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Merging Traditional with Digital


Shelley

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I've had a tablet for about a year now but I've been struggling with digital art ever since I got it. Watercolor, charcoal, and oil paints are where I feel most comfortable and I want to try to merge those techniques and the feel of my traditional work with digital painting.



I usually work very large and I have more of a loose style as opposed to a tight, ultra realistic look and it's really hard for me to get the feel of that on the computer.



I've seen some awesome digital artists on this forum so I'm looking to you for some pointers :P



I have an entry for the BC I'm working on and have a sketch for and I'm looking to color it in and and a background digitally. It's my version of Jean Honore Fragonard's "The Swing" with my faerie lenny :P (is it weird that I've assigned periods of art history to each of my pets?). any advice on how to go about coloring it in? Are there techniques I could use to give it the feel of a watercolor? Brushes I should download?




0012.jpg



All digital work will be done in Photoshop



Thanks in advance :)


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If you're looking for something specific like water color techniques you can do a google search of that and you should be able to find something. I use a small drawing tablet and photoshop as well. I usually zoom in and do one area at a time. Your sketch looks amazing! :D

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If you have photoshop it might be a good idea to look up some brush collections to download. I find most brushes are all about experimentation, and the standard photoshop should come with a watercolour brush option. Other than that, you could look up some digital watercolour tutorials, and definitely experiment with the brushes yourself to see if there's a technique you're particularly fond of, or good at. DeviantArt is a good place to look for tutorials, and there's a few brush collections on there as well.

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Thanks so much Dawn ^^

 

triadinfinity, I actually took your advice and downloaded some watercolor brushes I found off a google search. I experimented more with the wet media brushes that photoshop has to offer. Tomorrow I'm going to look up some tutorials and explore DeviantArt. I've honestly never really looked around that site much, but it seems like it has a lot to offer

 

I tried out some techniques and this is what I've gotten done so far...

 

00123.jpg

I haven't even colored all the parts in yet but I'm liking this new style!

 

The hair curl at the end of the nose looks out of place xD

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The hair curl at the end of the nose looks out of place xD

 

If you added a curl on the other side, to balance it out, it'd look like a mustache. lol Your original sketch and the in-progress coloration are both awesome looking! You've got a ton of talent!

 

Regarding DeviantArt, I don't know if you belong to any groups, but if you check some out, you might find a lot of like-minded people who can help. Heck, you MAY even find some neopets fangroups. lol It's possible. There really are a number of real talents there, too many to count IMHO.

 

I just recently got a small tablet to try, and it's frustrating me greatly. lol I really prefer going the traditional media route, and then scanning things in and doing the colors digitally in my 15 year old programs, with the mouse. XD Although this tablet will work in my old programs, which is pretty cool. ;) The most I can do so far with the tablet is write out my signature. lol

 

Best of luck with your entry and getting your "digital legs". XD (instead of sea-legs. lol)

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Shelley, your finished work is beautiful. It is a very,very successful piece. You did a great job meshing the two schools. I would love to vote for you in the beauty contest. Please be sure and inform us when it goes to competition. :laughingsmiley:

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I foresee a new avatar in your future... send me that BC link when you send it in! You might want to wait until they fix the broken images though. You want people to see your beautimous creation :P

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Shelley, your finished work is beautiful. It is a very,very successful piece. You did a great job meshing the two schools. I would love to vote for you in the beauty contest. Please be sure and inform us when it goes to competition. :laughingsmiley:

 

Thanks so much! :) I will make sure to notify this forum when I enter...everyone here has helped me out a lot with past contests ^_^

 

I foresee a new avatar in your future... send me that BC link when you send it in! You might want to wait until they fix the broken images though. You want people to see your beautimous creation :P

 

haha thanks best frand :D I think I'm going to enter after thanksgiving, when everyone is consumed with finals muahah. I hope they fix the image problem pronto :/

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i just have a very small remark .. i mean its so beautifully done , but the wisp of hair right infront of the beak kinda looks like a nose .. i had a hard time seeing it as a lenny and a lupe - the WB cartoon type wolf ...

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i just have a very small remark .. i mean its so beautifully done , but the wisp of hair right infront of the beak kinda looks like a nose .. i had a hard time seeing it as a lenny and a lupe - the WB cartoon type wolf ...

haha that's exactly what I saw!! xD I've already edited it out...well I just took out the last curl, and I'm working on defining the face more...so it won't look so much like Wile E. Coyote in a dress :whistle:

 

Thanks Angelo!

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