm dropping it for now. You're right, though, in all my work there is a lack of concrete knowledge of proportions. Regardless of if I can do other things better, having a hole in a part of my fundamentals is bad. I think I'm going to work on it by doing 100's of pen and paper portraits that look 1:1.

>>1951090
yea just do stick figures/gestures and try to keep them in proportion for a bit, you will see some large improvements once you do that for even a short while.

Does anyone have the "How to study" videos?

>>1950316
When should I start finishing?

>>1951170
drawing is the skill you want to practice, rendering is tims consuming and something you can learn after the learn to draw phase.

you want to map out the figures to the point that if you picked the drawing up in 1 year or so, you could finish it, at least thats the ideal.

finish whatever you want whenever you want, just know that finishing your work early on just slows your progress down substantially. shit i wish i would have known in highschool so when i was board out of my skull i could have practiced more volume than trying to make a turd look good.

>>1951174
Thanks.

Does anyone else have trouble with looking over their old work where you feel like your drawing worse now from looking at your old stuff? Is there a way to get over this?

>>1951203
Chances are the only old work you have saved is the stuff that was good, and you threw out everything else. If that's the case then you're comparing your current full body of work with your previous highlight reel. Maybe all of your old drawings were in your comfort zone and only now you're branching out to draw different things.

If that isn't the case, then you just need to draw more. Focus on improving your fundamentals if you aren't satisfied with your work.

is the process for learning color the same as learning form and value etc? do you just keep drawing until you get more and more accurate?

I have a question for tumblr users:

I want to treat my tumblr like a sketchbook thread like ca, permanoobs, etc. Do figure studies have to be tagged as NSFW, or would that get my blog flagged if I don't? By nude figures, I mean anything that doesn't show off genitalia, but might have nipples, ass crack, etc. I'd rather not have my entire tumblr have that 18+ advisory crap.

Or should I just not even bother posting those types of studies?

>>1951213
It's similar, but there's a fair amount of reading you'd have to do on color theory and the science of how color and light work. You then couple that mostly with studies from life, as cameras can often miss subtle color variations that you're aiming to learn.

What is the best way/settings to record yourself white drawing digitally?

I once used camtasia but it made photoshop laggy. Might've been my compression settings, but.....

So to clarify, the station point determines where I'm standing correct?

>>1951215
if someone at work saw that image out of context, would you get a call from HR and risk your job?

if yes, not safe for work.

if a concerned parent who retardedly let their kids on the internet saw it, would they shit a brick?

if yes, not safe for work.

>>1951343
you want to go with as little compression as possible.
http://lags.leetcode.net/codec.html

thats what i use for recording games, it comes out to about 1gb per 2 minutes at 30fps and 720- and about 3gb pre 2 minutes at 1080p

do you want to mix the video together and do a time lapse or do you want a full begining to end real time?

if you want to do time lapse, set it to 1-5fps it will record as little as possible, but when played at 30fps will look fantastic.


tldr, the codec above is the lest power intensive while keeping the file size down you can get currently, and keep in mind how process intensive you want it to be in the end, no reason to do 30-60fps if you are going to timelapse.

how do i into rendering things in photoshop such as a simple pine tree? round brush doesnt seem to be doing wonders...

How do you deal with the "fear" of imaginative work? I can do studies but when I try to apply it shit goes to hell, lets say I practice gestures and when I try to do them myself I can't even think of a gesture to draw.

>>1951215
>>1951584
Makes sense. Thanks!

>>1951854
just because you CAN use hard round to render almost anything, doesn't mean you should...

i don't know how helpful it will be, but you may want to look up some bob ross videos and apply how he makes trees to what you are doing... hes the only guy i can think of off the top of my head who does trees and is an readily available format.

>>1951868
limit yourself. heres an example

i get to draw whatever i want, but cant think of what to draw... ok, fuck it i played a videogame a while ago... lets draw the screen if it was a story told to me.

whatever game you played, solder behind cover, knight defending from dragons fire, hell, you rocket jumped up to get a better vantage point to shoot down on people. outside of cutscenes games look like hell and the story you tell or remember is far more "epic" than what happened in the game, draw your memory.

granted this game example may not work for you, but its still a valid thing to do, read a book and draw what you are imagining is going on, so on so forth.

>>1951854
Use a smaller brush to represent the rounded branches of the tree. You could also try to simplify its form.

>>1951937
Actually tried that a while ago and it was surprisingly effective, the problem most of the times are that I can't imagine the character in my head, like what the hell does Darth Vader really look like? I know his silhouette but if I were to paint him I would not be able to, I know this is why we use references but art doesn't feel as spontaneous as it could be, if this makes any sense. I feel restricted by a shitty memory and probably the lack of confidence to apply it.

>>1952055
OH if thats what you mean than use references...
when you go specific like that there is a need to use a reference, if you want to feel more spontaneous and less you copying shit, draw a blueprint like vader than close the references and draw vader based off your blueprints.

if you are talking about sketchbook and not by reference... your sketch book is for sketches not finished shit, get your idea down and finish it when you get to your real work area. i cant remember what vader looks like off the top of my head outside of a black circumcised penis with a cape 2 round headlight eyes and a yield sign mouth... just googled it, im close.

unless you are doing something 100% original don't worry about references, everyone uses them unless the shit is so simple you cant fuck it up... and vader, while a uber fan would remember every detail, i didnt remember he has shit under the yield sign area.

>>1952048
like i said above, bob ross and look at how he did it, his videos are easy to find. hell "bob ross pine tree" returns something... remember its traditional, but it will give you an idea as to what to do... look for the right texture brush and do it.

How do i keep my lines clean? is there any thing i could do to help keep my lines clean? also how do you show 'confidence' with your lines?

>>1952174
This. What the hell is a 'confident' line? Not chicken scratching?

What's an optimal amount of study time for a beginner? Right now I'm following the Proko videos on figure drawing.

>>1952199
25 hours a day

Anyone has Line control practice references? or is this just one of the things I learn through time
>tfw can't even do straight vertical lines

>>1952174
>>1952179

its knowing where to place the line and placing it correctly, not going to slow you make a wobbly line but not to fast that you need to make multiple.

from personal preference i like chicken scratchy lines above dead digital lineart, or a dead inking job... it takes skill to get good lines that most people just wont get fast, they should practice... but yea... i don't like a beginners "clean lines" at all.

>>1952199
don't burn out and don't force yourself when you really don't want to. outside of that... don't practice to hard either... when you think you are starting to do worse work than 30 minutes ago to an hour ago, stop.

when you learn to play guitar and especially if you have something like rocksmith to give you feed back you can see that learning has a bell curve and after a while you will progressively do worse than you were before, same applies to art, but because its not a 100% physical thing, you can still read after it or work prospective if you want.

>>1952213
get a pen and go over lines several times. its good practice.

Does autism affect successful art? I was reading a tutorial and it said that people with autism have trouble processing images. I have PDD autism and I was curious if it would affect me in art

>>1952255
no probably not, it's a different kind of image processing.

>>1951873
I know you already got an answer but I just want to add some info. On tumblr, tags' primary function isn't a way to filter, it's a way to find. If you tag something NSFW then it will come up specifically if they search the tag term NSFW, just like it would if you tag it "life drawing" and they search "life drawing". Only the first 5 tags will make your pic show up when those specific terms are searched. Any tags you add after that will only work for filtering searches. So if you do tag anything with NSFW as a way of keeping people from finding it, I'd recommend making it tag 6 or beyond, but note, even if you list NSFW first, it'll only be filtered out of someone's search results if they've specifically entered it, otherwise it'll still show up. To avoid that, you need to mark your blog NSFW instead.

>>1952286
So if a post has a NSFW tag, and someone searches tumblr with their settings to not display nsfw content in searches, it won't come up in a search. But if the same person is browsing my blog, they'd still see that NSFW post?

Are there any associated problems in terms of visibility/appearance if my entire blog is marked NSFW? Is it generally best to avoid all that stuff (life drawings, nsfw tags, etc) all together if the blog's purpose isn't lewd material?

How often do you guys sharpen pencils?

Like with HB 2mm, simple lineart style, I sharpen it every 2-3 mins. I make it sharp, but but not all the way sharp.

>>1952352
If your blog as a whole is marked nsfw, and someone is searching any random tag terms, if they're using the default search settings for tumblr, all posts on a nsfw blog will be filtered out, even if not all the posts are tagged nsfw, I found this out because it kept me from finding Spazkid's tumblr page forever. Under your account, you can have multiple different pages and switch between them freely, without having to log in and out, merely click on the name of which one you want to post for. You can set one of these as nsfw without affecting the visibility of the other. But if you have everything on one blog, anyone browsing it will be able to see anything that wasn't set to "private", I don't think there's a way to filter posts on the actual blog, though you can use tags to quickly view all pics with that tag on it.

>>1952381
Alrighty. Thanks for all the info!

>>1952382
You're welcome. I've been wanting to start sharing this more anyway because I keep seeing posts with like 20 tags and I'm like "ah, all that time wasted.."

>>1952383
I hear that only the first five tags appear in searches. Is there a good way to search and compare tag popularity when picking your five? For example using the art tag vs illustration, or scifi vs sci-fi. Any good rules of thumb when tagging for maximum exposure?

>>1952387
Unfortunately I haven't figured that out very well myself. One thing that occurred to me recently though was checking reblogs to see what tags people leave, and I've found a few for fandoms and such that I hadn't thought to use. For cartoony or generally sfw, "artists on tumblr" or "my art" are VERY popular. You can also try searching tags of what you're planning to post to see how many results come up. And you can reblog your own post and add more tags to it - purists may hate on you, but the squeaky wheel and all that.

>>1952373
depends on how active i am,

if im doing detail work, ill specificly use a thinner lead so that even the thickest line from it is still thin and where i want it to be.

for a normal pencil... i harpen and expose an inch of the lead, and taper a point of about a half inch, i can cover a 18x24 page with lead and not need to re sharpen, but different tools for different purposes.

if you want a sharp thin line, i honestly recommend looking into a japanese mechanical pencil that rotates the lead every single time you lift the pencil. if you ever seen japanese or chinese letters, and have ever used a .5 mechanical pencil, you should understand the use of it in writeing, but it can also be pretty good for linework if you arent putting down an across the page line.

how to draw nice looking fat cat tats
pls
respond
They look off when I draw them even with reference

can you guys recommend me some graphic novels made in watercolor, I want to see some examples how people handle the medium.

>>1953044
it would be better to google watercolor art on youtube than look at graphic novels you get people who do great realistic pieces and you get people who do the out their crappy stuff, but you get to see how they get the results, which is probably what would help you more than looking at just the finished products.

>>1953044
daytripper--shitty writing, great art

>>1953047
will do

>>1944268
Have you tried holding the tablet with your other arm/hand while you draw? I find it uncomfortable and difficult to draw with my tablet flat on my desk, so whenever I draw I sit back while holding my tablet.

When doing 3-point perspective, is there a way I can keep track of the third point while it's off the paper?

When drawing digital, do you guys use different stablizer settings like low for sketching, and high for inking? Or do you just have a moderated high setting for both sketching and inking and maybe painting?

>>1953253
If you don't have a long piece of paper or have the digital tools to just make a grid, then no not really. You're just gonna have to estimate the convergence of the last point.

>>1953357
i set stability to be enough that if i go slow i won't wobble, and if i go at a normal pace it doesn't affect me.

to much stability will kill lines you pull, just keep that in mind when you set yours.

>>1953253
string/long rulers assuming traditional.

How do I imitate fur in this drawing? I've been trying and I can't get my fur to look like this.

>>1953532
forgot to post pic

If anyone has Scott Robertson's how to draw book, could you turn to page 51 and let me know if step one is an error? It says it's using a 60/30 grid when the diagram shows a 45/45.

Or is that somehow correct?

>>1953532
>>1953533

google some how to draw hair/fur videos.

the thing you need to do is draw as little as possible, its allot harder than i make it sound.

>>1953815
why do people do this...
make a thread about it, its more likely to be seen there than here.

What is a good stylus to use with a tablet like Samsung Galaxy Tab or Ipad?

>>1953823
sorry i thought one shot questions like that belonged in this thread

>>1948047
>THERE IS A SMUG1

>>1953920
there are a few people here when i asked them to post the picture of the page they were talking about more or less told me to go fuck myself "i'm only asking the people who bought the book"

i dont know if you are the person or not, if not, post a picture so we can see what you are talking about, if you are, make a thread and as the question there because it will at least get seen... as i highly doubt the people who bought the book and understand are lurking this thread to help anyone in need of understanding.

like i said, if you are not that guy, sorry, but he was a complete asshole about his secret club mentality over a learn to draw book.

>>1953924
nah not that guy, i only recently got the book. i'll respond to my post tomorrow morning with a picture of the page.

Is there any fine ballpoint pen out there that has a nice black ink but still has that value shift of a actual ballpoint pen (the amount of pressure that determines how dark your lines are).

How do traditional painters paint outside if the colors keep changing because of the sun and clouds?

>>1954167
they have these massive parallel processors they keep in their hats which, given proper maintenance and upkeep, allow them to generate a kind of virtual matrix of the possible aesthetic implications of any given set of brush strokes and paint selections.

>>1954169
But if you look at the picture you'll see that the dog has the parallel processor in it's mouth

>>1954167
mad skills

>>1953951
Try SKBs .5 mm SB-1000. The have a very fine line, but a pretty good value range, though I've noticed the pen quality varies a bit within each pack of them, I'd say 1 in 3 are good for drawing, but they're extremely cheap and the ink reservoir seems to last unusually long. The new 'Soft Ink' formula (it will say it on the pen) goes a little darker and is a bit softer, also a little harder to control the lighter values. The old formula (it just doesn't say 'soft ink'), doesn't go as dark but goes a lot lighter, seem to be a bit more consistent with fewer bleeds and pen 'cleanings' needed.
All that said, I don't use them as often as I used, to and prefer these cheap Bic pens for drawing , most of the time. Some people use those SKBs religiously though.

>>1953924
>>1953815
ok here's the page. the text mentions a 60/30 grid but the diagram is a 45/45 one. is this wrong?

>>1954251
just looking at that without seeing earlier or later pages, it appears that 60 refers to diameter, and 30 refers to the point that i believe is inside of the cone of vision... i cant be sure without more pages but i'm not going to ask you post, look in the book and see if i'm right or not...

also thanks for not being that ass from a month or so back.

>>1954167
from what i understand about painting, you put down broad strokes from the beginning and refine as time goes on, they don't paint the details up front, and by the time detail work comes around, they just us the landscape as a reference, as in not painting it exactly like what they see, but the ideal of what they see.

>>1954253
here's the previous page where it's making the same kind of setup, but says it's a 45/45, hence my confusion.

i thought the 45/45 or 60/30 refereed the vanishing points.

>>1954259
ok, it looks to be using 2 different perspectives with the 45/45 one is using the 45 degree points for where lines are drawn to, the 1 point is using the cone of vision which is 30 radius and 60 diameter.

do a quick check through the book to see if thats the case, that 1 point and 2 point are talked about differently than each other even with the same setup.

Would this be a good beginner table?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009AT8NM4/ref=psdc_3733771_t3_B00K8CMC06

I've been drawing random sketches for years. Ever since I was a kid I'd always draw. They were pretty terrible, even nowadays I am pretty bad. During high school, though, I couldn't even draw people. So instead of drawing humans, I'd draw abstract collages with silly faces. Sorta like those graphic kid tees and that amateur graffiti stuff. Do you think the sticky will still help me? Or should I do something different and not waste time? Thanks.

Is there a list of exercises for the arm and body that help strengthen the muscles for drawing?

Google only brings up things to draw.

tablet flat on the table or at an elevated tilt?

>>1954569
if you are a beginner, get a 24x26 clipboard and 18x24 paper, rest the clipboard against shit and draw... no sense in getting a dedicated drawing table till you are better if you ever need one in the first place.

Why do people give their psd's on patreon? What's the benefit of having them?

Bump

What do people mean when they tell me to have fun with it because I'm a beginner?

>>1957157
dont get burnt out over sucking... beginners usually are ungodly awful, its why when you ask for a crit and are a beginner most people outside of /ic/ will tell you to keep practicing and that bullshit. ic is really the only place that will rip a newbie apart when they ask a crit because they dont fucking baby you.

while you are in that area where you 100% fucking suck all the dick, the best thing to do is not focus on where you want to be and just have fun making shit, the depressing climb up will come later on.

>>1956500
at least in a digital format its the closest thing to actually owning a piece of art, and on patreon you are paying people to be able to make the art, so they give back in the least costly way they can.

Whats are good dimensions for portable sketchbooks? Specific sketchbook recommendations?

What's a good study schedule for an absolute beginner fumbling his way through the first chapter of "Keys to Drawing"?