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lyingsmile15 Topic Starter

I know... but it makes it more difficult for me.

I'm extremely OCD...
It's difficult for everyone... I know I didn't want to do it, but there's really no way around it. Even if you are extremely OCD you're in control. Yes, it will probably take you twice as long, but hey, we all have our own struggles. If you want to get into digital art, that will just have to be something you have to deal with. I can't think of any program that allows you to just fill in everything without leaving large chunks of white or bleeding everywhere.
Sanne Moderator

lyingsmile15 wrote:
My problem with inking was always lines not touching just right so the fill leaked out. And I got tired of it and quit. It was too frustrating to take that much time on something.

I can draw tons and tons in a matter of minutes on paper. But one computer pictures takes HOURS and is never satisfactory. It drives me nuts.

This probably isn't the answer you want to hear, but none of us, including myself, got to the level we are by stopping where you are now. Learning new tools and techniques takes time and practice, and you will often make things that aren't up to your own standards. But it's the ONLY way to learn. If you want to get good at something you have to put a lot of time and effort into it. You have to work through those bits that are difficult even if it's not that fun.

I picked up knitting in September last year and I was intimidated and baffled by a lot of projects people were churning out. I thought I could never learn the techniques people were teaching and recommending because the first time I tried them, it turned out crap and it felt clumsy and difficult. I can now knit all the projects I was ogling at and have learned more techniques and skills than I thought possible last year. I kept going with it and kept trying even when things looked bleak and frustrated the hell out of me, and it got me even beyond where I wanted to be.

Art is the same. Digital art is something new to you. You drew on paper since you were 2 years old, perhaps even younger, so it's natural that you're more comfortable and practiced with the medium. You've accustomed to it from spending years writing on paper as a child. You had to learn how do to that too, and it's the same with digital.

Kim had some really good advice about sticking to something specific, focusing on it and practicing it. You can't learn everything at once! :) That's impossible. If lines frustrate you, spend some time just drawing lines. Draw shapes on paper then trace them digitally to get more comfortable with it. Then when you're comfortable with your lines, start coloring them. Try out different coloring techniques - there are millions of tutorials online that are both program and non-program specific! Sooner or later you'll find something that works for you and you'll be amazed by the progress you made and come out a better artist each and every day.
Sanne wrote:
Art is the same. Digital art is something new to you. You drew on paper since you were 2 years old, perhaps even younger, so it's natural that you're more comfortable and practiced with the medium. You've accustomed to it from spending years writing on paper as a child. You had to learn how do to that too, and it's the same with digital.

Kim had some really good advice about sticking to something specific, focusing on it and practicing it. You can't learn everything at once! :) That's impossible. If lines frustrate you, spend some time just drawing lines. Draw shapes on paper then trace them digitally to get more comfortable with it. Then when you're comfortable with your lines, start coloring them. Try out different coloring techniques - there are millions of tutorials online that are both program and non-program specific! Sooner or later you'll find something that works for you and you'll be amazed by the progress you made and come out a better artist each and every day.

Preach it!
Ilmarinen Moderator

Tablets have a STEEP learning curve. I started using one in early high school and found it insanely frustrating to deal with. But I kept trying! One thing that helped was I drew and inked a picture traditionally, then used the computer to color it. That helped me create a nice-looking final image that didn't feel like just a "practice" pic, because I found it easier to color than to ink. Then slowly I started learning how to ink and sketch digitally too.

Illustrator is a vector program. It's amazing for graphic design and some other types of art, but not really good for painting. Once or twice I've done a sketch in Photoshop, then brought it into illustrator to put lines on it, then back to Photoshop for color. It's frustrating though, and though the lines are VERY smooth (because they're vector and not raster) they feel unnatural because they have no variation.

Nowadays I use SAI for drawing and painting and Photoshop for arranging, final touch ups, and printing. SAI is great because you can rotate the canvas to ANY angle, as if you were turning a piece of paper, so it's much easier to ink weird corners and stuff. It also has a line smoother, so I think my lines are much better than they were in Photoshop. And SAI is also a really powerful painting tool!
Heimdall wrote:
Tablets have a STEEP learning curve. I started using one in early high school and found it insanely frustrating to deal with. But I kept trying! One thing that helped was I drew and inked a picture traditionally, then used the computer to color it. That helped me create a nice-looking final image that didn't feel like just a "practice" pic, because I found it easier to color than to ink. Then slowly I started learning how to ink and sketch digitally too.

Illustrator is a vector program. It's amazing for graphic design and some other types of art, but not really good for painting. Once or twice I've done a sketch in Photoshop, then brought it into illustrator to put lines on it, then back to Photoshop for color. It's frustrating though, and though the lines are VERY smooth (because they're vector and not raster) they feel unnatural because they have no variation.

Nowadays I use SAI for drawing and painting and Photoshop for arranging, final touch ups, and printing. SAI is great because you can rotate the canvas to ANY angle, as if you were turning a piece of paper, so it's much easier to ink weird corners and stuff. It also has a line smoother, so I think my lines are much better than they were in Photoshop. And SAI is also a really powerful painting tool!

On a side note, Where can I purchase SAI? I had a trial years ago and I can't seem to find it on amazon :(
I have been drawing for 10 years, half of it digitally with majority of my program use on Photoshop (I swear by it for all my non-animation artwork), but another place I used strictly for the cool FX and filters that I could add to layers was Sumo.fm. I used to use a stylus on a tablet which worked best for me, I could draw and see what was happening beneath my pen just as I would with paper. Once I got a tablet it took a bit of getting used to... and then it broke.

Since then I use pencil and paper to sketch out my ideas, ink my final line, scan/photograph it, clean it up, color it, shade/highlight and then add FX if needed.
reeno-alchemist wrote:
Heimdall wrote:
Tablets have a STEEP learning curve. I started using one in early high school and found it insanely frustrating to deal with. But I kept trying! One thing that helped was I drew and inked a picture traditionally, then used the computer to color it. That helped me create a nice-looking final image that didn't feel like just a "practice" pic, because I found it easier to color than to ink. Then slowly I started learning how to ink and sketch digitally too.

Illustrator is a vector program. It's amazing for graphic design and some other types of art, but not really good for painting. Once or twice I've done a sketch in Photoshop, then brought it into illustrator to put lines on it, then back to Photoshop for color. It's frustrating though, and though the lines are VERY smooth (because they're vector and not raster) they feel unnatural because they have no variation.

Nowadays I use SAI for drawing and painting and Photoshop for arranging, final touch ups, and printing. SAI is great because you can rotate the canvas to ANY angle, as if you were turning a piece of paper, so it's much easier to ink weird corners and stuff. It also has a line smoother, so I think my lines are much better than they were in Photoshop. And SAI is also a really powerful painting tool!

On a side note, Where can I purchase SAI? I had a trial years ago and I can't seem to find it on amazon :(

If you'd like I could get you a copy of Photoshop CS6.
Ilmarinen Moderator

reeno-alchemist wrote:
Heimdall wrote:
Tablets have a STEEP learning curve. I started using one in early high school and found it insanely frustrating to deal with. But I kept trying! One thing that helped was I drew and inked a picture traditionally, then used the computer to color it. That helped me create a nice-looking final image that didn't feel like just a "practice" pic, because I found it easier to color than to ink. Then slowly I started learning how to ink and sketch digitally too.

Illustrator is a vector program. It's amazing for graphic design and some other types of art, but not really good for painting. Once or twice I've done a sketch in Photoshop, then brought it into illustrator to put lines on it, then back to Photoshop for color. It's frustrating though, and though the lines are VERY smooth (because they're vector and not raster) they feel unnatural because they have no variation.

Nowadays I use SAI for drawing and painting and Photoshop for arranging, final touch ups, and printing. SAI is great because you can rotate the canvas to ANY angle, as if you were turning a piece of paper, so it's much easier to ink weird corners and stuff. It also has a line smoother, so I think my lines are much better than they were in Photoshop. And SAI is also a really powerful painting tool!

On a side note, Where can I purchase SAI? I had a trial years ago and I can't seem to find it on amazon :(

http://www.systemax.jp/en/sai/ :D
Heimdall wrote:
Nowadays I use SAI for drawing and painting and Photoshop for arranging, final touch ups, and printing. SAI is great because you can rotate the canvas to ANY angle, as if you were turning a piece of paper, so it's much easier to ink weird corners and stuff. It also has a line smoother, so I think my lines are much better than they were in Photoshop. And SAI is also a really powerful painting tool!
Also, it has special vector line layers for inking. :3 My fingers are perpetually on the keys to grab and adjust points.
Ilmarinen Moderator

Novalyyn wrote:
Heimdall wrote:
Nowadays I use SAI for drawing and painting and Photoshop for arranging, final touch ups, and printing. SAI is great because you can rotate the canvas to ANY angle, as if you were turning a piece of paper, so it's much easier to ink weird corners and stuff. It also has a line smoother, so I think my lines are much better than they were in Photoshop. And SAI is also a really powerful painting tool!
Also, it has special vector line layers for inking. :3 My fingers are perpetually on the keys to grab and adjust points.

I had forgotten about that. I remember the last time I tried, it got super laggy! I'll have to try again though!
So I myself am still learning about the whole digital world of drawing. Like StrangeDisease I do enjoy using Sketchbook Pro but I recently found Procreate that I am having a lot of joy using as well. I am not very good on my desktop however. I use my iPad instead and it gives me more control.
I have issues finishing my drawings. I have a full bunch, ready to be painted, but Im more comfortable on paper than what I am on a tablet.

When I did painted them I used mostly Photoshop and did a share of vector works.
lyingsmile15 Topic Starter

I still don't understand why people use Photoshop. As a Graphic Design Major, I just can't see myself using the program for something that it is NOT made for.
Sanne Moderator

I spent half my time as an artist drawing in Photoshop. Just because it wasn't intended to be used for drawing doesn't mean you can't draw in it. It has all the tools necessary to create beautiful drawings and some of the most popular and famous digital artists use the program. The only reason people don't use it is out of personal preference.
Somehow, I only just realized that SAI's lineart layers include a tool for easily changing line width, point by point. @o@

lyingsmile15 wrote:
I still don't understand why people use Photoshop. As a Graphic Design Major, I just can't see myself using the program for something that it is NOT made for.
It wasn't originally meant for drawing, but that's probably at least half the use it gets now, and most of the functionality added over the years has been to improve the drawing experience. So it's as much intended for drawing and painting now as for photo editing.
Personally, I prefer SAI. I feel it's very smooth and works awesome <3 It's very much worth the money :>

And don't worry about how your products look at the beginning, just takes time to get better <3

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