ArtSpots Forum Group - Artistic Dialogue

Art Funk - What do you do? - Whisper Panthress

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:20:17 -0000

I listen to music, talk to friends, go out to B&N or a coffee shop, and also just try to draw without being a such a enormous backseat critique. Draw a gear, draw a coffee cup. Draw cookie monster. And yes draw it badly. It's ok to because some days you have it. Some days you don't.

Image Presentation - Idess

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:54:54 -0000

I consider fixing up the image after scanning as part of the process of creating the piece. Though I love to post my art and see the replies, I don't rush after scanning and skimp out on fixing up the image. Cropping, image adjustments, sharpening or blurring, image saturation... all of it would just make the picture even better looking :P

Image Presentation - Nocte

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:57:17 -0000

Thornwolf said:I really try to put effort into cleaning things up. A lot of people don't have scanners, and that's okay! Digital photos /can/ be cleaned up to look like scans.

Certainly; all my art is photographed. And what's a few minutes to do some color balancing and minor touch-ups, if the drawing itself took more than an hour? There's probably lots of reasons why some people don't do this, but the ones I hear regularly are "don't know how to" (easily remedied), "it was just something quick" (or any other variety of "can't polish a turd"), "I want to show it as it is" (not realizing how complicated it is to actually set up a color-calibrated production chain), and "just wanted to get it online asap" (the quality vs. quantity issue Drakenhart wrote about).

Image Presentation - Drakenhart

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:07:26 -0000

I think that it is a need to get recognition. That people want to show off their works as quickly as possible in quantity rather then quality, so they look more productive. This is a problem with a lot of American Industries - as few of them there is anymore - and thus filters over to the general American Mindset. I'm not sure if this happens in other Countries too. But I do feel the general culture where the artist hails from can add to this. It is the reason why I've been fired from at least two jobs, because I wasn't "producing", as they said. I was, in fact, producing.., but not fast enough or with enough pieces. At the same time they want "high quality". *head desk* There are a rare few who CAN manage such, but not me. I'm a perfectionist and that oftens gets in my way. :P I have even had some of my templates adopted by client companies (boxcovers templates for videos that didn't have covers), because they liked them so much! But all i got was flak for not making MORE, versus making some better. :P Feh. ~~ So I -think- this need to over-produce lesser "quality" is ingrained in some of us. So even if a piece itself is great, it's presentation suffers.

Image Presentation - Feather Dancer

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:42:07 -0000

I always try and fix them up best I can via going through photoshop first since I find the crop tool and the like eaiser there despite now discovering it in OC. If I spot anything later, or me just being nitpicky, I'll try and tidy whatever's bothering me soon as I can. To me you can always have more than one crack at a scan or photo, that little extra time doesn't do any harm. It does show you up after all.

Image Presentation - Metsys

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:42:58 -0000

To me, yes it's important. I'm a designer so perfectionism has poisoned my mind. :)

Image Presentation - Thornwolf

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:29:47 -0000

A lot of recent uploads have caused me to ask this question: After you create your art, do you feel that presenting your drawing in a professional manner is just as important as the art itself? Or do you just want to post it online ASAP? I used to have this problem when I was on the VCL, I'd get many of my images moved to scraps because I was rushing to get my drawings "out there" as soon as I created them that I didn't take the time to adjust the levels or fix the scanner smudges on my drawings. As I grew artistically I started putting a lot of time and effort into presenting my images in a professional way to showcase the art as it was meant to be seen. I really try to put effort into cleaning things up. A lot of people don't have scanners, and that's okay! Digital photos /can/ be cleaned up to look like scans. This is what a little attention can do to a digital photograph: http://thornwolf.artspots.com/image/5615/smokepaw-in-uniform And I offer prints of this image at conventions, and I assure you they're as good a quality as the rest of my images that were scanned. So, my question, is image presentation important? Why do people feel the need to post art that is presented as blurry/dark/grainy photographs?

drawing landscapes - shanpeter

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:57:29 -0000

Can anyone take a photo in landscape mode? url=http://www.innerbody.com/

Color Pencil Techniques? - shanpeter

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:48:40 -0000

Sounds Good! Nice one. http://www.innerbody.com/

The Art Grind! - shanpeter

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:33:22 -0000

Hi, I'm very surprised for seeing your post here! I'm always doing like that. http://www.innerbody.com/

Digital painting setups - Clara Ferreira

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:28:46 -0000

Metsys said: You should be able to stay in that same position for at least 3 hours without needing a break.

Now that's too much, isn't it? XD I don't really mind, moving around a bit is nice plus my eyes benefict from that (they too need breaks). Thing is my back already has problems, so even if I put myself in a confortable position, it will complain sooner or later. I still think this is a nice position, since I must sit myself decently in the chair (and not with the bottom near the chair's end) and it acts as a reminder of non-lazyness. :P

Digital painting setups - shanpeter

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:16:32 -0000

My System has some problems, I thing it has some hardware problem. [url=http://www.innerbody.com/]Human Anatomy Online[/url]

Art Funk - What do you do? - Thornwolf

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:10:38 -0000

Naryu, depends on what you're looking for but I find Forseti and Werkraum to be personal favorites. They're of the neofolk genre. If you're looking for something a little more indie pop, I'd definitely check out Wir Sind Helden.

Art Funk - What do you do? - Naryu

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:36:13 -0000

Thornwolf said: (sort of a synesthaesia thing, with the colors/music, but it's not strong...its like certain tracks of the German Neofolk music I listen to reminds me of winter scenes, mostly that sort of thing).

IAWTC ^ Music is great for me, and will often set the mood for what I draw, slow music for rainy days//soothing moods. Instrumentals, Natures CD's Chants- Jpop for me ;) Nature is an inspiration for me as well I find the beach a very calming place :) Also Thorn, any good recommendations for German music? :3 *is hooked on Gregor Meyle ATM*

Art Funk - What do you do? - AmonOmega

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:46:18 -0000

I like to exercise, listen to music and browse artwork that's relevant to the feeling I'd like to achieve also. Mostly I find the problem is that I'm stuck so I try to draw mindlessly. Doodle a little, force myself to draw *anything* because usually I find the problem is that I get into the habit of everything needing to be perfect when I start off. so shake it off, shake it off. In short, my all purpose cure? Sketch sketch sketch.

Art Funk - What do you do? - shanpeter

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:13:20 -0000

I'm always hearing good songs for reduce my job tension, I like art sports too. [url=http://www.innerbody.com/]Human Anatomy Online[/url]

Art Funk - What do you do? - Feather Dancer

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:08:07 -0000

I tend to listen to music myself as well, switch to my other staple of writting (It's like a back up) or if the weathers nice, get the camera out and a cat if possible. Failing that, a complete mind distract in a good game often works. You tend to get more and more worked up if you're trying to force your hands to work which often backfires pretty badly. Usually though, I start doodling silly, completely random critters or a bit of mythology since it's a personal favourite. It's unlikely any of them will be seen but it's getting my to move my hand and soemtimes the most memorable creations come about. Notalope was from college boredem and he's still here today :) I usually have soemthing on the sidelines as a fall back, they need to be done anyway so why not?

Art Funk - What do you do? - Thornwolf

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:11:34 -0000

I look at other people's art. I try to keep a folder of inspirational images on my computer or go through my favorites on DA. If there's a particular mood I'm trying to get into to draw a specific image, I'll do a combination of looking at artwork within the same vein/theme/treatment and listen to music that gives me mental images of the same colors and themes of the image I'm drawing (sort of a synesthaesia thing, with the colors/music, but it's not strong...its like certain tracks of the German Neofolk music I listen to reminds me of winter scenes, mostly that sort of thing).

Art Funk - What do you do? - KoOkY!

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:21:22 -0000

I get a lot of inspiration and ideas from music. Usually in the car too and love driving, so lotta times if I'm feeling that funk I'll take a short drive down to the park with my dog or something while listening to the radio. And often if I want to draw but can't think up anything, then I do anatomy studies or those 60-second gesture sketch things which I stink at just to get my hand moving on something. ^.^

Art Funk - What do you do? - Pac

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:26:13 -0000

i usually go for a walk. my head clears and i get a lot of new ideas that way. something about exercising and getting the blood pumping in the brain meats, keeps you from getting distracted from anything else until you get back and are ready to create again! unfortunately it's either been too hot or dangerously stormy to do so here. sigh. :C

Art Funk - What do you do? - Drakenhart

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:11:18 -0000

Not quite and art block, and not quite a slow down, but something in between. The feeling that you want to draw, but when you go to put pencil to paper (or whatever) there is a leakage that suddenly happens and all the creativity goes -away-. Or you have stuff to finish, and yet you find yourself doing Other things instead? Or you have a moment of clarity, start a pieces and then find you can't seem to finish it at all? What do you do to fight the funk?

Story Boarding or Graphic Novel Creating Artists, Help! - Vizon

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:33:03 -0000

Tigress said: ...when I sat down to think I almost instantly came up with Poe's 'The Rave' as my choice.

Aw, it was a typo. I was prepared for a preposterous mix of dark Elizabethan imagery and twirling glow sticks. :P

Story Boarding or Graphic Novel Creating Artists, Help! - Whisper Panthress

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:37:59 -0000

I'd like to clarify. I didn't mean to say composition was unimportant in sequential or comic art, though that is unfortunately what can be clearly implied. Instead I am focusing on the story and storyboarding. When I was working for production at my old alumni in hong kong, my supervisor placed far LESS emphasis on the overall storyboard layout than the depiction of the action, mood and feeling. This I know is correct as storyboard layout is pretty much a sheet of rectangular squares. For a full page, standard sized comic (not tiny like mine though yes you could still make an attractive composition), it is obvious the overall appearance is more important than a sheet of squares. As important as telling the story? I argue, no. I know of some comics that are sectioned off like a storyboard and are uniform in appearance that have better character dynamics than some spectacularly laid out comics in properly comic formatted composition. For me storyboarding is a term I would use for the roughing of layout used in the production of animation and film to express key actions and events. Whereas a comic or graphic novel is a finalized piece of art with a deliberately arranged layout catered to the target audience for easy reading. I also agree with Metsys' explanation in the difference between painting and illustration. Though you're right in that it is a term that can be often times interchanged.

Digital painting setups - Pac

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:26:16 -0000

different strokes for different folks i guess *rimshot!* ;) my productivity and work flow improved with the implementing of smooth transitions via touch pad, and the short cuts in general.

Digital painting setups - lziem

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:24:19 -0000

I had my touchstrips set to taking pen input only to change brush size, but that didn't make them any more useful for me. I couldn't get them to single press reliably, and dragging didn't give me any sort of accuracy. I prefer the tactile feedback of single button presses. Assigning touchstrip pen input also gave my pointer multiple jobs, which translated to no on-the-fly control. Having it set to brush size meant I had to break my stride if I wanted to take advantage of it. Eventually, it just wasn't worth it. I'm not saying the slider is bad, but it definitely wasn't for me.

The Art Grind! - Drakenhart

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:03:14 -0000

I've been watching this community for a while. I put my bid in for a spot, and didn't see my name on the list. But even so, I am still working on it from the side. Its HARD. But the stuff I see being produced is awesome!! :) It is a good community to at least watch, and they even got an LJ front page blurb the first at one point!! Yeah being featured!

Digital painting setups - Pac

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:12:07 -0000

don't nay say the slider! :) if you're having troubles with accidental touching go to wacom tablet properties > functions > touch stripes > advanced... and set the option to have them work by pen only. viola! no more arms and hands brushing the strips! on the vein of intuos3 tablets, those short cut keys are amazing! you can set them to different things depending on what program you use. as someone who works primarily from their laptop and the keyboard is sometimes out of my comfortable reach, these buttons are a boon. for photoshop (cs2, my primary "painting" program), i leave the left side as a default (the slider will zoom my picture)... on the right i set the slider to "[" and "]" which will alter my brush size on the fly! the other four buttons are my four most used tools/operations: "b" for brush, "e" for eraser, "v" for move tool, and "ctrl+z" for undo. unfortunately, the great downfall of intuos is the faulty drivers. i hear it's wide spread. every now and my tablet loses pressure sensitivity/pen functionality for no reason, despite whatever program i'm in. the only solution ends up being a restart. additionally, i've needed to reinstall the driver all together more than once. i wouldn't mind that so much except all my lovely presets are gone and i have to reassign them all over again. if anyone has any solutions/workarounds i'd love to hear them.

I have problems rating a picture. - KoOkY!

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:56:57 -0000

When you post up a picture you can get an explanation of the rating system. Copy and pasted here for convenience. :) Ratings on JaxPad JaxPad ratings are helpful for filtering content that people may not want to see. Below is a guide to follow for applying ratings to artwork: * G - No violence or sexual situations. * PG - Suggestive situations implying violence or sex. * PG13 - Mild nudity (no "below the belt" frontal, must be non-sexual and not the focus, etc.), bloodless violence and mild language. Don't fret too much. As usual, err on the side of caution. If an image is flagged many times as being misrated, we will investigate and may bump the rating up a notch. No harm, no foul. Even if an image is removed, we do not hold it against you. However, if the image is blatantly misrated, i.e. set G for an PG13 or above picture, we will change the rating appropriately and warn the user. Multiple instances might result in gallery privileges being revoked. Don't make us take out our ruler! If you have any questions regarding this, please ask us.

I have problems rating a picture. - LusoPakak

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:31:29 -0000

I'm aware that this place doesn't want mature artwork here, but what about tame fanart of mature pieces? I make cutesy tame fanart of ArtDecade's comics, which came out really sweet, but I don't know if I should post them, considering the nature of this place.

Where we will talk about... art! - shanpeter

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:06:54 -0000

What is Bonjour? [url=http://www.innerbody.com/]Human Anatomy Online[/url]

Digital painting setups - Metsys

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:16:54 -0000

Ah yes, Deep-Vein Thrombosis. Fun stuff. I'm not saying that you should sit still for that long, but rather that you'll be able to without being in discomfort.

Digital painting setups - Boxcutter

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:48:31 -0000

About sitting in the same position for 3 hours at a time, it's probably best to move around a bit at least every half hour. Maybe stretching or walk around a bit. I hear there is some condition you can get for just sitting for that long. I move around anyway even when I'm sitting comfortable.

Digital painting setups - Metsys

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:21:14 -0000

I can't stress enough how important it is to have a comfortable setup. You should be able to stay in that same position for at least 3 hours without needing a break. Find something that works, even if it's a little bit ghetto like my setup, and get a really comfortable chair which is why I have no problems spending $300 on one.

Digital painting setups - Clara Ferreira

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:46:09 -0000

I never realized how much the digital art-gadget world has evolved, specially the tablets, they really seem to make things comfortable for the artist, heh. :) As for me, I still have an old Volito with two buttons (with limited programming) so I use the keyboard a lot for shortcuts in Photoshop and Gimp. It was a problem when I used a desk pc (where I had a strategy like Metsys), now with a laptop I just position my tablet below it, using my right hand with the tablet and the left on the laptop's keyboard. The only problem is staying in that position for a long time, from 10 to 10 minutes I have to move around a bit so my back and arms don't complain.

Digital painting setups - Metsys

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:21:04 -0000

Heh, sorry about starting the trend :). It is nice to actually see the physical setup people have since ergonomics play a vital role in how well you work and how comfortable it is to work.

Digital painting setups - Boxcutter

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 04:19:20 -0000

I was kinda hoping that this thread wouldn't come to photographs of our actual setups, but here's mine. There's my Gateway in the middle and my SpeedPad n52 to the left. My Dell Axim PDA above the tablet. Note the Apple keyboard. I only use it for naming files, and the occasional web surfing while painting. I do have a Mac, just no table for it. Sometimes I'll plug in another monitor. Althoght you find that touchstrip useless on the Intuos I would love to have one on my SpeedPad n52. The n52 has a scrollwheel, which would be nice for first-person-shooters, but it's lousy for zooming. It doesn't have a smooth scrolling motion. I guess a keyboard is nice because it doesn't require programming, but I like not moving my arm around to go from one command to the next.

Digital painting setups - Metsys

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:00:45 -0000

That's why I just prop up my tablet and cover the part of the keyboard that I won't use. I've attached a photo of what my setup looks like when I do that. It works pretty well for me. The tablet is at an incline which more comfortable, and my monstrous keyboard becomes smaller so I can still put my hand where my mouse used to be. Oh, and notice that the tablet is shifted over just enough so I can still press the delete button :).

Digital painting setups - Thornwolf

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:26:31 -0000

I had an intuous2 for most of my mature art career so I've "grown up" with the shortcut-less method, but where I live now where I'm not in an optimal desk setup, leaning forward to touch the keyboard when I'm sitting back to draw is a real pain, literally, so I love having the shortcuts.

Digital painting setups - lziem

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:19:56 -0000

Yeah, the touchstrip and off-handed sides are pretty useless. There is no reason to reach over your hand just to access the other buttons, and it's easy to hit the touchstrip by accident. I can't think of anything that would actually be made easier with the touchstrip. If they just added in something like a click wheel, or even just two more buttons, it would be far more useful. I have my four buttons set to display toggle (for dual screens), brush up and down, and undo. I use the keyboard for everything else. I'd need something like the Intuos2 touchstrip to support the number of shortcuts I use; I actually prefer that setup a whole lot more. And I'm still waiting for the Intuos4 for that darn Bluetooth.

Digital painting setups - Metsys

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:16:21 -0000

Well, it does have 8 buttons but you really only use half of them. The two sets of buttons are there for both left and right handed people. And yes, when I use the Intuos3 I turned the sliders off too. I still prefer to use the keyboard for shortcuts, but then again I use an Intuos2 at home and it's buttonless. So, I guess I was just raised that way :).