So You Want to Be a Game Artist?

Artwork by James Wolf Strehle

Games of all sorts are a part of everyday entertainment for many of us. The artists involved in the creation of video games, card games, mobile games and more are an essential piece to the puzzle in this incredibly visual interactive media. Whether you're aiming to work for a large well-known company like Blizzard Entertainment or Wizards of the Coast, or a smaller company that produces mobile games like Sunstorm Games, knowing what it takes to be a game artist is crucial for your career's success.
I interviewed several artists and designers working in various facets of the gaming and entertainment industry in order to get to know their experiences as professional artists. Consider this your guide to working as a game artist.

What Do Game Artists Do?

Let's start with a breakdown, in no particular order, of some of the roles open to artists and designers within various gaming-related companies:

• Concept Artists: The idea people! These artists put together a variety of conceptual work for a game. Whether it's characters, settings, items within a game, or an entire world, conceptual drawings, illustrations, and paintings are a huge part of building a game up from a simple idea or outline. These roles are varied and may be held by many of the artists discussed below.
• Art Directors: These are the artists and managers responsible for leading a project or production. We've discussed Art Directors in the past and what their roles may be within a company. In the world of games, directors may lead a project, department, or company with their vision, or simply coordinate the efforts of others within the creative realm.
• Illustrators: The drawers, painters, sketchers, and creators of static visual content. Illustrators are responsible for those brilliant splash images seen on a video game's loading screen (League of Legends, anyone?) as well as a variety of content for a game and a game's auxiliary media (booklets, marketing, etc). Essentially, concept art can become a finished illustration, and illustrators are needed to create a game's static visual content.
• Graphic Designers: Icons, print design, layout within a game or a game's auxiliary media, and more! That fabulous logo for a game? Created by a graphic designer! The booklet you're reading to get to know a game's battle system? Created by a graphic designer!
• UI Designers: The visual media that you interact with is a user interface. These designers create those interfaces in a variety of media and hand off their content to programmers who make games work. In non-video games (board games, card games, etc), a UI designer would be a graphic designer, since user interfaces are usually software related in some way.
• And More… Many artists involved in video games and such play multiple roles or move from role to role within a project or production. I didn't even get to animators, 3-D modelers, and other designers, as we've covered them in previous articles or will in the future. Instead, I singled out several roles above based on the artists I interviewed. There are nuances to each and additional roles to explore that a company or organization may offer within their creative department when creating a game that you could be involved with in the future. As such, let's further explore the career of the game artist!

Anodized Robo Cub art for Blizzard Entertainment's Hearthstone.

“I’m mainly responsible for character concepts, costumes, weapons & props as well as key art, storyboards and in-game illustrations.”
— Eva Widermann, freelance illustrator for companies like Blizzard Entertainment, Disney Interactive, Wizards of the Coast, and more.

Where Do Game Artists Work?

Let's have a bit of a chat about what sort of companies game artists might work for and what sort of content they produce.
There are two main distinctions: freelance or in-house artists. Freelancers are employed on a contract or project-by-project basis. As we've discussed in previous articles, freelancers have to be self-motivated and manage themselves while juggling multiple clients. It's not stable work necessarily, but it does allow for an artist to work on a variety of products and projects. In the realm of gaming that means that even if you work for a company that only produces video games, being able to create artwork for another company that produces card or board games is entirely feasible.
In-house artists work within a studio or company with other artists, designers, engineers, and more. Depending on the size of the company and production, and the artists' roles within it, there may or may not be a lot of cross-department association or work. For instance, Finnish graphic designer Muura Karoliina Parkkinen works on a small team for RAY where there are two artists, two programmers, and one producer working together on a mobile or slot machine game at any one time.

Character concept art for a Visual Novel game.

“We do slot machine games for online, mobile and on actual physical slot machines in grocery stores and bars! I've worked on two games that are out right now and two games that are currently in development. […] There are, like, three other teams in-house and every team works on one or two games at a time.” — Muura Karoliina Parkkinen

Other in-house artists, like Alex FitzGerald and David Luong, who've worked at Sunstorm Games and Blizzard Entertainment respectively, found themselves working in larger teams of artists or within a department more specific to their role (art department or cinematic department in the case of David Luong). While they work with the entire team on a production, the roles can be stretched out amongst more people as the project becomes larger. Consider a game as large as World of Warcraft and the very long list of people involved in the game's credits.

To What Sort of Games Do Artists Contribute?

Saying “all of them!” is incredibly broad, so I'm going to break a couple down for brevity's sake, as they relate to the artists I interviewed.

Video Games

This is the big one. Video games are a huge industry, with every platform from console to computer to mobile device available for teams of developers and artists to create interesting and fun content. Additionally, however, there are gambling and slot machine games found in casinos that also need artists, designers, and programmers to create entertaining distractions.

Card and Board Games

Think Magic: The Gathering for card games, and tabletop games like Ticket to Ride. With fantastic artwork found within multiple decks of cards or a beautifully designed board and box, both styles of games may be old school, but their art styles are timeless. For companies like Wizards of the Coast (they produce Magic: The Gathering), they hire freelance artists to create those brilliant fantasy paintings that appear on each and every card, giving players a visual guide to their strategic play. After all, how can you cast any sort of spell without having an idea of what it looks like from the perspective of a brilliant artist?

In What Kind of Media Do the Artists Work?

Every answer I got back was akin to “Digital Media. It's all digital. Everything is digital!” Which, considering that most of the games we're talking about are an interactive digital medium in their own right, makes perfect sense. Now, there are always exceptions to the rule, and some artists may create work traditionally, but considering multiple working artists in a variety of positions stress knowing Adobe Photoshop and a variety of other media from Illustrator to After Effects to Maya, it's fair to say the more comfortable you are, as an artist, working in the digital realm, the better.

Lighting/Compositing by David Luong - StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty cinematic (2010)

“We work all digitally at Blizzard. The programs range from Photoshop, After Effects, Nuke, Maya, Renderman, Vray, and Vue for lighting, compositing and digital matte painting on my end. It's a variety of programs to either create, light, render and composite them all for the final shot in the show.” — David Luong, VFX Artist at Blizzard Animation (formerly known as the Cinematics department at Blizzard Entertainment).

Magic: The Gathering - Soulcatcher by Julie Dillon

“I work exclusively in Photoshop CS6 and Painter 12. Every medium is just another tool in an artist's toolkit; I don't think any one medium or program is superior to another. I do think, however, that when you have a job that requires quick deadlines and multiple iterations, it helps to work digitally since it can help speed things up." — Julie Dillon, Hugo Award Winning freelance illustrator who's worked for Wizards of the Coast, Fantasy Flight Games, and more.

What's a Game Project Like for an Artist?

Depending on the artist's role, it's clear many begin with conceptual work. Whether it's an interface, asset, character, or environment concept is circumstantial. Additionally, they may be furnished with references or art from other artists on their team by their Art Director, if they're working in a larger team.

Digital Matte Painting by David Luong - StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (2013)

“After the brief, I would go off and start creating some assets that might fit into their world and vision, showing them along the way to get approval and get iterations to make sure I'm on the right track. After that, I would keep working and iterating, polishing more and more until the art director/director is satisfied and then hand it off […].” — David Luong

Pet Salon Mobile Game - Sunstorm Games

“Art style was for the most part left up to the art team, as long as it was kid-friendly, so we usually ended up with a cheery, vector style with bright colors and big eyes.

"General areas of the game (characters, accessories, logo, UI, etc) were split up among the 2D artists based on whoever felt the most comfortable with it, could finish it the quickest, or expressed an interest in trying something new, but things tended to overlap a bit just based on what needed to be prioritized. The specialized artists, like 3D and animation, were left to their devices based on the game design requirements.” — Alex FitzGerald, freelance artist who's worked for Sunstorm Games, Rocket Gaming, and more.

Freelancers, on the other hand, may be a bit disjointed from others in the project and have to produce their work alone or with only one person from the main production team as their contact and/or director. Additionally, they have to negotiate contracts, sometimes including non-disclosure agreements (something most every freelancer I spoke to mentioned) before they begin their role.

Splash art for Riot Games by James Wolf Strehle

“In the beginning stages you generally produce a large amount of quick ideas to explore as much as you can before heading off in a direction that may not work in the end. The client usually picks a sketch or sketches they like, sometimes asking for bits and pieces from various ideas. Then it's back to work as you refine the concepts.” — James Wolf Strehle, freelance illustrator and concept artist.

Magic: The Gathering - Flesh To Dust by Julie Dillon

“I get the basic assignment and brief from the art director. Usually this has a description of the illustration, with enough detail for me to know how to approach it. […] I work on around 3-5 thumbnail sketches to give the AD a few possible layouts to choose from. […] The AD picks a layout and sometimes gives me instructions to change some parts of the image. I take that feedback, and work on making a more polished grayscale sketch based on the chosen thumbnail.

“Once the grayscale sketch is approved, I lay in the colors. […] Once I have the final color version, I send it off to the AD for final approval, and once it is approved I upload the high-resolution version for them to use.” — Julie Dillon on her process within a project.

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Words of Advice From Game Artists

Card art for Blizzard Entertainment's Hearthstone by Eva Widermann

“Prepare for many rejections. Prepare for honest critique. Prepare for less spare time and that your art will consume you. And practice, practice, practice. For the rest of your life. It’s not a hobby." — Eva Widermann

“Keep practicing the craft, observe the real world, as that's what my role in lighting/composting/digital matte painting requires me to do, and take up a hobby that can feed into that; be it concept art, photography, or 3D modeling that can really enhance their work flow as a DMP artist. The hard work will pay off, but don't expect this to be easy as it will take months, if not years, to develop into someone who can master the craft.” — David Luong

Illustrated game assets for Salon Mobile Game by Alex FitzGerald

“Pick your battles when fighting for your art decisions, and learn how and when to separate your attachment and just be willing to make the changes – however stupid you think they are. I feel like it’s appropriate to respectfully defend your work and decisions, but if that gets shot down, you know what you can do instead of fighting to the death? You save your old art/design to a personal drive as a separate file to preserve it, and then make the changes requested even if you disagree with them to your core.” — Alex FitzGerald

Conclusion

The experiences of game artists, from illustrators to graphic designers to UI designers, are pretty similar to those freelancing or working in-house for a variety of other industries. In this case, these creatives play a part in entertainment media, whether it's video games, card games, board games, or whatever other types of games you find yourself playing. If they have a visual element to them, artists are there to play a part in their creation.

Many companies source artists from job listings on their websites, conventions where you can share your portfolio, or through old-fashioned networking. Like any other position, whether freelance or in-house, companies and productions are hungry to fill positions with the best artists they can find, and so long as you're looking for that work, producing similar work for your portfolio, and connecting to others within your intended industry, you'll be better poised to find yourself able to apply and connect with those positions.
I hope you found this article informative and inspirational. Got questions, anecdotes, or advice about game art and artists? Share them in the comment section below!
Many thanks to the artists who took the time to answer my questions and give us a peek into their lives and experiences as game artists. You can check out their work or gallery spaces in the links below:

• Eva Widermann
• Muura Karoliina Parkkinen
• Alex FitzGerald
• David Luong
• Julie Dillon
• James Wolf Strehle

www.designgrafhic.titorial.com

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So You Want to Be a Freelance Illustrator?

Illustration by Hanna Sandvig, featured in ImagineFX reader EXpose.

Design and Illustration careers are as varied as the artists in them. Today, we’ll explore the world of freelance illustrators. I sought out and questioned freelancers from around the globe who were gracious enough to share their experiences with me. We’ll discuss their training, daily tasks, how they source clients, the media they work in, self-promotion and motivation, and more.
Unlike the life of an in-house artist, where you work with a specific company, freelancers need to manage their time, money, and client base wisely in order to keep things running. They are often their own boss and take on multiple roles (promoter, social media guru, accountant, artist agent, art director, and more) in order to keep things moving throughout their career. I sincerely hope you find the following to be informative, motivating, and inspiring as I do after having poured over multiple sets of answers from a variety of artists. Consider this your guide on the role of freelance illustrators.

What Does a Freelance Illustrator Do?

The short of it is they illustrate for a variety of clients. Let’s break down some of the more commonly found roles and tasks associated with the career path:

• Editorial and Book Illustrations: One of the markets most commonly thought of when discussing illustration, editorial work may be done for newspapers, magazines, or blogs. While many companies use stock art for these purposes, large publications like The New Yorker are renowned for their illustrations, which are done by freelancers. The same goes for book covers and interior illustrations. Graphic designers do the designing, but often illustrators are called upon for drawing, paintings, and more.
• Character Design and Concept Art: This often goes hand-in-hand with toys, apparel design, entertainment art, and other product design. Illustrators often draw, and as such are contracted to create a range of concept work and character designs for various companies. Toy companies, greeting card companies, various entertainment companies and other firms all contract freelancers to breathe life into projects.
• Apparel, Textile, and Product Design: This would be T-shirt designs and print patterns on clothing and accessories. Although many companies have an internal design team, it’s common for companies, brands, etc., to outsource apparel and product design. Usually the freelancer will work with the internal design team in email form, meeting deadlines and coordinating efforts rather than being a part of the internal team’s meetings or working with higher-ups within a company itself. As an example, Disney, Mattel, and MGE are all companies that outsource design like this (as well as too many others to count).
• Entertainment Art: Discussed a bit above, this covers comic books, matte paintings for movies and television, and anything else contracted for entertainment purposes. Sometimes it’s a VFX or art department that outsources some of its own work in order to meet the deadlines of a larger production. Or, in the case of comic books and similar publications, artists may create guest strips, panels, or cover art that benefits both the publication and the artist in terms of bringing each other customers. It’s a wide, wide umbrella, and varies as much as the art itself.
• Packaging Illustration: Not to be confused with packaging design, illustrations of this sort are incorporated into the graphic designer’s duty (either within a company or handed off to another contracted worker). Depending on the team involved, they may outsource illustrated pieces for toys, beauty products, food packaging, and more. Some companies even produce specific artist series of products in order to leverage their popularity against or with a well-known or up-and-coming illustrator.
• And more… I could list freelance illustrator jobs forever, as they do go on as much as anyone needs or wants professional illustrative work. Not noted above are personal pieces commissioned from freelancers that may be a gift for someone else or simply for themselves. We’ll explore other ways freelancers generate revenue aside from companies who are reselling their work in some manner later in this article.

Illustration by Filipino artist, Nikki Radan.

“As an illustrator for Dreame, my role is to create imagery out of the dreams, goals, stories and even poems and songs that are given to me via email from the dreamers (client) who have chosen me from the website.” — Nikki Radan, discussing a freelance project offered on www.dreame.me

What Training Is Involved?

Now that we've got a basis for what an illustrator may do, it’s important to talk about the sort of training, schooling, and preparation freelancers may have taken in order to get their careers moving in the right direction.
As we learned with in-house graphic designers, some artists are formally taught, some are self-taught, and others take on a mix of the two. Of those who filled out my questionnaire, 40% were self-taught, 60% were formally trained, and all continued to educate themselves in whatever way they could to grow as artists. Some chose to attend an art school or special training program, while others opted for the art department of a larger university.
Whether or not you pursue formal art training, the cost, syllabus, instructors, and value clients may place on certificates, degrees, or accolades obtained have an impact on your decision. Building a portfolio is the end result, regardless of the path taken, as no artist can be contracted for work without having something to show a client. Formal settings provide a structure for skill and portfolio building. Informal settings or self-guidance require a healthy dose of self-motivation.
Subject matter studied includes anatomy, perspective, value studies, painting, digital media, and more. Every aspect of visual art is or can be explored, and really should be for a working artist to thrive.

An example of commissioned work by Jared Hart.

“I graduated from the College for Creative Studies in 2008 with a BFA, my area of focus was Animation and digital media. If I'm asked to bring my work, I have a portfolio prepared.” — Jared Hart on the subject of his educational experience.

How Are the Clients?

One of the most common questions for freelancers is where they source clients or how clients find them. To go with it, one of the more common answers is through an online portfolio. While it’s not a guarantee that displaying artwork online will lead to work, websites like Behance and DeviantArt allow artists to connect with possible clients or give them an easy space to organize a portfolio. Additionally, artists may choose to create their own website for this purpose or use one of the many blog platforms (Blogger, Tumblr, etc.) to showcase their art.

Illustration work for Backyard Brains by Cristina Mezuk.

“99% of the time it’s word of mouth. A friend of a friend is looking to hire somebody, and they wind up coming to me.” — Cristina Mezuk on the subject of clients.

Sometimes, however, a job may come from responding to a call for art, an online ad, or through the magic of networking. While it’s ideal for a client to find you and be familiar with your work, applying for a gig or appealing to the possible need for your artwork to a potential client may result in a new revenue source. It is important, however, to promote yourself appropriately and not to bother or spam anyone with links or portfolio pieces for the sake of networking, as it’ll likely backfire.

Book cover illustration by Hanna Sandvig.

“I currently illustrate book covers for indie authors and small publishers, and stick to light romance/chick-lit style books. 

This gives me two advantages: 1) The authors tend to spend a lot of time networking and chatting with each other, so they tell their friends if they like your work, and 2) They are generally looking for an author to work on an entire series. 

Because of this, I haven't had to look hard for clients, they find me, and a good client will often lead to steady work.” — Hanna Sandvig on the subject of clients.

Who Are the Clients?

Now that we've discussed how a client may find you, it's important to know who they may be, what working with them may be like, and what's expected from you, the freelance illustrator. As I've already broken down some examples of this and will continue to break down the process of freelancing, I refer to the quotes of artists I interviewed about their experiences to answer the question.

Storyboard by Miss Chat*Z.

"My clientele vary from high profile companies like LINE, VIBER, Leo Burnett, Saatchi, NYMGO, record labels, etc... and I have smaller companies/ profiles as well like mothers, cooks, burlesque dancers, porn actresses, authors, shop owners... the list goes on... there is no range." — Sirine, aka Miss Chat*Z, on her clientele.

What's the Process of a Freelance Project Like?

Every project's process varies. From the responses illustrators gave me as well as my own experience, projects begin with a discussion and design brief. Getting to know what the client wants and needs is important as you'll waste less time on both sides, allowing you to move on to a new project faster and increasing the possibility of that client's return to your services. Good communication is very important.
A common routine consists of the following:

• project brief
• sketches and concept art
• first draft
• second draft
• final design
• final edits

Each step usually needs to meet the client's approval before you move on, although there are many exceptions to this rule. Perhaps your freelance work has a different structure that fits the type of work you're doing. Concept art may be an example where the deliverable, or artwork being commissioned, is of a rougher quality than the final design work required for a book cover illustration.

Illustrative work by Asher Benson.

"I've completed conceptual work from sketch to finished render [...] I’ll usually finish in the scope of two weeks [...] It’s a gamble on whether that project will ever see the light of day. It’s a great boost for your portfolio, but getting the green light to use it can be agonizing. Sometimes you end up making work for a project that you’ll never be allowed to share..." — Asher Benson on freelance concept art.

What Other Forms of Revenue Do Freelancers Have?

It's an important question: are freelance illustration jobs the primary source of income for a freelancer, or do they take on other work? Perhaps the freelancing gig is a side job in itself, as it is for Bahia Khalid, who says:

"Freelancing is my freetime job, after office hours. Only happens when I have clients. . . something rare. . ."

Illustration by Bahia Khalid.

Alternatively, illustration may be the freelancer's only source of income where they maintain a specific client base, consistently work with new clients or take on new clients often, or they market their artwork in other ways in addition to being commissioned and contracted for illustration work.

Illustrative work by by Miss Chat*Z.

"It’s the only work I do. Sometimes I get myself associated with other businesses but illustration is the main focus." — Sirine, aka Miss Chat*Z, on the subject of working as an illustrator.

This brings us to the important point of selling artwork and merchandise yourself. Having an online shop serves as another source of income and can be handled by a third party like Society6, Redbubble, InPrint, or by artists themselves through marketplaces like Etsy, Big Cartel, and Storenvy.

How Does Self-Employment Work?

Self-employment varies from country to country (and state, province, prefecture, territory, etc). There are a few constants, however:

• You must pay taxes on all income.
• Get to know your deductibles (supplies, research, tax credits, etc).
• Research fees, licenses, and documentation for running a small business before you begin.
• You need to either be your own accountant or hire one.
• You may be subject to taxes in other countries, depending on their laws or deals with your own.

Additionally, it's important to research your legal rights as an artist, work with contracts (drawn up by your client's lawyer, created by an artist guild's lawyer, etc.), and have a clear idea of what could happen if your work is stolen. Unlike working in-house, where the ownership of any work you create is established when employed, ownership is defined from client to client. So knowing if you can display freelance work within your profile (did you sign a non-disclosure form?) or if you're able to sell prints of the artwork (did you retain copyright and merely license the artwork to the client?) are important distinctions to make.
A freelancer's timeline is often determined by their client's deadline, their motivation to work, and their own personal schedule. Some keep regular business hours while others work whenever possible or in order to accommodate other needs. There is no clock to punch into, however, and though missing a deadline or procrastinating can have negative consequences, freelancers also have the freedom of naming their own work hours and prices, when possible.

"Meteor Balloon" by Nikki Radan.

"As a freelancer, I still try to make and follow a time frame [of] when I'm going to make a commission just so I can have everything organized. This helps me accomplish tasks efficiently." Nikki Radan on the subject of her average workday.

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Conclusion

Technical illustration of Backyard Brains product, the EMG Spiker Shield, by Cristina Mezuk.

The roles of freelance illustrators are numerous. Some days they spend most of their time drawing, while other days it's a round of bookkeeping and debriefing with clients. Clients range from large companies to friends, and everything in between. Freelancers are self-employed and have to wear many hats (artist, agent, accountant, etc.) in order for business to run smoothly and grow.
Regardless of the pros and cons of freelancing, illustrators come in all varieties, making the career path as unique as those who follow it. An understanding of other artists' experiences may allow you the tools necessary to start or even continue along this and related commercial design paths for a long-lasting career.
Many thanks to the artists interviewed for this article. You can check out some of their portfolios in the links below:

• Nikki Radan
• Cristina Mezuk
• Hanna Sandvig
• Miss Chat*Z
• Asher Benson
• Jared Hart
• Bahia Khalid
• Laura Zoè
• Pauleen Potter

http://design.tutsplus.com

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Learn How to Improve Your Digital Illustrations in 10 Easy Steps

What You'll Be Creating

Creating digital art is like prepping for a great match. You can be one incredible victor if only you manage to defeat your biggest opponent—yourself. To win, it'll involve intense commitment, patience, and tons of strategy.

Does Drawing Everyday = Success?

If you draw a stickman for ten weeks straight, do you think that by week ten you'll have the skills to take on hyper-realistic portraits?
Sadly, no.
The biggest misconception I've seen artists make is the idea that if they draw every day their technique will automatically improve. This couldn't be further from the truth. Whether you digitally draw or paint every day, creating the same thing over and over again will only limit your skill sets.
The only way you'll ever learn how to get better is to challenge yourself. Artists can experience plateau too, so if you don't see your skills improving it may be a sign that you've become complacent. Switch things up and learn how to train like a creative athlete.

Train Like an Athlete

We all know that six-pack abs don't happen overnight, nor do Olympic gold medals. But if you want to see an incredible transformation in your art then you'll need to train like an athlete. And athletes don't get better by playing a sport the same way and expecting different results.
To see what I mean in action, here is what it took to get to the final result of the painting above. Follow along as I break down ten easy ways you can improve your technique for better digital paintings.

1. List Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Open a new document or take out a sheet of paper and divide it into two panels. On one side title it "Strengths", and for the other, "Weaknesses". List your creative strengths and weaknesses to get a better idea of where you're currently at. If you're having trouble filling out the list, ask a trusted peer for help.

Let's take a look at mine. Although it's relatively easy for me to get inspired, executing my ideas is often the problem. It can take me several weeks to finish one painting, and initially I wasn't really sure why. However, in the next steps I'll be able to discover this and other the reasons why I'm having issues during the painting process.

2. Determine Your Old Habits

What are the habits that are holding you back from creative success? There's no better way to determine them than to look at some of your old work. Place a couple of your old paintings side by side. Unless we're actively trying to get better, we tend to retain the same habits over time.

Here are a couple things that I notice looking back at my old work:

• I mostly paint portraits in one head position (straight-on).
• Zooming in at 100% view, my paintings look choppy.
• Sometimes I paint everything really dark.
• My initial sketches are incomplete.

The first step to improvement is knowing your weaknesses, but with this step you realize your bad habits by actually putting them in front of you. Keep a collage of your old work as a reminder of how far you've come and the things you'd like to improve.

3. Target Your Creative Goals

Now that you have an idea of what you need to work on, it's much easier to target your creative goals. Rome wasn't built in a day, so try not to take everything on all at once. The main areas that I want to improve are the line quality of my sketches, my overall sense of lighting, and switching up the body position of my subjects.

Here's a sneak peek of my target goals. My focus is to improve sketch quality, body position, and overall lighting scheme.

Here I'll tackle this by challenging myself to a new painting. With this painting, I'll do my best to stay aware of my habits and try to overcome them one step at a time.

4. Learn Strategy From Process Videos

Screenshots, animated GIFs, and videos are just three ways artists show the step-by-step process of their digital paintings. We live in a time in which professional artists are literally sharing their secrets, so take advantage of the goldmine of knowledge before you! It's easy to get lost in the wonder of these videos though, so I urge you to focus on picking up specific strategies artists use in completing their work.
As opposed to just watching in pure amazement, follow traditional and digital art videos with a mindful eye. Nowadays there are many tools in Photoshop that artists use other than brushes. Try to pick up on one new method you would like to incorporate into your process. Since improving my sketches would be absolutely paramount, it's important that I personally research videos specifically for cleaner line art.
I've bookmarked a video from artist Aaron Blaise. Not only does it cover great tips for likeness and line art, but I love using videos like this to motivate me before a new painting.

5. Develop Ideas Efficiently

If you don't work out your idea before actually painting it, you'll end up with dozens of files of unfinished work.
Trust me, I've got the desktop to prove it!
One of the best ways you can develop ideas efficiently is to create web diagrams or word lists to draw out all the characteristics you want in that painting.

Web Diagrams or Word Lists? Which method do you prefer when developing ideas?

For this painting, I want a lifelike tattoo design that steals the show from the subject. So I'll create a web diagram to properly develop this idea. At the center of the diagram is the main idea, which then branches off into different sections where I describe the details even further. And because I've already done similar paintings before, I'm keeping the general composition in line with those works.

6. Cheat Composition With Photo Manipulations

If creating compositions isn't in your forte, here is one way to cheat the process. Gather all your image references and simply photo manipulate them into the concept that you want in Photoshop. For my painting I used three free images from Pixabay, which I cut and pasted together to fully realize my idea.

Use your new photo manipulation as the guideline for your composition. This makes the process much easier because you don't have to waste a lot of time trying to figure out the different lighting scenarios, body positions, or details you'd like to include.

7. Improve Line Art and Sketch Quality

Because the previous photo manipulation did all the work for us, sketching your art should now be a breeze. As opposed to being overwhelmed by the composition process, now you can dedicate time to perfecting the quality of your line art.
In order to end up with the final line art, it will take several passes before you come up with something nice and clean. Yes, that means you will have to technically draw or at least trace the same sketch over and over again.
Start off with a rough sketch to understand the placement of all your details.

Then, lower the opacity of the rough sketch and create a New Layer (Control-Shift-N) above it dedicated to a cleaner version. The key to clean lines (as I discovered from my video research earlier), is to make fluid, deliberate strokes. Any time that one stroke seems out of place or doesn't go well with the rest of sketch, start that stroke over until it blends perfectly.

And here is the final result for my line art. It's probably one of the cleanest sketches I've ever made!

8. Work on Speed

There are a number of ways you can improve the speed at which you create digital art. One way in particular is by taking your initial sketch, and converting it into several thumbnails where you practice the lighting and coloring schemes.

The very act of practicing not only develops muscle memory, but also allows you to test-drive your sketch before you commit to the painting. I know this probably seems like giving yourself extra work, but actually you shave time off your overall painting hours by having a definitive game-plan before you start.
It can be a very discouraging feeling to know that your art didn't turn out the way you had imagined. Bypass those yucky, unproductive feelings so that you can rise above them and triumph in creating better art. 

9. Study Small Details

Even if you're working on speed, it's a good idea to take a break every once in a while from your painting. If there are details in your painting that you've never painted before, create smaller studies dedicated to understanding the lighting, colors, or textures of those items.

From left to right, here I study the shading and textures for the skin, hair, and animal fur.

As I mentioned previously, my goal for this particular painting is to improve the overall quality. This means that I want my brush strokes to be smooth and my textures to be realistic. So some of the studies that I do focus on the skin, hair, and animal hair textures. I make sure to experiment with Photoshop's preset brushes to create the look that I want. Once you've got the hang of those textures in your studies, tackle them in your final painting.

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10. Develop Your Painting Formula

Just because you finish a painting, it doesn't mean you're done learning. Any time that you see improvements in your work, you should definitely take the opportunity to learn what you did differently to get there.
Break down the process into a formula. Remember, you're still a creative athlete, so you have to train your mind by exercising it often. For me, I chose to break down the formula into three different sections:

• What I need to do before I start (self-assessment, diagrams, and photo manipulations)
• What I need to do during the painting (line art, thumbnails, and studies)
• What I need to do to complete it (final tweaks and adjustments)

Once you get into the rhythm of your customized formula, I assure you that you will be cranking out paintings in no time.
Remember what I said earlier about taking weeks to finish a painting? Well, I finished this painting in just two days! Two days! One day was dedicated to concept development, photo manipulation, and line art, and the second was dedicated to the painting.

And here's the finished result after dramatically improving my painting quality and speed.

Conclusion

Despite the title, some might still consider these steps "hard". But the concept of hard work is subjective. And honestly, unproductive feelings only waste time. What you may consider hard to paint is different from person to person. But at the end of the day we all have one thing in common:
We just want to make better art.
Take a leap in trusting yourself, but be honest with your strengths and weaknesses. Picture yourself as a mad scientist experimenting with different methods for the perfect painting formula. Master that formula and your work will reflect it.
I hope you've enjoyed learning these steps to creating better digital illustrations. Good luck along your creative journey; feel free to share your own progress with us, and leave any questions below!

http://design.tutsplus.com

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Menghilangkan Tanda Silang pada Bekas Power Clip

Pada tutorial coreldraw kali ini saya akan membahas bagaimana caranya menghilangkan tanda silang pada bekas object yang telah diberi efek power clip. Pada corel edisi terbaru seperti Corel X6 maupun CorelDraw X7 ketika anda melakukan power clip namun setelah itu tidak jadi / menghapus power clip tersebut maka akan muncul tanda (X) seperti ini :

Bagi yang belum mengetahui cara menggunakan power clip bisa praktik di tutorial membuat pas foto dengan coreldraw
Hal ini memang tidak akan mengganggu hasil output karena tanda silang ini akan hilang ketika anda meng-export file. Namun tanda silang ini tentunya akan mengganggu pemandangan anda ketika proeses desain sesuatu di coreldraw. Jika anda menjumpai kasus seperti ini maka caranya adalah :
Klik / Pilih Object, lalu pilih Frame Type, Setelah itu pilih None

image : remove frame powerclip
Hasilnya :

Demikian tutorial yang sederhana ini, Terima kasih dan semoga bermanfaat...

Sumber: tutorialdesain.com

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Menguasai Teknik Transparansi Gambar

CorelDRAW juga dapat menggabungkan 2 gambar dengan teknik transparansi sehingga gambar seolah-olah bergabung menjadi satu kesatuan dengan gambar yang lain, coba saja

Yup inilah caranya:
Teknik ini juga berguna untuk membuat head seuatu website atau blogger sehingga kelihatan lebih atraktif

1. Buka aplikasi coreldraw --> new

2. import gambar [ctrl] + [i]
disini saya menggunakan 2 gambar yang bisa didownload

download 1

download 2

3. Setelah kedua gambar tersebut di import ke dalam kertas kerja coreldraw maka langkah selanjutnya adalah membuat kedua gambar bertumpuk menjadi satu
Lihat gambar:

pindahkan dengan "move tool" yang letaknya di tool box sebelah kiri paling atas bergambar panah menjadi


Gambar sebelah atas tertumpuk dengan gambar sebelah bawah

4. Setelah melakukan hal tersebut maka
Cari "interactive transparency tool" icon bergambar gelas


5. Setelah memilih tool tersebut
Geser pointer secara horisontal dari arah kiri ke kanan

Dan Gambar akan menyatu...!!!! Yeah!!!!

Untuk melihat hasilnya
Tekan [ctrl] + E dan simpan dalam bentuk *.jpeg atau *.JPG

Hasil Gambar Penggabungan Transparasi

SEMOGA BERMANFAAT

Sumber: http://www.ilmugrafis.com

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Teks Efek Artistik Media Coreldraw

Tutorial Coreldraw kali ini kita akan membuat tulisan dengan efek Artistik media, sama halnya dengan brush pada photoshop maka di Coreldraw kita bisa menggunakan fitur ini untuk menciptakan efek artistik. Ok mari kita berlatih membuat teks dengan efek artistik media

Langkah - langkahnya:
1. Buka Coreldraw, buat dokumen baru (ctrl + N)

2. Gunakan Teks Tool (Shortcut Tombol F8), Tulis teks yang akan diberi efek , contoh:

Disini Tulisan menggunakan font Arial Black, anda bisa mencoba type font yang lain kalau mau


3. Convert tulisan tersebut ke Curve, caranya klik Arrange >> Convert to Curves



4. Klik artistik media (shortcut Tombol i)



5. isikan Stroke land, berapa saja tp disini saya menggunakan 0.7, jika terlalu besar bisa diturunkan ke 0.1 atau ke 0.2 karena ini sangat berpengaruh pada hasil akhirnya



6.  Selanjutnya akan muncul docker Artistic Media
Jika Docker tidak muncul , pada menu utama klik Arrange >> Artistik Media
Pilih salah satu bentuk Artistik media pada daftar dengan cara klik kiri pada bentuk yang diinginkan.

Ok selesai, hasilnya:

Artistik media ilmugrafis
sampai jumpa di Tutorial CorelDRAW berikutnya , baca juga tutorial tutorial sebelumnya, Tips: Gunakan GOOGLE service di atas untuk mencari Tutorial yang anda butuhkan
Trima kasih Semoga bermanfaat……

Sumber: http://www.ilmugrafis.com

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