Any of you folks do any digital art?

Blindingsun":1iam66wr said:

Is that all done on illustrator???

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Yup, CS4.

Damn I need to learn that shit

Makes my ipad stuff look pretty lame!

Somethingz I'm working on.... don't hate it too much =(

*click it twice for full size =D

Nice!

Thanks,. I want to do high fantasy stuff but I'm doing some Mtb shit to get hang of the program

stewlewis":23dtnj98 said:

Bloody hell Scott, wow.
How many hours? What technique, do you use any/many of the live tracing tools?
Is that your day job?
Fantastic.

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Thanks for the kind words

Re. How many hours?

The Wiggo one was about 28 hours. That was pretty technical. I've obviously reduced the size for web use, but as it's vector it looks good at about A2 size. Although it's photo-realistic, if you see it bigger you can see it's got an almost airbrush effect to it.

Re. Is that your day job?

I was a photographer, but diversified into retouching. In the good ol' days retouchers were on £80+ an hour. Now you can't get £8 an hour LOL!!!

I am also a graphic designer and filmmaker, but I used to paint oils/acrylic too. I was going to do the Wiggo pic in oils, but thought I would have a bash in Illustrator. TBH I would rather have done it in oils as I don't like sitting behind a mac for hours developing piles.

It's not my day job anymore as nobody wants me :roll: (cue violins and sad music).

I'm a good "copier". I can see a style and reproduce it. My portfolio is really diverse and I've no "set-style", hence it goes against me when applying for jobs. Freelance rates are sh!t <cue a load of illustrators/graphic designers saying they have loads of work :roll: > and I either get told I'm "over qualified" (so they won't employ me as they're offering low rates and they think I'll walk) or my work is "poor" as I was told the other day.

Anyhow, I'm building a studio in the garden and I am going to do the work I want to do and sod the world.

Re. Fantastic

Thanks again. Believe me, it's nice to hear that someone likes what I'm doing!


I will sign off now as I'm signing like a saddo...

edit: Re. Technique?

I don't use the live-tracing tool as I find it is cheating and doesn't lend itself to my style of work.

Blindingsun":1zbh9atn said:

Thanks,. I want to do high fantasy stuff but I'm doing some Mtb shit to get hang of the program

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Keep working on it and read lots of forums on the net for tips and you will gradually improve.

When I started my results were hideous! Back then we had to buy books written by tech-geeks with no artistic ability whatsoever. Now there's the net, there's a shed load of info available.

Like everything in life, practice makes perfect...

Scott do you have any advice with regards to learning illustrator..

I've got experience in photoshop since 1998 but I'm having a hard time learning illus.....I think I might be just missing something really basic?

my painting was done on Painter12... which is a lot more freestyle than Adobe =D

Blindingsun":16w2e6k3 said:

Scott do you have any advice with regards to learning illustrator..

I've got experience in photoshop since 1998 but I'm having a hard time learning illus.....I think I might be just missing something really basic?

my painting was done on Painter12... which is a lot more freestyle than Adobe =D

Click to expand...

I got some tutorial CD's from ebay years ago and scoured the net. I hope this doesn't sound too patronising, but you will improve if you learn how to draw with a pencil and pad.

Carry it everywhere and sketch all kinds. Keep messing with Illustrator though as you will get the basics and build on it. I started doing Cinema 4D which is a fantastic programme, but you kind of turn into a number cruncher (which I'm not) and it feels like a grinding 9 to 5 existence, hence I'm going back to basics to do my own stuff for an exhibition I'm planning next year. That's just me though, but keep plodding. Aim to learn three things a day in the programme and you'll get there.

I rarely use Photoshop for my illustration stuff now, as I find Illustrator easier to use. Also, its a vector based programme, so when a client wants it in different sizes it's easier to do with no loss or pixelation occurring.
If you have any background knowledge of PS then Illustrator should be easier to pick up. Good Luck!


I'm off to build my studio in the garden now. I'll check back later.