# Digital Art



## Joe_Bassett (Jul 20, 2017)

An Attempt at drawing environments on my Tablet


----------



## LeeC (Jul 20, 2017)

Nice effect with the colors. I got Procreate on my iPad, thinking I'd do most of my illustrations there, but couldn't achieve what I wanted to. I'm back to using GIMP on my MacBook Pro, with a large LG display attached of course.

I especially like the one you posted on Twitter that I retweeted. Keep up the good work


----------



## Joe_Bassett (Jul 20, 2017)

Thanks! I'm using a Surface and Clip Studio to do most of my drawings nowadays


----------



## The Fantastical (Jul 20, 2017)

How is the image size and quality on your tablet? I like having a high resolution for my art; mostly because of printing, and was just wondering how the tablet programs did for quality compared to a program like gimp. or MyPaint or even Photoshop although it is not the best for graphic art.


----------



## LeeC (Jul 21, 2017)

GuitarHiro97 said:


> Thanks! I'm using a Surface and Clip Studio to do most of my drawings nowadays


I take it that means you mimic traditional drawing with a special pen and a pressure sensitive surface. I love to sketch, and used to sketch plants and animals every chance I got, then I got into sculpting with wood and soapstone. Unfortunately, these old hands aren't what they used to be and sketching, let alone sculpting, is difficult. It's easier for me to use a mouse with GIMP, which I got into using PS and AI to layout marquetry work. When I first got my MacBook I tried using the track pad (or whatever it's called), but it drove me crazy. Ended up getting a bluetooth mouse and turning off all the gestures ;-)


----------



## escorial (Jul 21, 2017)

I wonder how you approach a tablet to create...how dif is it from using traditional art materials..stuff like light and dark colours..when do you apply them...so many questions really...


----------



## Joe_Bassett (Jul 21, 2017)

My tablet's pretty good so I can do high resolution drawings.  It does slow down if I try to make images larger than 24x36 in


----------



## Joe_Bassett (Jul 21, 2017)

escorial said:


> I wonder how you approach a tablet to create...how dif is it from using traditional art materials..stuff like light and dark colours..when do you apply them...so many questions really...



Whats kinda diff with digital art is that you can use multiple layers on the drawing.  So you can add detailing or shading on a layer while preserving the work done on previous layers. Some really good programs are able to emulate the way traditional media mix or interact with eachother.


----------



## LeeC (Jul 22, 2017)

escorial said:


> I wonder how you approach a tablet to create...how dif is it from using traditional art materials..stuff like light and dark colours..when do you apply them...so many questions really...


Hmmm, where to start . Basically you're working with pixels or scaled vectors in an application, represented digitally like everything else on an electronic device. For example, using PhotoShop (or open source GIMP as I do) you're working with pixels, and using Adobe Illustrator (or the like) you're working with scaled vectors. What that amounts to is some of the tools vary with the application. By tools I mean such as used in making a line and filling areas with color. On the other hand, tools for transitioning, scaling, distortion, and the like are much the same.

I actually find these electronic tools a bit more tedious than when I used to sketch with my colored pencil set. On the other hand it's easier to create effects with all the specialized tools available. And, as Guitar says you work with layers which can be varied in how they merge. Think of it like the layering approach you use with watercolors, only much more flexible. 

What it boils down to is simply the tools used obviously, and those depend on what you're trying to create. Many people use such as Photoshop, but not that many do so with an artists eye. That is really understanding how the human brain interprets the images passed through the eyes. Where many see a complete image, the artist thinks in terms of such as shape, color, light, and shadow of each object in a scene, and of course how all are arranged to create a feeling. 

I eased into it using AI to layout marquetry work, so I'd have less rework, and in my sculpting to create figures in 3D, so I wasn't having to rotate a figure in my mind. Such served me well because now all these old hands can manage is a mouse to create illustrations for my book. Starting cold might seem a bit daunting, but simply trying out various applications, and playing with them at length, will increase your comfort level considerably.


----------



## escorial (Jul 22, 2017)

Sounds really interesting and complicated...so cool


----------



## LeeC (Jul 22, 2017)

escorial said:


> Sounds really interesting and complicated...so cool


What I neglected to note is the difference between "photoshopping" and creating an original artwork. An example of "photoshopping" is the Times Square image with book covers on the billboards ("hoarding" in the UK) that I posted a while back. What one is doing is modifying an existing image for a desired effect. Creating an original artwork is building a desired image from scratch with many of the same digital tools. Examples are the two book illustrations I've posted, and what Guitar has shared with us..

The point being that it's not any more "complicated" than learning to use chisels, colored pencils, oils, or watercolors. The difference is having an artist's eye to create a desired image, using the tools at hand. There's a learning curve with any new tool, is the way I'd put it ;-)


----------

