[Skillet!]

I'm kind of curious on how other artists start there pictures. I'm not after a giant tutorial or anything. I'm just interested on how you start your pictures, get your preliminary shading done etc. What is layed down first?
What brush strokes do you use. What brushes do you use?

You know, those kind of things. Pictures are required, but they'd be helpful.
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[GRKboy]

For digital art or art in general? It really depends on the medium your using. For digital, I would start with the nuetral base tones. Then Id go back in a fill in the cores. Finally, id go in and do the highlights...

I really don't have that many exampes online, but go check out my site, and click on the "traditional" link. The left is pencil, middle is Ink wash, and left is acryllic. Pencil and acrylic use this method. The wash is reverse- Start with cores, and then fill in mid's, leave paper as highlights...

What about you? whats some of your techniques?
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[cheney]

Most all people here are painters so they typically start with a rough sketch either on scanned paper or more likely from a wacom.

I am a freak, so I start on a blank canvas in Photoshop. Before I ever touch a layer I either sketch out a rough idea on paper to help me plan composition (when I do texture studies) or I jump into Photoshop's alpha channels to create an initial design shape from various uses of the selection tool.

Then I elaborate on my foundation until I have enough to fill a canvas or make a complex composition.
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[Skillet!]

To answer your question cheney, this is how I start:

I'm not a painter, in fact, I'm a novice artist who is learning new techniques, styles, and... in general, how to draw (proportions, new perspectives ect.).
But I start with an idea in my head, let it build for awhile, and before it bursts all over I take a pose of myself and "trace" the flat colors, just so I can get the proportions correct. So I have a flat "vectory" look of what I'm going to draw.

Here's where I'm an idiot on my starting out- I'm learning not to do this anymore, but I'll work in sections. I was taught on Prisma Color colored pencils, so I paint like I draw. I'll lay down the whole picture in tiny sections, ie. hands, arms, heads.
But now I've been learning how others do something and I'll sketch out, using my wacom tablet, facial features, clothing, folds, and so on. And I'll take the airbrush at 15-30% and lay down the shadows first while leaving the base color being the highlights. Then later on I'll take a lighter color and paint over what is needed. I never erase and never use the smudge tool, because the airbrush is already a smudger.


Anyway, if anyone wants to smack me and tell me to do something else, I'm really willing to learn. I'm not a professional artist, I draw for a serious hobby. But I plan on taking college classes so I can obtain a degree so I can be a game art artist, or something related.
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