Digital artists & drawing methods

[SwigglySwiggly 358]

There is a poll on top so I can get some of your opinions

 

If you're a digital artist (preferably ponies) how do you draw your ponies? 

I have my own way of drawing, if you can, please draw up a tutorial like mine and show me how you draw your ponies

( example of what I mean: )

Feel free to use my drawing method, and give me tips, opinions and critiques on my tutorial

 

 

Click HERE to see my Tumblr (its quite new)

Click HERE to see my Deviantart

Edited December 1, 2013 by SwigglySwiggly

[Surface 115]

I think I would draw the same way in the BronyCon video on my 3DS, then draw it in GIMP. I found GIMP can replace SAI for me.   I don't draw ponies now, but I think I will some time.

[Demirari 454]

The way I draw my ponies is using lines a circles. (If that wasn't obvious enough ) Then I start going into the general outline of the body and work inwards. I usually start detailing the face then downwards after outlining the sketch. Something that stuck to me after drawing things for a long time.

And for me, I generally see my rough sketch as something that is nearly useless except telling you what it should look like or where to fix something. Especially when I'm making everything look smooth and crisp and just happen to notice that the leg or whatever is out of place.

Have a nice day!

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

One of these days, I will make step-by-step pictures. I've already got a work in progress, but sadly, it's missing a step; So I can't really show it as part of a "How Arylett Does Things" bit. 

 

I can explain though! With words. Not as awesome as visuals, but you'll get the general point.

 

Note: I use Photoshop CS5.

 

• Step 1: Sketch it out. Can sketch it out either digitally or on paper. Nowadays, I've gone back to paper due to annoying tablet malfunctions and the fact that paper can only be erased so many times, so it prevents me from obsessing because I'll be forced to stop if I erase a hole into a page. I start by referencing what poses and creatures I would like to draw. Mainly, their skeletons as they are VERY helpful to me in understanding anatomy. It's all stick figures and wire frames, preferring to draw a circular head first. This evolves into more broad shapes, which are expanded upon with details added until it's a fully-fledged sketch. I obsess unnecessarily as well and at some point erase and redraw at least one entire part of it.
   
• Step 2: Scan into computer (if paper drawn.) I set it to an appropriate contrast if it is scanned to make the lines stand out just enough. But they aren't really important, as I then go over them with a digital, clean outline. If drawing ponies, the lines are at first a bit sloppy. Then I go through them with the eraser tool, straightening and cleaning them up further until they look almost exactly like vectors without being so.
   
• Step 3: Color in the lines! That just takes a paint bucket tool and five seconds. When I do this, I separate different parts and outlines into layers. Such as the pony's body having its own layer, and then the mane, tail, horn, clothes, etc. I do this so I can remove them at will. In case I want to have a picture of the pony without clothes or with a different mane style and don't want to draw an entirely new picture, merely using my own base.
   
• Step 4: Shading. Optional with ponies, but I've started doing it more and more. I'll typically shade by hand in a very elaborate fashion for non-pony artwork, using a variety of colors, using a non-circular sort of messy spatter brush to give things more texture. And then I'll apply little light/dark lines in fur textures to make them look more realistic. With ponies, I apply filters to aid in creating more simplistic shading that matches the style, and then fill in the blanks with some light soft paintbrushing. Either that, or I'll apply black/white with a hard brush in the correct spots to shade/highlight and turn down the opacity to a tolerable level.
   
• Step 5: Background. Optional. If there is a background, I will shade/subtly change the colors of the subject according to them. For instance, if there's a sunrise in the background, I'd add a light layer of orange over the subject at a low opacity to make it blend in more. My backgrounds are typically abstract, or made with simplistic shapes and with the help of generic tools. (Circle tool, etc.) Because I don't really like to invest a whole lot of detail into them. Not too interested in scenery.

Voila! You have an Arylettpiece.

 

Now, regarding the first question on there... I do consider vectorists real artists... provided their vectors are original and not traceovers of stuff that isn't theirs. At that point, I more consider them a resource than an artist.

Edited December 1, 2013 by Arylett Dawnsborough