Up until about a week ago, all my digital art had to be made using a mouse and keyboard. It was clumsy, devalued my already bare-bones art skills, and was just plain uncomfortable to do. However, I recently got the Huion G10T drawing tablet as a birthday gift, and I haven't looked back since. If you didn't know, drawing tablets are tablets that come with a pen or stylus. You connect them to your computer, and it basically turns the pen into a mouse input- moving the pen around the surface of the tablet moves the mouse accordingly. Tapping the pen to the tablet simulates a mouse click. Where this otherwise cumbersome feature turns into a useful one is when you use it with a digital art program- such as Krita, or Photoshop- it makes digital art much, much easier. There are things like pressure sensitivity, which I believe most tablets worth their salt have, and hotkeys on the tablet itself, etc.
The Huion G10T has both of those, with I think ~1,700 levels of pressure sensitivity I think, and a small mousepad and hotkey-able buttons as well. I've been using it for a little bit now, and I love it. I haven't completed a full piece yet, but what I'm working on is coming along well, and there's a noticeable improvement to my other digital pieces already. Combining it with tools built into many art programs, like weighted brushes for instance, makes it that much easier to make professional-looking pieces of digital artwork. I put some of my older digital art below, right next to my first piece being made using this tablet, and I think that the improvement is noticeable already. I can't wait to keep using this great piece of hardware, and see where it takes me.
0 Comments
Recently in DDA II, we've been creating resumes and revamping our portfolios in an assignment where we apply for a job in the game design field. Part of this was creating some new pieces of art, showcasing our skills relevant to the career we applied for. I came to realize how important portfolios are when applying for a job, especially on in the game design field.
Some things that I changed is that I added an archived works page, to hold all my old pieces of art. It'll help show how I've advanced and grown throughout my high school career, and I think that it's a neat addition. In my research for this post, I came along some great tips for making a professional portfolio- things like only only including professional-level art that you want people to see, cutting away distractions, and making navigation clear and easy are what comes to mind first. I believe that my portfolio looks good, and works well as it is, but it's helpful to keep these tips in mind for the future. I've recently been getting into making art pieces more often, and of a higher quality. I've upped my standards, and while I still don't think I'm a great artist, I've definitely improved. I think that sketching and conceptualization of characters is my biggest strength so far, and I think that'll be a useful skill for this portfolio. All in all, a good portfolio has high-quality, relevant artwork, is easy to use and navigate, and should be simplistic, cutting away useless excess from the overall design. Summary - I have been creating a resume and cover letter for a class assignment - I have been working on revamping my portfolio with new art Sources “Is Your Online Art Portfolio Lacking? Get Advice, Inspiration from 7 Professionals.” Game Industry Career Guide, www.gameindustrycareerguide.com/building-artist-portfolio-site/. “Your Game Portfolio Is Your Greatest Asset.” GamesIndustry.biz, www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-04-30-your-game-portfolio-is-your-greatest-asset. New York Film Academy. “How To Create A Game Design Portfolio That Stands Out.” Student Resources, 30 May 2018, www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/how-to-create-a-game-design-portfolio-that-stands-out/. This year I'm heading into 10th grade, and I am taking DDA II. In DDA II, we'll be focusing solely on 3D work, as opposed to last year, where we did largely 2D work, with some 3D at the end of the year. I'm very excited for this- I love 3D animation, and I feel that, while it's harder to visualize concepts in 3D, it's a lot easier to make 3D pieces look better than 2D. What I mean by that is that 3D work is much easier to edit and tweak to make it look better overall. However, it can sometimes take a bit more work to make some simple 3D model than it does to just draw it out. That's why I did exclusively 2D pieces for my summer assignment- it's easier for me to visualize things in 2D than it is in 3D. This summer, I experimented with drawing in a sketchy sort of style. Overall, I think that there is a lot of room for improvement, but I like my pieces nonetheless. I like how a lot of the lines, while messy, kind of work well with accenting the folds of a cloth. One thing I need to work on is making individual details stand out, and making those accent lines work better on non-cloth areas- armor, etc. This style helps me focus on posing, something I've struggled with in the past, but I think I've improved on. I did use references for the posing, and I think it turned out well. Overall, the thing I'm excited for most is 3D animation. I think it'll be a lot easier, if a bit more complicated than 2D animation. I know a little bit about rigging and how 3D animation works, and I'm excited to learn more, as (As far as I know) it takes less time and work than most other forms of animation. But, overall, I have high hopes for this year. In Summary; - I am taking DDA II this year, where we'll be focusing solely on 3D work. - While it's easier for me to make overall better looking compositions in 3D, it's easier for me to conceptualize pieces in 2D. - In 2D artwork, I like how a more sketched-out style looks when compared to my simpler style that I have used in the past, and I hope to improve upon it as time goes by. - I am most excited for 3D animation this year.
Above, you can see the sketch/pose for one of my pieces. It's rough and simple, but as I'm just starting out, I think that's okay. My process of drawing goes like this: I think of a character design, involving something unique or special, setting that design apart from other pieces similar to it. In this case, the final piece will be fairly generic; but I usually try to think of something to set it apart from other's work. Next, I think of a pose that the character will be in. In this case, the character is at the ready- In the final piece, his arms and legs will be obscured by a cloak, giving him a mysterious and foreboding appearance, contrasting to his vaguely cartoonish face. Next, I draw in the final lines on a separate layer, to act as a guide for the rest of the piece. This is part where I also draw in the rough face- In this case, the character will have a large nose, and a massive, dwarvish beard, including an even bigger handlebar mustache.
Next, I color it in, and add some shading. This part is the easiest- I just put on some music, and stay in between the lines, which is a little bit harder than normal, since I'm using a mouse and keyboard. Shading is the part I like most. My preferred style is to draw in monochrome- I don't usually use much color. I'm not a very talented artist, and so I think that avoiding color (for now) makes my pieces look better. In summary: - I enjoy drawing characters and making up designs for them. - My process is pretty standard; I don't deviate too much from the normal drawing process. - My format is a little bit different from some, as I draw in different shades of one color. When you hear the word Photoshop, you think of photo editing, or maybe illustration and graphic design. And that's what Photoshop is used for. But lately, Photoshop has been criticized for its use in fashion. Everyone knows that fashion magazines present their models in an unrealistic way. The men and women modeling in those magazine are presented in a golden light. They look too perfect; there's no way that they can actually look like they do. And that's true; photos like that are doctored to make the models look ten times more handsome or beautiful. Usually, that wouldn't be a problem. They do that to insinuate that if you buy their product, then you will look like this person. And that's just marketing. Most people don't really pay attention to this. Most. Those supermodels and actors with perfect bodies and beautiful faces make some strive to achieve something that's impossible. Those people see those photos, unconsciously latch onto them, and don't let go. They want to be that perfect, that handsome, which is impossible. And yet, they still try. Some begin to dislike how they look, striving to reach that golden standard, but they never do. Self-hate creeps in, filling their minds and thoughts. It sometimes leads to eating disorders, depression, or many other mental sicknesses. These marketing strategies can, and have, ruined lives. Some blame the corporations that make these photos, others blame the software used. Photoshop's gotten a bad rap for being used by these companies. But is really to blame? I don't think so. You don't blame the gun for shooting someone; you blame the shooter. As a private company, Adobe (The makers of Photoshop), could limit who could and couldn't use their products, but would that really be fair? No, it wouldn't. In summary:
|
AuthorHi! I'm Thomas MacDougall, a sophomore at DSA. Here you can check out my thoughts and recent activities. Please note that the views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Durham School of the Arts or Durham Public Schools. Archives
March 2020
Categories
All
|