howto get into graphics

learnerplates

Hi,
How can I get started with designing graphics? what applications should I use and do most of you guys have qualifications in Art of some kind?
I do alot of drawing and am in the software industry (but the geek side) how can I shift to the graphics side of things?

Cheers,
LP.

spidermonkey

well personally,
after secondary school i went to st john college(fetac) and did the art craft and design course, and then went onto CIT to do their visual communications course(currently in 3rd year) i've always been interested in the graphics side of things and im not the worst at the art side of things either.

i use illustrator cs2, photoshop cs2, a pencil and paper.
theres other software too but thats going beyond what you need.
i do use a graphics tablet from time to time too. but thats for colouring & colour correction to photos.

http://www.good-tutorials.com/
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/tutorials

and if you go into eason and take a look at the 'computer arts' and 'computer arts projects' you might get a decent tutorial in there from time to time.

learnerplates

Wow Spidermonkey,
Thanks alot . I'll have a dig into the information.
BTW I've had a look on at the opensource software projects and there are a few opensource apps for media http://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/trove_list.php?form_cat=99

The Adobe Illustrator looks pretty cool, it's for painting I presume and photoshop for pictures, Illustrator would be for me I guess, drawing that is.

Cheers.
LP.

BopNiblets

If you have no experience with Photoshop (as I did the first time I tried it) it can be rather confusing how to get anything done.
I always recommend Paint.NET as a next step up from MS Paint, and it has layers and stuff and you can do some cool tricks with it if you need to.
Linkified in my sig.

challengemaster

gimp 2.*

its excellent, does the same sort of stuff photoshop does, but its free!

learnerplates

Cheers BopNiblets,
I'll definitely give that a go, free apps from msoft great stuff.

On the subject of books, I had a look in eason's at the weekend and found very little on graphic design or cartoon character drawing, it was mostly help files on the applications, not much use really I'd presume that comes with the application anyway, I want to learn drawing techniques as well.

Any one have any recommendations on books to buy, something on starting drawing cartoon characters from scratch.
Amazon has some books on Manga drawings etc, anything out there more basic than this.

Thanks all for you help again,
LP.

learnerplates

Paint.NET is much much better than mspaint for sure but still not enough.
Photoshop is some price isn't it but I see alot of tutorials are based around it, it looks like the tool of choice, anyone know if there's a student edition?

This tool Blender was also recommended to me but it's mostly for 3D stuff, Free though and is good.

I've moved on with the basics, started some art classes, interesting stuff. this ImageFX is where I want to be, a long way to go.

any more help greatly appreciated.

Citizen_Erased

Blender is well worth a look for getting into 3d modeling but compared to other programs it is limited . Still it is an excellent base and the program where i laid down most of my 3d modeling ability. You should also try the Yafray plug-in for it (google it) but both it and blender are inefficient and require high powered systems or patience to do anything substantial. If your going for a graphics program other than Photoshop , go for the gimp < I use that when I'm in my Ubuntu install.

Btw the ImageFX people are using graphic tablets , if your serious you really need one. But as for their stuff , if you cant draw stuff like that on paper then it is no easier in photoshop and you may need alot of time and experience to gain abilities like that. If you are a good artist then a basic knowledge of the tools and brushes should set you flying on that track.

Klept0

Cinema 4D is worth a look too, it's a 3d software program, expensive though =/

Depends on your pc however, C4D chugs along like a manatee on mine

learnerplates

I'll focus on the paper versions first and then maybe invest in Photoshop or some other popular app.
I'd love to try one of those tablets too, I think PCWorld or Maplin had them on sale some months ago. Anyway I'll give the old fashioned art a go first and then move on. I'll be back in touch.

gucci

how does blender compare to C4D??
i have used C4D, have the very basics, presume the tools and set ups are similar? as in if i downloaded blender and worked with it would by C4D skill improve?? or would i be working in a completely different direction. looks good on the site anyways

Citizen_Erased

I think the two programs have a lot in common as can be seen in the tutorials for both programs. But either way , 3d modeling ability is entirely generic and is transferable from every program to the next. If you want a good free staring point , get blender and go nutz ! Just amke anything and everything and follow as many tutorials as you can . Once you have the basic concept of 3d understood like the ability to understand how to translate late shapes in the 3rd dimension and understanding how to manipulate shapes into the form you want . Then the only barrier to you switching program will be just learning the new interface / jargon. As an example - I began with a very free and basic program called Zmodeler making cars for the GTA series and then I moved to Blender which had some small technical increases and then recently I moved up to 3d studio max which actually made life easier because it is a far more efficient and capable programme than blender. So essientially , learning with blender was an advantage because when I got the better tools , life got a whole lot easier. Shame I had to come off it for my leaving cert - as you'll discover , 3d modeling is very time consuming.

gucci

well i presently do most of my modelling in pro engineer so il be rendering those models (im a design engineer of mechanical components so this would be beneficial career wise!!) then hopefully when i get up to speed i can do a bit of free modelling in blender, make a few little characters and the like. thanks