What is your Tablet PC Art-Work process ?

[TedRx]

Ok guys & gals,

Now that I finally have my Tablet, This is the question I'm dying for ya'll to answer...

What exactly is your Tablet PC Art-Work Process?

And did it radically change after you got your Tablet?

Example,
I was doing linework physically , and the coloring & lettering digitally before... But hopefully with the Tablet it will go All -Digital. And I am going from CMYK to RGB , doing it at 300 DPI.

And please Remember , the LONGER & more Detailed your answer , the Better!

Thanks...

[mr belding]

humm, in ps:
create a new layer,
sketch with big brush with low opacity no fethering on the brush ( that would slow processor down),
when happy with the rough sketch,
take the layer opacity down to 30%, just light enough to see it. Then create a new layer and tighten up on the next layer...
but ive seen Gnomon dudes use only one layer for incredible paintings.

[Peregrine]

If I'm drawing something in comic book format I start by making a template. Mine is 7.5" + 10.5" at 300 DPI. 1/4" in is a red line. 1/4" in from the red line is a black line. 1/4" in from there is a blue line. The blue line marks the edge of the safe area. The black line is where the page should eventually be cut. The red line -- well that's just extra work area incase I want to use any of the artwork for secondary application. If you're doing non-bleed pages, stay inside the blue line. If you want bleed pages (the art going to the edge of the page) draw to the outside red line.

Next I lay out the pannels of the page on a separate layer. Sometimes I work from thumbnails, but most of the time I don't.

After that I create a layer for the rough drawings. I use a small brush for this (3px), but that's just me. I do the lettering and sound effects as I go, but rough out every page of the story before going back to tie the drawing down.

When going over my roughs I've find it speeds things up if I resist the tempation to zoom in more than 50%. Save the detailed work for the inking process (assuming you're doing your own inking).

When the roughs are done, set the layer opacity to 30% (or so) and create a new layer for inking. I like to ink in two layers. The first one is a basic outline of the forms. I tend to use thicker brushes for f.g. elements (7px to 9px), and thiner brushes for the b.g.

When this first layer is done I duplicate it, than duplicate the pannel layer and merge them into a new layer that I call "matte". This layer spends most of its time invisible, but makes coloring and shading a lot easier. Using the magic wand tool (I work entirely in Photoshop, by the way) you can easily select and fill in (on separate layers) blacks and colors.

[TedRx]

Great Info Guys!

That is what I was wanting ....

Ok, Everyone else, It is your turn to add your process methods, and the more the better,

Thanks,

[rktech]

...hmmm...well it does depend upon the project, of course...

I'll take a photo of a remodel I'm working on, then capture that in Alias Sketchbook, then draw over the photo to play with changes...and/or I'll workup a 3D model in SketchUp, 'walk thru' the model until I find the angle I want to view, then import to Alias, and sketch/draw over the image from there.

OR...I'll work up sketches of images in Alias (when I should be taking notes or doing other things...lol...)

[TedRx]

Ok Gang ...

It has been a little while but I haven't given up on this thread, so to let all of you know that , I am posting this image (with major help from good ol' Billzilla) to give a glimpse into not only my work process, but also what I love about Alias Sketch Book Pro ...





the thing that I love about Sketch Book is that what you draw is what you get, versus the pixelation that I find in Photo , and the fact that I can easily work 'horizontally' or 'vertically' thru the strip as I want.
In this example, I did blue lines (red for dialog) for roughs on the whole strip, , then black inks in certain areas as I felt the mood strike, and in the last panel I was concerned about how finished character would look with glo-staff effect so I just worked it up to a final product before moving back to some other element.

With some strips, I may totally do a panel (not necessarily the first one) even before I rough out the rest, just however the mood or concerns strike me.

This is something that could not be done if I were not going 100% digital.

after I get my first 10 strips done on my tablet pc, I will post a detailled work process.

Please, if you have a work process that is working for you, do share it ... we could all learn something from it....

Thanks!

[bmhome1]

TedRx,

Please write out your thoughts here again, sometimes it helps clarify for you and we get the benefit of fresh, new thinking even non-artists can appreciate and apply to tablets.

I for one miss your enthusiasm and upbeat presence!

[TedRx]

Thanks for those kind words Bmhome1 !!!

But never fear, I haven't gone anywhere .. just spending time finally on USING the Tablet Pc for art-ing around.

However, no matter how much time I use in my own journey, I will continue to come back and Post my experince and quearies and discoveries ...

To that end, Hopefully in a couple of weeks I will be posting an indepth (perhaps too indepth) analysis of my process, so others can maybe learn and also give me advice on how I can do my own processes better.


My main goal is to get 10 full color daily strips under my belt before I could feel like I knew enough about my process to pass along a coherent big ol' post ....and as of yeatserday I finished strip #009 ... and at about a strip a week, I should be getting on compiling my indepth post very soon ...


BUT

PLEASE ANY TABLET PC ARTIST READING THIS ....

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO JOIN IN AND POST YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES !!!

Thanks,

[bmhome1]

Here there is no such thing as "too in depth." This is safe haven where more is celebrated and hipster one-liner attitude will never become entrenched. No one comes here for repartee, its all about information and the more the better.

Anyone bored reading posts with depth will never set precedence, they'll just move elsewhere. The true audience returns for those very reasons. The premier experts drop by knowing catty one sentence posts are the exception. Now, that's boring reading by any definition.

Few topics don't also include backround and history and details making answers components not winning races. Shogmaster cracked the XP stylus lag persisting 50 original posts prior. Nobody around here crapped on his odyssey with schoolyard dumber is cooler throughout his one-man chronicles. Try taking on one subject and repeatedly report about for a year anywhere else without snotty diversions.

One of these days I'll post a LONG thread about my field of expertise. Editing 16,000 photos this summer into this book:

http://www.rizzoliusa.com/catalog/di...=9788861303058

using tablets exclusively shuffling 1TB of data down to 800 then 120 finals 12x12 and 12x24 spreads for world-wide distribution gave great insights how and why Vista made the 200 hour project SO much smoother and easier to handle, yet workflow breakthroughs no one addresses.

I don't like to brag, but read the full bio text. Now you know who bm is. I was actually called a troll here recently attempting to share another tablet workflow refinement I find indispensable. When I say 100's of GB data file handling, I'm not some 13 year old making up stories in my parent's basement. I'm world renown in my field. If I feel like sharing, it'll be worth reading no matter how long. Answers are messy. Beware the one-liner's.

One can trace X-Men in ArtRage or shoot sunsets with a cellphone and STILL have new, good or original ideas to join in with. The buzz has never been elitist towards sharing. What many may know, will be news to others. Mission accomplished.

[TedRx]

:D

Thanks for the words of encouragement BMHome1. . .

I hope that everyone who Reads what you said takes the time in the next 4 to 6 weeks to Post an informative indepth break down of Thier work process for all of us to learn from.

Btw... that Book Looks Awesome.... great job!