Today I decided to redo some of the doodles I have done in the past with watercolor pencils but do them this time using the iPad.
1. The original picture from Pinterest that I thought was too cute. 2. My original little doodle (9/11/2011) of her using watercolor pencils 3. My re-doodle of #2 on the iPad (4/28/13) 4. On this one I decided to be a little more detailed and I used the original picture as my "paint pallet".... You do that by having a small version of the original photo open and holding the stylus down over the color you want, that will change your current working color to the one you want....kinda like having a pallet of all the colors you need only still in the shape of the picture. Now THAT is why all those "color combinations" on Pinterest are so important!... you have a built in color pallet that has colors that go good together, less thinking and frustration involved. And, its really nice to have the reference there so close.
Are you starting to see why I am recommending the Jot Pro Stylus?! You get so much more control over where a thin line actually goes. I still try to draw somethings with my finger and the line never goes where it should. Now, the finger is great for big wide stokes, like when you need to erase big areas, so I don't rule them out!
I can not begin to tell you how much time I spent yesterday trying to create a "real" looking watercolor brush in Procreate!!! NOT POSSIBLE! (for me anyway)
So, I finally gave up and took the idea over to ArtRage. I'm still not happy with it but there are just too many varibles and percentages to play around with and too little patience on my part to bother!
*** NOTE *** See all that white space below the picture ^^^ , well, it isn't really there on the actual picture. BlogGo is adding it... it is a bug in the software that I have reported and "it is being looked at".... I really am liking BlogGo but there are definitely some areas for improvement! I have mentioned some to the developer and hopefully she will make them happen! I replaced it with Blogger
ANYWAY! Back on subject....
One thing I did do yesterday to help me see how things work in Procreate is to create a chart showing how changing a layer affects the layer underneath it.
Layer 1 is the solid green square
Layer 2 is showing how changing the layer to "Multiply", "Linear Burn", etc. shows up on that layer. I used the same color green as the big square and wrote what I was doing ... see how it affects the color?
Possible appications would be... if I draw a face on layer one, instead of coming up with a darker shade for contouring I can just create a layer above, use the same color and it will automatically produce a darker, or lighter version of the original.
Well heck, let's prove my point....
Not bad for someone who is COMPLETELY CLUELESS about how things SHOULD be done and who is just making it up as she goes huh? I know I haven't discovered a new something, I've just discovered a new something FOR ME.
Almost 2 years ago I did a "Believe" by hand with markers so tonight I started out trying to "redo" that... only different. I started out natural enough...flowers inside outline on white...but it didn't take long for me to rethink the redo and go with black letters making the flowers pop. Then I decided to go with what I already had, the background I created for yesterday's girl (that's the bit behind the word). Then I played with the black boarder and this is what I got:
***IMPORTANT NOTE: I heard from an iDraw developer last night and you can, indeed, convert text to curves so that you can modify them so, no need for both iDraw and InkPad like I thought might be the case on the post I wrote on the 19th. I personally would go with iDraw....I THINK there is more functionality, but heck, the way some things are hidden ya just never know for sure.
I always have more fun when I learn something new. Today I figured out what is required to make a brush from scratch.... I decided that I want a brush of eyes so that I can add eyes to any figure with one click. The thing that I figured out is you have to create a negative or the opposite of what you want to create...like the thing that is WHITE is what will "print" and the black will show up clear... Example of a "brush" I made:
For some reason that kinda messes with my brain. It would be an easy fix on a regular computer, just draw it in black then reverse the colors... I don't think I have a package that will do that on the iPad yet so I had to start with a black background and draw in white. I used the mirroring tool in Sketchbook Pro so that I only had to draw one eye while the software drew the other....in white.
Anyway, you can see the eyes on my girl...easy, easy to modify once they are there. I LOVE IT!
I used lots of brushes on the background, some that came with Procreate, some I made.
I went back to fix a couple things that were bothering me and decided to make a cropped version as well, I think I like it better:
My long term goal is to make most of what I do on the iPad LOOK like I did it on a piece of paper and I can tell already that "real" watercolor is going to be my biggest challenge....so, I practiced that today. Even with "watercolor" brushes it isn't easy! A class would be really nice. This is actually a window I saw on pinterest that was really watercolored so I wanted to see if i could do it. (there was a mouse inside the window so this isn't a real copy). Anyway,I have looked at it so long that I can't tell if I got it or not??
Then I needed to put something inside the "window" and I went with the cat... I spent about 1/10th the time on the cat because I wasn't really "working" on learning anything with it.
The good news is that everything is separate so I can always use the window for something more watercolor-y later.
If you aren't a regular follower then you don't already know that I AM LEARNING!!! I blog what I know at the time ... I could be completely wrong in some statements I make so I try not to make any definitives. I have spent MAYBE 30 minutes with each of the packages I show below so I am clearly NOT AN EXPERT! But, I do have lots of opinions as a newbie so that's what I share. Please DON'T QUOTE ME! This is just to show what a total novice/non-artist can do with no training in only 30 minutes.
Today I played with several different packages
($4.99)
($8.99)
($4.99)
... the first was InkPad. You use it when you want to create vector files instead of pixel based drawings. I won't go into the pros and cons of each because quiet frankly I don't know all of them...I just know what I like to do with them. I actually have two vector based packages, InkPad and iDraw. This morning I figured out why I have both.
The first thing that I LOVE LOVE about both is the ability to import true type fonts!!! YES! I honestly don't think you can do that anywhere else... and when you import them they can only be used in THAT package. While I quickly figured out how to do it in InkPad I couldn't use them in iDraw...I had to import them into iDraw as well (way harder to figure out...but I finally did). For both I had moved them into Dropbox (another MUST HAVE) and imported them.
Now, the thing I THINK I can do in InkPad that I can't in iDraw is convert text into curves so they can be modified. Both of the true type fonts below are ones I created (and sell:-)) MFH Polly-Wolly Doodle and MFH Sticks and Stones. The one on the bottom is the beginnings of modifications to each letter after I converted the text to curves:
Like I said, I don't THINK you can do that in iDraw but I haven't spent a whole lot of time using it so the functionality may be there...but it isn't as quick and easy to find as inkpad for sure.
After I modified the 'text curves" I started playing with color and layers:
Now, what I don't like about it is that if you import a picture, like my little bee, you can't resize it. She actually comes in much larger than shown above, and there's nothing I could do to shrink her....soooo, I copy/pasted the text into iDraw where I could import the bee and resize it. The grid background is also another cool feature of iDraw, there are some really neat background templates.
And then I played some more in iDraw by adding a layer/background I created using another package called ArtRage.
ArtRage is unique and cool because if you know what you are doing (which I don't) you can actually "paint" art that looks real... It starts asking what kind of "paper" you want to use...because we all know that the paper makes all the difference in how the tools we use on them work. Then you are given different art tools to use like rollers, paintbrushes, crayons, pastels, etc. I used the watercolor brush above. This one is going to take a LOT of practice because I AM NOT an artist and you really have to hold your mouth right to make it do what you expect it should do. But, I'm glad i have it.
Well, that's it for today, the moral of the story is that you NEED ALL of them! I think :-)
PS
If you have any Washi tape that you want to organize, check out my post for yesterday on my other blog.
Tonight I wanted to see if I could do a zentangle design on the iPad. it was a great exercise in drawing straight...right now that's my biggest challenge...controling my lines! You can see how wobbly they are here. iDraw would probably have been better for the straight lines but, like I said I needed the practice so I used Procreate, a pixel based drawing app.
Not a great job, I see lots of opportunity to do it better, but that will be another day... Actually, now that I look at it I realize that the biggest mistake I made was not drawing every step on a different layer...heck. That way I could go back now and clean up the parts that scream "YOU MESSED UP" without making an even bigger mess. But, I know now...lesson learned. ALWAYS REMEMBER TO DO EACH STEP ON DIFFERENT LAYERS!
Even though I decided to go with Procreate I really needed the graph templete in iDraw so I opened that first and saved the graph as a picture that I could import as a layer in Procreate. (I hope you can see the grid, I can on the iPad, but I can't on my PC)
I then created a square brush in Procreate ... one of those wonderful things that you can do with Procreate that I don't believe you can do with any other app. By creating a resizable square brush I was able to tap on the screen and create a single perfect square... and thanks to the Jot Pro Stylus (see it at the top of the left column) I could see exactly where to tap on the grid. Not perfect, but since you can't align elements after the fact in pixel based packages it helped A LOT!
If you want to see the rest of the steps they are shown HERE... I saw it on Pinterest but this is a link to the creator's site.
As you may. or may not, know I have been spending the last couple of days playing with my new stylus and different apps for drawing. i now have six different packages that are all made to draw/paint on the ipad.... and you really need them all.... for the same reason you need watercolor pencils and color pencils and markers... they all do the "same" thing, only different. The great thing is only one of the six I have costs more than $4.99! IDraw costs $8.99. It is really hard to complain about the price when it does so much of what Coreldraw and illustrator does! It really is amazing that they make apps so cheap! Why????
Today I played with Sketchbook Pro. There are two features that make it today's favorite.
The first is that is has a mirroring tool that, when switched on, you only have to draw one side and the other side gets drawn at the same time. I am a lover of symmetry so it makes me very happy.
The second fun surprise is that it has a Copic color palette! it actually has 3 different palettes and the Copic one is buried underneath the others so you may never discover it if you aren't a button pusher! Unfortunately, the one weakness on almost all maps is the lack of documentation! pitiful! But, thankfully, I am a button pusher. :-)
I guess I might as well mention that I'm also using a new app ($2.99 ) made for writing this blog... sure hope it works :-) we shall see.
YEARS ago, when I first saw a $3000 tablet PC I WANTED IT! And I've been wanting one since then! Last month I found myself "shopping" again. Prices still take my breath away (I am retired you know.)
While I was "out there" on the web I started seeing art created using an iPad... WITH THEIR FINGERS!!! HEY! I HAVE an iPad! And I have fingers! The really amazing thing is that the apps used to do what I want to do only cost $4.99!!! WHAT?! Some are even FREE! The one I used for the picture below is "Procreate".
Now, having said all that, have you ever tried to draw details with a finger??? Not easy! Here is something I did really quickly yesterday...yes, "been there, done that"...but I wanted to do something quick and easy...to do with a finger. Obviously, I wasn't going for perfect, nothing I do is ever perfect! not my "style".
See the picture at the left bottom (copied from Pinterest) that's where I got the color combination...using Procreate's eyedropper tool....cool yes? OH! and while I'm talking about it, did you know that you can "print screen" on an iPad? Just press the "home button" and the "on/off" button at the same time and it will place the screen print into your photos folder. That's what I did with the flower. I used another app (SnapSeed) to crop most of the other stuff off the screen print. What I have been learning while "playing" at this is that it is going to take A LOT of practice to produce anything that is pride worthy....not sure I'm ready for that, but maybe. One thing that has made me a HAPPY HAPPY girl is the Adonit Jot Pen .... A stylus that has a clear plastic end allowing you to SEE where the line will actually be! That is the problem with fingers and most stylus on the market. Here it is... I got my yesterday:
Below is an awesome book for newbies.... "IPad for Artist" by Dani Jones. I went to a local Barnes and Noble yesterday to check it out before I order it. I just wasn't sure until I actually saw it. I DEFINITELY WILL BUY! But, they were selling it for $19.95!!! HELLO!!! Came home and will order this one, thank ya very much! It is page after page of art done on the iPad including tutorials for much of what she shows. She isn't teaching how to draw, but how to use the iPad software to get the results she got.
Now, about the stylus, there was lots and lots of feedback. .... and I read the feedback for everything I order, usually starting with the 1stars because I want to know why people DON'T like a product. I found that people either loved it a lot, or hated it a lot. One of the reasons people hate it is that after a couple of hours it starts to skip.... YUP, did indeed. I'm really proud of myself though...my first response would usually be to return it to Amazon, extremely disappointed that it didn't work. But, this time, I went to Adonit's website and sent an email to customer support asking for possible solutions. I woke up this morning with a response waiting. Basically, clean the little plastic disk .... so I did, I licked it ( :-).... shhhhh don't tell) Guess what!!! I works perfectly again! So, my critique went from 1 star to 5 stars...with a lick. HA!
It will be a while before I show something I create using the stylus, I need to practice! When you watch this video you will see why I would be embarrassed ... AMAZING!!! Be ready to be blown away! He did it WITH HIS FINGER on an iPad!
2. just put SOMETHING down on paper, I have gotten so lazy and disinterested lately that I had to "JUST DO IT!"
I was completely blank so I went to my trusting Pinterest inspirations and just started.
Just so you know, the original colors are nothing like this! In real time the purple is more grape and the green is forest! I had to buy a new scanner/printer about a month ago and I have no control of the original scan. Yes, I could probably putz around with it in Corel but ya know, it is was it is... When color really matters I will take the time to fix it but not now, not with this.
Here's a little bonus... a video a friend shared with me today:
I got a new die from AccuCut a few months ago and finally did something with it.
It is a "Pinnovation" Die, created for perfect printing placement. You can create and print the design then the "pins" hold the sheet(s) of paper in place so that your design is perfectly placed when cut.
They sell this die as a "ticket" but I saw it as a tablet.... Just print, cut some chipboard, add two holes for posts, quick assembly and decorations....done.
(I have to admit though, in this case, I just cut it before printing and hand drew the design on the blank sheet. You know my need for doodles so this table will be my "doodle design" tablet that I can design then scan any pages I like.)
TIP: I covered the top (including the post) with cheap clear plastic crystals then colored them with a red sharpie.
($4.99)
($8.99)
($4.99)
