[AliasMoze]

Looking through the Adobe Gallery for Photoshop while knowing that Goodbrush.com exists brings to mind the question: Why doesn't Adobe highlight Craig and his work? And give him free stuff?

If you're like me, Craig's paintings were your first glimpse into the upper end of what Photoshop can do and the possibilities of digital painting as an artform. Craig, if you're listening, has Adobe ever contacted you?

Anybody else think Goodbrush could sell some boxes of Photoshop?

[spooge demon]

That has a story behind it actually. Back in the mists of pre-history, when the world was young, PS was at version 2.0 (before layers) and I was working on a show called space rangers at ILM. John Knoll, the brother who designed Photoshop, was (and still is) working there as a Visual Effects Supervisor. His brother Thomas wrote it. I imagine he cold have retired after selling PS to Adobe, but he loves the job.

He was doing some very cool stuff with electric image for the show, and I was doing some of the matte work. I remember him telling me that the idea for PS partially came from motion control in effects work. The idea of the precise registration of multiple passes being analogous to channels, I suppose.

I had first used PS to touch up some physical mattes for a British Petroleum commercial, and remarking what a cool program PS was, John suggested that I try to do the whole thing in PS. Just having started with it, I had no idea of how to paint with it, or even if you could. So the space rangers project was an experiment for all concerned. It was pretty much kluged photos, but it worked OK.

The show ended and I went back to LA. John suggested that I sign up with AOL. I know it is hard to believe now, but it seemed like a good idea. He was active there at the time. There was even some really good threads where John set a salesman for lightwave straight when he suggested that Jurassic Park could have been done in lightwave. Well, ancient history.

John also suggested that I send some of the things I was doing to Russell Brown, an Adobe PS evangelist. I would not have done so without John Knoll's suggestion. So I sent a disk, and I believe Russell was not very impressed. He sent the disk back with it renamed "craig's velvet paintings" and that was the last I heard from him. As you know, PS has been developed with an eye towards the web design end of things, and that makes business sense. Web people outnumber painters/illustrators 100 to 1. So I guess that either he felt the work was inferior or there was no market for it or a combination of the two.

But now I don't think I fit into Adobe's vision of itself. If you look at the gallery, they like, in general, more hip trendy, urban coffee house kinda stuff. Reminds me of illustrators in school who really wanted to be fine artists. My work is an anachronism at best. If they did like my kind of work, they would get a lot more name-dropping points from places like ILM or Digital Domain or ESC. PS is virtually everywhere.

[Citizen Cow]

I believe Craig and Adobe already have/had a relationship in that respect.


edit (OOPS! must of had my submit window open forever....)

[-HoodZ-]

you wouldnt happen to have that first piece would ya spooge? wow 2.0 before layers.....

[A.Buttle]

ChOps sucked. Thank Jesus H. Banana for layers.
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[AliasMoze]

Wow. "Craig's Velvet Paintings", what a crack-up. Well thanks for the great story and answering my question.

I actually remember Photoshop 2.0 and the poorly implemented layers in version 3 (which required all the ram in the known universe). Does anyone remember when PS was on, like, fifty trillion floppies?

[Anthony]

Haha, Craig's Velvet Paintings. I like that. I think maybe Adobe could give the illustrators some more attention - Corel's bound to catch up in ease of use some day, and their robust brush system will have an edge up for people coming from non-computer art.
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-Anthony
Carpe Carpem
http://www.anthonyfransella.com

[balistic]

That's too funny Craig, thanks for sharing the story.

How much would you charge to paint an Elvis on the side of my van?
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brian.prince|light.comp.paint

[Tommy Patterson]

I would like to have a count of how many people craig has directly caused to use photoshop and therefore buy photoshop. adobe should give him atleat ....10% of the company lol.

[[Shizo]]

I shall reply in 31337 form:

AJAJAJAJAHHAHAHHAHAHGAGAREHHGGHADH@!H!H!! !
CRAIGH":S VERLVERT pAINTINGZ!!!!!!#(#(#( OMFGLOL O LOL!OL!!L!LLLLZLZL!!!!!!!(*#&*#&#(*

Cause it is a funny story

[ahw]

it reminds me of this kind of stories where fat cat in Hollywood come across some unknown guy and say something like "can's sing, can't dance, can act a little" (talking of Fred Astaire).
LOL

Now on the other hand, what about the people who do Painter (whoever they are those days) ?

As for Photoshop 2.0 ? Wow, and I thought PS 3.0 was awful !
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=/Sancte Isidore Ora Pro Nobis/=

[Anthony]

I think that's "Can't sing, can't act, can dance a little" ;]
_________________
-Anthony
Carpe Carpem
http://www.anthonyfransella.com