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Fun Stuff => MAKE => Topic started by: Parasol on 01 Sep 2007, 02:13
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So im new to this writing in forums thing, however, you all here might be able to help me best.
I am an artist but have always been pencil black and white traditional in my ability to produce art. I recently bought a Tablet and have been messing around drawing on the little bugger. Now, what i am wondering is this, it came with sort of a generic "windows" art program. (at least im going to guess its just what comes with XP's tablet OS) I am curious as to what you all would consider the "best" program for drawing.
What im looking for in the program is pen to "paper" accuracy, something that is easy to color with (im horrible at coloring anything) and something with plenty of neat utensil choices.
Also, if its not too much trouble to ask, is it easier to hand draw something, scan it, and then ink it on the pc? Im really not sure how much of this works as per me coming to you guys with these questions.
^_^
All the best
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I really like ArtRage (http://www.ambientdesign.com/artrage.html), and it's quite cheap too.
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I'm wondering what kind of tablet you got. I got a WACOM Intuos 3 tablet. I use Adobe Photoshop Elements as it came with the tablet. Jeph did a pretty good tutorial that gave me a good idea on how to start using both. I've also found as it works as a mouse it works with almost any thing I've tryed like Windows Paint and Paint Shop Pro. Also it works well with the graffitti thingy in facebook.
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If your tablet doesn't have several levels of pressure sensitivity (to make a line go from thin to thick, etc.) then bring it back to whomever you bought it from immediately, but beyond that, just make sure you use an application that supports the varying pressure input your tablet gives it. The better ones are Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Most find Illustrator to be much 'kinder' by smoothing out the lines they make, while others prefer the program do exactly what they draw, hence the raster world of Photoshop.
If you are looking for a program that is a little less pricey, or simply want an alternative to Adobe, you can usually find apps that are specifically designed for the type of art you are making, like Cartooning (http://www.toonboom.com/), Painting (http://www.ambientdesign.com/artrage.html), Illustration (http://www.inkscape.org/) or Anime (http://www.e-frontier.com/go/mangastudio).
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AH! ha, i wish i were more tech savvy. I have a Thinkpad x60 (which sounds like an odd choice but it is a very good computer). It does have pressure recognition however the program that is on this little bugger is set for dark or lightness of a lines that i draw. I think the program is called Ink Art, but im not really sure at all what that is.
The most art that i do though is anime and cartooning. I cannot really do realistic etc. So i suppose whatever program works the best with that kind of thing would be great. I have heard good things with adobe in the past but every time i see someone using it i get all baffled cause there are so many buttons etc.
3Z i think i'll look around a little bit at some of the programs you mentioned. I also think i need to read up more on tablets and drawing, maybe the one i have isn't right but i do like it.
Thank you!
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On my tablet pc, I absolutely love to sketch in Alias Sketchbook Pro ( http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?id=6848332&siteID=123112 ). You can check out the demo and supposedly, there was/is a lite version. It exports your drawings to a psd as well. So, it integrates with photoshop nicely.
As mentioned above, Art Rage is nice and cheap and pretty awesome from what I hear. I haven't tried it out myself. ( http://www.ambientdesign.com/artrage.html )
Otherwise, it is the standard photoshop/illustrator love.
Oh, and if you are going to work in illustrator and photoshop, you'll need to install the wacom driver to make them work with pressure sensativity. ( http://www.wacom.com/tabletpc/driver.cfm )
Seriously though, try out the Alias Sketchbook and Art Rage demos first and see what you think from there. I know Sketchbook is great to sketch in and I hear Art Rage is great. From there, Photoshop and Illustrator are pretty much the industry standards for every thing else.
Edit: I forgot to mention a couple other programs worth checking out. Open Canvas ( http://opencanvas.en.softonic.com/ ) and Gimp ( http://www.gimp.org/ ). Both are free and worth a look. Open Canvas is like Art Rage/Sketchbook in a lot of ways. Gimp is more like photoshop.
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I still wonder why people say Gimp is like Photoshop. I never saw the similarity.
There is, however, a group that made a modified version of Gimp called GimpShop that makes it more closely resemble Photoshop.
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Well, it could be that Gimp and Photoshop are used to do the same kind of work. Both are designed to do pixel manipulations. Plus, Gimp was designed to largely be a photoshop alternative. Gimp isn't like flash or illustrator. It is like Photoshop, even if the interface is radically different.
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As for traditional vs digital inking, it's all a question of what feels right to you. I personally prefer traditional inking with a brush only. However, some prefer pens. Then again, some work digitally with their tablets.
You have to try them out for a while to get the feel. I feel that my lines couldn't be as stable on a pc as with ink. And you can always clean up your lines with the tablet afterwards. I prefer to use the tablet for colours, a digital painting canvas, rather than use it as a sketching/inking tool.
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I don't have a tablet but what I do use to alter things I scan is Paint.net (http://"http://www.getpaint.net/")
Its not great, but its fairly good and best of all its free :-D
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Well, it could be that Gimp and Photoshop are used to do the same kind of work.
That's not quite true. Graphic designers actually USE Photoshop. ;)
Manga Studio is pretty good, although it auto-corrects lines (which I dislike intensely).
Other than that, Alias Sketchbook and Photoshop are the two best.
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Very funny 8-P
I agree that Photoshop absolutely dominates the professional market. I vastly prefer it over Gimp. I was just trying to provide a list of programs for people to try on the free/cheap legally.
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I had potatoshop once but I formatted and lost it, I used the gimp for a while but unless you are a master of layers, you will most likely fail.
I would go back to photoshop but I cannot be bothered getting it so I am using fireworks at the moment which I like more than I thought I would. Every so often I use te gimp but it is too... difficult I guess.