Archive for August, 2009
How Do I Draw Digitally (with PhotoShop)?
August 31st, 2009. Published under PhotoShop. No Comments.
Author Charles Salmon
It goes without saying that you need to have an aptitude if you want to pursue drawing digitally. It is not an easy process and requires some kind of learning. Firstly, to be able to draw digitally you need the correct digital art software.
Photoshop
This digital software will allow you to draw digitally. It has many tools that will allow you to draw, paint, erase and create shapes. Get started initially with common shapes like a rectangle, circle. You can elaborate on these shapes and use your imagination to create drawings. You can begin withdrawing flowers, trees and other simple pictures. As you progress you will also be able to draw portraits and other intricate things.
Tool for drawing
Your primary tool for drawing would be the mouse. However, now a digital art tool called the WACOM tablet is also available that helps you to draw.
Brush: You will have to experiment with the correct brush to determine the best applicable for you. You have the option to change the size, type and behavior of the brush that you choose.
Eraser: Ditto like the brush, you have the options to choose from a set of erasers from the software. Even this has the option to change the size, type etc.
Burn tool/Dodge tool: With the Burn tool you can make your colours to appear darker. Conversely, you can choose the Dodge tool to make the colours to appear lighter.
Layers: This is one of the most unique tools in digital drawing which is not available in physical drawing. This function allows you to draw in layers. This can be explained like this – it is a transparent cell that allows you to work on every layer in such a way that you can either allow a layer to interact with the other layer or vice versa.
As you move towards drawing intricate things you can make use of the following options:
Grids: Using grids will help you to capture the drawing cleverly and easily. It will enable you to check proportions and placements etc.
Shading: Shading can also be used here like in physical drawing. It gives your photograph the characteristic of a physical drawing.
Colour: When using colours, you need to take care that you make use of realistic colours.
Adding a Background: Giving a background to your picture is quite important. It helps you to give a story to your picture.
The most important feature of drawing digitally is that it gives you a chance to enhance your subject. It helps you to correct and add more to features. Sometimes, this can make your subject look unreal; therefore you need to take care that you do not take away the essence or personality of the subject in the drawing.
Conclusion
Drawing is an art and doing it within a digital ambit it gives the artiste the freedom to experiment and do a lot more with its subject. It is good if you try to learn about art before starting with digital drawings.
Try your Hand at Digital Art and See the Possibilities
August 31st, 2009. Published under See the Possibilities. No Comments.
Try your hand at digital arts and who knows what talent you may uncover. You’ll hardly be a Picasso but with digital printers that allow you to convert these pieces to a real artist canvas you just might create the next masterpiece for your living room. Who knows, your large format printing might even land a spot in the museaum of modern art.
Need an inspiration, just watch any of the recently released computer generated graphics movie and you know just how real graphic can get. As a starter though, you would want to go for simple pieces you can use as a focal point for your home or office interior.
Here are a few design suggestions that will keep you glued to your computer:
• Graphic design is easy. There are a number of ways to start including with your digital camera. You can simply take your favorite snapshot, enhance it digitally and create your picture perfect profile you can hang in your bedroom or living room.
• When you want to create abstract art though, you can browse through the classic painters and choose a design school that draws your attention the most. You will be happy to find many filters in Adobe Photoshop that can help you emulate at least a basic art technique. Experiment with different tools and find the look you want.
• Aside from the classics, there are numerous graphic design superstars as well. You can look into these design subcultures in websites that host their pieces. Most of the time, they will even include a step by step tutorial that will help you copy certain techniques or create certain textures from scratch.
• You can start with small ideas and grow from there. You can work on a simple project and add layers of complexity as you go along and become more experienced in graphic design. Save different drafts so you can also observe the project as it develops.
• Digital art works well for the surrealist thinkers as well. If your idol is Salvador Dali, you can convert your photographs into surrealist art in one sitting. You can juxtapose pictures into different scenes stretching, bending, or blurring them as you go a long with various graphic design tools.
• Jackson Pollock wannabes on the other hand can have their fun playing around with paint brushes and extra large canvas. They can simply choose different paint brushes and splatter the blank screen. Or better yet, they can make their own paint brush.
And even if you want to design murals or extra small prints, you can simply adjust the size of your canvas. With digital printers, they can work on a variety of sizes from 8×8 inches to as big as 51×100 inches with half-inch increments.
Remember also that your artist canvas soaks more ink than your regular semi-gloss and will give you deeper and richer colors. In addition, you also have that beautiful fabric texture that builds up the drama for your large format printing.
