FanArt: Medium & Method discussion

[Alielle]

The media I use depends on the type of drawing I do. For example, if I'm sketching from life, I usually use a variety of leads, graphite sticks, or charcoal on a giant sketchpad. For quick sketches, I like using pens and Copic markers on computer paper. But since I'm at my computer most of the time, that's the tool I end up using the most.

For digital illustrations, this is the usual method for me:

1. Sketch lightly in blue Col-Erase pencil.
2. Final lines in mechanical pencil
3. Scan at 200-300 dpi
4. Post-process in Photoshop using levels, brightness/contrast, etc.
5. Add color in Photoshop and/or Painter. I use different layers and "preserve transparency" liberally whilst adding details.

This method works well if you hate inking, although I've been experimenting with a program that produces some really decent vector lineart. I may be using that in the future if it turns out well.

[Sharkyland]

Mediums... eh?

I'm still trying to find the 'perfect' mechanical pencil because the way I hold my pencil gives me a fine crisp drawing lines, so almost anything I draw seems to be a final form in a way. Since I hold it a different way unlike most others (wasn't taught how to hold a pencil), I have sometimes difficulties with having a good grip.

Paper... mainly printing paper for laser jet printers, graph paper, and archetectural tracing paper (better than those standard tracing paper you buy from convient shops).

I mainly use mechanical pencil (.3, .5, .7, .9, & 1.1). I also have a bunch of .4 mechanical pencil graphite, but where the he.ll can I find a .4 mechanical pencil? I also use those Stadhel(whatchamacallits) from the 4H to something B.

Pens (Sakura Micron pens .005 to .08 series).

Coloring... I tend to do mix media of the following:
- Pastels (chalk and oil)
- Charcoals
- Crayon
- Gel Pels
- Markers (metallic, regular, and highlighters)
- Colored Pencils

Usually the stupid scanner cant scan it right when its really mixed media :/ ...

---

I usually tend not to use computers because I feel in my own right that my ability is enough (and sometimes I feel cheated by using one)... though I might use it to change the contrast and brightness.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sharkyland on 2005-06-16 15:19 ]</font>

[Alielle]

I merely see the computer as a tool. Never understood why people think it automatically makes your work better, because it doesn't. It does make certain things easier, and I don't see anything wrong with that.

I get annoyed when people are like "Oh, but they just used a computer," as if there is a magic "make it good" button. It is damned hard to make decent CG art, especially if you're working in 3D.

But I digress...

[CupOfCoffee]

- MS Paint
- Line tool
- Occasional blots of color from Paint Shop Pro

I can't draw very well by hand (my handwriting is awful, too) but I seem to be at least halfway decent at MS Paint. I'll occasionally draw a stick figure to get the basic pose down and then use the line tool around it to draw a person, but for the most part, I just wing it until it looks cool.

I'll sometimes use Paint Shop Pro if I want text or to color strangely/complexly colored things like hair and blood, but for the most part, it's MS Paint all the way.

[Sayara]

Let me think a bit...

Mars Pencilset if i want a good done drawing (Kuda's Racassie was done with those)Otherwise...
size .05 Mechanic "Technic Clicker" by Pentel. In both Graphite Black and Photoblue
Pentel's eraser pencil things (push up to see erasers)
Tortillions (either professional, or self made )

Rarely Charcoal is used for a different black shading, as seen in "Cry for..."

Now Pens i have a bushel of.
G2 Pilot Pens for my "psycho" works (ie: Frustration in Ink...)
Sakura Mircon Pens in sizes.
01 - For hair, and features
03 - For clothing
05 - for body

FiberCastal Brushpen, which is basically a brush of ink.

Design Drawing Ink with Speedball's "Drawring" set nibs (of which i use just cryll )

For markers i use Prismacolor Doubleside Markers. A 48 boxset + a few spares.

Color Pencils i use Prismacolor Pencils, 120 boxset + spares. (i havent used most yet )

Rarely i use my paints...
Watercolor Blue and Orange
Acrylic Green, Purple, Red, Yellow, Black, Blue
Gouashe Pink, Purple, White

for digital, i use either Paintshop Pro ver. 7
or Photoshop CS 7 Student

Oh, for methods.
What i do is if i need a support for my figures, i use a picture or photograph and base it off of that. I draw the wireframes directly on the sheet, or on another sheet if its not a copy. Then alter it to my fashion, then work from there, following Marvel's comic's guide and my lessons in Figure 1.

I cannot stress enough to practice new things using poses already done before, that'll help you develop new poses.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Tingle on 2005-06-16 18:03 ]</font>

[Nai_Calus]

Ian's materials:

Number 2 pencil. Doesn't need to be a 'good' one. It's a pencil.

Paper. Usually a 9x12 Strathmore sketchbook(They're the cheapest). Sometimes 11x14, but not often as it doesn't fit on the scanner. >_>

Ink. Black. Whatever variety I have on hand that doesn't fucking smudge if I accidentally touch it while inking or bleed all over the goddamned paper.

Pen holder. This I have a preference on, a Koh-I-Noor No. 14-N. It's big. It doesn't have any 'ergonomic' bullshit to make it uncomfortable.

Pen nib. Usually C5.

Paint Shop Pro 7 - Basic flat-coloring. I tend not to use Photoshop unless I absolutely have to. I hate its cluttered, busy interface. PSP's is much more streamlined, bright and friendly to work in. Also the sole tool used for sprite editing. No need to use a swiss army knife when all you need is a screwdriver.

Photoshop 6.0: I loathe PS7's brush engine. Absolutely HATE it. It also never worked right with my tablet. PS6, on the other hand, is love. Used for lineart prep(I have yet to find a way of duplicating the method I use to isolate lineart onto it's own transparent layer in PSP) and actual shading/effects.

Painter Classic: Used for quick sketchy things that never see paper.

Mountain Dew Code Red: This is, of course, a requirement.

Things I will not use, ever, under any circumstances:

Mechanical pencils. I cannot stand using them, nor the lines they produce.
All-in-one pens. I own a billion pens made by a dozen companies and not one is worth using. Sometimes the old-fashioned way really is best.
MS Paint. Duh.

Incidentally, currently I'm giving out bonus points to anyone who does 'cel shading' and actually gets the fucking point of it. It's supposed to look like an anime cel, not be all soft and airbrushy and shit. T_T (I've seen plenty of cels with airbrushing. Own one, actually. Not one single one used it to colour a character, all of it was various effects. Even hanken mono doesn't use that kind of soft fuzzy crap, where the HELL do people GET it from? Yes, Japanese fanartist, it's gorgeous. It's, um, also not even remotely cel-like. -.-)

[astuarlen]

Poison of choice: Photoshop 6.0 and Wacom Intuous 2 tablet

1. First comes the sketch. I almost always start with a 500 x 600px blank white canvas at 100 dpi. As I go, I add to the canvas size when necessary. I prefer a 3px round airbrush, black, 100% pressure, with the following brush dynamics:
-Size: off
-Pressure: stylus
-Color: off
Sometimes I begin with the head, but usually I start from the body (generally, the torso). In the latter case, face detailing comes close to last, though I try to have a pretty good idea of how the structure/emotion should be. I'd describe the finished figure as a "detail-less nude". This lets me make sure that the underlying body is correct once I add clothes. At this point, I try to fix anatomical errors and then dress the figure. If I have an idea for the background, I'll sketch this in roughly on a seperate layer. Once I've finalized my sketch, I use the image size feature to magnify the entire picture by between 200 and 400%, depending on the amount of detail I intend to add and whether or not I'm interested in printing the finished painting (in which case I increase both the physical dimensions and the dpi). All extraneous layers--I am a complete layer-whore: I duplicate the sketch layer all the time before making major changes which would be difficult to erase and redraw, so I might end up with 30 or more "progress" layers just for the sketch--are trashed.

2. Color-blocking comes next. On a new layer below both the figure and background, I fill in some solid color (usually, I choose a brown from which I can build up the skintones). Then I choose colors for the figure's clothes, eyes, and hair, the background, and any other elements. This can take a while as I tweak the color scheme. I put these colors on a separate layer and hide it for the time being. For this step I typically use a larger "hard round" airbrush.

3. If I haven't already, I'll decide on the lightsource. This first gets applied to the skin, as I add general highlights and shadows to the base color layer to indicate where light falls on the skin. At this point, I flip the order of the sketch and color layers so that the color layer is above the sketch. If I need to get a better idea of where specific features should be (especially on the face) I'll turn the opacity of the color layer down a bit (to ~80%) and add more defined lights and darks to the base color. From this step through most of the remainder of the process, I switch over to the paintbrush tool (same settings as the airbrush, but as anyone who has used Photoshop knows, the two tools behave rather differently). While painting the skin--and, in fact, all aspects of the picture--I try to incorporate various hues within a single area to increase the picture's vibrancy (although I usually fail at this, and most areas end up looking pretty damn homogeneous... not to mention I am a warm color fangirl, so I gravitate towards browns, oranges, yellows, and reds everywhere anyway). To be honest, I usually get most of my variation from different saturations, rather than a broad range of hues. Before I put everyone to sleep...

4. After the skin-painting process, which includes the all-important face (and typically the hair goes in here too, since it's attached to the body, and I tend to work from the "inside" out, going from flesh first to surroundings last), I move on to clothing. In the past months, I've been trying to make my process more similar to traditional painting, so I add the clothes on the same layer as the skin, rather than using separate layers for each element. Blah blah blah, yeah, I paint more stuff. Are you getting as bored reading this as I am writing it? Makes me want to draw something...

5. Yeah, I toss in the background, too, at the end.

So in summary:

1. Sketch with black 3px airbrush with pressure sensitivity
2. Base color and general color-blocking with large airbrush
3. Use paintbrush tool w/ pressure sensitivity to paint over the sketch

And as for any of you stinkers who think digital is cheating, don't know what to say to you. But you're dead wrong and clearly haven't the slightest clue as to what you're talking about. May Craig Mullins eat your babies. Unfortunately(?), I'm not in the mood for a full explanation/rant. Aaaand have a nice day.

Photoshop 6.0: I loathe PS7's brush engine. Absolutely HATE it. It also never worked right with my tablet. PS6, on the other hand, is love.

Ian > Mmwah! I love you. Photoshop 6 > all.

[subliminal message]vvv visit ze numen vvv[/subliminal message]

[-Fossil-]

On 2005-06-15 19:19, Scott_Kuda wrote:
alright guys and gals, today [while walking my doggy] I began to ponder about what kind of mediums people use for their art.

Perhaps some people have a different way of using a certain medium. So, [assuming this thread doesn't get a wave of flames] I'd like it if all you artist out there could discuss your ways of putting your ideas to paper (or computer screen, or canvas or whatever) and discuss others techniques and methods.





Myself, I mostly use my trusty .5mm mechanical bic pencil. that and a fine tip ballpoint.

I know alot of people who go out and buy those big packs of fancy pencils with different lead, but I'm just fine drawing with a mechanical one.

I usually do a quick proportion sketch, and basic details. then I go over it with my ballpoint pen (black of course) and flesh out the details and erase the previous pencil sketch

Then after that's all done, I trace the drawing onto antoher sheet with my pencil, and fill it in with shading.

I use a .5 mechanical pencil, straight edge (wood only) and a black pilot pen.

[RoninJoku]

Heh... didn't know there were so many artists on PSOW... Never even thought about it in fact...

My methods are pretty varying... But I almost always start with a plain old #2 pencil for the basic sketch... Sometimes I will do preliminary sketches, but sometimes a skip directly to a detailed. Then I will usually ink with either a fountain pen or a well pen if I'm going for a manga look... And then of course, sometimes I feel like drawing straight up with ink, in which case I usually try for a sloppy effect...

Next I will have to decide if I want my picture to be in color/black&white and decide what medium to use...

For black & white I will either; 1)shade with pencils, 2)crosshatch, 3)fill selections with solid black ink 4)scan and add artificial screen tones with Photoshop 5)Any combination of those.

For color I used to use colored pencils, but not so much anymore... Now I will either use Watercolors or some sort of digital coloring... For all my digital coloring I use Photoshop. Sometimes I will do a cell shaded picture, but I find that to be very tedious so more often I will work with low opacity brushes to achieve a more chizzled look... Oh... I also create LOTS of layers... and work alot bigger than I probably need to... <.<;

Hmm... maybe I should post some fan-art on here sometime <.<

[Sord]

regular number 2 pencil to draw, assuming i even like the drawing, i'll go over it with the pencil again pressing hard cause i don't own ink pens. If i'm lazy i'll just rub the led back and forth for shadow, but but sometimes i'll use a crappy eraser that only spreads the led to make a shadow, makes it look more like a blur