[weaselball2]

(prepare yourselves for a somewhat long and somewhat boring story, so don't tell me you havent been warned. Because you have)
I've always admired good art, but thought it was pretty far off to my computer/programming interests. Once again, the internet has proved me wrong.

I traced my way here through a somewhat random google image search for world war 2 helmets. I saw an interesting drawing, even though it had nothing to do with world war 2, so I clicked it(yes, I have ADD). I navigated the guy's site(he has some pretty nice work) and eventually got to his links section. From there I went to Craig Mullins web site. WOW, his drawing were simply amazing. I was so fascinated that I was up till 3 in the morning looking through his galleries. I thought that was the end of the ride, but I hammered the back button for a few minutes to get back to the links page just for kicks. From there I found this forum.

I have to say, the quality of most of the work here is incredible. I didn't know such places existed on the internet...I guess I never looked very hard. Here I am, its 3 am again the next night, and i've been busy for an hour or two looking through links I found on these forums.
This place has seriously kindled an interest in art for me that I hope will last me more than a few weeks. The horridness of my artistic abilities would probably astound you all, but im willing to give it another go becuase it's a talent i've always admired.

The true reason I didn't learn to draw before was that I got mad when I tried really hard and my drawings still looked like freaks of nature. Now that I know I can do them on the computer... The computer should make it a lot easier to undo mess ups, and send bad drawings to the abyss without someone seeing them. Like I said, im gonna give it another try.

excuse any rambling or sentances that don't make sense, im running on 7 hrs of sleep and its 3 in the morning

[Max]

Welcome buddy!
Nice story Yeah man, give it another try. It's worth it.
Just stay here and you will learn (nearly) everything you need to know about art!!

[weaselball2]

Im thinking of buying a tablet since drawing on the computer seems a lot cheaper (plus I get an undo button ). To draw i've got a program im sure you've all heard of, the GIMP. Its seems good enough, at least to get started.

As for the tablet, i've actually looked into them once before. I think ill get a Wacom, but I don't know what kind. I've got about $120 to spend on one, and im willing to get one on ebay if I hear that their condition is generally good. Which one should I get? New or ebay?

I was also wondering how all you guys got so good. Did you just draw a lot? Do classes help? Right now im pretty darn bad at drawing, so I need a place to start.
and suggestions would be helpful

[Impaler]

Get ArtRage. Painting with Gimp is like painting with Photoshop 5. There are better options out there.

As for the Wacom, do a quick search for "Wacom" in the Digital Art Discussion section. You'll find more pages on the subject than you'll ever want to read, and you'll also get a good feel for what the general consensus is on ideal size and price.
_________________
QED, sort of.

[weaselball2]

thanks man, didn't even know artrage existed. Thanks for the Wacom tip too, ill be checkin that out in a couple days when I get my next paycheck.