I wanted an altogether other kind of drawing than usual. I opted for this very flat image of a pondering Leo.
The initial sketch was done drawing by tracing a screenshot of the video in Art Rage 2, and the clean-up and colorization was done in GIMP.
That is all.
I found a photo of a very young Alexis Dziena (cast in the movie She’s Too Young). in my TV guide. I traced the photo by putting it directly on the Wacom Intuos 3 and using the stylus to trace through the paper.
That wasn’t a very accurate sketch, probably because the photo was only 43 mm wide and 47 mm high.
After I traced the photo in my TV guide, I put it in a separate layer in Art Rage 2, made the background of that layer transparent, and draw with the crayon tool on a new layer, underneath the old layer.
When I had colorized the original sketch, I used the original photo to retouch the crayon drawing, make it look more like the photo.
The result isn’t that bad, considering what I had to go on. Still, I see room for improvement, and that is always encouraging.
That is all.
I have used Wacom tablets for years, but never replaced a pen tip. I wanted to know if another type of tip would help me to draw better on a digitizer, like the Wacom Intuos3, which digitizes pen strokes.
I ordered the replacement kit over the Internet, of course, hugely overpriced (39 euros, including VAT and P&P). Luckily, if you’re being careful, the tips (or nibs as Wacom calls them) don’t really wear over the years, certainly not the standard hard plastic tips, used only occasionally by an amateur draftsman.
Here is the description, as supplied in the Grip Pen Accessory Kit for Intuos3 or Cintiq tablets.
Replacement pen nibs
The different pen nibs change the physical feel of the pen on the tablet. The standard nib (white) is for general multi-purpose use. The stroke nib (gray) is spring-loaded and provides a soft, brush-like feeling. The felt nib (black) has a higher friction than the standard nib.
Replace the nib when it gets too short or develops a flat point. Use the included pen nib removal tool to pull the nib straight out of the pen. Then slide the new nib into the pen barrel firmly until the nib stops.
So I tried this with a felt tip, and once I had identified all the parts I needed, replacing the tip was a cinch.
That is all.
I tried to connect my Wacom Intuos 3 art tablet to my little msi wind netbook computer, and it worked great.
I thought the usb power wouldn’t be enough to power the Wacom, but it was. Now I don’t have to buy a Bamboo anyway, and keep using the tablet I’m used to when I’m going mobile.
Now I only need more power (9 cells) and more RAM (2 GB).
That is all.
The online tool artPad is the best online painting tool I have found so far. The interface is clean and simple. You can select a color from a swatch, a brush size, and the rest is up to you, putting digital paint on the canvas. When you’re finished, you can put a frames around your work of art.
The Flash tool is apparently very well written, because it is quite responsive. Oftentimes, you’ll see some lag in drawing, but with this tool, the lagging was minimal.
Of course, you can use a brush as a drawing instrument. The difference between drawing and painting is in the intent of the artist, not in the tool he or she uses. I chose line over surface, so this was a drawing.
Your drawing doesn’t go to waste. You can either send a link to your painting on the website, put it on display, so others can see it, or print it on your printer.
I chose the latter, and because I’m on a Mac, I can print to a PDF file, and convert that into a JPEG image.
The painting is not meant to reflect my drawing skills, but rather to test the tool. I’m liking it much more than Digital Doodle.
That is all.
