I'm new at art in general but I'm sketching some fanart and I was wondering how everybody colors their art. I tried using some regular old colored pencils but it came out crappy. DO you scan your pictures and color them on the computer or use pastels or good colored pencils? What are some tecniques that are helpful?

Thanks,
Jfish13

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I either draw by pencil w/o color. Or I draw it on the comp with photoshop and load it up with color; if I had a scanner, I'd color in what I draw on paper cuz I suck at drawing on the comp, but .... what can you do?

I'd say get Photoshop, a tablet & stylus, and a scanner. I use Photoshop CS.

Thanks for the psot,
yeah, i can't draw big stuff for beans on the computer. how do you get the art to have a textured look and not just a flat color? do you go pixel by pixel?I might ask for photoshop for Christmas or something. right now I'm using a program called GraphicsGale. it has transparency and layers,and you can save into a bunch of different formats, but it can't do effects. how much do tablets cost?

Lemme find something nice to demonstrate...

Photoshop has the layers and opacity. It also has several different styles of "brushes" you can chose from and several ways to chose colors. You can also change the brushes' sizes, opacity, and flow, and I think you can even create your own brushes, but I've never tried it before. It's loaded with all kinds of things I haven't explored yet, but there are filters (tons of filters) and the layers can have settings.

There are other programs that are better for having the artist look; Photoshop is just my fav out of what I have. I also have Corel Painter IX, and maybe I'd use it more, but I'm a little intimidated by it... It easily dwarfs Photoshop's brushes.

Ummm... I'll continue this later.

Well, for the one piece of fanart that I've done, I sketched it on a bit of paper while at uni one morning (before a lecture) and then came home and traced it onto the computer using a tablet, and then added colour afterwards. I use a WACOM tablet and stylus - and just the software that it came with - Procreator somethingorother.. can't remember it at the moment. I've done some other stuff with it, and its worked fine for me. Its actually quite fun. I would attempt other fan art, but I'm rather restricted to inanimate (well, normally inanimate) objects i.e. no people.

That piece of fanart became my avatar - which also went through a couple of fanart crossovers - PotO for those who remember it, and currently a Doctor Who one (I'm actually rather proud of the TARDIS in the backgrond - even when I look at the full sized pic).

Alla

I use a WACOM tablet and stylus too, and I also think the software with that was good (although I've got the Japanese software, so I'm not entirely sure if it's the same program). I don't know how much a WACOM tablet costs in other countries. I paid 11,000 yen. That's what, a little over US$100? But I got the larger size tablet, there is a smaller version too.
I drew the picture of S'reee which I posted in the W@W forum entirely with the tablet.

cool, thanks

Uh-oh, I must warn you Jfish, Space Cadet's calculations are a bit off--tablets, especially the larger Wacom models, are upwards of $300! Mine, a 6x8 inch one (medium-sized), was $290, I believe.

Just so you're forewarned!

I have the second smallest one, I think - it might be the smallest, and it was about AU$120, I think - it also depends where you get them from. I spent a day researching the one that I wanted - and then a day chasing around for the best price too...

Alida, are you sure you didn't get ripped off? I just did a currency conversion, and it turns out I calculated about right, in fact I OVERestimated a little. I paid US$100. Sure I got mine from the cheapest electronics store in the area, and I have seen the same model for 20,000yen elsewhere, but there isn't usually that much difference in prices between Japan and America is there? If there is, I'm not going on a shopping trip there, that's for sure.

Hiya,

I got a tablet recently (brand new) and it wasn't WACOM branded, but it only cost me £20 and works just fine!

Tux

I did some research and found out the Alida was right about the retail price in America.
<EDIT:the links not working>
BUt I looked at the Wacom asia site and though some of the tablets have the same name, the sizes and looks of the tablets are totally different. So maybe tablets are way cheaper in Japan? If they are you might as well buy from a Japanise(spelling?) website and save $100.
What kind was yours, Tux?

The thing is, the American dollar is really low right now, and also, it's true--Asian computer anything is a lot cheaper than the U.S variety, probably because the stuff is made in Asia. So, sorry to insult your math skills Space Cadet, I didn't mean it that way I just meant that it's very different in the U.S. So no, I didn't get ripped off, that's just the way it is over here

That's OK Alida. And I hope it didn't sound as if I was bragging about getting a cheaper tablet or anything. I was concerned for you. It IS easy to get ripped off with electronics.

An alternate idea to Jfish's. alla's tablet also looked to be very reasonably priced (AUS$120 = US$90), so if you don't think you would be able to navigate an Asian website, order from Australia. Either that or ask Tuxedo what brand tablet they got. 20 pounds? What a steal!

Thanks for the concern Space Cadet It's true, it's easy to get ripped off. But I'm very happy with my tablet and it was well worth the money.

Hm, I bet you could order from Australia, or New Zealand. That's a good idea, though the shipping and conversion rate may be high (again, the American dollar is pretty low).

ah... the problem with ordering it in from overseas might be a power conversion thing. Australia has different mains power - we have 240V at 10amps. I know that this affects the power supply to the computer and it may affect the tablet. I'm not entirely sure as to how, or if it really would, but just keep it in mind. I think that you'd be better off just hunting around for a good deal locally.

There's also the issue of if the warranty is still valid if you are residing overseas. I know that warranties for some electrical items are only valid in one country - ie the country that it was ordered/purchased from.

Yeah, you could be right,alla.
As for the shipping. We ordered my dog's medicine over the net. we paid cheap
shipping and got it in three days. It had an Austalian address. ?!?!? odd, cheaper and faster than from in the US. hmmm...

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The one I got was by UC-logic and was called 'superpen'. I got it at a local electronics store. I think it was on special offer, but I'll see if I can find it online!

Edit: And just for the record, I'm a she. LOL!

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