Dude! I can't believe I'm starting out a new blog post after the years I stopped doing personal blogging. The novelty of it is actually both unnerving and fun at the same time. Nevertheless, I wanted to start out by blogging about one of the most important tutorial sites I've ever had the opportunity to learn from, and that is: About the siteCtrl+Paint.com is one of the best websites out there for aspiring digital (and manual) artists. Matt Kohr, the guy who owns the website, regularly uploads tutorial videos every Thursday. He uploads 4 to 5 minute videos that simulate a classroom/virtual learning environment. The lessons are brief, concise, and very straightforward. In these videos, he provides great tips, practice and homework, and the things to avoid doing. The video library I just linked is his main page--he's organized the tutorial videos into categories: (1) Traditional Drawing and Drawing Techniques (Matt explains that it's best to brush up on traditional drawing skills as this is the very foundation of learning how to paint digitally). (2) Switching to Digital Painting (3) The Advanced Digital Painting Techniques, and (4) Mental Approach towards drawing and painting. He's also got an online store selling his books on concept art, essential skills, etc. though his website and video tutorials are already very informative and newbie-friendly. THE EXPERIENCEI stumbled on his website on one of those days when I was casually surfing the Internet for artists to learn from. I'd have to say that his website is not only super informative, it is one of the best tutorial sites out there. It caters to people who are not familiar with drawing and want to learn from scratch. I just love his site because the videos he posts makes one feel extremely welcome to learn drawing, as he emphasizes that drawing is a skill to build on and can be learned by anybody who is willing to practice everyday. What I love best about learning from him is that he always gives some practical and useful advice and techniques to start out. Some of the more important techniques I learned were the use of the visual measuring tool, and methods like contouring and blocking-in shapes. He emphasizes that drawing is pretty much like learning how to visualize objects in 3D, and that it is key to every drawing to be able to master form (not shape). Contouring and linear blocking-in were both very efficient methods for me, and seeing how my approach was able to swiftly change from getting the details down to starting a drawing from the visual measuring process really made the difference. His tutorials actually gave me that confidence boost in drawing, and I truly feel the measure of improvement. Another thing I learned from him was to not be afraid of "bad drawing days". I used to hate looking at a blank canvas, not knowing where I should start and what I should do first. I'd pretty much say that his techniques have helped me a whole lot. Right now, I'm watching his videos every other day and slowly veering towards his digital painting videos (he encourages people to try out the traditional drawing video sequence before making the switch to digital tools). It makes me feel like I've been through a real art course with a really patient lecturer. He really knows his stuff, and is completely understanding of how it is to practice drawing as a beginner. Intermediate learners also stand to learn a lot from his videos--it's been like a "Back to Basics" journey for me, coming from a long drawing and art hiatus. The fact that watching his videos has encouraged me to get back into drawing has shown me that he's already made a big impact in my learning process. Openness and a thirst for knowledge to learn and re-learn techniques are what mainly guided me back from missing drawing to actually drawing again. Attaching a Ctrl + Paint video from Youtube : DIGITAL PAINTING MASTERS : INSPIRATIONAL STUFFI recently discovered some pretty amazing artists who post their painting process and speed painting videos on Youtube. Here are some of my favorites: 1. Webang111 I'm linking one of the best artists I've seen doing detailing, patterns and just overall really amazing. Her name is Akekarat Sumatchaya from Bangkok, Thailand. She uploads a lot of speed-painting art on YT, and the best thing is that she starts from scratch. Both her Youtube and Deviant art accounts are really inspiring. Gosh, what I wouldn't give to be able to watch her process in real-time! Her artworks are really beautiful, and her attention to detail is impeccable. This is one of her latest works, Silver Bird. 2. Sinix Design Oh gosh, this guy's art is AMAZING. Also discovered him via Youtube, and he's posted some really interesting video playlists. He seems to be one of those artists who are self-taught, and in digital painting, that is one amazing feat. He's one of those guys who just really has fun with digital painting. Linking one of his concept drawing videos below: 3. FZD School Feng Zhu is like, hands-down, one of the most professional artists out there. He has all sorts of posts related to concept art, digital drawing, painting, you name it. He also has podcasts about professional hurdles and experiences, and he's definitely not afraid of sharing what he has gone through to really get into what he does for a living. He's got these Design Cinema series that's spanning to almost over a hundred videos, and watching his videos more often than not gets your jaw dropping. I appreciate how he discusses his process and focuses on specific subjects at a time in his Design Cinema series. Linking one of the best ones out there: There are a lot more concept artists I look up to and admire besides the ones I've mentioned, and I'll probably link more in future blog posts. There's nothing like inspiration to get your imagination and gears kicking in. And watching these people start these paintings from a virtually blank canvas is seriously inspiring.
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Nonsensical whimHi, I'm Ashley. This is my blog on journey towards discovering art and documenting my learning experiences. (Particularly Photoshop, Digital Painting, Sketchup/V-ray, Interior Design, fun tutorials I've discovered and the like). wordpress:TUMBLR:Archives
December 2018
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