[ceenda]

Hi there.

Whenever I go to start a new picture, I load up Photoshop, start on a blank area, doodle for a bit, get frustrated and so forth.

This rarely happens when I am doing pencil work. Is it best to do sketches etc. on paper and then scan them into Photoshop?

Thing is, I've just finished reading "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and I am really wanting to do some illustrations based on the text but get frustrated early on.

Here is one of the sketches I started based on "The Poulps".

[Haarg2]

Hi...

Not sure if it's particularly helpful or just a chance to let myself ramble again, but...

I find when trying to illustrate something from a book to write down along the side of your sheet of paper a little list of keypoints, descriptive snippets from the text, so you have something to look at if you begin to feel your ideas running out helps...

Other thing I find helps inspirationally is picking yourself a little soundtrack to work to, say NIN or Dust Brothers if you're aiming a little industrial or S Club 7 if you want something **REALLY** horrifying...

--H2

P.S. I am not responsible for any mental/aural anguish you might inflict upon yourself with dodgy manufactured pop...

[ceenda]

Thanks for the info. :-)

It's funny you mention that as I usually listen to Chemical Brothers (Surrender, Dig your own hole).

[at this point ceenda shows his blatant lack of music knowledge]
I can't remember whether it was Dust Brothers or Freestyle Dust that became the Chemical Brothers.

Though for the 20,000 Leagues stuff I found that Bach was particularly effective as one can imagine Captain Nemo on his grand organ trying to play away his sorrow.

[This message has been edited by ceenda (edited July 08, 2000).]

[Bare Bonez]

Hello,

I find it a lot easier to draw things out on paper first. Something that helps me, is that I try to invision the final product in my head in a 3D space. Then kind of move it around till there's a cool perspective or something like that. After that, I'll sketch out stick figures that represent what I want to draw.

As for things of inspiration? I find that Orbital really helps.

By the way, your picture of the poulps is really great. I like the rendering of it. I'm just starting out on this whole computer media, I was wondering how do you get such smooth transitions from one color to another? Do you use a gradient tool or is it the blend tool?

Thanks

-Bonez

[ceenda]

Bare Bonez - Thanks for the complement!

For the gradient I kept using an airbrush with ~20% opacity again and again.

I might try doing a basic scene in a 3D package just to get the perspctive sorted out. I suppose the main frustration is embarking on something only to find out that the perspective is all wrong.

[ceenda]

Thanks Jabberwocky.

That's the kind of atmosphere I'm aiming for. The deep dark depths of the oceans.

BTW - here's another sketch, this time of Captain Nemo.

[Jabberwocky]

Dude I like the pic as is... really. It's cool how you have them coming out of hte darkness of earths final unknown place...

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