After seeing a few people on Fringe who are looking to get into digital painting, I decided I wanted to create a support group of sorts to help digital painters- of ALL skill levels- improve through critique, projects, and discussion. Nelly and the FFX staff been kind enough to offer me official support on the site to make this idea a reality. It is my hope to see many new artists get started through this program. I would also really love to see this program become a success and perhaps branch out to other mediums with other artists leading workshops. So if this sounds like something that might appeal to you, read on! What is Digital Painting? Digital painting is an artistic medium that combines techniques that are founded in traditional art with the freedom of working digitally, using a graphics tablet (or mouse, in some cases) to draw on the computer. With digital painting, you use the brush tool (or an equivalent in your preferred program) to apply colors and blending to create a fully painted piece. So You Want to Learn Digital Painting? You will need a computer with some sort of art program installed- Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, and Paint Tool SAI are my top recommendations (I have minimal experience with Painter, though, so I will not be able to help much with the technical side of that program). It is also highly recommended that you have some sort of graphics tablet. Wacom is one of the best, if not the best, out there. The Wacom Bamboo is nice for beginners, where as higher end tablets like the Cinitiq and Intuos lines are great for those who are serious about their craft. Some artists do use a mouse for their digital painting, and if you wish to use one I will do my best to work with you. This is something that comes through time and practice, and requires patience and dedication. You will not be making masterpieces overnight. Getting started seems very slow, and at times it can seem like you'll never reach your goals. But you will get out what you put in. The harder you work, the better you'll get, and visible improvement is so rewarding! Think you've got what it takes? What Will the Digital Painting Workshop Do For You? The goal of this workshop is to bring together digital painters of ALL skill levels, from those who are picking up a tablet pen for the first time to those who have been at it for a while. The Digital Painting Workshop will have a private group forum for discussion and critique. We will have weekly challenges to expand our horizons and learn new ideas and techniques. Challenges will not typically be fully realized concepts but will rather be small projects for practice. We will also be completing finished works to receive in-depth critique and guidance on how to improve, and we will release monthly exhibitions of pieces that show members' improvement. You won't be required to finish every weekly challenge, but again- the more you put in, the more you'll get out. This program will nudge you in the right direction, but you have to put in the effort! Also, please note: This is not a team. You can be a member of this workshop and still be involved in a team. Who is Leading the Workshop? My name is Rebecca Weaver, also known on FringeFX as MissNinja. I am a part-time freelancer, specializing in fantasy art and character design, who has worked on projects for both personal and commercial use. I am a member of the Cosmosys Art Collective and am a dedicated artist. I have been working seriously at my art since 2008, and since discovering digital painting it has been my primary medium. By no means do I claim to be an "expert." My work has plenty of room for improvement, and I will be learning alongside you. As an artist, you will (hopefully) never stop growing. But I want to share my experience and help others to grow, too. You can view my portfolio at: http://rebeccaweaver.com Great, How Do I Join? All you really need to do to join is create an application piece. Don't worry, you won't be judged on quality; artists of all skill levels will be accepted. No one with a desire to learn will be turned down. The application piece should be new, and should preferably be something original- try to avoid fanart. Show what YOU can do! If you've never tried digital painting before, we'd just like to see an attempt as best you can. The point of this exercise is to give you a definite starting point. This will show us what you're capable of now and will help us help you right away. If you're a completely clean slate and have no digital art experience of any kind, shoot me a PM and I'll help you get started with your application piece. But remember, you will need a graphics program on your computer before joining the Digital Painting Workshop. When you have completed your application piece, please post a new topic in this section with the format [APP] YourForumName, along with any other information about yourself that you feel is relevant. That should cover everything! If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask! This topic will remain open for discussion, so if you have any questions, concerns, or feedback, please do share your thoughts.
Hey Rebecca, will this be a consistent thing or just a temporary workshop? I'd like to take part, but as of now I don't have time to create a new app piece.
This is really awesome of you, and i hope to see alot of the members who are interested in Dp getting involved with this. Cheers!
Thanks for the positive feedback! I'm not expecting a bunch of applications immediately, since I requested an application piece and people need time to do that. So we're hoping to start sometime later this week. But remember everyone, this is an ongoing thing, so you can join at any time!
what is considered fanart? o and btw, as i was going thru all the resources the other day, i came across some of your brushes and tuts..very helpful..im actually liking the brushes and using them more in some of my stuff more
I believe she's just trying to say we should avoid doing a digi-painting of people/characters/designs we're fans of and try to work on doing something more original
Yeah, this exactly. Your application won't be turned down if you choose to do fanart, but I'd prefer to see something original. This doesn't mean you can't use references, though. Just make it "yours" as much as possible.
Anyone else interested in joining? More applications would be great! Here's a preview of what we're doing this week! Inside the workshop is a step-by-step walkthrough to accompany the video, as well as tips and tricks, discussion, and critiques to help you along. The Weekly Challenges are intended to be projects that help you try new things in a supportive environment. Nothing is required or demanded, you learn at your own pace and participate as much as you want and in whatever way you want. This isn't really a commitment so much as it is an experience, where you'll get out what you put in.
Hey guys, just wanted to apologize. Time really slipped away from me last week, and by the time I realized the new day for the DPW had come and gone, I decided to just wait until the next day. A new workshop will be up some time this evening. Really sorry, guys. My life's been hectic as I've got an art show coming up soon, and a lot of my responsibilities have been pushed to the side. But everything will be caught up with the workshop tonight.
hey rebecca.. nice thing going on..just what ive been waiting for.. will put up an app piece soon.. will prolly have to learn again..
