Maggie Taylor is a contemporary artist who creates photo based digital collages. Her work is whimsical and occasionally bizarre. When I show my students her work when presenting a digital collage project, many students are intrigued by her work and her working methodology. So, I have compiled a list of relevant links and resources.
First, you can visit her website at MaggieTaylor.com to see a large selection of her work. You can download a really great PDF detailing her thought process and technique in creating an image from Creative Pro. That article is based on an excerpt from her book Maggie Taylor's Landscape of Dreams. It is this is a great source of inspiration. It walks you through her process of making images. It was written in 2005, so there are some newer tools/techniques that aren't addressed in the book, but the real value of the book is her insight into her creative process. The book is available to read online in its entirety via UT's online library. Here is a link to Adobe Photoshop Master Class: Maggie Taylor's Landscape of Dreams at the library. If you are off campus, you will have to log into the library using your name and R#. If you are on campus, you don't have to log in.
I would like you read pages 64-100 (don't worry, most of it is pictures).
Nice PDF from Adobe about Maggie Taylor's working methodology and use of scanners.
Here is a link to little story about her for an art show.
Short little write up on her work.
An interview with Maggie Taylor about her working methods.
Tip on creating texture.
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Digital Graphics Tablets
Many people find it preferable to use a pressure sensitive digital graphics tablet such as those made by Wacom and others. Here is a nice little write up on 10 good graphics tablets. If you have never used one, then you should really try them. There are a number of different settings that you can link to the pressure of the stylus, but most people have it set up such that the harder you press the stylus onto the tablet, the larger brush and the more paint that gets applied. If you think you would like to buy one, I suggest that you buy a cheap one to start out with. Somewhere in the $60 or less range. Then, if you really like it, you can always get a bigger one. There is a bit of a learning curve when first getting used to get, but once you get the hang of it they are really great and intuitive.
Digital Painting Assignment and Resources
You are to have a poem to present to me by April 13/14.
Sketch or painting in process by April 18/19.
Due : Final critique will be held during our final exam session. If you fail to attend that class, you will receive a zero for this Assignment.
M/W section: 12:30-2:30, Thursday May 5
T/R section: 5:00-7:00, Tuesday May 3
Why digital painting? Digital painting allows you to create works in the same expressive way that painting does. I am not suggesting they are the same; however, I would encourage you to give it a try whether you are new to painting or are very proficient in the medium. One of the advantage of digital painting is the low (often free) price of entry. As long as you have a computer, you can use one of many free painting applications. In my experience, digital painting has encouraged many people to explore traditional painting.
There has also been a recent explosion of digital painting using handheld devices such as iPhones/iPod Touches and Nintendo DS gaming systems. Recently The New Yorker magazine has featured several illustrations painted using an iPhone on its cover. I have numerous links to this below.
For your final project, you will create a digital painting inspired by a poem. Begin by selecting a poem. Song lyrics do not count. It can be poem that you wrote. You will have to read the poem to the class during the critique of your image. I want you to select a poem for which there are no existing visuals. I want you to create fresh visuals inspired by the poem.
The resulting image should be approximately 16x 20" at 300ppi. You can use any program that you want to. Below is lots of information on the many digital painting applications which are available. I will demonstrate some of them in class. Feel free to you any of the applications which I have listed. I do not want you to use Photoshop for this assignment. While there are many people who do use PS for digital painting, I want you try something new.
Corel Painter is the granddaddy of digital painting applications. It is by far the most powerful and feature rich. It is a true natural media application which is to say that it mimics how the media actually work. You can think of it as a painting simulator is you want. The software mimics the physics of each medium differently. Painting with watercolors is much different from painting with oil paints or acrylics. Plus, the colors of the paints blend in the same manner that real paint does. This in not true of Photoshop. Photoshop is often used for digital painting, but it is not a natural media application. Colors don't blend as real paints do nor do the colors have any of the qualities of natural media.
Painter is available for only $99 to students and faculty. Otherwise it is $399.
Here is a list of links to commercial (cost involved) and free natural media/painting programs that I have compiled over the years. Also included are a number of links to tutorials and related materials. I will try to sort them better as time allows. Have fun!
My Paint- available for Linux and PC
Artweaver- Windows only- supports graphic tablets. Seems very similar to Painter
New Yorker article about Jorge's cover illustration featuring a video showing the process of the painting
LA Times photo essay on Ed Velandria who uses ArtRage and a tablet PC to paint quick portraits while riding the subway. LA Times also wrote an article about him and others who sketch while on the subway.
**BEST APP FOR DROID DEVICES** AutoDesk SketchBook Mobile is the best drawing/painting app for Droid devices; it is also one of the best for iOS devices. You can find links to download it for the Droid and the iPhone from that site. Here is an article on it with some good links. One of the coolest features about it is that you can export layered PSD files that you can continue to work with in Photoshop and other image editing applications. The resolution of the final images isn't great, maxing out at around 1400 x 600 pixels, but you can still easily make a really nice 8x10 from it and can push it even larger if necessary/desired. Plus, it is only $0.99!
Corel tutorials on the use of Painter
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1171405215200
http://www.ehow.com/how_4691734_paint-brown-eyes-photoshop.html
How to paint an eye - involved, but very nice results
http://graphixworld.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/how-to-paint-a-human-eye-tutorial/
Some nice realistic brushes for Photoshop
http://doodle-lee-doo.deviantart.com/art/Real-Brush-Strokes-Set-122699209
How to paint a realistic eye
http://www.artsquared.co.uk/blog/2009/05/how-to-draw-a-realistic-eye/
Conceptart.org - some nice digital paintings here
More tutorials
Downloadable Training Movies (correct link this time) - good content and good production quality
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1170190221936
Super Awesome online color wheel-you can use it to create your color scheme
http://kuler.adobe.com/
Color Harmony- good examples, includes many related linkshttp://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/color-harmony/
Divine Proportion/Golden Ration/Phi information- The Abstract Painter Piet Mondrian was said to have made use of the Golden Ration
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio
http://www.markboulton.co.uk/articles/detail/design_and_the_divine_proportion/
http://goldennumber.net/
http://blogs.princeton.edu/graphicarts/2008/05/divine_proportion.html
http://avid.blogs.com/concept_to_creation/2007/05/divine_proporti.html
Digital Graphics Tablets
Many people find it preferable to use a pressure sensitive digital graphics tablet such as those made by Wacom and others. Here is a nice little write up on 10 good graphics tablets. If you have never used one, then you should really try them. There are a number of different settings that you can link to the pressure of the stylus, but most people have it set up such that the harder you press the stylus onto the tablet, the larger brush and the more paint that gets applied. If you think you would like to buy one, I suggest that you buy a cheap one to start out with. Somewhere in the $60 or less range. Then, if you really like it, you can always get a bigger one. There is a bit of a learning curve when first getting used to get, but once you get the hang of it they are really great and intuitive.
There has also been a recent explosion of digital painting using handheld devices such as iPhones/iPod Touches and Nintendo DS gaming systems. Recently The New Yorker magazine has featured several illustrations painted using an iPhone on its cover. I have numerous links to this below.
For your final project, you will create a digital painting inspired by a poem. Begin by selecting a poem. Song lyrics do not count. It can be poem that you wrote. You will have to read the poem to the class during the critique of your image. I want you to select a poem for which there are no existing visuals. I want you to create fresh visuals inspired by the poem.
The resulting image should be approximately 16x 20" at 300ppi. You can use any program that you want to. Below is lots of information on the many digital painting applications which are available. I will demonstrate some of them in class. Feel free to you any of the applications which I have listed. I do not want you to use Photoshop for this assignment. While there are many people who do use PS for digital painting, I want you try something new.
Corel Painter is the granddaddy of digital painting applications. It is by far the most powerful and feature rich. It is a true natural media application which is to say that it mimics how the media actually work. You can think of it as a painting simulator is you want. The software mimics the physics of each medium differently. Painting with watercolors is much different from painting with oil paints or acrylics. Plus, the colors of the paints blend in the same manner that real paint does. This in not true of Photoshop. Photoshop is often used for digital painting, but it is not a natural media application. Colors don't blend as real paints do nor do the colors have any of the qualities of natural media.
Painter is available for only $99 to students and faculty. Otherwise it is $399.
Here is a list of links to commercial (cost involved) and free natural media/painting programs that I have compiled over the years. Also included are a number of links to tutorials and related materials. I will try to sort them better as time allows. Have fun!
Commercial NATURAL MEDIA/PAINT applications
Corel Painter 11- THE NATURAL MEDIA/PAINT APPLICATION
AutoDesk Sketch Book Pro
AutoDesk Sketch Book Mobile-for iPod touch and iPhone
Studio Artist 3.5 - Mac only -has some crazy autographing features
Corel Painter Essentials 4 - simplified/limited version of Painter
Free NATURAL MEDIA/PAINT applicationsCorel Painter 11- THE NATURAL MEDIA/PAINT APPLICATION
AutoDesk Sketch Book Pro
AutoDesk Sketch Book Mobile-for iPod touch and iPhone
Studio Artist 3.5 - Mac only -has some crazy autographing features
Corel Painter Essentials 4 - simplified/limited version of Painter
My Paint- available for Linux and PC
Artweaver- Windows only- supports graphic tablets. Seems very similar to Painter
Art Rage 2.5 Starter Edition - very intuitive. A more featured version is available for a reasonable cost. Most students have completed this assignment using this free version of Art Rage. It is installed on all the computers in the lab. There are two big drawbacks to the free version. One is that layers aren't supported. Everything is painted on the same layer. Also, you can't modify the size of the canvas once you start painting. Thus, it is very important to create a 16x 20 inch (or there about) canvas at 300ppi.
Pixarra Twisted Brush- Windows only - Free and
Krita-simple paint program available for Linux, Mac, and PC
Smooth Draw - very simple drawing program for Windows only
Online painting applications
SumoPaint - I just came across this but it seems to be pretty good and you can make images up to 4094 x 4094 pixels which is very good for an online imaging application. It offers layers and multiple different paintbrushes.
Painting applications for handheld devices and related articles
Here is a short article comparing three of the more popular AutoDesk SketchBook, ArtStudio, and Brushes. You should also consider Colors.
Jorge Colombo - he painted the cover illustration for the June 1, 2009 New Yorker on his iPhone
Online painting applications
SumoPaint - I just came across this but it seems to be pretty good and you can make images up to 4094 x 4094 pixels which is very good for an online imaging application. It offers layers and multiple different paintbrushes.
Painting applications for handheld devices and related articles
Here is a short article comparing three of the more popular AutoDesk SketchBook, ArtStudio, and Brushes. You should also consider Colors.
Jorge Colombo - he painted the cover illustration for the June 1, 2009 New Yorker on his iPhone
New Yorker article about Jorge's cover illustration featuring a video showing the process of the painting
LA Times photo essay on Ed Velandria who uses ArtRage and a tablet PC to paint quick portraits while riding the subway. LA Times also wrote an article about him and others who sketch while on the subway.
**BEST APP FOR DROID DEVICES** AutoDesk SketchBook Mobile is the best drawing/painting app for Droid devices; it is also one of the best for iOS devices. You can find links to download it for the Droid and the iPhone from that site. Here is an article on it with some good links. One of the coolest features about it is that you can export layered PSD files that you can continue to work with in Photoshop and other image editing applications. The resolution of the final images isn't great, maxing out at around 1400 x 600 pixels, but you can still easily make a really nice 8x10 from it and can push it even larger if necessary/desired. Plus, it is only $0.99!
Software tailored for Manga and Anime-can't vouch for it, don't know much about it
Deleter Software Comic Works
http://www.deleter.jp/eng/cw_english/
http://deleter-mangashop.com/goods.php?lang_id=en&goods_id=45&tsuka_conv=USD
http://my.smithmicro.com/win/graphics.html
http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/anime/index.html
http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/manga/index.html
Some of the artists here use this software
http://www.tokyopop.com/
Imagine FX is amagazine that I think many of you would like. They have a nice collections of resources on their website. Be sure to check out their tutorials.
Figure drawing techniques for digital artists.
Collection of 15 of the best ImagineFX tutorials on digital painting.
Portfolio with some interesting digital paintings
http://ciaee-art.com/
3D people, Google Sketchup is a newer 3D program with a free and a commercial version. It is designed to be more intuitive than other 3D modeling programs. I have used it a bit. I like it enough that I have a project that I will be using Sketchup to complete.
http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/anime/index.html
http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/manga/index.html
Some of the artists here use this software
http://www.tokyopop.com/
Imagine FX is amagazine that I think many of you would like. They have a nice collections of resources on their website. Be sure to check out their tutorials.
Figure drawing techniques for digital artists.
Collection of 15 of the best ImagineFX tutorials on digital painting.
Portfolio with some interesting digital paintings
http://ciaee-art.com/
3D people, Google Sketchup is a newer 3D program with a free and a commercial version. It is designed to be more intuitive than other 3D modeling programs. I have used it a bit. I like it enough that I have a project that I will be using Sketchup to complete.
Overview of Free Painting Programs
Corel tutorials on the use of Painter
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1171405215200
Tutorial on painting with Photoshop
Nice set of tutorials on painting with Photoshop
Blending colors in Photoshop
More tutorials on painting in Photoshop
http://www.graphicmania.net/10-amazing-photoshop-digital-painting-tutorials/
http://homepage.mac.com/pixlart/main.htm
Sign up for Corel Painter e-newsletter
http://apps.corel.com/painterx/us/community_newsletter.html
Overview of Painter, includes nice breakdown of different brushes
http://apps.corel.com/painterx/us/essence_new_features.html
Downloadable Training Movies
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1170190221936l
Corel tutorials on clone color
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1171405215200
Use filters to modify brush strokes, Surface Control>Quick Warp
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/2057/Making.a.Mini.Poster.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx
Numerous Tutorials here at the Designer Today website
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/4.aspx
Pastel on Black Background
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/1430/Pastel.on.Black.Background.Freehand.Sketch.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx
Painting a Loose Style Portrait
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/1826/Painting.a.Loose.Style.Portrait.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx
Creating Abstract Art in Painter
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/1855/Creating.Abstract.Art.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx
Mixing Paint
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/1887/Mixing.Colors.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx
Corel Painter e-newsletter
http://apps.corel.com/painterx/us/community_newsletter.html
Watercolor effect
http://apps.corel.com/painterix/training/tutorial_watercolor.html
Impasto effect
http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/painter/ss/impasto.htm
Op Art- possibly use the movement of the image to make flag look moving even when still. Sense of movement symbolic of dynamic nature of humans?
http://www.julianstanczak.net/
Bridge Riley
http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/riley.html
http://www.mishabittleston.com/artists/bridget_riley/
Corel Painter X/XI Links
Home page of one of the original Painter authors, numerous tutorials on using Painterhttp://homepage.mac.com/pixlart/main.htm
Sign up for Corel Painter e-newsletter
http://apps.corel.com/painterx/us/community_newsletter.html
Overview of Painter, includes nice breakdown of different brushes
http://apps.corel.com/painterx/us/essence_new_features.html
Downloadable Training Movies
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1170190221936l
Corel tutorials on clone color
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1171405215200
Use filters to modify brush strokes, Surface Control>Quick Warp
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/2057/Making.a.Mini.Poster.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx
Numerous Tutorials here at the Designer Today website
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/4.aspx
Pastel on Black Background
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/1430/Pastel.on.Black.Background.Freehand.Sketch.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx
Painting a Loose Style Portrait
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/1826/Painting.a.Loose.Style.Portrait.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx
Creating Abstract Art in Painter
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/1855/Creating.Abstract.Art.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx
Mixing Paint
http://www.designertoday.com/Tutorials/Painter/1887/Mixing.Colors.Corel.Painter.Tutorial.aspx
Corel Painter e-newsletter
http://apps.corel.com/painterx/us/community_newsletter.html
Watercolor effect
http://apps.corel.com/painterix/training/tutorial_watercolor.html
Impasto effect
http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/painter/ss/impasto.htm
Op Art- possibly use the movement of the image to make flag look moving even when still. Sense of movement symbolic of dynamic nature of humans?
http://www.julianstanczak.net/
Bridge Riley
http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/riley.html
http://www.mishabittleston.com/artists/bridget_riley/
Digital Painting Links
How to paint an eye - simple tutorial and a simple looking result-nothing fancyhttp://www.ehow.com/how_4691734_paint-brown-eyes-photoshop.html
How to paint an eye - involved, but very nice results
http://graphixworld.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/how-to-paint-a-human-eye-tutorial/
Some nice realistic brushes for Photoshop
http://doodle-lee-doo.deviantart.com/art/Real-Brush-Strokes-Set-122699209
How to paint a realistic eye
http://www.artsquared.co.uk/blog/2009/05/how-to-draw-a-realistic-eye/
Pixel Brush - popular site for digital painting
Introduction to painting (fantasy art)
Introductory tutorials
www.pxleyes.com has some good tutorials including this Incredibly detailed tutorial on how to draw a rose in PS
http://www.pxleyes.com/tutorial/photoshop/1467/How-To-Make-A-Digital-Painting-Of-A-Rose-From-Scratch.html
Digital Painting for Beginners PS
http://clepweb.deviantart.com/art/Digital-Painting-for-Beginners-27802774
Nice, long video on Digital Painting for Beginners PS
http://menoob.com/digital-painting/excellent-digital-painting-video-tutorial-for-beginners/
Overview of Painting Process
http://tutorials.epilogue.net/digital-art/advanced-digital-painting-techniques
How to Paint Clouds
http://tutorials.epilogue.net/digital-art/perfect-clouds-in-5-easy-steps
Galleries for the guy who wrote the two previous tutorials
http://www.epilogue.net/cgi/database/art/list.pl?gallery=98
http://www.gorblimey.com/
Overview of elaborate painting-be sure to check out the other postings as they are interesting
http://www.rob-sheridan.com/sketchblog/stepbystep/mascots.html
Wacom tablet Tutorials
How to set up Wacom Intuos 4 for painting with PS
http://johnderryonline.com/Images/Intuos4_Mapping_PS.pdf
How to configure Wacom tablet on a Mac
http://guides.macrumors.com/Setting_Up_A_Wacom_Tablet_Tutorial
ArtRage Tutorials
Nice set of video tutorials, demonstrates paint blending
http://cartoonsnap.blogspot.com/search/label/ArtRage
How to Paint Clouds
http://ruthlessmoons.deviantart.com/art/Artrage-Cloud-tutorial-86563306
Hack a Nintendo DS to Make an Awesome Digital Sketchbook
Colors! - free painting program for Nintendo DS, inexpensive version for iPod/iPhone also available
http://colors.collectingsmiles.com
SuperCard is a DS Cart that allows you to run Colors! and other game ROMs on your DS. A student has ran Colors! successfully on his cart.
SuperCard is a DS Cart that allows you to run Colors! and other game ROMs on your DS. A student has ran Colors! successfully on his cart.
More tutorials
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1170190221936
Super Awesome online color wheel-you can use it to create your color scheme
http://kuler.adobe.com/
Color Harmony- good examples, includes many related linkshttp://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/color-harmony/
Divine Proportion/Golden Ration/Phi information- The Abstract Painter Piet Mondrian was said to have made use of the Golden Ration
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio
http://www.markboulton.co.uk/articles/detail/design_and_the_divine_proportion/
http://goldennumber.net/
http://blogs.princeton.edu/graphicarts/2008/05/divine_proportion.html
http://avid.blogs.com/concept_to_creation/2007/05/divine_proporti.html
Digital Graphics Tablets
Many people find it preferable to use a pressure sensitive digital graphics tablet such as those made by Wacom and others. Here is a nice little write up on 10 good graphics tablets. If you have never used one, then you should really try them. There are a number of different settings that you can link to the pressure of the stylus, but most people have it set up such that the harder you press the stylus onto the tablet, the larger brush and the more paint that gets applied. If you think you would like to buy one, I suggest that you buy a cheap one to start out with. Somewhere in the $60 or less range. Then, if you really like it, you can always get a bigger one. There is a bit of a learning curve when first getting used to get, but once you get the hang of it they are really great and intuitive.
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