Recommendations To Learn Digital Art Basics

Jon,

What are you trying to do? I have very limited knowledge with Topaz, but if you like what I've done, happy to share.....

Rich

Rich,,,I have used Topaz and it's Ok,,But after applying the preset to a number of images, everything starts to look the same to me...even if I use a different size brush or stroke or brush size..they all have that same look..I have quite a few images like that..

I haven't had much success with creating traditional style paintings with digital tools but I do use a program that's designed for that to modify photos to prep them for more interesting results using Topaz Impression. That program is Art Rage. Art Rage is inexpensive and if you are patient enough to develop the skill you can create very good traditional style digital paintings, I've seen it done. However I just use it to modify photos to get them more like I want them to be before running them through Topaz. One of the problems I see with Topaz is it tends to make tree foliage swirly which doesn't really look like brushstrokes at all. One of the things I'll do with Art Rage is simplify the foliage using the palette knife tools so Impression doesn't do that. I also use the airbrush tool to add colors, lighten and darken areas, etc. You say you have Corel but you don't want what Corel exactly. If it's Corel Painter then you have all the tools you need there and is very powerful but I've heard the learning curve is steep. Art Rage is quick and intuitive to learn but takes time to master and isn't as powerful as high end programs but plenty powerful enough for most needs.

Are you after programs to actually make art, or learning resources?


—————
bestilled.com
Click this ^
< Not that

Jon,

I use primarily "Impasto" and also adjust the "opacity" for different effects. This image is full opacity, but you'll find others that are pulled back. Really depends on what you're final product wants to look like.......




Rich

Jon,

Check out Lois Bryan's work and I think she might have some images that are what you are after, Topaz altered......



Rich

Jon - I have been messing with this on and off with different programs for awhile and find what you said...everything starts to look the same, even though each program has it's own look.

David had a discussion going but it is closed, still some good info https://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=3656473

thanks Val Arie,,just started reading that thread,,maybe I'm looking for something that isn't there,,Rich has a great idea,,to use topaz and then bring down the opacity...that would work,,but I'm sort of into this program called Studio Artist..been at it a week, learning things to do. It has hundreds and hundreds or thousands of variations..I just see some work on here from photographers that is more of a painting than not and figured I could do that too..

I know I can't just pick up a brush cause I'm not a painter, but all these programs should be able to help..right?

Thanks for the shout out, Rich ... that particular piece is not Topazed ... it was hand-painted, using one of my own photos as a loose reference, in Corel Painter 2018.

I'm with Jon, actually. I used Topaz for a while, and the ones I've left up I'm okay with. But everything does look the same even with loads of tinkering, masking, etc. And I can spot 'em a mile off when I see them posted. Plus, I've often noticed a creepy graininess in a few of mine that I just don't like.

So now I'm either hand-painting my own photos, some using the photos as a VERY loose reference, or creating from scratch.

Yes, the learning curve in Corel is steep ... at least it was / is for me ... but very fun ... very rewarding. The 'joy of the journey vs the destination' mindset helps!!!

Corel is a steep learning curve like PS,,,I started with it but couldn't get results quickly enough, the teacher I found canceled the class and then found studio artist,,but even that has a learning curve...quicker result,,actually easier but still not perfect..I guess it will be another week or so of this,,,

just experimenting..

Jon - You're welcome.

I have been messing around with this for more than a year and finding it very hit or miss,with a lot more misses. At one point I was writing down everything I did to an image that seemed to work. Try the exact same thing on another image and it doesn't work at all. Sometimes part of an image looks right, Like David said about the trees. I have also noticed the size of an image can change the look too, or using a combination of programs.

Lois, Rich - Great work!

Jon - that looks good. That is actually another thing I thought I might have realized...it all works better on a smaller image. Or maybe that is just due to the relationship between brush size and painting size...that needs to match?

Thanks,,still not sure what I am doing,,I guess it really is trial and error,,definitely need to right down because I have no idea how to replicate it..original image was 3840 and called down to 1080 just so program would function faster..

Hi John,

You are not alone. I can't access ''Topaz'' or ''Impasto'' with my MAC. I have ''Photoscape'' and ''Artistry Photo Pro'' so far...I'm not sure what apps would even be similar to what most seem to be using.
I have started to intuitively work with ''Photoscape''....I am a hand to paper/canvas artist...so this is such a learning curve for me. I take what I put on paper/canvas...Iphone photo it...then I think I am working it digitally?LOL....(I know some have said better to scan, but I have no scanner yet). I have no clue with Artistry photo pro yet...it is boggling....

Your untitled looks great as if it was done on canvas by hand! I wish I could figure out how to start from scratch with a digital painting!!

I just did an experiment today with a pastel on paper...photographed then reworked digitally. https://laurie-cairone.pixels.com/featured/petal-power-laurie-cairone.html
It was fun! We are artists! We will figure it out...again, I have no clue....but I'm having fun! I learn a lot just from these threads!!

Best regards,

Laurie

Hey Laurie ... your Topaz should work on your Mac ... why not contact Topaz and have a chat with them about it. Back when I was using it, I always found them to be very helpful.

@ Val ... thank you!! : )) And I agree ... I think proportion of brush size to total image size can be very important to the final look especially in the auto programs.

John, your example is lovely ... I especially like the colors together ... really good stuff!! This is from your Studio Artist Program? I love it!!!

Now as to image size ... I'm not sure if the following relates to the other "automatic" programs, but in Corel Painter where we're hand-painting, we're basically smooshing all the photographic pixels away and rearranging them and adding to them. So we can work on a smaller size image, which does speed up the program (depending on our computer's strength and what-not of course) ... then resize, which I do in Photoshop. I have done that and as long as I've sufficiently "painted" away all the photo pixels, haven't seen a problem. Btw, I increase size via the 110% method ... only 3 times ....I haven't used any of the other programs that are out there so can't vouch for their effectiveness. Once done, I always go over the whole image at at least 200% in PS to make sure nothing went wonky.

Hi Lois,,,I tried in Studio artist,,I had this image saved as jpg really small at 1080 and then went back to make it larger and it did not translate well,,not sure if was the program or just a flook..Yes it was from studio artist,,I did a base layer of something,,then found cloning brushes to brush back in the image slightly with an obscured brush..dont know what I'm doing yet but it's a start..maybe if I just play with this program for another week I can figure it out..there are videos on the site but they are too fast and dont understand some of the actions..maybe I could take the image into PS and then layer it against the photograph and brush in that way?

Laurie,,that's pretty cool looking..

Thank you Lois...The only two things I can find in apps related to topaz are: ReMask Prime photography and Glow Fx....I'll call and try to figure it out...No Corel painter in apps either. I'm totally clueless, but having fun.

Thanks Jon. guess we learn through a lot of experimentation. Happy Creating!

Corel Painter, Photoshop, and any of the good ones that work decently have to be purchased, for pc or mac. Many of the sites have a 30-day free trial so you can at least try before you buy. The good ones are not cheap either.

ahhhh...just found it in apps for mac: ''corel painter lite'' 70$...looks great...will research this one

Thanks Joy,,yeah I went for Corel first and then did more search. and found studio artist by synthitek,,I wish I could learn corell quickly,,but there is a huge learning curve Like PS,,I did sell two photo painted images last year..so I guess topaz is ok,,

Jon, I think you're on the right track. I frequently bounce back and forth between Corel Painter and Photoshop. I think that's pretty common.

I'm always a little confused (unlike Ms Haley...oops didn't mean to get "political":-) ) when someone says they want to do "digital art" as it seems to encompass so many different things.

Are you talking about manipulating photographs to "look like paintings" or are you talking about actually creating art from scratch much like an actual painting is produced i.e. brush/stylus and canvas/screen?

I do the later with a program called ArtRage4 and a special brush-like stylus on my Ipad. See my Digital Art Collection.

Bill Tomsa

Bill, I want to manipulate my photographs to look like paintings..I see many here do it....I looked at artrage,,I'm working with studio artist..I was hoping to find education on the program besides their site..someone that is independent of them..Like Corel has quite a few artists that teach that program and how to use it..

I was online, looking for some other computer-related courses, and noticed that Arapahoe Community College offers digital art courses - Photoshop, Lightroom, etc.

It looks as if some the the courses may be online.
I expect that if you live in an area that has a good community college, they probably have similar offerings.

All you need to get into most community colleges is a high school diploma, and with in-state tuition, the classes can be very reasonably priced.

There are a lot of Artrage tutorials on YouTube, as well as Corel Painter, tons of Photoshop tuts.

Hi Jon Glaser, I use many different programmes and have done so for many years, just look at the front pages of my galleries, if there is something you like, let me know and I will let you know which programme or programmes I used to achieve it, if there is no nothing there that attracts your attention then nothing lost.

For me to name off art programmes in the here and now, isn't going to help you as there are a multitude to choose from.

Hope to be of assistance to you.

Do you use a desktop Alan? Do any work on iDevices?

___________
Susan Maxwell Schmidt
So-so Board Moderator and
Artist Extraordinaire

Hi sue.

A little background first.
Digital art for me was a natural transition from airbrushing, a healthier alternative also magical.

Started making digital art on a PC, was introduced to digital art in 1985. Gone through many PC,s since then.

Started off as a traditional artist as a child in the early 1960.

Today I don't hardly use PCs any more, mostly use Lap Tops and Tablets.

Almost 20 years ago most of my artwork was destroyed in a basement flood, was heartbroken from it, now I have recovered from the shock, my Digital Art isn't likely to be destroyed so easily; yet having said that, have had an incident that I did loose many images.

All of my artwork here on FAA is stated exactly what it is digital or traditional, not all artists are doing this, digital art sad to say is not accepted by the public or traditional artists, to be as viable as it should be, due to digital art being misrepresented, where people feel cheated in a number of ways.

If my digital art looks like a water color or oil painting it is because I know how to do both traditionally, due to my lifetime experience as an artist.

For traditional artists to make their work to look digital, woul it really be that easy for them, I think not.

I personally believe that I would be an artist making art, throughout my life without the need for the invention of digital art.

Digital is acceptable in everything except art.

Could rant on for alot longer but have stretched this out enough for now.

Thanks for asking Sue.

You did a great job! I think Gimp is a contender since the last release 2.1 with pressure sensitive brushes. It's more user friendly than other programs with everything listed on the headings with drop downs. I figure if I continue to do simpler painting projects I will learn slowly and learn more techniques as I go along. If I have a question I Google it usually with Gimp in the search although not necessarily. That is what I do now to learn since I have a pretty good grasp of the basics of Gimp.

You may want to try posterizing your photo, taking colors out then painting colors back in to make it look more hand painted. I don't think the programs work that well either, too generic.

Thanks Alan, Will get to you ASAP. Playing with Corel and layers now, using opacity to bring back a bit of detail.

Thomas Churchwell is an excellent tutor at Digital Painting - see his video tuts at Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/user36680121.
This is my fave from Churchwell - the Art History Brush https://vimeo.com/118087993. See his fb page.

Also, Ted Azriel does excellent work over at Facebook - see him on the Topaz Studio or Pixel Contrivers pages. https://www.facebook.com/ted.azriel/videos/10211833662942457/

If you can use Photoshop Actions, see the Seven Styles range of Actions - especially the Watercolor one. https://youtu.be/DEQax3yepsc

For texture work and ideas, look no further than Jai Johnson (Artistry Beyond the Camera) on fb; and Martha Hamilton (Creative Visions Textures Overlays) also on fb.

Topazlabs of course have a whole raft of video tuts at YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/topazlabs

For the free Nik Collection, see these 55 videos on how to use Color Efex Pro 4 - http://flip.it/g6BEDy and http://flip.it/vEGXVj

The ultimate teacher of digital art (imho) is the Photoartistry [dot] com site run by Sebastian Michaels - it is entirely awesome!

If you need excellent software - and legitimately free - to make Digital Art - try this fb group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/PhotoAppFreebies/

Experience is the best teacher. Find something, play with it, learn to use it, ect ect.

If you get stuck on something, google for help. Usually someone, somewhere has had the same issue and posted on how to do it.

Looking forward to hear from you Jon.

thanks thomas,,thats alot of stuff to watch,,but thankyou some of it looks promising!

You are more than welcome Jon! ;)