Lineart n00b

[Unlucky]

Seems a lot of people here are good artists, so I might as well ask everyone for advice!

I got my eyes on this cheap tablet and I might buy it soon to try my hand in digital art. So I just wanna ask, what programs do you recommend for beginners like me (note: no background in art)? Do you know any tutorials online, or books that you find really helpful? I've done my research but I'd appreciate any suggestions.

 

[Kai Schulen]

Photoshop. Though I've heard good things about Sai too. In photoshop though, you might always want to clearly label your layers and doublecheck that you're on the right layer, lest you end up coloring in on the layer your line art is on because you haven't saved and/or go that far back in your history and can't undo said actions.

 

[Unlucky]

Thanks. Photoshop is actually my first choice, though I'm still not sure which. I know a lot of great artists in dA who use CS3 and CS5 so I guess I'll have to choose between those two.

 

[Kai Schulen]

CS5's newer, so I'd go with that. I can't be a fair judge cause I've only used CS 4 and 5. CS5 was a bit more complicated than CS4 though...

 

[Octo]

If you're on a budget, I've heard good things about GIMP It's very similar to Photoshop - plus its free!. Also OpenCanvas is something that a few of the japanese fanartists seem to favour, I think its designed to work with tablets, with PS you need to fiddle with the settings to get a nice fluid line when working with a tablet, but OC seems already set up for that.

OC doesn't have all the features of PS though, its really a drawing/painting program so it doesn't have as many effects etc as PS. So it depends on the kind of art you want to do. OC is about 30$ iirc. Whereas PS is....about $400-600 ouch! unless you borrow it from the internet *cough* Photoshop elements is cheaper though, but to be honest I have no idea about it as I've never used it.

You can probably download a demo of each and play around to see which suits you best.

As for resources etc. I just google as and when, I've found many good tutorials that way - usually because I'm searching for something specific. DA has some good tuts and they're usually written in an easy to follow way.

Also, as you're going to be using a tablet you'll want to improve on your pen skills in general. So don't limit yourself to online tuts, it will be worth getting a book on figure drawing (I'm assuming you want to draw figurative stuff)

http://processjunkie.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/best-figure-drawing-books-ever.html

^OK so this is technically online stuff, but basically a few good figure drawing books can be downloaded for free there.

Personally I'd avoid anything talking about 'how to draw manga' etc, because thats just teaching you a particular style (and often not even a very good manga style) It's just one rung up from copying/tracing.

Whereas general figure drawing books will give you a good foundation on which to build your own style. I've found that when I've gone back to look at my favourite artists after reading these books I'm able to break down their art, makes it easier to see how they've done it.

Phew, I'm rambling again.

 

[Ghost X]

I recommend Burne Hogarth on anything to do with figure drawing and drapery.

I am no expert on inking or its digital equivalent, but apparently you should draft in blue, scan it in, and do your final lines in black digitally; you can then get rid of the blue with the RGB filters. Sounds like a good way of doing things. Then all you have to do is colour it in, if you want, but that's a story for another day .

 

[Unlucky]

Whereas PS is....about $400-600 ouch! unless you borrow it from the internet *cough*

You underestimate my power

As for resources etc. I just google as and when, I've found many good tutorials that way - usually because I'm searching for something specific. DA has some good tuts and they're usually written in an easy to follow way.

Yeah, DA has actually become my google for these things, there are a lot of helpful tutorials, plus I can directly talk to the artists themselves. Thank god for this site

Personally I'd avoid anything talking about 'how to draw manga' etc, because thats just teaching you a particular style (and often not even a very good manga style) It's just one rung up from copying/tracing.

Whereas general figure drawing books will give you a good foundation on which to build your own style. I've found that when I've gone back to look at my favourite artists after reading these books I'm able to break down their art, makes it easier to see how they've done it.

Phew, I'm rambling again.

I understand your point. My cousin has books like that and though they're quite helpful, I don't think they can help the beginner to work on his own style since there seems to be a standard for everything. It just makes your drawings look the same with the tutorial. Being the impatient fuck that I am I tried to see if I can just skip figure drawing and just rely on these manga tutorials, but I figured out that even if I want to draw something as simple as a cartoon then I have to learn the basics. It's gonna take me a loooong time but hell, I wanna get better

Thanks Octo, this is very helpful. Here's a gift, bebe:

Spoiler

EDIT: Thanks Ghost X, I'll keep those tips in mind

 

[Celes Chere]

I think Sai works extremely well (it's also free) it gives you extremely smooth lines, and you can adjust the smoothness/sharpness of your lines. There is a whole lineart tool in the program that you can do different things with, including setting the lines to go by pressure. That way you can make a lighter line and a thicker line just by pressing it a certain way. I'm sure photoshop is probably the same, I have no idea since I have never used it. xD

 

[Unlucky]

Me neither, and I'm getting a lot of feedback that it's pretty complicated for a noob who hasn't used it Thanks!

BTW I've been through your art thread and I think your works are cute <3

 

[Octo]

In PS there are a few settings you have to fiddle with to make it respond to pen pressure, but its not too complicated. The thing with PS is that there are so many different settings and options that it can get a bit overwhelming. I've been using it since 2003 and I probably only know 10% of the stuff it can do

I've not used Sai but I googled it and it seems pretty similar to Open Canvas. People have made some really pretty stuff with it. Something else about Open Canvas, when I used it it seemed like it was automatically set up to a nice smooth resolution, whereas with PS you have to make sure you're working at 300+ ppi or things can look a bit gritty. It's only a minor thing though, but by the sounds of things Sai, OC and Gimp are probably better for newbs.

 

[Homura Akemi]

The newer versions of Paint Tool Sai has a tool for lineart, it's quite handy. It also has a stabilizer for lineart accuracy, but I think using the brush tool with the stabilizer looks smoother. :/

As for Photoshop it is really slow, so if you even want that make sure you're computer can handle it :>

 

[Octo]

As for Photoshop is really slow, so if you even want that make sure you're computer can handle it :>

Yeah this, it takes up a shitload of space/memory. I've got 3gb RAM on this piece of shit Dell and it manages CS3 ok, but if I have a load of stuff running at once or try to do too much on a large file it gets upset at me and starts stalling.

 

[Homura Akemi]

Oh and as for tutorials these really help if you want to draw cute anime stuff :>
https://yande.re/forum/show/10527
most are Japanese but you should get the idea ;^;
this one is my personal fav :>
https://yande.re/pool/show/1376

 

[Celes Chere]

aww I just went through that tutorial site and most of the stuff is gone because it was all on megaupload. =(

 

[Octo]

aww I just went through that tutorial site and most of the stuff is gone because it was all on megaupload. =(

Cocks! I clicked on the first one and it let me dl.

I did find some good stuff on isohunt though just by searching 'figure drawing'.

 

[Unlucky]

I'm suddenly having second thoughts about PS. I just tried using PS Elements in my bro's PC and felt like an idiot..

I still like PS but I might resort to something more simple for now. Sai is my second choice, I'm also hearing a lot of good stuff about it. I think I'll just switch to PS when I've learned enough.