Beginner program/tablet questions
0
Hello fellow Fakku forum people.
Ive been drawing my whole life and after a good 4 year hiatus from doing anything my love for art has been rekindled. I love the feel of lead to paper and will always prefer that medium to anything.
However I've seen how some good pictures turn into great ones with the right programs.
Well the question is this - I want to make the leap from paper to digital with my artwork. I love to do anime/manga style stuff but still life is still my forte. Id like to ask the artists out there or anyone with know how- what programs i should look into for coloring and also what tablets to purchase.
Intuos3 looks nice, I dont mind investing in something I truly enjoy. Its the programs that have me torn. What would be the best combination to go with an Intuos3 or any other tablet/program combo?
Anyone else make the leap? how did you do it? How did you learn how to use said programs?
Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Ive been drawing my whole life and after a good 4 year hiatus from doing anything my love for art has been rekindled. I love the feel of lead to paper and will always prefer that medium to anything.
However I've seen how some good pictures turn into great ones with the right programs.
Well the question is this - I want to make the leap from paper to digital with my artwork. I love to do anime/manga style stuff but still life is still my forte. Id like to ask the artists out there or anyone with know how- what programs i should look into for coloring and also what tablets to purchase.
Intuos3 looks nice, I dont mind investing in something I truly enjoy. Its the programs that have me torn. What would be the best combination to go with an Intuos3 or any other tablet/program combo?
Anyone else make the leap? how did you do it? How did you learn how to use said programs?
Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
0
Well for starters, do you have any experience with digital paiting at all? Photoshop?
If not, i would recommend you to get Photoshop CS1 and Sai. Both programs are easy enough to pick up. Photoshop allows for much more enhanced effects and micro-ing options. Sai however, is a painter + photoshop hybrid (or it feels like one at least) which is just 16mb. Photoshop CS1 is expensive, like all other Photoshop. It is the most lagfree of the CS series and consumes the least RAM. However, it does not have some options such as liquify tool and multiple layer selection. Sai consumes even lesser RAM then CS1. It was aimed to replace MSPaint (with it's small size and versatility i think it exceeded that idea) but has no filter options at all. It is also much harder to get since you require a japanese credit card and address to order it.
For tools, i recommend Intuos 3 if you have the money. Size is dependant on the individual. I personally prefer A5 since it requires less energy to use as size of working area is a lot smaller. For a more economy tablet, get XP Pen's Deleter tablets. Both are 1024 layers in pressure sensitivity, only XP Pen's tablet requires one AAA battery in the pen and maybe XP Pen is 5 times cheaper then Intuos3 (lol).
I lept from pencils to digital last year. A friend taught me how to use Photoshop and now i colour and draw by myself using Sai more. Still, i always keep a sketchbook around me and draw on paper while i'm out. Scanning in and redrawing in the computer works well too~
If not, i would recommend you to get Photoshop CS1 and Sai. Both programs are easy enough to pick up. Photoshop allows for much more enhanced effects and micro-ing options. Sai however, is a painter + photoshop hybrid (or it feels like one at least) which is just 16mb. Photoshop CS1 is expensive, like all other Photoshop. It is the most lagfree of the CS series and consumes the least RAM. However, it does not have some options such as liquify tool and multiple layer selection. Sai consumes even lesser RAM then CS1. It was aimed to replace MSPaint (with it's small size and versatility i think it exceeded that idea) but has no filter options at all. It is also much harder to get since you require a japanese credit card and address to order it.
For tools, i recommend Intuos 3 if you have the money. Size is dependant on the individual. I personally prefer A5 since it requires less energy to use as size of working area is a lot smaller. For a more economy tablet, get XP Pen's Deleter tablets. Both are 1024 layers in pressure sensitivity, only XP Pen's tablet requires one AAA battery in the pen and maybe XP Pen is 5 times cheaper then Intuos3 (lol).
I lept from pencils to digital last year. A friend taught me how to use Photoshop and now i colour and draw by myself using Sai more. Still, i always keep a sketchbook around me and draw on paper while i'm out. Scanning in and redrawing in the computer works well too~
0
thanks Mycstea
as for digital experience, just a couple hours messing with photoshop here and there. nothing extensive. I'm not aware of its capabilities at all, though I'm really looking for a program that will help with clean lines as well as something that can take pencil sketching to the next level. Can photoshop do this and more? Am I just limiting myself at this point if I dont get Photoshop?
But i will definitely take your advice into consideration and appreciate everything. Im thinking of getting the intuos3 first and see whatever software it comes with. No one that is around me knows anything other than Photoshop, but I cannot really gamble on a 600+ dollar purchase right now. Im torn between Sai and Xara right now, but Ill probably make that decision after the Intuos3.
as for digital experience, just a couple hours messing with photoshop here and there. nothing extensive. I'm not aware of its capabilities at all, though I'm really looking for a program that will help with clean lines as well as something that can take pencil sketching to the next level. Can photoshop do this and more? Am I just limiting myself at this point if I dont get Photoshop?
But i will definitely take your advice into consideration and appreciate everything. Im thinking of getting the intuos3 first and see whatever software it comes with. No one that is around me knows anything other than Photoshop, but I cannot really gamble on a 600+ dollar purchase right now. Im torn between Sai and Xara right now, but Ill probably make that decision after the Intuos3.
0
Tablet is a must.. for whatever digital art you want to do.
I havent tried sai.. so no comment.
Artrage is a great program escpecially since its priced economically
the starter edition is free
http://www.ambientdesign.com/artragedown.html
Painter, it works like the natural media escpecially the brushes and paints. I would relable some of the pens, they remind me more of scratchboard tools. Student edition starts at $99 full edition non academic is almost $500
Photoshop, Although many ppl use this for painting.. i dont. i use it mostly for image correction. Its got a great custom brush tool for spped painting and texturing. I also use this mainly for decensors. CS3 649 full retail, 295 for student version of photoshop or 589 for cs3 design premium package
I've got a student id so i buy my stuff here
www.creation-engine.com
I havent tried sai.. so no comment.
Artrage is a great program escpecially since its priced economically
the starter edition is free
http://www.ambientdesign.com/artragedown.html
Painter, it works like the natural media escpecially the brushes and paints. I would relable some of the pens, they remind me more of scratchboard tools. Student edition starts at $99 full edition non academic is almost $500
Photoshop, Although many ppl use this for painting.. i dont. i use it mostly for image correction. Its got a great custom brush tool for spped painting and texturing. I also use this mainly for decensors. CS3 649 full retail, 295 for student version of photoshop or 589 for cs3 design premium package
I've got a student id so i buy my stuff here
www.creation-engine.com
0
You can switch between programs. I work with both Sai and Photoshop to get what i want. In actual fact, Sai is otherwise free for 30 days (until you can find a way to stop it from counting down), *hint hint.
0
By paying for it? To stop the countdown for SAI I mean...
Like f0dd3r said, photoshop and painter or Mysctea-photoshop and sai makes a great combination. Well I will be buying a tablet but I'm still not sure which one to buy...
For some reason its hard for me to find site that sell xp tablet...
Like f0dd3r said, photoshop and painter or Mysctea-photoshop and sai makes a great combination. Well I will be buying a tablet but I'm still not sure which one to buy...
For some reason its hard for me to find site that sell xp tablet...
0
First I want to say thank you all for the great advice, you guys saved me a ton of hours doing research.
I went to Comic-Con here in San Diego and ran into the Wacom booth. Man I really love those Cintiqs! Since my line of work is not artistic and I have too many hobbies anyways ill feel happy with the Intuos3.
I ran into the smith micro guys too and ended up buying artrage. I was very tempted by their offer for Manga Studio EX but since I heard it doesnt do color well, ill just wait until the 4.0 version comes out. Their booth was awesome, and had Lincy Chan constantly drawing, giving a full demo of Manga Studio EX 4.0 which DOES color. Ill save my money for that one instead.
Anyways I should have artwork uploaded soon, my first step will be to make my own avatar using the Intuos3 and Artrage. Ill end up using my friend to get me photoshop down the road since hes still in school.
thanks again to the Fakku community and I cant wait to start contributing!
I went to Comic-Con here in San Diego and ran into the Wacom booth. Man I really love those Cintiqs! Since my line of work is not artistic and I have too many hobbies anyways ill feel happy with the Intuos3.
I ran into the smith micro guys too and ended up buying artrage. I was very tempted by their offer for Manga Studio EX but since I heard it doesnt do color well, ill just wait until the 4.0 version comes out. Their booth was awesome, and had Lincy Chan constantly drawing, giving a full demo of Manga Studio EX 4.0 which DOES color. Ill save my money for that one instead.
Anyways I should have artwork uploaded soon, my first step will be to make my own avatar using the Intuos3 and Artrage. Ill end up using my friend to get me photoshop down the road since hes still in school.
thanks again to the Fakku community and I cant wait to start contributing!
0
Oh, I never know you can colour with manga studio... I thought they are only good for doing manga or comics. Well, I'll be looking forward for your works.
0
ok after getting the intuos3 and getting ready to learn how to draw anime/manga style work hit me with a huge project that could've made or break the next two years of my life, so now that the big project is finished and I'm on the fast track im ready to upload some images.
And thats where i run into a problem. What do you guys use to upload your images? photobucket then link here? im such a noob to digital art i appreciate all of your guidance and patience. thanks again.
And thats where i run into a problem. What do you guys use to upload your images? photobucket then link here? im such a noob to digital art i appreciate all of your guidance and patience. thanks again.
0
Doesn't Photobucket hate Fakku? Or was that ImageShack? I think it was ImageShack. Anyway, just upload your images onto some image uploading site or DeviantArt, then just link to it here.
