Absolute Complete Utter Beginner
fantasycreative | 03/08/2008 @005 | edit post

Hey Guys, I've always had a keen eye for art and really enjoy being creative. I'm a website and graphic designer by trade but I want more. I need to immerse myself in a world of creativity that has no boundaries and I'm dead certain that digital art and painting is the way forward. I was bought a Wacom tablet as a gift not too long ago and I've recently installed it and had a little play around in Photoshop, but I'm no picasso. I have a few questions and would really appreciate any help and guidance; Where should I start? Treat me like a complete beginner to art / computer art What should I practise over and over again? Is there any specific software I need? Are there any activities I can do to fast-track my skills? Thanks way in advance Ciao!

Re: Absolute Complete Utter Beginner
liiga | 03/08/2008 @122 | edit post

There's no shortcut to super amazing painterly skillz (TM). The best way to learn is to observe the world around you and practice a lot. The tutorial section has a lot of nice advice. Also check out http://www.itchstudios.com/psg/art_tut.htm for advice on a broad range of topics, and http://www.fineart.sk/index.php?cat=1 for stuff like figure drawing.

Re: Absolute Complete Utter Beginner
Fiox | 04/03/2008 @849 | edit post

If you find the wacom tablet too slippery, and you have a bamboo one (and too chead to buy new tips put a slice of paper over it, not only protecting the sceen but also adding grip.

Re: Absolute Complete Utter Beginner
SandraS | 04/04/2008 @958 | edit post

Hello Anthony, I wanted to show you a thread on conceptarg.org, but unfortunately I couldn't find it. It was made of a man that decided he wanted to start doing art, but he had almost no skills at all when it came to drawing... the thread was made during a few years, and at the end he was doing super realistic good oil paintings of whatever he liked. It was a very good thread. Maybe some other here remember this thread? Anyway, from what I remember, this man began doing sketches every single day. At first he started doing self portraits. Many, many selfportraits, and he posted them on the net even if they was shamefully bad - like a kid drawing. He studied shapes. Like cubes, balls, etc. Then he started drawing them in different perspectives, with different light. At first they was bad too, but as he kept drawing and drawing, reading books, getting feedback in forums, they eventually started to look good. When he sat on the bus, he took out his sketchbook and drew what he saw. Maybe it was an arm, a leg, someones face and so on. Then after a lot of sketching, I believe he started doing colorstudies too. The point is, that he sketched A LOT. Often he sketched many things over and over again until he got it right. If you dont have any experience with art and drawing before, then I recommend you to just start sketching whatever you see. To be a good artist, you need to have a super trained eye - that can catch up every detail, shadow and colorgradient. It doesn't really matter what you draw at first, but it should be from real life or photos. Then, or meanwhile, start practising shapes. You will find shapes in everything, so they are very important. Figure out how they cast shadows and reflect light, and how they look from different angles. Start practising anatomy. How long is an arm compared to the body? What muscles tenses when the body move in this or that position? Start practising perspective, and start practising colors. Like... what kind of color does the skin get when the person is in moonlight? Or, which colors should I mix to get that special color? What color do the shadows get when the light is yellow? This is what I think are the most important things you should start studying. When it comes to activities you can do to get fasten your skills, it's hard to say. You can promise yourself to do at least one serious sketch every day, or do a color/shape study every day. You can study a book. Loomis is very good when it comes to anatomy. Post your sketches and artworks in forums and get feedback. Sometimes other people can notice things you haven't thought about yet. Myself need to practise light and colors very much. To do a quick study of light, I often pick a black and white photo, and I try to recreate the neat light and shadows I can see, and I screw the anatomy proportions. Sort of. Seeing things in black and white makes it much easier to see where the light and shadows are. Phew - ok I think I will stop writing cause I could really go on forever. ..and you don't want me to do that. Anyway, I hope it was helpful somehow.

Re: Absolute Complete Utter Beginner
pyrokid | 04/07/2008 @908 | edit post

I was a beginner(and probably still am). Like a couple of months ago. Just doodle to your hearts conetent and try to see everything in simplified forms and try to render(with shading, colour can come in later) anything interesting you see.