Seniorgiri. Counter the Loneliness Yourself. Seniorgiri Series: Hobbies Digital Art

Transcription

1 Seniorgiri Counter the Loneliness Yourself. Seniorgiri Series: Hobbies Digital Art By Shobha Mathur 1 of 43.

2 THIS IS HOBBY HELP SERIES FOR SENIORS. I am compiling a series of things to do - what to do to counter loneliness, in addition, how to go about it. The book about painting became BOOKS about visual arts. As it is inconvenient to upload and download big files, I have arranged the info in different files. Learn to Paint Part 1 Covers Supplies, General Techniques, Oil and Acrylic Paintings. Part two is now split in several parts. Digital Arts Drawing and Sketching Glass Painting Water Based Painting This one is about Digital Art. I have tested all the links mentioned. As on May 2010, all links are secure, correct and working. You should look for more as you surf. You may find many that will suit to your needs. This is just a first step. Please feel free to share this with anyone you like. 2 of 43.

3 Digital art Introduction Today with popularity of computers digital art is blooming. It is an umbrella term for a range of artistic activity which uses digital technology. With the expansion of Internet and World Wide Web the requirement of digital graphics has exploded. This covers a multitude of work in all kinds of art fields - static images both 2D and 3D, animated images, Videos, Sounds, Music or indeed an integrated mix of all called MULTIMEDIA. The range is constantly growing. With new software coming everyday, it is now possible to do a variety of drawing and painting with minimum effort. Even drawing software is becoming specialized for 2-D or 3-D drawings. 3-d drawings are again not covered here. They are used more for designing various objects like cars, homes, furniture, and also animated figures used for games or advertising. This is a hobby article, and I have only covered basic digital drawing and painting. Both of them can be done using various software and sometime with dedicated hardware. You still need basic drawing and painting skills to adapt to computer graphics. Almost all of them use variety of brushes, pencils, pens, colors and painting techniques like oils, watercolor or impasto. Digital art is like any other art. It is just created using different tools. 3 of 43.

4 Many people think that digital art is not creative, it is only a reproduction. Well, it can be a reproduction as well as an original work. You can draw on the computer to produce an original art work. It can be as simple or as elaborate as you may wish. Any art is about an artist s idea and emotions. He can use any tools he likes. Computer today is like other traditional tools or the medium for the artist s vision. It is better in the sense that there is no mess to clean, and it is better to erase and redo your mistakes. You can even save the work in many formats to compare later. 4 of 43.

5 What IS digital art? The Austin Museum of Digital Art defines digital art as a product, a process and a subject. Product: digital art is a digital file (such as animation or images), which can be transported by digital media- By CD/ DVD, Pen drives, or by Internet. Process: Digital art technology in the process of creating the artwork (such as digital photography or computeraided illustration). Subject - Artwork that focuses on technology as a subject (such as a photograph of a computer mouse) would also be considered digital art. Digital art can be purely computer-generated (such as fractals and algorithmic art) or taken from other sources, such as a scanned photograph or image drawn using vector graphics software using a mouse or graphics tablet. Artworks are considered digital painting when created using software on a computer and digitally outputting the resulting image as painted on canvas. Digital art examples Here are some interesting examples of digital art from 5 of 43.

6 Digital Painting 2D: The artist creates 2D images totally in the computer virtual environment with the use of painting tools that emulate natural media styles. Sometimes referred to as "Natural Media". 3D: The artist uses 3D modeling and rendering software to essentially sculpt in virtual space. This method also makes use of all of the other methods. Integrated Digital Art This is the "mixed media" of the digital art world. Artists combine any number of the techniques to achieve unique results. The digital environment is much less restricted than conventional mediums in this type of integration and manipulation. 6 of 43.

7 Photopainting This combines the disciplines of photography and painting. The artist uses image editing and paint software to go beyond dark room techniques to add further expression to the image. Algorithmic/Fractals This is art produced exclusively by mathematical manipulations. This is the so-called "computer generated" art. The art here lies in the invention of the mathematical formulas themselves and the way the programs are written to take advantage of the display capabilities of the hardware. The art also lies in the creative intentions and subsequent selections of the artist/mathematician. 7 of 43.

8 History The first experiments in computer-aided art began in the late 1950s in Germany and the United States. During the 1970s the digital arts began to become popular, as computers gained both power and abilities. The introduction of the personal computer in the 1980s allowed more artists to experiment in the digital arts. The digital arts gained a wider acceptance in the art world during the 1990s, with more galleries accepting digital works and the establishment of the Digital Art Museum. Today, digital art thrives on the Internet in online galleries. Adobe Systems, founded in 1982, developed the first graphic software. Adobe Illustrator, a vector drawing program based on the Bezier curve introduced in 1987 and Adobe Photoshop in Of course since then both program have undergone a sea change and many new copy cat programs have come up as well. In 1984 Apple released the Mac, which revolutionized the digital graphic scene. Even now it is considered better than a PC for graphic work by professionals. Though now a lot of new programs are being written for PC as well. 8 of 43.

9 Graphic software To be an artist, you will need artistic ability, computer and special software known as graphic software. It is any kind of software which can be used to create, edit, and manage 2D and 3D computer graphics. These computer graphics may be clip art, Web graphics, logos, headings, backgrounds, digital photos, or other kinds of digital images. Though 3D Modeling and CAD (computer-aided design) software is graphics software, but these are very specialized applications which are more useful for respective industries. For example, 3D graphics software is often used in animation, and CAD software is often used in architecture and engineering. Motion graphics again has unique qualities and need special attention. By their very nature, these programs are not part of this hobby article. 9 of 43.

10 What you can do You can mix techniques and use computer along with traditional tools. You can draw an image from scratch on the computer with some software. Microsoft Paint was the original drawing program. You can draw an image on paper and scan it to use on computer. You can invest in a Drawing tablet. On this you use the stylus as a pencil to draw and instantly the image appears on the Monitor. You can download clipart or other images and alter them. You can use photographs as the basis of a painting. It is useful for all kinds of paintings, especially portraits and landscapes. You can print your drawing on canvas sheet or other paper and paint by hand. 10 of 43.

11 Some Types of digital art Computer art Fractal art Traditional art Video art Computer art scene Computer graphics Digital illustration Digital painting Electronic music Computer generated music Music visualization Multimedia Digital photography Movie special effects Digital imaging Photo manipulation Interactive film Video game design Video game art Pixel art 11 of 43.

12 Some Examples Drawing Fractals Painting _Painting_by_chrisscalf.jpg 12 of 43.

13 What you need Hardware 1. Computer If buying new, go for the latest chip/ video and graphic card/ 1-4 GB RAM. It is difficult to advice in this kind of article as the technology changes so fast that it is obsolete the moment you buy a piece. So if buying new go for the latest chip, graphic cards, Operating System, and as much RAM as you can afford. 2. Monitor If buying new, go for the biggest monitor you can afford, to be able to see better your creations. 3. Graphic tablet For input devices you already have mouse and the keyboard. For most beginner s software that is fine. If you are serious about your hobby, you can invest in a Graphic tablet. There are many brands and sizes available. This is a dedicated input device for drawing. You draw on the board with the supplied stylus (a pen like tool), and the picture appears on the monitor. Many drawing software support a tablet. So after drawing you can still manipulate it on the computer. 13 of 43.

14 Before You Buy a Graphics Tablet check here: 4. Printer An all in one Inkjet or laser is better. This helps you to scan also so you do not have to invest in another appliance. Printer is useful if you want to make a hard copy of your drawing and paint it by hand. Some printers can also print on canvas sheets or watercolor papers. 5. Internet connection Go for whatever suits your budget. I find slightly less speed with unlimited download package works better for me. 14 of 43.

15 Software 1. Latest Operating system Though win 2000, and XP are still in use, Vista and now Windows 7 are slowly taking over. It makes sense to change the OS when you change the computer or after a new OS establishes itself, as new software gets developed for it and won t run on the old OS. Mac and Linux are also used by many but it is windows which is dominating the market. Mac is good for graphics. If you have Mac, you will have to look for Mac versions of the software mentioned. 2. A good downloader A download manager is essential to download all the programs you may need. I use Download Accelerator Plus (DAP). I find it is good, it integrates with IE, Chrome, Opera and Firefox. It has resume and multiple download site support. Download it from here: 3. Graphic software The range available is astounding. Some of the good and known programs are very expensive, but many good freeware are available too. At the end I have given as many freeware that I could find. I have used Photoshop (it is not free), Paint.net, Artweaver, and have tried most of the programs listed. You also play with them and decide which suits you best. 15 of 43.

16 Some Definitions Before we go further, let us comprehend the terminology used. Graphic software This is used to create, edit, and handle 2D computer graphics. These computer graphics may be clip art, logos, backgrounds, digital photos, or any other kinds of digital images. 3D Modeling, CAD (computer-aided design) and motion graphics software is also graphics software, but these are very specialized applications. For example, 3D graphics software is often used in animation, and CAD software is often used in architecture and engineering. Motion graphics are video and flash graphics. All these are not covered here. Many programs use graphics extensively, but do not manipulate the images directly. For example Power point, Front page, Dream weaver etc. They are not considered graphic programs. Types of Images There are two main categories of graphic Images Bitmap (BMP), Pixel based or raster Vector Let us understand the difference between these images. 16 of 43.

17 Pixel-based images (Raster) Pixel or bitmap-based images are made up of pixels in a grid. Each pixel or "bit" in the image contains information about the color to be displayed. Bitmap images have a fixed resolution and cannot be resized without losing image quality. Most bitmap images can be converted to other bitmap-based formats very easily. Bitmap images tend to have much large file sizes than vector graphics and they are often compressed to reduce their size. Vector-based image Bitmap images are resolution dependent. Resolution is the number of pixels in an image and is usually stated as dpi (dots per inch) or ppi (pixels per inch). Bitmap images are displayed on your computer screen at screen resolution: approximately 100 ppi. However, the typical desktop printer needs ppi to print properly. Actually all Image editing and painting programs are Bitmap editors. All scanned images, and all images from digital cameras are bitmaps. To convert bitmap formats just open the image to be converted and using software's Save As... Command save it in any other bitmap format supported by the software. Because they are pixel and resolution dependent, changing their size affects their output. More pixels are added or deleted as the picture grows or shrinks. If you make it large enough you can see jagged outlines as each pixel is a rectangle. Vector Images These are drawings as we know them, made on the computer by some Illustration program. They are made up of lines and shapes. They are resolution Independent. You can make them grow or shrink, and there will be no loss of clarity. 17 of 43.

18 They are not so popular because they cannot produce photo realistic imagery. As they are made up of shapes which are filled with solid color, it is difficult to produce subtle tones. They are good for making clipart, cartoons, maps, and logos but not suitable for photos or paintings - yet. The programs are getting increasingly complex, and now some of them allow bitmapped texture in a shape and add gradients of colors. Vector images primarily originate from software or from your own drawing. An image can t be scanned and saved as a vector file without using special conversion software. Conversely, vector images can be converted to bitmaps very easily. This process is called rasterizing. Converting a vector image to a bitmap, you can specify the output resolution of the final bitmap for whatever size you need. Remember to save a copy of your original vector artwork before converting it to a bitmap. Once it has been converted to a bitmap, it can t be changed back to its vector state. If you convert a vector to a bitmap at a size of 50 by 100 pixels and then decide you need the image to be larger, you'll need to go back to the original vector file and export the image again. The most common reason to convert a vector to a bitmap is to use on the Web. At this time, the most common and accepted formats for vector images on the Web is Shockwave Flash (SWF) and SVG, a graphics programming language based on XML. Due to the nature of vector images, they are best converted to GIF or PNG format for use on the Web. 18 of 43.

19 Note the difference between the two formats: ctor_b.jpg The top one is vector and the bottom one is raster image of 43.

20 Comparison of two Image formats Main Formats Popular programs Raster Images Vector Images Raster Images Vector Images BMP - BMP file format (Windows) AI(Adobe Illustrator) MS PAINT ADOBE ILLUSTRAT OR GIF Graphics Interchange Format CDR (CorelDraw) PAINT.NET COREL DRAW JPEG, JPG Joint Photographic Experts Group CMX Corel exchange PHOTOSHOP XARA XTREME PNG Portable Network Graphics CGM Computer Graphics Metafile COREL PHOTO PAINT SERIF DRAW PLUS PSD (PHOTOSH OP WMF Windows Metafile GIMP PCX Personal Computer exchange DXF AutoCAD 20 of 43.

21 Which one you need? If you only want to do scanning of your drawing, or, painting from photos, any Image editor will do. But if you want to create drawing for cartoons or clip arts, you will need an illustrator program. I have given links for free programs, so first try with them before investing in any high end program. Basics of graphic software Each software will have its own help file and almost all offer tutorials. First get familiar with the screen. Handle tools and don t be afraid to experiment. You can always undo or delete your trials and open a new page. There is no wastage of paper or paint! There are some features common to all. Layers All good graphic software have a thing called layer. This makes the work very easy. Just like when painting with oils, we build a picture layer by layer; here also you can use layers. Layers are like tracing papers stacked one on top of other. Each transparent tracing paper has a piece of drawing and finally they all show as one picture. I made the following graphic in Paint.net. Most of the Paint programs have similar system. 21 of 43.

22 There are four layers in this picture: Yellow background Blue Star Red Star Hello Text 22 of 43.

23 This is how the screen looks: There are three palettes apart from the tool one. The Layers Palette shows all the layers and what is on them. Each layer can be edited without disturbing others. You can simply click on a layer from this to work on. History Palette keeps a record of all the cursor movements made. To go back you can simply choose a place from this palette. The color palette is used to choose color. After you finish work when you save all the layers are saved together to show one picture. Here are Layer and History palettes enlarged. You can duplicate a layer, add a new layer or delete a layer. You can do different work on a layer, for example, in a landscape, background, Trees, sky, clouds can all be on their own layer, and they are all editable. Even after saving, when you open a picture, you can access them again. 23 of 43.

24 Brushes, Pencils, Pens The tool palette holds a variety of tools. Brushes, Pencils, masks, tools for selecting areas, and many more. There are a variety of brushes and brush strokes available. There are brushes which work like stencils to make certain patterns. All brushes, pencils and pens can be set to different thicknesses. Lasso and other selection tools Undo There are several tools which are used to identify parts of the picture you want to change or cut. Some you have to take manually some identify the color and choose the part automatically. This is great when you have made any mistake. This is an extremely brief introduction to graphic program capability. These are complex programs, and need some getting used to, but are very rewarding. 24 of 43.

25 Uses of Digital Art The digital art is used extensively by the mainstream media for Advertisements To produce special effects in films Designing almost any thing in 2D and 3D Virtual games Editing and sharing digital photos. Creating logos, Drawing and modifying clip art, Creating digital fine art, Creating Web graphics Drawing maps Drawing diagrams. 25 of 43.

26 Links Digital art links. Some of the programs pan across headings. There are also links for free tutorials. Please go through all and experiment. All the links are correct, working and secure as on May Digital painting tutorials Digital Art Techniques and Tutorials Tutorials for, Corel Painter, Photoshop, Illustrator, Paint shop Pro, Expression, and PhotoImpact art software. iques_and_tutorials.htm TUTORIAL - digital painting This is an interesting tutorial of all the graphics shown in the panel Learn To Draw & Paint By Video! There's no better way to learn a new drawing or painting technique than through the medium of video. And it seems people have gone video crazy on the Web. So with that in mind of 43.

27 Digital Art Techniques and Tutorials Tutorials for most popular software coral paint, Photoshop, illustrator Paintshop pro etc. iques_and_tutorials.htm Artweaver (Windows) Software Drawing and Painting Artweaver is a free painting and drawing program for Windows. It features a number of natural media brushes and tools such as chalk, pencils, charcoal, oil paint, felt markers, crayons, airbrushes, acrylic, sponges, pastels, and cloners. It features a text tool, layers, layer groups, blending modes, selections, image adjustments for tweaking color and tone. SMN K 27 of 43.

28 From Anandavala : ParticleDraw is a novel windows drawing program powered by a state of the art general system simulation engine. It was inspired by system theory and ancient metaphysics and is essentially a fusion of esoteric mathematics with computer science. MirrorArt K From Cactus Artware : MirrorArt is a drawing program for the child in all of us. Objective of MirrorArt is to allow someone, no matter what their artistic experience is, to create beautiful drawings in seconds. The secret behind MirrorArt is its ability to "mirror" the mouse strokes of the artist. This allows drawings of beautiful symmetry. 3Board MB 28 of 43.

29 From 3twists Software : Use 3Board 2006 to quickly draw down that idea before you forget it, or maybe you just want to draw something random. 3Board has a rich and elegant Graphical User Interface that makes using 3Board really simple. So Basically Just Draw Away. InsightPoint MB From Icytec Group : InsightPoint creates sophisticated illustration and layout for Web and print. When it comes to spell out and share your ideas, in text and in graphics as well, InsightPoint is the fastest and easiest way to get you there of 43.

30 Cartoonist 1.3 From VicMan Software : This compact and easy-to-use graphics software enables even a computer novice to create funny caricatures or realistic images applying creative warping effects in a matter of minutes. Serif DrawPlus MB, 3 stars, Date added: February 02, 2009 From Serif : DrawPlus is the amazing drawing and graphics software that enables you to create stunning vector graphics, family trees, room layouts and even web animations. With DrawPlus you can create outstanding vector drawings, high-impact graphics and eye-catching animations--no experience required. Drawing Cartoons, Comics, Manga and Anime Learn to draw cartoons and comics - find out how to draw cartoon characters, comic strips, and storyboards. Learn cartooning techniques from simple gags to Japanese animation. Manga_and_Anime.htm 30 of 43.

31 TUTORIAL 02 - digital drawing Digital Drawing Looking for a digital drawing tutorial? Cartoon Solutions is the place to find a variety of Flash tutorials that are absolutely free. This tutorial can be a valuable one for those who want to learn how to create 'realistic' digital illustrations and animations html Digital drawing tutorials Links to many tutorials 50 Clever Tutorials and Techniques on Traditional Drawing This page is a mixture of traditional drawing tutorials, drawing techniques and some methods for transforming and preparing your creations for screen design. Some are intermediate level and some are advanced tutorials that include general theory, useful tips, and comic inspired art, sketch a pencil drawing, coloring processing, character 31 of 43.

32 sketching, shapes, proportional, perspective and much more. Wow web designs We produce two main types of artwork, bitmap images (like those that appear on this and most other sites), and vector images (used in applications like Flash and Shockwave, and for printing large scale images with no loss of quality). These formats require different techniques, and we have illustrated each process separately (although the start of the process is the same for both). Almost without exception, everything we produce starts life on paper, using traditional tools and techniques. We use computers to enhance the end product, and to significantly speed up the production of finished artwork, but everything begins with pencil and paper. GFX artists 32 of 43.

33 Many tutorials about anatomy, figure drawing, concept design, illustrations and paintings. How to Draw a Face Step by step instructions cssoft&cdn=compute&tm=939&f=11&tt=14&bt=0&bts=1&zu=http%3 A// Doodle Pad 3.9f 1.54MB From Grey Olltwit Software : 33 of 43.

34 A simple drawing and coloring program which includes stamps (small pre-drawn pictures to color).20 level undo facility; full screen drawing area; audio and text quick help; large buttons; paper color chooser; make your own stamps from pictures feature; make simple greeting cards; Doodle Pad; shape tools; add text; rubber (eraser) tool; hundreds of new stamps in download packs available from our Web site. SmoothDraw NX MB, 3 stars From Smoothdraw: From Smoothdraw : SmoothDraw is an easy yet powerful freehand drawing tool. It produces the most smooth and expressive stroke through your tablet. It also smoothes mouse input for who don't have a tablet. Sketch Studio MB From Drawing Hand Creations: 34 of 43.

35 Sketch Studio is a drawing program designed to teach children how to draw on the computer. It has a simple interface, a limited number of brush options and is easy to learn. Display your drawing as your screen saver. It's never too late to start drawing again and Sketch Studio can help you get started. TwistedBrush Open Studio (Free Edition) From Pixarra: Simplicity without sacrifice, powerful enough for the professional artist yet simply enough for the novice. TwistedBrush Essentials has one of the most versatile and powerful brush engines in existence, yet it as designed from day one to be easy to use. 35 of 43.

36 TwistedBrush Pro Studio: TwistedBrush Pro Studio includes everything that TwistedBrush has to offer including over 5000 brushes and full brush editing all at a great price. Great for original digital painting, photo editing and all forms of digital art. Price: $119 Project Dogwaffle Free 1.2 Project Dogwaffle is a paint and animation program. What is Project Dogwaffle? It is a Paint Program. The primary reason for Dogwaffle is for you to paint - without the mess, the occasional spills or the funny fumes. Some versions are free. Version 1.2 is available for free download. Discovering Project Dogwaffle - tutorial collection #1 The Art of Project Dogwaffle - tutorial collection #2: free web edition! 36 of 43.

37 Active Paint K From RoubecSoft: Active Paint Application is a simple (object) drawing program. Drawing Tools (Line, Circle/Ellipse, Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Text tool, Image (bmp). SpiraPaint! 1.81 From Cactus Artware: SpiraPaint allows users to create, color, save, and print images and allows for literally an infinite number of beautiful images. SpiraPaint is installed by simply creating a SpiraPaint folder in Program Files, and copying all files in the archive there. It does not modify the registry or any part of the operating system, and can be deleted by simply removing 37 of 43.

38 the SpiraPaint folder. Kolam K From A.K.Balamurugan : This program draws varieties of spirographs by changing just three parameters. The user has the option to choose foreground and background colors. This program is provided as a freeware. Sqirlz Morph MB, 4 stars, Date added: April 17, 2009 From Xiberpix : Morph two, three or more images or videos together, or warp images individually. Try multi-morphing all the family's faces into one unique 38 of 43.

39 (or gruesome) movie! Save your animation as a Flash movie, AVI video clip, animated GIF file, or bitmap/jpeg files. Greenfish Painter 1 From Greenfish: Greenfish Painter is an interesting painting program. You can paint with a virtual brush, calligraphic pen, charcoal, or chalk. G/F Painter provides a virtual canvas to imitate real painting. Some sample images are included. Sterling K From Tad Boniecki : Sterling2 is, a fractal-generating program written in 1999 by Stephen C. Ferguson. There are the 50 formulae that one can choose from of 43.

40 Making of a logo Digital Photo Editors Please check my e book -Eleven Fun Things to Do with Your Photos for more software. You can download it from Before You Buy Photo Editing Software Info about different kinds of software available. GIMP for Windows GIMP is a multi-platform photo manipulation tool. GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. GIMP has many capabilities. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo 40 of 43.

41 retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter, etc. Freeware comparable to Photoshop, but a steep learning curve. Top 11 Free Photo Editors for Windows Before You Buy Photo Editing Software Info about different kinds of software available. Digital animation Drawing for Animation Free course Digital tools Graphics Tablet Brands and Models An Overview of Graphics Tablet Models General Graphics Software Categories and Buying Advice ories_and_buying_advice.htm 41 of 43.

42 Free Pixel-Based Editing and Painting Software for Windows iting_and_painting_software_for_windows.htm Free Digital Painting Magazine Your Free Subscription to Digital Paint Magazine: Solid step by step digital painting instruction taught by some of the top people in the industry. Digital Painting software reviews and discussion. Tips and Tutorials on a variety of digital art software and digital painting techniques 42 of 43.

43 Acknowledgement The filler Flower graphics used here are from Hellas Multimedia The beautiful graphics are free. Graphics from the net are acknowledged at the point. Other clipart are from WP Clipart Free Collection. Some graphics are from me. This e book is by Ms.Shobha Mathur shobham@yahoo.com 43 of 43.