EvilChihuahua-about working with your computer tablet

EvilChihuahua · Post by **EvilChihuahua** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 7:52 am

Swikan wrote:I would also like to ask.. do you do a "skeleton" drawing on the pad first?

If you mean drawing the basic framework of each character, yes. I can't do a thing without them. When I was a kid, I thought I did'nt need them, but once I started using them, my drawing improved markedly.

RemusShepherd · Post by **RemusShepherd** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 8:00 am

I do everything on my 4x5" Wacom Intuos1, circa 1997. I really need to get a tablet upgrade...

And yes, I draw a construction underdrawing in blue first, then the rest of the figure in a layer above. This is in Photoshop.

Corgan_dane · Post by **Corgan_dane** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 3:35 pm

I don't do the skeletons drawings. They just mess me up.

Also, I don't always necessarily draw from a certain point, and I know a lot of artists do that...

Boogiebop · Post by **Boogiebop** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 5:13 pm

I tried some drawings on paper earlier today, I actually kept my hand hovering over the ctrl/z keys on my keyboard all the while. It was freaky.

Caduceus · Post by **Caduceus** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 7:10 pm

Do you find that using ctrl-z while sketching is frustrating? I tend to only use the ctrl-z thing if I am foolishly trying to ink on the computer.

Twotimingpete · Post by **Twotimingpete** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 4:08 am

cad: not control Z, I map that control Z function to the button that's on the pen itself so it's really intuitive.

Swikan wrote: I would eventually like to do everything on the tablet like you cartoonists above. I am still at the stage where I catch myself glancing down at the pad rather than the screen and startling myself that there's nothing there.

Takes practice, you'll get used to looking at the screen. It's worth it to be able to sketch on the screen. I'm too lazy for paper and pencils and erasors and bleeehhhhhhh. Lose your erasor, sharpen your pencil, oops the tip broke, oops gjkadaad.

Swikan wrote: Twotiming: Do you have any particular pencil/brush settings in photoshop other than "medium" pressure?

For most sketching I just use the default brush preset 100% flow and hardnes and everything normal. Nothing fancy.

I'll generally sketch in a dark yellowish color, for some reason it feels much more natural than sketching in black (for me anyway).

My first sketch will usually look about like these below. Do I ink over it? Sometimes. It depends. If the sketch is pretty solid and the character in the panel doesn't have to be very large on the page, sometimes I'll just clean up the lines pretty well and run it. Digital medium is a progressive medium, we don't need to necessarily hold onto such a categorized way of drawings as "pencils" then "ink" and so forth.. Digital is flexible. If your sketch is pretty good you can to over it up close, zoomed in, and correct the imperfections and take away the slops and then you have yourself a pretty good ink.

Also, speaking for myself, sometimes I find some of the "energy" or original intent -- or x-factor -- is lost when inking. Maybe I'm just a sucky inker though.

This "master" of a panel from Tarlickers, below, is pretty polished as far as my own work goes and it didn't have any "inking" process to it in a traditional sense. I just sketched it then fixed up the lines with the brush and eraser.

http://www.tarlickers.com/concepts/collectorrobot.jpg

Also, if you have a problem with simply sitting down and sketching and making something look good, it doesn't mean you're any different or that you aren't any good. For me, sketching is usually a pretty frustrating/exhaustive process in that it can take quite a while to get something to look right, if I even can at all. I'd say about 25% of the time do I sit down and have something where the shapes look pretty "on target" within the first 30 minutes. Often it takes hours and it's pretty mentally tiring (for me, anyway). I will my images into existence and I think most people can do the same thing if they put their mind to it.

Swikan · Post by **Swikan** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 5:08 am

Well, I sat down last night and tried to sketch on the pad. I think I got over the hump of looking at the pad vs. the screen, tho. YAY!

My sketch technique on paper = skeleton, guidelines, then the feather-stroke buildup of what I want the character to look like.

I think one of the problems I am having is that there is no resistance when usuing the stylus on the pad.. that is, the feel of the pencil against the "tooth" of my drawing paper. I think that is the next obstacle to be overcome before it becomes intuitive for me to sketch using the pad.

For those of you that use photoshop, I use quick, short strokes when sketching (the 'feathering' style). Using either the mouse of the stylus, the pencil tool doesn't "flow".. (even though I have flow set at 100%). That is, when I make a quick stroke with the pencil tool, it "dots" rather tha make a line. Is there a setting to overcome this? It is especially noticeable with the stylus/pad.

Swikan · Post by **Swikan** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 5:10 am

P.s.

For me, sketching is usually a pretty frustrating/exhaustive process in that it can take quite a while to get something to look right,

That is a very comforting statement. Your stuff looks marvelous.

RemusShepherd · Post by **RemusShepherd** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 5:38 am

Swikan wrote:For those of you that use photoshop, I use quick, short strokes when sketching (the 'feathering' style). Using either the mouse of the stylus, the pencil tool doesn't "flow".. (even though I have flow set at 100%). That is, when I make a quick stroke with the pencil tool, it "dots" rather tha make a line. Is there a setting to overcome this? It is expecially noticeable with the stylus/pad.

The pencil tool? Use the brush tool. I don't know why you're seeing that behavior with the pencil, but I never have those problems with the brush.

You can also go to Brush Settings, and under Brush Tip Shape you'll see Spacing. Setting that smaller (I think it defaults to 25%) eliminates dotting. There's also a 'Smoothing' checkbox that might help.

Swikan · Post by **Swikan** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 5:43 am

*furiously takes notes* I hope others are as appreciative of the info in this thread as I am.

My comic will never be "artistic" (it is newspaper strip style), I am striving for "consistent" and "speedy"

. But I would like to be ABLE to do an artistic comic one day.

Swikan · Post by **Swikan** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 11:15 am

I can't tell you all how much absorbing your tips and seeing your work has encouraged me. Today I sat down determined to do ONE image from start to finish on my electric tablet. And I did it! YAY ME!

I found it worked better for me when I zoomed in closer than I normally work to make the most of my pad area.. Here is the picture I made. Not artistic, but definitely cartoony and usable for my little strip.

Twotimingpete · Post by **Twotimingpete** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 3:35 pm

not half bad! are you using photoshop? if that's the case hten I'm curious why there appears to be no antialiasing on the linework.. looks blocky. you using the pencil tool or the pen tool?

TheBladeRoden · Post by **TheBladeRoden** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 3:57 pm

I have a tablet, but the pen for it is so awkwardly thick. Time for a replacement methinks.

Swikan · Post by **Swikan** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 4:19 pm

Yes, I am using photoshop "CS" if that means anything to you. Unfortunately, I work it by trial and error more than knowledge (much how I do everything else on the computer, it seems). I will look to see if anything that says "anti alias" is turned off. (The blocky-ness goes in and out.. I was trying to figure out how to stop that "dotting" problem I mentioned above, so I must have turned off the anti-aliasing)

Oh and that's the pencil tool I used there.

Twotimingpete · Post by **Twotimingpete** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 6:42 pm

I'd suggest using the brush tool as opposed to the pencil tool.

EvilChihuahua · Post by **EvilChihuahua** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 8:37 am

twotimingpete wrote:I'd suggest using the brush tool as opposed to the pencil tool.

*nods head* Brush tool's the way to go.