Digital paintings and such

[Pepja]

Hey guys, felt like sharing a bit of my works with you.
These are paintings i've done under Corel Painter X, some are recent, others are a bit older. Tell me if you too use Corel or Photoshop or any tools like that.

 

[Crouton]

Hey these are really awesome paintings! I really love the third one, the lighting from the candle is amazing, really well done.

I have a Wacom graphics tablet and Photoshop CS4. I've been trying to teach myself digital painting but am finding it hard as it feels really different from traditional art styles, aka just pencil on paper which is what I am used to.

I really want to get into it though as I have always loved concept art for films and video games.

How did you learn, did you teach yourself or did you have a teacher?

 

[Pepja]

I have a Wacom graphics tablet and Photoshop CS4.

Well i've got a Wacom Bamboo Fun Pen & touch (shouldn't have taken the "touch" option, cause i don't use it at all) for one year i think.

I've recently been in an art block for three months,where i couldn't use my tablet, but it's over now. The important thing is to keep practicing as much as possible, in the beginning i really had hard times trying to draw as fluently as when i do traditional stuff, but it comes with training.

So well, i'm my own teacher indeed, i used to ask one of my friends about hints on how to use some tools in Corel, but i mostly only learn by practicing.
She on the other hand, read a lot of tutorials, though practiced as much as me, and she made me discover digital art by lending me her version of Corel Painter IX, that's how i first got in touch with it.
She also lent me her tablet for a month at that time, then i knew i needed one for myself.

If you really want to improve yourself, the wisest advice i can give you is to ask people on art forums, try to find tutorials, watch videos on livestream or youtuve, AND of course, practice. :batman:

 

[Crouton]

Thanks for the advice. I have the exact same tablet as you, the bamboo fun. When I first got it I was really excited and used it heaps but then I got frustrated with how hard digital art was too me compared to traditional art so I stopped for a long time. I am trying to get started with it again now.

As you say though I need to just be persistent and keep practicing and practicing. I of course know that people cannot pick up on things like this over night.

Would you recommend Corel over Photoshop?

By the way you and I seem very similar. Both in art school right now and both hoping to study animation next year. I'm glad you joined the forum, we seem to have a lot of the same interests.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Pepja]

You're welcome ! C: We are indeed in very similar conditions. I've received a phonecall of a school i applied to, saying that i could take an interview. So on May, the 13th i'll be showing my portfolios and i hope i'll be accepted.
I actually applied for 7 schools, and only two have shown interest in my profile so far. I'm still waiting for other phone calls.

Would you recommend Corel over Photoshop?

Well, i personally can't use Photoshop, it's like i would have an affair with it, cheating on my Corel ! :facepalm:
No seriously, just give it a try if you can, but i know that it takes a lot of patience and persistence to overcome the frustration it conveys. (Yeah, when i said i had hard times at first, it was both because of the tablet and the software). My girlfriend uses Photoshop CS4 too, and she gets really nice results with it. I'm like an old granma, i'm too used to Corel to adapt to Photoshop.

Are you familiar with SAI by the way ? I've tried it once, it's really nice and has a simple interface. I think it's free somehow, but i'm not sure...

 

[Crouton]

I have heard of SAI but I have never used it, I think it would be worth trying to get a copy though.

Good luck for your interviews, I hope you go well! I'm currently working on my portfolio in art school and won't have to start applying to animation schools until September of this year. I'm a bit nervous, I worry that I won't be able to put a good enough portfolio together in time.

By the way I've been meaning to say how awesome your Shego painting is. Kim Possible is one of my favourite cartoons, and Shego is one sexy villian. You did her justice in that painting!

 

[Pepja]

I'm really fond of Shego, and i loved all four seasons of Kim Possible, that's another thing we seem to have in common, haha !

 

[Crouton]

Haha! Most young kids stop watching Saturday morning cartoons by the time they hit 20, but I never have. I'm quite comfortable watching cartoons and will quite happily sit down and watch them still at this age. Although there aren't as many good cartoons now, the best were the nicktoons in the 90's.

There are a few more modern ones I like though, mainly:

The Fairly Odd Parents
Kim Possible
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Atomic Betty
etc.

I'm also a sucker for pretty much any super hero cartoon, Batman, Spiderman, Justice League, Teen Titans etc.

 

[Pepja]

Considering the fact that we both want to work on animated movies later, it's not that surprising that we won't stop watching cartoons ! ^^
Avatar was just so awesome, yeah ! I'm a huge fan, and i'm curious about the next seasons with the new avatar.

Agreed on the fact that they were much better and perhaps more profound in the 90's.

 

[Crouton]

Haha yes, I don't think I will ever grow out of watching cartoons.

You should check out this thread I made about the new Avatar. I'm so excited for it!
http://www.generalforum.com/cartoons/new-avatar-last-airbender-series-84029.html

By the way on the topic of digital art again, do you have any favourite digital artists? I've always loved Mario Wibisono who does amazing digital paintings of beautiful females.

This is one of my favourite paintings by him.