Saturday 19 February 2011

Fake Memoirs...

Our latest project based on sequential narratives:


I was asked to make a post showing which tutorials I used in the process of making the panel below: 






(The final panel will be square.)


I started by looking for illustrators who worked digitally so I could make something almost entirely using photoshop. Using Matt Laskowski's epic work as inspiration and his freely available tutorials/resources, I deleted ALL of my brush presets in photoshop, restoring the default ones and adding Laskowski's own set of custom made brushes:


(Link to M. Laskowski's Deviantart where you'll need to download the original file!)

"Now that I have the tools I should learn how to use them the best I possibly can..." 
Reading these tutorials helped me a lot with critical thinking and how not only to improve technique but also make sure that my compositions read clearly for others to see. 'Perspective & Composition Pt. I' helped especially in creating the lines for this panel, analysing the principles behind 1,2 and 3-point perspective and the techniques for drawing them in photoshop and on paper:


'Line art'.


"So, with a new set of brushes and the relevant know-how, I now want to colour or paint my scene! Hmmmm..." 

I did actually wonder how 'painting' was done in photoshop before I read this next tutorial. I've since learned that it's really nothing like the process of actual painting, say with oils for instance. (At this point that it would be useful to have access to some kind of graphics tablet and, if you're any doubt as to which one to buy if you're looking for one, Mr Laskowski has a guide on that too... (Wacom Start-up Guide 2011))
That's about all I have to say, Matt Laskowski has plenty more to say - either go to his website www.plasticshards.com or his Deviantart page/gallery fox-orian.deviantart.com where he has more tutorials and stands as a well respected member of the digital art community. If you're on Deviantart, add him and show the guy some love as he (plus many others) shares all his knowledge with us for free! 


Thanks for looking! ^^

- Kieran