user456 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 @Kriss I totally back Wacom, that's what I use. I have an Intuos4 but I lost the pen so I'm using my old Intuos3 right now. The Intuos4 has 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity which basically means it can detect a lot of minute details and strokes more easily but it's also $200 so you may want to start with a cheaper model just to get started with. In all honesty I've gone from using their Graphire models to Bamboo to Intuos and the difference in pressure levels hasn't made too much of a difference to me other than going from something with only 512 directly to 2048, then it's somewhat noticeable but for a starter one I think you'd be okay with a Bamboo.Also yeah, I prefer smaller tablets, I'm too lazy to make pen strokes that are the size of my desk. I like being able to do quick wrist movements since that helps keep inking/line work cleaner and that's way easier to do on smaller tablets. I don't really give a hoot about pressure sensitivity either. Mostly because I use Illustrator. Yes! Exactly why I prefer to work on a small tablet as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriss Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 The more I'm reading over all of this, the more I want to give one a try. Stupid question incoming: I'm happy with drawing with pen on paper but I hate my colors because of how unreliable the pens I use are in terms of giving even shades - is it possible for me to just scan in a fully detailed black and white piece and then use the tablet to add color or would I need to re-trace every single line and detail beforehand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user456 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 The more I'm reading over all of this, the more I want to give one a try. Stupid question incoming: I'm happy with drawing with pen on paper but I hate my colors because of how unreliable the pens I use are in terms of giving even shades - is it possible for me to just scan in a fully detailed black and white piece and then use the tablet to add color or would I need to re-trace every single line and detail beforehand? Yes, of course you can do it that way. Some artist prefer to do it this way. Just scan your ink work in at 300 dpi and then color in Photoshop. I wouldn't really suggest Illustrator for coloring your work since it is so detailed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriss Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 The more I'm reading over all of this, the more I want to give one a try. Stupid question incoming: I'm happy with drawing with pen on paper but I hate my colors because of how unreliable the pens I use are in terms of giving even shades - is it possible for me to just scan in a fully detailed black and white piece and then use the tablet to add color or would I need to re-trace every single line and detail beforehand? Yes, of course you can do it that way. Some artist prefer to do it this way. Just scan your ink work in at 300 dpi and then color in Photoshop. I wouldn't really suggest Illustrator for coloring your work since it is so detailed. I (like a noob) attempted to color a few pieces for practice in PhotoShop a few months ago and hated the results because I had to literally pull the color around each individual line since coloring over the line work and details resulted in all of the blacks fading to a really disgusting pale grey. Just wanting to make sure I can add color without affecting what was scanned in since I'd pull my hair out attempting to get color around every individual dot and line (if that makes sense - sorry for the redundancy). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgedestroys Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Basically all you have to do is make sure before you scan it's as cleaned up as possible. Scan it at 300 dpi like Cassie said, open it in photoshop, adjust the layers if necessary so it's as close to pure white and pure black as you can get then set your scanned image's blending mode to multiply and create a new layer under it, then you just color on that layer. I have no idea how much you know about photoshop or blending modes in general but if you don't know what they are, Multply basically Overlays the darks and makes the lights less visible, hence why it's good to get the lines as crisp and dark as possible and have everything else as bright white as possible so they don't show. I know that might sound complicated if you're super new with photoshop but it's actually really simple. I can break it down and PM you what to do if you end up getting a tablet and want to do this, there's also infinite photoshop tutorials available online. As for coloring (actually, drawing in general) I personally prefer to color in Paint Tool Sai just because I feel like it's way more accurate and responsive to pen strokes than photoshop. I cannot stand trying to ink in photoshop. I think photoshop is good for photo editing (obviously), digital painting, and design, but when it comes to straight up illustration Sai is my favorite. I think it was released as an anime/manga drawing studio or something like that so it's very geared towards coloring and line work but you can do digital painting in it too. There's no text tool or anything like that because it's specifically for drawing, not design. A good majority of my stuff is 80% drawn in Sai then finished up in Photoshop where the design and blending options come into play. As far as getting used to drawing where you're not looking, it just takes time to adjust to. I started out with pencil and paper like anyone else and now I work almost exclusively with a tablet. It just takes a bit of time to get used to but once it clicks it's no big deal. Also the screened tablets from Wacom, their Cintiq models, are STUPID expensive and I personally don't ever see myself finding one practical unless I won a ton of money in the lottery or something haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriss Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Thanks for the in depth explanation on this - Mellie is pretty great at working in PS due all of the photo editing she does so she could probably help me work out yr instructions. I'm definitely doing it old school in terms of drawing and detailing but I'd want one of these strictly to add richer colors - looking around online, it looks like I can find a decent one for under $130. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgedestroys Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 No prob! That's definitely a way lots of people go. I'm actually doing a collaboration project with a friend that's probably going to end up being the process you'll be looking at doing; scanning then coloring under the scanned image. It works totally fine as long as you have a good scanner. You can probably go cheaper than that even, my first tablet was a Graphire4 I scored barely used off of ebay for $50. It lasted me I think two or three years before the usb cable crapped out although I can probably splice a new one in and make it work again. You really can't go wrong with Wacom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriss Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 You know - this has got me to thinking - if you have the time, would you be down with doing a collaboration of that sort with me where I give you some stuff and you add color? It would work really well as an example for me to see what I could do while maybe turning out some rad stuff in the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgedestroys Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Yeah sure as long as you don't need like, some crazy extensive time consuming coloring done since I have commission work I should be doing right now haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriss Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I don't have anything in mind honestly - I'd just send you a few pieces of art and let you do whatever you wanted color wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgedestroys Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Sure hit my email with whatever. I'm super art blocked right now and can't get anything else done for the life of me anyways. [email protected] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 also thinking i should probably make the move to digital at some point.. but is a tablet even worth buying without photoshop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user456 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 also thinking i should probably make the move to digital at some point.. but is a tablet even worth buying without photoshop? You will need some sort of program, but it doesn't have to be Photoshop. There are other programs to choose from: Illustrator, Manga Studio, Corel, etc. I wouldn't even recommend Photoshop for illustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 well like the conversation was going up top, i would mostly do it for the sake of coloring. id love to "ink" a scanned outline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgedestroys Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Like I told Kriss, Photoshop is more for design and photo editing than anything else, yes it is entirely possible to do fantastic illustration in it, I know plenty of people who do sick as fuck work in it (inking, digital painting, whatever) but I swear up and down by Paint Tool Sai, It's just infinitely easier to ink with IMO compared to photoshop because it was designed specifically for illustration. The coloring in it is good too. Sai only costs $70 but it's totally worth it, one of the best illustration programs I've ever used and I've used quite a few. Official site: http://www.systemax.jp/en/sai/ English pack site: http://sai.detstwo.com/sai/ I'd still recommend Photoshop because the tools it offers are really great for finishing your pictures up. It has way more layer blending options which rules if you get into applying textures and gradients to your work compared to the 5 or so that Sai has but if you can't afford it or don't want to pirate it there's always GIMP and openCanvas, both of which are free although I'm not a fan of either. Anyways long story short, it's entirely worth getting a tablet without photoshop, there's TONS of options for programs you can illustrate in and Wacom always bundles tablets with light versions of a few programs like painter and photoshop that you can download from their site with the serial from your tablet (or something like that, I forget how it works). They're super limited in what you can do with them but it's enough to get you started. Speed paint thing that turned into not much speed at all I did in Sai to try to practice painting landscapes. It's a couple months old so I don't remember completely but I think I did all of the illustration in Sai and only did texture layering and some color balance editing in Photoshop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgedestroys Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Also, pertinent to the original post in this thread: http://www.gomediazine.com/design-articles/modern-gigposter-design-100-stunning-examples/ Sick as hell gig poster designs, none of which are mine but I figured it was worth posting. Sorry I'm like out of control in this thread guys haha, art is kinda my thing so I can go on and on about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user456 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Also, pertinent to the original post in this thread: http://www.gomediazine.com/design-articles/modern-gigposter-design-100-stunning-examples/Sick as hell gig poster designs, none of which are mine but I figured it was worth posting. Sorry I'm like out of control in this thread guys haha, art is kinda my thing so I can go on and on about it. My Wilhelm Scream/Heartsounds poster is featured in this book, haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 thanks for the advice- ill definitely look into that. ...once i have the money. and instead of starting another thread for it- any of you guys know of any good art forums? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user456 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 thanks for the advice- ill definitely look into that. ...once i have the money.and instead of starting another thread for it- any of you guys know of any good art forums? I haven't found a good one yet. Thought about starting one up a while ago for this reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgedestroys Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 My Wilhelm Scream/Heartsounds poster is featured in this book, haha! Bookmarked the hell out of that page, all those are so phenomenal it's like, here. Have a shitload of inspiration. thanks for the advice- ill definitely look into that. ...once i have the money.and instead of starting another thread for it- any of you guys know of any good art forums? No prob dude, I love helping people out with art stuff. I know there are forums out there but I'm not on any. A LOT of my friends are artsy people too and I'm on a few art submission sites (deviant art and such) so I'm usually surrounded with enough art talk that I've never really had the urge to go check any out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffbo Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Im just glad I could bring everyone together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriss Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Mellie and I spent some time poking around online last night looking at Wacoms and figured that this is something we'd be able to share and both be able to benefit from. Thinking we're gonna take the plunge in the next couple of weeks. What size tablet are you guys comfortable with. It seems there are six on the site and we're thinking maybe the second from the smallest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user456 Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I prefer the smaller size tablets. It's much more comfortable for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgedestroys Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I'm with Cassie. Smaller is better especially for starting out. I already mentioned it but one of the best ways to have clean inking and line work is through quick precise wrist movement which obviously works better on a smaller tablet than a larger one. A smaller tablet is less distance to cover for each wrist movement which leaves less room for error and is easier on your hand. I get pretty crazy cramps in my hand sometimes if I work on a tedious piece for a long time and a bigger tablet would just make that worse. Considering the detail in your pieces I'd imagine a larger one would destroy your wrist. A lot of people like to argue that bigger tablets allow for more detail but that's BS. As long as you work in a large enough resolution in your canvases that you can zoom in enough to do those details, small is all you'll ever need IMO. One of my roommates actually does her pieces 3 times bigger than what the final version will be just so she can resize it down to an average size and anything that would've looked slightly sloppy looks much cleaner. There's really no sense in getting a medium or large. As far as I'm concerned that's just paying extra to strain your hand more and give yourself more room to screw up a brush stroke. Plus if you have limited desk space anything bigger than a small tablet is probably gonna suck although since tablets come with a mouse it effectively replaces the need for one. Using your tablet as your mouse is the ONLY reason I'd ever want a bigger one. When I'm playing Skyrim with my 4x6 tablet space and I have to turn around much AKA move my mouse around from one end to the other a bunch to move decently since it really is not a lot of space to move a mouse, it gets old quick haha but if you keep your old mouse and just switch when you need to then that's no big deal either. As far as drawing goes though, like I said, small is really all you need and honestly I think it's the most ideal for precision. I have a lot of friends who draw with tablets, the majority all use small tablets and are totally content with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgedestroys Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Just as a size reference, these are the tablets I've had over the years, Graphire4, Intuos4 and Intuos3. All three of them are the smallest model and honestly they're really not that small other than compared to the really large versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.