# Digital art program



## MathiasLupen (Dec 12, 2009)

I see everyone with artwork done digitaly and im like "that looks sweet, i wonder if i can do it?" So basically what im askin is, What are good digital art programs for a beginner like myself. i dont need super fancy stuff, just something to jumpstart my digital art awesomeness lol.


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## ToeClaws (Dec 12, 2009)

Well there are certainly A LOT of them out there.  Some are free, open-source applications, others are insanely expensive.  For my work, I use Inkscape, the GIMP and Photoshop.  The first two are free, the later is pricey. :/  But depending on what you want to do, GIMP can do a good percentage of what Photoshop can.  There's also Paint Shop Pro, which is also decently powerful and not too expensive.  There's another one too... Painter, I think?  Hmm - someone else better comment on that one, but I remember there was this one app that was very good for painting and colouring specifically.

Anyway, the one drawback no matter what you choose is that there's a bit of a learning curve.  I've used Photoshop for 13 years, which is why I sorta keep it around - I finally know how to use it.   Others take time, but there are tons of on-line tutorials that are really good for showing you how to get around in them.


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## Zseliq (Dec 12, 2009)

Pixia is free and can do some pretty neat stuff. Gimp is also good.


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## MathiasLupen (Dec 12, 2009)

ToeClaws said:


> Well there are certainly A LOT of them out there. Some are free, open-source applications, others are insanely expensive. For my work, I use Inkscape, the GIMP and Photoshop. The first two are free, the later is pricey. :/ But depending on what you want to do, GIMP can do a good percentage of what Photoshop can. There's also Paint Shop Pro, which is also decently powerful and not too expensive. There's another one too... Painter, I think? Hmm - someone else better comment on that one, but I remember there was this one app that was very good for painting and colouring specifically.
> 
> Anyway, the one drawback no matter what you choose is that there's a bit of a learning curve. I've used Photoshop for 13 years, which is why I sorta keep it around - I finally know how to use it.  Others take time, but there are tons of on-line tutorials that are really good for showing you how to get around in them.


 

That works, ive had the same answers from a lot of people i know, but i figured id still ask around the furry community.


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## Runefox (Dec 12, 2009)

Well, it's probably not what you're looking for, but I personally do all of my art in Inkscape, which is a free vector graphics program. I use it mainly for line art, but I also use it for things like logo design and that kind of stuff. It's fairly straightforward to use, but like any program, you'll need to familiarize yourself with it before you can do really awesome stuff with it. I still haven't fully mastered it. When I do art in Inkscape, I usually do the colours in Illustrator, which is *not* free.

For other stuff, I use Paint Shop Pro 7 (a very old (2000) version) almost exclusively, using Photoshop sparingly and I don't use Gimp at all. But that's just because I've been *using* PSP7 since around 2000 to begin with, and I'm most comfortable with it. I know the ins and outs of the program fairly well, and I know its strengths and limitations. In particular, its fairly good vector capabilities were what got me into Inkscape. It's aged fairly well capability-wise (and it's light as a feather), but it isn't entirely stable on newer systems, so saving often is a must.

Anyway, that's what works for me. Paint Shop Pro is pretty easy to use, and it's fairly inexpensive compared to Photoshop. If possible, I do recommend trying to get your hands on an older version, since the newer versions have a much greater emphasis on photo manipulation than on art and graphics design (it IS owned by Corel now, who also market several other graphics design programs). If you can get used to the interface, however, Gimp actually is very similar in terms of what it's capable of (minus the vector side; Pen tool doesn't count). Photoshop really isn't enough of an upgrade on either of them, really, to justify the astronomical cost for someone who's just getting into digital art.


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## Olivitree (Dec 12, 2009)

GIMP isn't bad for free... however, I personally use paint shop pro, any one of the paint shop pro lot is good(I use paint shop pro X)! it's cheaper than Photoshop usually I believe and I find it fairly simple, I don't need to read instructions to learn to use it. However to get good with it tutorials are brill!


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## MathiasLupen (Dec 12, 2009)

excellent, thanks for all your help! oh and also, im assuming that no one uses a mouse for these programs right? (stupid question) but what is a good tablet to use, like what brand and where to buy, cheap tho cuz im not made of money. (i think that is what that's called, the thing that looks like a mouse pad but you use a stylus instead of a mouse)


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## WarMocK (Dec 13, 2009)

MathiasLupen said:


> excellent, thanks for all your help! oh and also, im assuming that no one uses a mouse for these programs right? (stupid question) but what is a good tablet to use, like what brand and where to buy, cheap tho cuz im not made of money. (i think that is what that's called, the thing that looks like a mouse pad but you use a stylus instead of a mouse)


Who said you can't use a mouse to draw a proper pic with the art program of your choice? I drew most of my digital pics with a mouse (including my sig on FA). ;-)
As for the tablet: I'm using a WACOM Bamboo One atm, got it for 60 Euros. It's pretty basic, but I don't need a shitton of extra functions that blows the price tag for drawing a simple line.


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## Vaelarsa (Dec 13, 2009)

I started out using MS Paint.
Yes, with a mouse.

Get good on MS Paint, and any other program will seem easy as shit to you, so long as you learn what does what. A quick tutorial is all you need.

After that, I'd recommend Easy Paint Tool Sai, Photoshop, Corel Draw, Paint Shop Pro, Paint.net, or oekaki.
Get used to them all if you want to. Doesn't hurt to have more than one option. (Though can hurt your wallet for some of them, if you're one of those people that's against torrenting / pirating.)

Also, tablets aren't some miracle worker. I used the mouse to draw for a great deal of my life, and switching over was hard as hell.
And unless you get one with a screen (which are like $1000+), it's still going to be just like using a mouse, but with a pen-shaped mouse instead.
Good for precision, but isn't a miracle worker.

I have a Bamboo basic, which usually runs for $50 - 80 in stores.


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## Runefox (Dec 13, 2009)

I actually currently use a mouse as my primary artistic device, and bizarrely, I suck with pencils to a high degree (though I believe it's because I have a varying view angle when I'm used to a screen now, the opposite of a traditional artist sucking with a tablet). Everything in my main gallery right now (and most things in my scraps) is mouse art, including the pic that my avatar was made from. I'd *like* to have a tablet, but a mouse suits me just fine - I've been doing it since 2002 in one way or another (never MS Paint, but Paint Shop Pro, at first pixel-by-pixel, then later using vector, and now using Inkscape).

But anyway, if I were in the financial position to purchase a tablet right now, I'd be going for a Wacom Intuos4 Small or _maybe_ Medium. I've heard some people have durability issues with the Bamboo series, and what's more, the Intuos supports tilt sensing and has four times the pressure resolution. Would I need it? Maybe not (though Inkscape takes tilt sensing for its calligraphy brush), but it's good to know I wouldn't have to buy another one if it came time to start using those features. The Intuos4 Small is about $30 more than the Bamboo Fun, though it's about an inch in diagonal width smaller. The Medium is bigger than the Bamboo Fun, but costs $120 more than the Small, so...

Either way, if you're just starting off with digital, it's probably best to go with a Bamboo Fun or even just a Bamboo to start off. They all have the same _tracking_ resolution, so you're not going to be missing a whole lot right away, and it's better to get the basics down first than to get the whole package right off.


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## MathiasLupen (Dec 13, 2009)

Vaelarsa said:


> I started out using MS Paint.
> Yes, with a mouse.
> 
> Get good on MS Paint, and any other program will seem easy as shit to you, so long as you learn what does what. A quick tutorial is all you need.
> ...


 
Well right, its obviously not going to turn my art into something amazing, but id feel more comfortable with a pen/pencil in my than a rectangular shaped mouse.

And im not against pirating, why pay 100s of dollars for something you can just "borrow" from someone else. ill prolly bum photoshop or PSP from a friend.


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## Runefox (Dec 13, 2009)

MathiasLupen said:


> And im not against pirating, why pay 100s of dollars for something you can just "borrow" from someone else. ill prolly bum photoshop or PSP from a friend.



Not the best thing to announce. While you (or indeed any number of people) may not be against piracy, the forums and FA in general decidedly is. Tread lightly.


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## WarMocK (Dec 13, 2009)

Runefox said:


> Not the best thing to announce. While you (or indeed any number of people) may not be against piracy, the forums and FA in general decidedly is. Tread lightly.


QFT.


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## Olivitree (Dec 13, 2009)

MathiasLupen said:


> excellent, thanks for all your help! oh and also, im assuming that no one uses a mouse for these programs right? (stupid question) but what is a good tablet to use, like what brand and where to buy, cheap tho cuz im not made of money. (i think that is what that's called, the thing that looks like a mouse pad but you use a stylus instead of a mouse)



It is possible to use a mouse but the lines aren't as easy to make smooth, but a lot of programs will have tools you can use to sort it out :3 I think there might actually be a version of paintshop pro or something thats free, one of the really old ones but, I could be very wrong.


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## MathiasLupen (Dec 13, 2009)

Runefox said:


> Not the best thing to announce. While you (or indeed any number of people) may not be against piracy, the forums and FA in general decidedly is. Tread lightly.


 

Catch me if you can, lol. Nah ill prolly just use GIMP for now till i go buy something else, if i even feel like it. Im not really against piracy, i just dont have the guts to do it, or the connections (thinks to himself.... except for one)



Olivitree said:


> It is possible to use a mouse but the lines aren't as easy to make smooth, but a lot of programs will have tools you can use to sort it out :3 I think there might actually be a version of paintshop pro or something thats free, one of the really old ones but, I could be very wrong.


 

Oh im not denying that it is. Ive seen some other artwork where i couldnt tell the diffference between tablet and mouse. Its just for me I'd feel more comfortable with a pen. Im sure if i just practiced with a mouse, Id get used to it. But i dont want to.


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## Vaelarsa (Dec 14, 2009)

Runefox said:


> Not the best thing to announce. While you (or indeed any number of people) may not be against piracy, the forums and FA in general decidedly is. Tread lightly.


I don't see why anyone that doesn't work for one of these companies would be bothered.

Things are beyond ridiculously priced.
And if you can find freeware that does most but not entirely all of what these costly programs do with the aid of actual professionals who should know what they're doing, then that just tells you the extra $100-800 you just spent is going into someone's wallets and advertising.

But that's just my opinion.


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## MathiasLupen (Dec 14, 2009)

Vaelarsa said:


> I don't see why anyone that doesn't work for one of these companies would be bothered.
> 
> *Things are beyond ridiculously priced.*
> And if you can find freeware that does most but not entirely all of what these costly programs do with the aid of actual professionals who should know what they're doing, then that just tells you the extra $100-800 you just spent is going into someone's wallets and advertising.
> ...


 
Well true, but they do have to make money somehow, plus pay for all the employees who contributed to making the program, beit a programmer or the construction worker who built the building around them. The money has to be made somehow. HOWEVER that doesnt necessarily mean im totally against piracy. I dont think a couple hundred copies stolen by citizens is going to hurt the company in the long run.


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## Runefox (Dec 14, 2009)

Vaelarsa said:


> But that's just my opinion.



Oh, I agree wholeheartedly (Adobe really should try to target that audience a little better), but be that as it may, it's still against the rules to advocate piracy, as a CYA kind of thing. I bet a lot of people would bitch if FA/FAF were shut down for that.


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## MathiasLupen (Dec 14, 2009)

Runefox said:


> Oh, I agree wholeheartedly (Adobe really should try to target that audience a little better), but be that as it may, it's still against the rules to advocate piracy, as a CYA kind of thing. *I bet a lot of people would bitch if FA/FAF were shut down for that.*




Nah. Only a few hundred thousand, lol. I'll keep it on the DL for FA's sake.


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