Three-Eyed Larry Update #2: Color…
I finally got my markers in the mail… yayyy!!! Here are a couple of views of Larry with some color:
Neither color is quite the one I’m looking for — I want something between the two and lighter in tone. So, looks like another trip the art store…
It took all of five minutes to pencil, ink, and color each drawing. Scanning and a slight color correction didn’t take long at all. That means at least in principal the idea of making the drawings less computer-centric will speed things up considerably…
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Dude, here’s a bit of advice to save you loads of money and resources in the long run: buy a wacom and download a copy of GIMP. GIMP takes all of ten minutes to learn, and then practice, practice practice on the Wacom til you feel it’s second nature. If you need to look where you’re drawing, fork out some extra dosh and get a cintiq (but even I was too cheap for that one…)
You won’t go back in a hurry, and if you must, you’ll actually feel your pencil work is stronger.
Paul - Here’s the thing: I have a Wacom tablet. I’ve have GIMP, P-shop, Illustrator, and Painter at my disposal. So, why am I hell-bent on going back to the old-school way? A couple of reasons:
1. I’m incredibly sloooooooooow with the Wacom. I’ve had it for five years now, and it’s still like trying to write cursive with my feet.
2. My eyes are changing. The eye doctor sez next time I come in for a visit she’s gonna prescribe bifocals. Bifocals!!!! WTF?? On top of that, I spend eight-plus hours a day at the coal mines reading SQL code, so when I sit down in the evening to finally get busy on some drawing, I can go maybe an hour, hour & a half tops before the migraines and double vision return.
3. I tend to diddle. Endlessly. Unlimited undo ability is my mortal enemy. “Oops, there’s a two-pixel smudge on that line — better fix it!”
I inked the first three hand-drawn animations with Sharpies, & colored them in Painter. In all three cases, coloring with the Wacom took the longest. For the current movie I’m working on (Scary Monster Vs Lucky Frog), I decided to go all-digital with production — only the keyframe pencil roughs were done in traditional media. Started inking the beginning of April… and here I sit four months, still inking with the Wacom. All for a three-minute short. Clearly, this is not the way to go for me…
Since I’m limited in the amount of time I can spend on the computer — and since the amount of time I spend is wasted, apparently — I’m going to make my next couple of projects with Sharpies and Prismacolor markers, & see if I can’t get a movie made in a reasonable amount of time — say, under six months? (this only applies to hand-drawn movies; for the CG stuff I reserve the right to be as slow and nit-picky as I want)…
I’m all about the process, though. If you have any ideas on how to speed my Wacom-ness up past geriatric speed, I’m all for it
Thanks for commenting, and have a GREAT day!
Yeah, those are some fairly valid excuses. I only use a wacom for drawing cos… and this is a lame excuse - I’m left handed. I can’t use it for video editing or 3D as I am accustomed to using my left hand for all my short cut keys.
Painting with the wacom is actually quite easy when you get a workflow going. Next time you are game, scan your doodle into P-shop or gimp, then add a layer, set it to multiply, and paint away. Change your brush size, get happy with texture brushes and you’ll often find it saves lots of time. I love the eraser, too. I can’t live without it, and in my sketch books, I now sketch with the preconception I can always erase it cleanly and growl when I smudge.
But it’s horses for courses. No way is better, but I was a reluctant convert.
Paul - Some of the last doodles I did in color, I used Painter. On a separate layer I would lay down a base color, then on a different layer add highlights and shadow effects with a grainy paper texture. Worked pretty fast, actually. The previous anis I laid down multiple layers of different color with brushes that were too small. Gave it a neat 3-D effect when I pulled it off, but it was too much work.
I’m thinking the markers are gonna be real difficult trying to get a consistent color tone from frame to frame, so I may end up back on the Wacom for coloring after all — unless I suddenly decide I want my colors to flicker annoying. We’ll see how it flies…
Throw a little love my way, won't 'cha??? Thanks!!!! :)