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A question of honest ability...


C

chillman

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I was surprised when I was speaking to our main graphic designer the other day to know that she can't draw or paint with her hands. It never occurred to me that people who didn't do things with their hands would want to do graphic design. She's very good too. I was wondering... How many people here are strictly reliable on their machine to for their art? Our faith in an honest answer is really all we can go on, but I was just curious. I thought it was odd, but maybe there are more people out there that are that way than I thought.

\:]
 
Well although my mother has been a "multi-medium" (hehe) artist for the past 40yrs or more, i myself don't actually do much in the temporal world. I can draw (see the header drawing used on the "Links" page), but i don't really take much time in doing it.

I do like drawing though. I just don't have as much time anymore to sit down and spend on it.
 
I'm in the same boat as Mark. I do have a background in the "temporal world", but I spend my time on the computer.

I suppose some people can study formal art, without doing it, and gain the knowledge of proper format and such.
 
Interesting question...

I have natural multi-media background.
Water Colors, Oils, Actyllics and Pastels mainly.
I have some of my artwork in the visual gallery on my site.

I also spent some time with theatre/stage prop design, residential and commercial decor, including mural paintings. It was a natural transistion for me to embrace Photoshop. :) :)
 
Everyone's experience is so different that I'm never be surprised by running into someone with capacities radically different my our own. I spent 40 years doing physical art. Painting in acryllics, water colors, embroidery, woodworking/sculpting, some blacksmithing/metal working/metal sculpture and on and on. I even spent five years developing an original art form based on adding pigments to sheet rock mud and doing bas-relief 'paintings'. Until the computer, working in three dimensions was my strong point.

Then I discovered my 'inner nerd' and haven't done 'real art' since. The tools and possibilities available in digital creation are wonderful! It is a completely new toolbox. Personally, I'm not interested at all in recreating any traditonal media through digital means as I've done them and yet I'm amazed by those who do wonderful paintings in Photoshop or draw grand images in Illustrator. To me, exploring the things that you couldn't possibly do in other media is the fascination with digital art. Oh, it's clean, too! ;)
 
I'm a bit the opposite. Although I give myself about 65% for Photoshop and 50% for basic, non-animated things in Cinema4D, I always go back to my pencil, pen or brush.
My digital "knowledge" is still more "scientific interest" and experiment than real creative work.

Some people just open an app and begin to experiment, but I have to attain to at least 70% of knowledge before I can start as I cannot think when I'm creating. So the app must really be in my fingertips. I'm very grateful to Mark for making me a mod here as there is no way to learn any app better than to try and answer questions by others, and to simplify and simplify again the most basic answers.
Also, painting and drawing takes up most of my life, so what's left for the computer is limited, and, ;\ the Internet is a big temptation AND a time-robber. Collecting data, and knowing there will always be more...

I'm about to leave for some exhibitions in a few weeks, so in September I'll mostly be gone. After that, I want to concentrate more on creating with that incredible digital toolbox I have collected. I'll need several months to create something, that I already know, as it will have to match my tradart work. I also know I will succeed. That's inevitable.

My only doubt now is: should I add terragen or not? (hehe)

We *might*start a thread (NOT in this one!) on digital toolboxes...not to boast, but to inform about good and bad. Wat do you think?
 
Erik,

We *might*start a thread (NOT in this one!) on digital toolboxes...not to boast, but to inform about good and bad. Wat do you think?
Click to expand...

I think it's a good idea. I've learned so much here from Mark, Stroker, yourself, Rick, Rantin Al, Kiwi, Gare, Lily, Wendy, Sue and on and on. I'd never heard of half a dozen applications which I use now until being introduced to them on this forum. I think maybe a Digital Toolbox thread might deserve a 'sticky status.' I remember one 3D thread in which I was introduced to Terragen, WorldBuilder, Vue d'Esprit 4 and one or two other applications which were brand new to me. It was most illuminating!

...there is no way to learn any app better than to try and answer questions by others, and to simplify and simplify again the most basic answers.
Click to expand...

Exactly right! 8))
 
I do almost all my artwork on photoshop. I have two + years of art training at the high school level and two quarters each of photography and film-making at the college level but I am not especially talented with pencil or brush. The human form is beyond me.

Photoshop let me become an artist.

.. Plus pixels are a lot cheaper than oil paint, turpentine, and good brushes. ;)
 
I have not been able to draw in 8 years.... (personal story that nearly wrecked all the talent I still have.) It was only the last year that I got started with photoshop and disiplined myself to learn it. I just mostly color comics. That's it.
 
Most of my ideas started on paper, now I am sometimes drafting with the wacom stylus...
 
I can't produce "physical" artwork for crap... and neither can most of the graphic artists I know. I don't think it's uncommon for people that work with computer arts to not work with "traditional" artforms. When you think about it, it's like asking why most canvas painters aren't also musicians and car detailers. It's just the tools that you choose to learn and that you are comfortable and skilled with. I know a lot of people that use both, but I wouldn't say it's the majority.

$0.02
 
I can't do anything creative without a comp, but i'm quickly discovering i don't do much creative stuff on the comp looking at y'all's work! I really totally on the comp for everything!
 
This is a subject close to my heart. After working with paints etc for the last 30 plus years and being at to top of my form - painting wise with good selling connections and many paintings sold etc - I find myself much more drawn to the computer to PShop and illustrator and spending less time painting and enjoying it less and less. I should be at work on my paintings and pushing them plus the career bullcrap. I've been working in illustrator lately and am excited by all the things I barely know how to do in that program. Spare time is short...hope I'm not wasting it chasing computer dreams [innocent]
 
This is exciting news. Perhaps we should start another thread on a talk about calligraphy and computers.
Many fonts are available, but, except for much vector work (letters made editable first), I'd love to know how you manage to combine both.
 
I thought you would. I was just wondering/thinking you might have a way to translate your art into a digital form, just like people also create drawings with photoshop for example.
 
sPECtre said:
OT: welcome back, mindbender!!!!
Click to expand...

< OT >
I wish... I'm still without internet access at my current location. Public terminals suck. :{ (Hence the infrequent postings) :(|
< /OT >

I've done a bit of calligraphing before, mostly european nib style. I always wanted to learn Japanese calligraphy, but I'm not that good with a brush. Too much caffiene ;) hehe Haven't really tried to move that onto the computer, I would assume that in something like Illustrator that allows you to build multidirectional brushes with multiple components you would be able to simulate some of those techniques. They have a "calligraphic" brush mode even that does simulate the nib style calligraphing to a degree. With some custom brushes and some blending I bet you could generate digital calligraphy that was decent. It's hard to compare to the trained artists intonation though.

$0.02
 
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