Some Advice From The Kittybirg

KFelidae · Still very bored Joined: 19 May 2004 Posts: 295

Random bits of art advice.

- Don't be afraid to use reference.

- The best "thank you" you can give someone is to reply to their pics.

- There are many different types of pencils. Try to keep one of each.

- If you simply can't finish a drawing, put it away, don't throw it away.

- The less computer manipulation you do to a picture, the better.

- If you plan to scan a picture, sketch it out in blue, and finish it in black. The blue won't scan.

- A regular person is about 5 heads high.

- Give good reviews. It's near an insult to just put one word.

- Not every character is perfect. Flaws give personality.

- On a human, hands are never larger than their head.

- Save your old drawings and sketches. They help you see where you need to improve, and may give you ideas for pics later on.

- When drawing wings, remember that they are another limb, not simply pasted on.

- Never ink in Sharpie pen.

- Tails always start at the base of the spine, not out the character's back.

- Anatomy books are your friend.

- Always explore different ways to do your art.

- Don't limit yourself to people. Try drawing a tree, a car, a lightpole.

- Listen to the advice you're given, even if you don't like it. Others may see things you do not.

-KF

Lexar · Forum Stalker Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 1129

[quote] A regular person is about 5 heads high.[/quote]

I thought it was (including the head) 7 heads.

Stratadrake · Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 7:05 pm Post subject:

[quote]- The less computer manipulation you do to a picture, the better.[/quote]

I must admit I'm not too fond of Photoshop as a secondary medium.

[quote]- When drawing wings, remember that they are another limb, not simply pasted on.[/quote]

A little peeve of mine in regards to simplistic wings. I could probably do a tutorial on the subject.
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DG-sama · Moderator Joined: 31 Dec 1969 Posts: 2294

[quote]- Never ink in Sharpie pen.[/quote]

I've been trying to get my friend to stop doing this for a long time now . . . .

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DarkDragoonRose · Very bored Joined: 07 Jun 2004 Posts: 180

you NEVER draw in pen!!!!!!!

BAMFManiac · Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 12:31 pm Post subject:

thanks, k, great advice! i never thought about that sketching in blue pencil thing... that would be very useful, actually...
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DarkDragoonRose · Very bored Joined: 07 Jun 2004 Posts: 180

^_^ You ALWAYS draw with a SHARP pencil w/ a good eracer. Always draw on good clean, new sheet of paper.

Stratadrake · Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 6:04 pm Post subject:

Always start out drawing lightly. Dull pencils can actually be better for [i]starting[/i] the sketch because they put less pressure on the paper, and thus are easier to erase. Of course, when you start doing the fine details and final lines, you'll want a sharp one for the nice dark tones.
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Lexar · Forum Stalker Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 1129

If you want to scan you will have to draw with some type of pen. Pencil will have too much quality loss. But if you think you can't handle it because every mistake is fatal to a picture when you use a pen, don't do it. Only when you are confident enough.

DarkDragoonRose · Very bored Joined: 07 Jun 2004 Posts: 180

I'm confident! I use pens! I dont advise beginners to use pen! I've been drawing Manga for 8 years and im 14! i've been drawing for a long time!

Peace!

Stratadrake · Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 10:53 pm Post subject:

Strange... I've had no problems scanning in my pencil images. Much of it depends on the exposure settings, my scanner defaults too brightly, so I adjust them to scan it in darker.
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KFelidae · Still very bored Joined: 19 May 2004 Posts: 295

Quality loss comes back to the type of pencil you're using, and the type of paper. Finely grained paper with a deep black pencil will lose less quality than a widely grained paper with a soft gray pencil. Poor quality colour pencils are most at risk for quality loss. Try to use Prismas if at all possible.

As far as good erasers go, Stadtlers (spelling?) are very good and fairly cheap. 25 American cents last time I checked. I've had mine for at least 6 years and it's still about an inch long. The good thing about them is that they erase most dark lines without smearing. And, if you work at the image, they can even take off a stray ink mark without stripping the paper.

And you really don't need to fear using pens. As long as you plan to scan in black and white, use white out. The white out tape is a better deal, as you can draw over it again without it showing through.

-KF

DarkDragoonRose · Very bored Joined: 07 Jun 2004 Posts: 180

WOW.... AMAZING..... WE DIDNT SPAM THIS PLACE LAST NIGHT....OK! MMEEOOWW! MY COMP. IS BUSTED! I CANT HOOK THE SCANNER TO THE LAPTOP! MEOW.... Razz

Stratadrake · Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 12:22 pm Post subject:

[quote]Poor quality colour pencils are most at risk for quality loss. Try to use Prismas if at all possible.[/quote]
I have a set of Prismas, but I haven't finished burning through my Crayolas yet B)

I'm not picky about the type of paper, I use whatever I can get my hands on. As for pencils, I use a 0.7mm mechanical pencil (Pentel) and a mechanical eraser. I got some 0.5mm's awhile back but I can't remember where I put them down at....

However, if you're like me and use whatever paper's available, make absolutely sure that the paper is almost totally blank on its back side.

For example, back in 2000 I drew this sketch on the back of an old class report, and my scanner did a [b]horribly[/b] effective job of picking up what was on the backside. Of course, it sure didn't help matters any that the I didn't give it much contrast to begin with (it isn't inked, I just tweaked the exposure settings to increase the contrast at scan time). I think I've spent more time in photoshop cleaning it up than I did back when I drew it in the first place!
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KFelidae · Still very bored Joined: 19 May 2004 Posts: 295

Then I suppose that depends on the scanner. Try scanning at the softest setting possible, grayscale, then making it darker post-scan. In PSP, you can do this with the "Erode" button. I'm not sure about other progs.

-KF

Stratadrake · Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 12:08 am Post subject:

It wouldn't have been a problem if I had penciled the image in darker [i]before[/i] scanning it in, because both the backside and the drawing were scanned in as the same shades of gray. As it was, with the programs I have (no Adobe), I did the editing manually:
http://www.fanart-central.net/pictures.php?pid=88924
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Gameglitch · Very bored Joined: 09 Jun 2004 Posts: 211

Hey has anybody had this problem with there scanner..? Where you do a preveiw scan and the picture is pink! But it only happens rarely and it is fixed when you play with the usb cord. But just wondering on this....?

Stratadrake · Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 12:04 pm Post subject:

I've seen it happen only twice on my HP scanner. It seemed to occur if I'm multi-tasking many programs at once while trying to scan something in.
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KFelidae · Still very bored Joined: 19 May 2004 Posts: 295

This has happened to me before, but in varrying degrees of green. It may have to do with the lamp, or the USB cord (as has been said). We've never really been able to fix it.

-KF