Digital painting paintings. Create an illustration directly on your computer
Surely many artists have repeatedly wondered how to create digital illustrations, and not just of a satisfactory level, but high-quality works that will take the breath away of any sophisticated viewer. This, like any craft, requires constant attention and time.
First, you need to understand the creation process itself. digital painting, which can develop in several directions. The article will tell you about these options, among which you can choose the one that suits you.
Creating an illustration from a photograph
The main advantage of this method is that it is suitable for everyone, without exception, giving an opportunity to those who cannot boast of the ability to draw well. The principle of such sketching is as follows: the original photograph serves as the basis for the drawing until the artist feels comfortable continuing to work without it.
If, for example, you work in Adobe Photoshop, then by reducing the transparency of the photo and creating a new layer, you can safely create an illustration, stroke by stroke, repeating all the lines and folds of objects. This can be done either with a mouse or using a special tablet with a stylus - an accessory in the form of a small thin pen for controlling a device with a touch interface.
Below is a video showing this method creating illustrations like this:
Creating an illustration from a scanned drawing
This method is already for people who actively practice creating high-quality illustrations, that is, who know how to draw.
So, the finished (or partially finished) work is scanned and opened in the appropriate program on the computer for further application of strokes on top of the drawing.
The following videos will demonstrate this method in practice:
https://youtu.be/UVGxAJL7dSQ
Create an illustration directly on your computer
As the name suggests, this is the most difficult level, which is actively used by professionals in this field.
Relevant videos are attached:
Hi all! Collectors are different: some love stamps and coins, some love bottles from distant countries, but n number of years ago I got pretty hooked on working digital artists/just artists/photographers. Therefore, in this blog test first post, I bring to your attention a selection of the most interesting (in my opinion) digital artists. Let's go!
Marek Okon- Polish illustrator with an amazing sense of detail and his own very special drawing style. He is incredibly talented in the field of digital “painting” and digital art. He currently works primarily as a conceptual artist, video game and literary designer. A large number of his works circulate on the Internet and his works are often used as desktop wallpaper.
Show picture
Daniel Conway- he is 23 years old, and in this moment he lives in the UK. Daniel has a degree from the University of Dundee (Scotland), where he spent three fantastic year(as he himself states) by studying both traditional and digital animation. As can be seen from his personal portfolio, Daniel works a lot in digital painting, having been practicing creating paintings for the past four years. Daniel Conway's artwork is instantly recognizable. His works are filled with vibrant colors, and fantastic scenes simply incomparable. They immerse us in a world where man and technology live in colorful harmony. Daniel's dedication to his craft is clearly visible in his galleries with many the most beautiful drawings that decorate the whole world. In recognition of his talent, Daniel Conway is rightfully considered one of the most successful artists in the deviantART community, whose leadership in October 2008 decided to award him a monthly honorary prize.
Show picture
Martha Dahlig(Marta Dahlig) is one of the contemporary artists who creates in the style of digital art. Marta Dahlig was born on December 23, 1985 in Warsaw. As a child, I was fascinated by the works of Tadeusz Micinski and Boleslav Lesmian, who created a wonderful galaxy of fairy tales about magical creatures, about princesses and sorcerers.
Now Marta is a 4th year student (although the information may be outdated) at the University of Krakow at the Faculty of Management. These modest data are all that is officially known about the artist for now, simply because she filled out a profile on the website where she posts her works.
Show picture
Franz Steiner- advertising photographer, 3D designer and art director of her own studio. The studio specializes in photo retouching and creating 3D images. The studio's employees are fluent in professional retouching tools, collaborating with large and well-known fashion magazines, studios and agencies. The works of this studio are always distinguished by their special brilliance and charm. Their works shine, play with reflections and undoubtedly attract the eye. Such high-quality work helped attract such clients as: Apple, Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Braun, Volkswagen.
Show picture
Matt Allsopp- an illustrator with an amazing sense of detail and his own very special drawing style. He specializes in illustration, character design, and concept art. His updated portfolio features work for Killzone 2 (a series of illustrations created for Sony and Guerrilla), character designs for Fight Night (EA Sports), as well as dozens more stunning illustrations created for clients such as Microsoft, Fujitsu and the BBC .
Show picture
Reid Southen- a young and talented illustrator from Michigan, often working under a pseudonym Rahll. He is a freelance illustrator, collaborating with video game and film production companies. His style differs from most ordinary artists - the absence of unnecessary details, thorough drawing, ideological nature and scale. His portfolio is a combination of personal creative work and commercial assignments. To understand the extent of her enormous talent, you just need to look at his amazing website.
Show picture
Radojavor- Slovak illustrator with excellent command of graphics. His updated portfolio is a combination of personal creative works and commercial assignments. Amazing patience and perseverance do not dry out the works - they remain alive and picturesque (if one can say so about his illustrations). The artist's works are drawn characters, ships and planes. They live in his illustrations own life. Therefore, I propose to move directly from the texts, closer to his masterpieces.
Show picture
Graphic designer, creator and illustrator Pirosca Marce l from Romania, who draws completely unusual objects and objects. He creates websites and enjoys photography and design. Most of his works can be viewed on the studioul website. In general, Pirosca Marcel is a completely mysterious young man who, apparently, is so absorbed in his work that he has no time left for anything else.
Show picture
Alex Broeckel - talented artist from Germany. He has been a professional 3D artist for over 12 years. Spent most time as a designer, digital artist in the entertainment industry. Worked on TD coverage for films such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, as well as Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist. His portfolio includes: fantastic ships, stations, planes, military bases and battles. In general there is something to see.
Show picture
Digital artist from New Zealand Stefan Morrell creates authentic futuristic illustrations in best traditions genre. To do this, he uses his drawing skills, as well as his 3D skills. In his portfolio, Stefan briefly describes how this or that work was completed and how long it took him.
Show picture
Chase Stone, also known as Chase-SC2, is a 21-year-old illustrator from the United States who, in his own words, has been drawing all his adult life. He also trained as an illustrator at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and believes that classical drawing techniques are very important even in digital illustration, in which he will gain glory.
Show picture
Talented 3D designer Max Chelyadnikov works in several areas at once: modeling, visualization and animation. The use of 3D in design makes it possible to turn any customer’s idea into reality. And the experience and skill of such professionals as Maxim allows us to guarantee high quality work. It provides services for creating high-quality photorealistic 3D visualizations for use in advertising, presentations and technical documentation. Makes advertising effective, turns ideas into reality, creating professional advertising videos and presentation videos.
Show picture
Incredibly high quality! That's the only way to describe it professional level works of Turkish 3D designer Morteza Najafi. The main directions of its activities are: graphic design, 3D modeling and animation. His page presents relatively few big list works, but it is through these works that one can trace the development of the designer in a professional direction. Morteza Najafi was able to develop his own unique style and today he is a successful and sought-after specialist in the field of 3D modeling.
Show picture
Octane Render is a combination of architectural and design abilities, a sense of style with 3D graphics and 3D modeling technologies in the hands of professional designers. Octane Render creates architectural visualizations, 3D design and animation, as well as video creation. The portfolio is divided into categories: product design, architecture, jewelry, automotive design, fantasy & characters, nature & abstract art.
Show picture
Max Kostenko- talented Russian illustrator. Engaged in the creation and development of characters, as well as different types illustration. Max collaborates with many Russian studios and agencies around the world such as: Kotetkat (France), lemonade (UK), Lebedev Studio (Russia). Recently I completely changed my web design, which I don’t regret. Now he draws funny, and not only, little people for his own pleasure and gets a lot out of it great pleasure, and sometimes even money.
Show picture
Dan LuVisi is a digital artist working in the field of cinematography and video game creation. His boundless talent was recognized while he was still in school. His career began at DC Comics, where he drew various superheroes. Subsequently he worked for the benefit of Hasbro, Fox, Universal and Microsoft. He developed his own style, his works are recognizable and unique. In addition to being a talented illustrator, Dan LuVisi is also a costume designer, enjoys painting, storyboarding, and drawing posters and packaging.
Last week the company Wacom, a virtual monopolist in the world of digital drawing, presented new technology WILL– Wacom Ink Layer Language. This is a new universal standard that provides cross-platform and working together locally or in the cloud, regardless of device and ecosystem. The technology involves the use of not only specialized tablets for digital painting, but also smartphones and regular tablet computers equipped with styluses.
Digital painting, that is, the creation of electronic paintings using computer simulations of artistic tools, is a very interesting field. We don't hear every week big news about a new graphics tablet and we don’t wait with bated breath for new tools, however, this area of consumer electronics is steadily and continuously developing. not at all as highly specialized as, say, programming. The availability of technology and tools allows even non-professional artists to create their own digital paintings. How has this industry developed and what can await us in the future? Let's try to find out!
The direction of digital painting is quite young, which is obvious - for its emergence it was necessary to sufficiently develop computers and information input and output devices. Exact date The first computer drawing, in general, is not known to anyone. And what can be considered such? Should pseudographics be classified as digital drawing or not? The first noticeable and colorful works made on a computer appeared in the mid-90s of the last century, when widespread use of SVGA monitors and video cards capable of displaying 16.7 million colors.
Interestingly, the ancestor of modern digital artist tools, the first Graphics tablet, appeared long before the development of personal computers. In 1888, a certain Elisha Gray patented the first graphics tablet. But the first device, really similar to modern ones, consisting of a pen and a flat pressure-sensitive device, worked in conjunction with a computer Stylator and was used for handwriting in 1957.
In 1964, a graphics tablet was introduced, which used a grid of semiconductors under the input surface to which ternary Gray code-encoded electrical pulses were applied. The pen received this signal, which could then be decoded back into coordinates.
But the first consumer graphics devices called KoalaPad were designed to work with Apple II computers, their history began in 1984. Along with the tablet, the user was offered a special software for drawing . Over time, Koala tablets began to work with other computers (the graphics program for the IBM PC was called PC Design), and soon the market for consumer tablets expanded - new companies entered it.
Since the end of the twentieth century, the rapid development of digital painting or CG art(Computer Graphics Art). The reason for this was, firstly, accessibility. In order to draw on a computer, in addition to the computer itself, it was necessary to purchase only a graphics tablet and software. The second reason for the increase in popularity was the increase in the speed of the artist’s work. Graphics programs offer a large number of tools, not to mention a rich color palette. To the modern artist You just need to make two mouse clicks to select the desired color - there is no need to buy and mix paints. And don’t forget about the biggest advantage of a computer - any erroneous action in the program can be easily undone. IN digital drawing it is easier to make changes, and you can send it to the destination address immediately upon completion - there is no need to wait for the paint to dry and transfer the canvas to digital media.
The growing popularity of the technology has allowed the development of the corresponding tools - in the arsenal of a modern digital artist, illustrator or graphic designer there is a huge number of effects, brushes and filters that are simply not available in traditional painting.
U digital painting great prospects, but also great limitations. Since the 18th century, there has been virtually no technical development in traditional art; modern artists create with almost the same set of tools as their colleagues did a hundred years ago: canvas, brushes, oil... But at the same time, the resolution and pixel density of displays increases every year, the quality of color rendition improves, Computing power is growing, software is developing - all this is a determining factor for the development of digital drawing. This is on the one hand. On the other hand, the resolution of modern monitors is still far from the resolution of the human eye; the monitor is not capable of displaying the amount of detail that can provide live observation of a section of a classical painting of the same size.
Another modern problem with digital painting is simply the lack of appropriate educational institutions. Digital artist today he is, in fact, self-taught. Most famous digital artists graduated from educational institutions in traditional painting and only then independently switched to digital creativity.
Although there are very few manuals on digital painting, the choice of graphics tablets on the market is quite extensive. Company models are popular in Russia Genius And . The cheapest model costs a little more than a thousand rubles, but a professional tool with a large diagonal and functionality can cost 200 thousand rubles.
Date of publication: 04/21/2012This article is the second part in a series of articles about computer graphics. In we learned about how special effects are made in the film industry, and also followed historical development special effects in cinema.
So let's continue...
Digital painting
Digital painting is the creation of electronic images through computer imitations of the artist’s traditional means (my free interpretation of the concept from Wikipedia). In fact, you'll almost never see a computer artist using the term "digital painting." Firstly, because there is already a foreign abbreviation - CG artist (sometimes CG specialist). Secondly, those works of art (that’s right!) that such artists create do not really fall under the definition of “painting”. Thirdly, everyone is already accustomed to using the abbreviation CG, since it is generally understood by Russians, Americans, Chinese, etc.
The concept of “art” came to us from Latin and Italian languages: art – art, artistry, skill. Usually among CG artists, the work is called 2d art (if drawn on a tablet) and 3d art (if done in a three-dimensional editor).
2DArt
The work process is very similar to the work process ordinary artist. Only instead of an easel there is a monitor and a tablet.
Since previously monitors were limited in color scheme(and even earlier they were monochrome), then digital painting appeared only when svga monitors and video cards appeared.
Having a tablet with an artist is a mandatory attribute for the drawing process. And don't confuse tablet computers with drawing tablets. A digital painting tablet looks something like this:
You simply draw on such a tablet with a special pen (pen, brush, sometimes a “stick” - a plastic stick), and what you draw is displayed on the monitor screen, namely in the graphics editor window.
Everyone uses it graphic editor, in which it is more convenient for him to work. But the most commonly used “Photoshop” is Adobe Photoshop.
Why do CG artists draw on tablets... At least try to draw an oval using a mouse! No matter how developed the technology is, you will still have to draw with your hands (and some people can draw with their feet). This means that to become a good CG artist, you need to be able to draw well on paper, know the basics of perspective and everything else that you can learn in art school.
Entirely computer-drawn paintings and images have many useful qualities. Firstly, such work is easier to redo. If the customer does not like your work (painted on canvas), you will be forced to completely redraw it from scratch. Certainly, small parts can be corrected, but significant changes cannot be made. But a CG artist will simply open a file of his work in Photoshop, where all his changes are scattered in layers. Then he will edit the necessary layers and get an improved work. This way, artists can rework, for example, the background, which is impossible to achieve on canvas.
Secondly, if you need to transfer a painting on canvas into digital form, then it is simply scanned. No matter how good and high-quality the scanner is, the quality component will still be lost during scanning. But a painting completely created on a computer can be drawn in great quality, and then it can be printed either the size of a picture in a book or the size of a house (the main thing is in what resolution the artist worked).
Here step by step example creating the work “On Tall Trees” by artist Anastasia Kustova in Adobe Photoshop:
As you can see, it all starts with a sketch, then the details are worked out. In the first part of the article about computer graphics, I provided a list of sites where you can see amazing works. And since not all people have time to visit art galleries, but everyone has access to the Internet, then everyone can join art. Who knows, maybe very soon digital painting will replace classic way drawing...
Here are examples of several works performed exclusively using computers and digital means:
To create a picture using a three-dimensional editor, you first need to model all the objects in the scene, then apply textures to them, and adjust the lighting. And after setting up the scene, it is rendered. Rendering is the process of drawing a three-dimensional scene as a two-dimensional image. Those. with this kind of work you need to be able not so much to draw as to be able to model (the process is similar to creating a sculpture).
Work done in 3D editors has several advantages.
Firstly, a ready-made scene can be rendered from different viewing angles, resulting in a new composition. Secondly, if you need to print an image on a huge poster, then in the rendering settings you can specify any resolution (depending on the power of the computer). Thirdly, such a scene can be used to create animated film or interactive presentation. Those. In 3D editors you can create both special effects for films and create masterpieces in the form of paintings.
Here are examples of 3D art:
That's all. On my own behalf, I would like to add that the ability to draw well and the ability to transfer one’s mental images to a canvas or to a computer monitor is positive quality person. Learn to draw! You don’t have to paint like Van Gogh or Shishkin, you don’t have to take special courses. There are now many tutorials, video tutorials and other useful things on the Internet. The ability to draw means the ability to fantasize, the ability to concentrate and the ability to endure. In general, go for it! Take a pencil in your hand and start drawing something right now! Who knows, maybe you have talent and you will become the new Picasso, or you will create special effects for Hollywood blockbusters...
Digital painting
- Author
- 30 March 2016, 16:15
- Author
- 11 March 2018, 18:23
- Author
- October 1, 2016, 20:03
- Author
- 27 September 2016, 19:55
- Very high speed and big choice materials. Choosing the right color is a matter of seconds (unlike traditional painting, where you need to mix or buy additional paints to get the right color - it requires experience and time), choosing the right brush/tool is also an almost instantaneous operation. You can do work with imitation oils, pastels, watercolors, or all at once, which is difficult in real world.
- The ability to cancel your actions, as well as the ability to save at any point in your work and return to it later, and an even larger list of features and advantages - all this makes the artist’s work several times faster with the same quality.
- Computer work immediately ready for use in digital technologies of cinema, games, layout - work done on the material with paints must first be transferred to digital form and there are also a lot of problems here, plus additional stage work.
- Unlike traditional painting, digital painting has cool and convenient tools and capabilities: for example, working with layers or applying textures from photographs to the areas of the painting you need; generation of noise of a given type; various brush effects; HDR pictures; various filters and corrections, and much more.
This community is dedicated to raster painting or painting in raster editors such as Photoshop, SAI, Painter and others.
Here you can publish tutorials, videos, information on editors, highlight the intricacies of drawing and share interesting findings and drawing techniques, etc., etc.
Long live pixels
If you are interested in vector drawing, welcome to .
There was a need for me to process a certain amount of black and white pictures and remove their background, saving it as PNG. I’ve already done this once, but I found an easier way, which I’m sharing.
Duplicate the image you will be working with onto a new layer, or unlock the original layer.
Your drawing should be in black and white. It's best to go to the menu Image > Adjustments > Desaturate or click Shift+Ctrl+U, then open Levels there and make the picture as contrasty as possible.
Go back to layers and click Delete- the background is removed.
The drawing may be pale, so click the button from the image below in the top panel, take a regular black brush and go over the drawing. You can also duplicate the layers instead to experiment with the quality.
All! Save the PNG and enjoy life.
Works great with pencil sketches and artwork, as well as any black and white pictures.
The method is elementary, saves time and takes literally a minute.
The other day I wrote and I admit this is a superb solution that makes everything easy and elegant. Thank you Lettochka for sharing :) There’s just one thing, I’m on Illustrator 5, and therefore I simply don’t have a pattern maker :(
Having not yet found this article from Letta, I tried to make patterns in Photoshop using smart objects. I want to share what I did, maybe it will be useful to someone.
So, in order:
1. I create a file with a size of say 5000x5000. In the center I set a square shape at 4000x4000 - this is my future pattern. Next, I place guides to the edges of the square (with snapping to objects turned on). I turn off the background - now my background is transparent. This is a template file that will serve as the basis for all my future patterns. I name the file say pattern_1 and save it.
2. In the file menu, I select - open as a smart object - I open the same file and save it, calling it, say, pattern_1_3x3. The name is arbitrary, I called it that just to make it clear that this file consists of 9 squares of the original pattern. In the layers palette there will be a smart object of the file pattern_1.
3. Now I expand the pattern_1_3x3 file in size using the crop tool to a size of 12000x12000 (I need to fit those 9 squares of the original pattern into it). I already have the first one, it’s in the center - I copy the rest and align them for an exact match - this is important for the pattern to be seamless. I move the layer with the first smart object - the first white square - on top of all layers.
4. At this stage, I have two files open in Photoshop, pattern_1 and pattern_1_3x3, which I need to work with simultaneously. For convenience, I go to the window panel - arrange - arrange two vertically. I open both files so that I can see the white square, the guides and a little bit of space around. 
5. Next, first of all, in the file pattern_1, I turn off the layer with the white square - then it will only bother me - and in the transparent space between the guides I insert the elements of the future pattern (I have them all in PNG and in the Photoshop settings there is a checkbox to insert as smart objects ( this is so that all the elements do not lose quality when working with them) Now I place the elements as I like and save the file pattern_1.
6. Then the file pattern_1_3x3 opened next to it is updated and we get a fully composed pattern. 
For now he is with transparent background Therefore, in the file pattern_1_3x3, below all layers, you need to place a 4000x4000 square of the desired color - our background.
Adjust your pattern_1 as long as necessary and save it every time after correction, and do not forget to save the pattern_1_3x3 file after each update (just in case).
7. When the pattern is ready, in the file pattern_1_3x3 I cut it along the guides, and save it as a JPG, indicating the now final name of the pattern, for me it is branches_1. It will suffer in size 4000x4000 as planned. 
8. After saving the pattern as JPG, I return to the file pattern_1_3x3 and cancel the cropping action. I'm saving.
So I keep the file pattern_1_3x3 as a template for building patterns and to make a new pattern I simply open this file and find my central smart object among the layers. Double clicking on it opens it as a separate document in which all work with the new pattern is carried out, and the final result is saved as a JPG from the file pattern_1_3x3.
The beauty of working with smart objects is that you change all the pattern errors in the pattern_1 file and when you save it, you will see how it looks in the filled pattern in pattern_1_3x3 essentially in real time.
This method turned out to be quite convenient for me. Maybe some of you will find it useful. :)
I already foresee how many people will twist their finger at my temple, like a raster pattern in a vector program, yeah. But I’ll explain why I’m writing this post. At one time, I had a fierce need to create raster patterns and I ran into a problem. Of course, you can create patterns in Photoshop, but this program is tailored for other needs. But the built-in pattern maker in Illustrator has always delighted me, allowing me to make all sorts of patterns quickly and easily. Well, I’m an illustratoraholic, what else can I say. There is also a point that I usually do not make patterns according to geometric grids, but scatter objects at random, and with any methods in Photoshop, I have to constantly double-check whether the objects are standing normally. The illustrator saves a lot of time in this regard.
In general, Illustrator can work with raster objects and understands the transparent layer in PNG. That is, PNG remains transparent and several images can be easily superimposed on each other.
In order to make a pattern, we need the objects from which it will consist in PNG. We take our transparent things and drag them into Illustrator, pay attention to the fact that pattern making appeared starting from CS6, so this method will not work below six. In the gallery I duplicated all the pictures from the post in a larger size.
Straightaway important point: I do not recommend making the work area large. Illustrator inserts pictures as smart objects and their quality does not distort (usually my original pictures are also large, from 2000 to 3000 px), so you can make a pattern on a small area and export it in normal size. I usually make patterns 600*600 px, after export 5000*5000 px.
After dragging, you need to do an important thing, namely click the “Embed” button on the top panel. Without this it is impossible to make a pattern. After the pictures are inserted, when selected they will have a regular frame, without a cross inside.
Next, select all your objects and select Object > Pattern > Create as with a regular vector. A regular window opens and the main advantage for me personally is that I can see the entire pattern and immediately change the location of objects. In Photoshop, in order to see the pattern in a large piece, you need to do an extra bunch of actions.
After the pattern is ready, click “Done” on the top panel. Next, I take out a piece from the swatches and hide the excess under a clipping mask. Next, export taking into account the JPEG or PNG artboard and voila, the raster pattern is ready!
Before making a new pattern, I usually delete previous objects, because they increase the size of the file and Illustrator can start to slow down. If I need to save patterns in order to move them later inside, I collect all the patterns into a file with several small artboards and save them as a vector.
Perhaps this method will seem complicated to some, but for others it will save a lot of nerves and time.
C.G. or CG Painting is nothing more than digital drawing or abbreviation for Computer Graphic. This direction includes all pictures drawn on a computer or, as it is also called, Digital.
What CG artists draw in depends on what exactly they are drawing. Roughly divided, there is raster, vector and 3D. The vector can still be animated later.
Raster is, first of all, Adobe Photoshop, in which you can draw in raster, partly in vector, create flash animations, work in the technique of photo art and collages.
Is there some more Corel Painter With a huge amount different brushes that imitate real painting. Some paint in less popular PhotoImpact, GIMP, SAI, Artweaver, Open Canvas, Art Rage, MyPaint, Krita. And of course in Paint, in which, by the way, it is convenient to draw pixel graphics, they say.
Vector is drawn mainly in Corel Draw And Adobe Illustrator . Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but both are the largest and most famous vector editors.
3D players also have a choice. 3D Max, Maya, ZBrush, Cinema4D– editors for 3D modeling. To fully create this type computer graphics Requires a VERY powerful computer.
How is digital painting better than traditional painting?
