What the Pros use to draw. Digital or Pen and Paper.

[Ace Corona]

Thanks for the response, Inkthinker.

[robozo]

It takes some time and practice to get used to the new tools, they feel different and they act differently, but they're entirely capable of performing the same tasks plus a multitude of others which have no equivalency in physical media. It's a little like magic.

And it's why more and more professionals have gone or will go to digital drawing. Not everyone. But quite a lot of us, and more every day, as the next generation learns to use these tools from the very start.

in this demo some of the things inkthinker talks about are being shown:

different layers, cage tool etc.

Painting Demo: Liche Priest - Part 6 (watch 0.55 sec. and 2 min. 55 sec )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AukR0...eature=related

it should be said that these tools are standard in todays grafic programs, even gimp freeware allows you to do all of this.

[robozo]

I know Phil Noto uses Manga Studio, and Bolland uses either Illustrator or Photoshop. Katsuya Terada is using either Painter or Photoshop.

good to know, thanks!!!

[Walril]

It should still be noted that its the technique not the tools that make the difference. Someone on this board had a cintiq and still didn't use it "right" because his skills were lacking. I used to (still do but not so much) get caught up with what the pro's use. Ive actually been finishing off my pencils with #2 (the old school yellow joints) because they provide dark lines.

[CyberLord]

Yes. Drawing functions in both programs (really in most every program) in similar ways. That kinda manipulation is one of the benefits of digital media. I'm guessing it's not even cut-n-paste, from the way the figures are being turned off and on, they're probably separated Layers. By drawing on Layers, each figures effective exists on a different plane, and can be affected without making changes to other planes. Everything can be flipped, rescaled, warped or manipulated in a dozen other ways.

Other things you see Mark doing there involve making changes without sacrificing previous iterations, which is something I love about digital... draw a hand, then think, "ahhh, but what if I want a different hand"... on paper, that usually means either erasing the old version, or pasting an overlay on top and hoping the edges don't show. Not even a problem digitally, where all things may exist simultaneously, in various Layers.

"This figure is too big," no problem. "This figure is facing the wrong way," no problem. "This guy's face looks off-kilter," no problem. "This guy's costume pattern is wrong," no problem, "this one's hair is too long/short/spiky/silky/curly/bald," noooo... well, you get the idea. You can fix just about ANYTHING, with enough time and technique.

It takes some time and practice to get used to the new tools, they feel different and they act differently, but they're entirely capable of performing the same tasks plus a multitude of others which have no equivalency in physical media. It's a little like magic.

And it's why more and more professionals have gone or will go to digital drawing. Not everyone. But quite a lot of us, and more every day, as the next generation learns to use these tools from the very start.

For people who feed the family with their art this is the way to go.
For people like me who draw because they must...I don't like it.
I have a page I have been struggling with for the past few weeks. It basically shows two adults in the foreground having a discussion while two children remain in the same position in the background. It is a static scene, except for the two adults. Initially I planned to draw the children in each panel, but laziness kicked in and after I drew the first panel I began to wonder if it would be better to just clone the children from the first panel and insert them in the subsequent panels using the computer.
Long story short, I have decided that I will avoid such trickery. As an artist it just feels better for me to draw those images in each panel by hand.
Now, I'm not a total dweeb. I will use a grid pattern to do this.

[robozo]

technik beats tools, thats for sure, but what about drawing on a plasticsurface, does one get used to it? i personally thouhgt it was terrible. and how about not being conectet to the line you draw, how do the cintiq users feel about this?

[Walril]

For people who feed the family with their art this is the way to go.
For people like me who draw because they must...I don't like it.
I have a page I have been struggling with for the past few weeks. It basically shows two adults in the foreground having a discussion while two children remain in the same position in the background. It is a static scene, except for the two adults. Initially I planned to draw the children in each panel, but laziness kicked in and after I drew the first panel I began to wonder if it would be better to just clone the children from the first panel and insert them in the subsequent panels using the computer.
Long story short, I have decided that I will avoid such trickery. As an artist it just feels better for me to draw those images in each panel by hand.
Now, I'm not a total dweeb. I will use a grid pattern to do this.

I did that for my Jessica Rabbit piece. Never again. Its a paint. Light boxes make it easier. I struggle with things like that. But I need to get my traditional skills up to snuff first then i can move digitally.

technik beats tools, thats for sure, but what about drawing on a plasticsurface, does one get used to it? i personally thouhgt it was terrible. and how about not being conectet to the line you draw, how do the cintiq users feel about this?

I feel this way about the Intous line. I don't think it would be a problem with the cintiq types though. I dont necessary feel the paper. My connection is looking at the pencil in contact. But since using an Intous 4, its become less and less of a obstacle. The biggest obstacle is the $$$$

[Inkthinker]

technik beats tools, thats for sure, but what about drawing on a plasticsurface, does one get used to it? i personally thouhgt it was terrible. and how about not being conectet to the line you draw, how do the cintiq users feel about this?

You get used to it over time. The tactile feedback is different, but that's true of any new tool. I wouldn't say I don't feel "connected" to the line, the line results from the movements I make with the pen, same as if it were drawn with a pencil.

[robozo]

You get used to it over time. The tactile feedback is different, but that's true of any new tool. I wouldn't say I don't feel "connected" to the line, the line results from the movements I make with the pen, same as if it were drawn with a pencil.

and if you concentrate, you can be very precise, right?