[m0u53m4t]

I've seen lots of art on these forums, but am wondering how you did them. I use photoshop and dont have any 3d programs. Can you recommend a list of programs you guys use/I should use? I want to do some realistic painting style things as well.

[Ranath]

I think most of people here use mainly Photoshop for painting. 3D programs are not necessary in painting

Personally just Photoshop for me. Not that I could even afford one of the fancy 3D packages right now..

Oh and you need wacom tablet obviously for painting..

[m0u53m4t]

But how do you get all the really cool textures and effects right? Do you just change the layer settings on a texture and put it on top?

[Impaler]

The short answer is, there is no "just" doing something on a painting.

There's no magic button, no secret combination of layer and channel effects. The majority of the stuff you see in the paintings here on sijun were painted in by hand. The rest of the neat little effects weren't just random button mashings; it takes a lot of experience and skill to understand how all the different settings come together to complete the image.

The long answer is, most people here use either Photoshop or Painter. There are, of course, other programs, too many to list here. Photoshop is the ubiquitous photo editing program known the world over. It has a perfectly capable brush engine, meaning that it can do nearly anything you want it to. Painter seeks to replicate natural media in a digital setting; its brush engine is far more nuanced and capable, and it's only getting better with each version.

The majority of the people on this forum use a Wacom graphic tablet. It's a wonderful little tool that adds several dimensions of functionality (pressure sensitivity, opacity control, tilt, again, too many to list) to the above programs that you simply can't get with the mouse.

But I'm giving you misleading information, or rather, information that is ultimately irrelevant. If a painting is a house, then Photoshop and a Wacom and your computer would be the nails, hammer and wood. These things alone, however, will not make a house. It requires a final ingredient, skill, to bring these materials together into the finished structure. Most of the people on this forum have been drawing with pen and paper far longer than they have owned a computer.

So, in short, don't waste your time and money unless you have a certain passion to draw. But, from the way you speak in your posts, it sounds like you do have a passion. So, here's what you do.

Download a demo of Painter 9. Try it out.

Find a friend or a relative with a Wacom. Try that out. (Some people do just fine without one.. the guy at www.machall.com, possibly the best drawn of all webcomics, does the entire strip with just a mouse.)

Most importantly: Draw a lot! Participate in the threads here on sijun, particularly sijun. Listen to critiques, give critiques to other artists. sijun isn't a gallery, it's a community.
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QED, sort of.

[Tzan]

Fantastic answer Impaler

I use Photoshop and Painter for 2D with a Wacom tablet.
and Lightwave for 3D, its made by Newtek.

[m0u53m4t]

Is lightwave free?

[B0b]

LOL no Lightwave isn't free

i use Photoshop | ImageReady / Freehand / Flash / InDesign / C1 / Softimage3D | Streamline | Suitcase

[Tzan]

Lightwave is around $800

I think Blender is free.
You could probably find others using Google.

[m0u53m4t]

My dad installed InDesign the other day but I have no idea what its for.

[B0b]

InDesign is for page layout of publications / brochures / flyers etc

[Ranath]

Is OpenCanvas free? Never tried it but I've seen some neat OC paintings..

ArtRage is free, also if you buy a wacom tablet, you might get some version of painter for free included. That's what I got anyways.


One thing you should not get is a 3D program, unless you absolutely want to be a modeller (and you have tons of time to learn the tricky programs). If it's anything else than that, you want to stay away of those things cos they cost approximately as much as a car, and you don't need it at all. Plus you might not have the patience to learn how to use it.

[Impaler]

Opencanvas3 costs around 60 bucks, depending on exchange rates with the yen. But I'm not sure it features online connectivity, which is where OC really shone. If you can, track down one of the 1.1 betas. Good luck with japanese, though.
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QED, sort of.

[Diruo]

Here's how you do it. Just do what he does.

http://media01.cgchannel.com/images/news/5130/cgchan.mov

[m0u53m4t]

very funny