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ZeroSlash [2011-03-31 04:30:55 +0000 UTC]

Hey long time no see!

I feel like giving some suggestions:
First off Photoshop comes with a variety of presets for brushes, I can't tell you exactly ofcourse which ones to pick but play with a few for a while. I like the Airbrush Pen Opacity Flow and the Hard Round 19x brush. Both of these are found in the standard brush preset in Photoshop. Aside that I got a few custom brushes but more of that down below.

Some things to take note of:
- Ofcourse when using a tablet, pen pressure sensitivity is always important, this is automatically switched on with most brushes except ofcourse the Hard Round ones you find near the top of the standard brushes list.
- Make use of your opacity and flow parameters, these are the ones at the top of the screen when you have your brush selected, a lower opacity means you can overlay more and more colors till you get that nice smoothness you're looking for.
- Eyedrop alot. The Eyedropper tool is most probably the handiest tool when painting, whether you pick a color already present in your piece or a color from your palette, this will be no doubt one of your most important tools of the trade.
- Always remember where the light's hitting your target, maybe you like blotching the dark areas in first, or maybe the light ones, or a mix of both! Get a feeling for this that you're comfortable with.
- When dealing with areas you have trouble painting, leave them alone and work on something else, or take a break, go outside. This will get rid of your ''artist block'' in no time.

If you have trouble controlling the pen that could mean you don't have the drivers installed for it i.e. when you go to the top left on your tablet then the cursor should go to the top left of the screen as well. Besides that I hate to say this, but it's all experience. Keep at it. When I started painting I used to get cramps in my hand so much just from holding the pen, which is strange because if I do it with a regular pencil on paper, I could go on for days. So when you get to that point, take a break as well.

When painting there's 1 rule I like to follow: avoid pure black/white at all costs. These two opposites make such a big contrast it makes everything bleh. Oh one final thing, when it comes to custom brushes there's no rule set in stone on what settings you should use, hence why you can't find a proper brush settings tutorial that works for everyone. So when you get to that point where you want to fiddle with settings, by all means try stuff out. And sooner or later you find something you like.

Sincerely,
Marc
(It's good to be back)

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PkingSora [2011-02-04 03:00:03 +0000 UTC]

@. @ i wouldnt know what to suggest..is this in sai? or another program?

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KDhynamo [2011-02-04 00:10:00 +0000 UTC]

It's all trial and error in my opinion, especially if you want to know certain exact settings like pressure sensitivity or hotkeys. This was a really cool tutorial I found a while ago that addresses the first time tablet user. I know you have been using a tablet for a while, but this still might help you out: :thumb189976186:

Also I must say that your drawing has improved tremendously since I had seen it last! ^_^

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ragegamer2 [2011-02-03 23:54:35 +0000 UTC]

For my Intuos4, I have the pen set to middle range sensitivity so that I still get some variation in line depth but not enough to make the lines "balloon". When it comes to Photoshop, it will depend on the canvas size for what your brush size will be. However, brush size can be altered easily using the [ and ] shortkeys to alter on the fly.

For a brush preset, make sure you have Shape Dynamics turned so that the Tablet will be making the line weight changes. Angle and Roundness Jitter you can generally ignore, they only affect the amount of "clicks" the stroke makes while you are drawing. However, if you ever find that your strokes seem to be getting more jagged because you are zooming across the page too fast, try bumping them up.

For the beginning, try selecting a brush that has a medium amount of Falloff, otherwise known as Feathering. You'll see them in the Presets as Brushes that have a certain amount of fuzziness to them, which is generally good to build form and shape while you start.

When you begin a sketch, a technique that Ian and I like to use is to turn down the Flow to about 25% or 50% (depends on how rough the sketch will be). Doing this will allow you to gradually build upon lines until a general form springs worth. Imagine it like lightly sketching with a pencil and that every stroke that passes over the previous adds to the overall opacity.

Speaking of Opacity, you could use the Opacity slider instead of the Flow slider to achieve the same effect. The only difference is that you cannot build upon lines during the same stroke because it is set at a permanent value.

For myself, I like to lineart with a combination of Pen Tool and Brush Strokes with a thick brush that has a low Falloff rate. You'll see this Brush Style in the Presets as a brush with almost no Feathering along the sides, making it crisp. You'll be using the Brush for the more organic components of the drawing, whereas the Pen Tool is better suited for the hard edges and rigged bodies (or really long lines, lol).

Personally, I like to switch a lot between Photoshop and Paint Tool SAI so that I can get specific effects and gradients in color and lineart. Paint Tool SAI I like in particular because the Pen Tool is more dynamic and user friendly, but I hear that Illustrator does something similar.

When it comes to the Pen Tool, I'm sure you can find a couple tutorials here on DeviantART that are probably more explanatory than what I can offer in a single post. Paint Tool SAI is also another program worth checking out for painted coloring and a user friendly vectoring system. Another helpful thing to do is to watch Riley-Cat's Youtube Videos, because Lord knows she helped me with my Paint Tool SAI issues when I had them!

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Greennite [2011-02-03 23:38:30 +0000 UTC]

You have come far, young fagawan.

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Gunzil [2011-02-03 23:36:40 +0000 UTC]

Holy crap this is awesome

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kristasketch [2011-02-03 23:21:12 +0000 UTC]

I'm assuming you are using Photoshop. And quite honestly, there are really no set specific brush setting, really. I suggest watching/looking at a buttload of tutorials on DA and Youtube.

One tip I can offer is turning on Flow and Opacity Jitter in Photoshop (make sure it's under Pen Pressure). That helps a lot. Cheers, and good luck!

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TangyPooch [2011-02-03 23:17:55 +0000 UTC]

Either way, I use SAI, and I'm not familiar with PS. For SAI, though, it could be some kind of pressure issue?
Above brush sizes, click the 'advanced settings' tab. Check 'des' and 'size' boxes, which should fix it. (:
Sorry, tat's all the help I can give! ;n;

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TangyPooch [2011-02-03 23:13:02 +0000 UTC]

Photoshop or SAI? (:

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Riley-Cat [2011-02-03 22:56:03 +0000 UTC]

What do you mean by pen settings?

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