Learning to Paint...Digitally.

I have aptitude in a number of artistic mediums; pencils, ink, soft pastels, oil pastels and even charcoal (to a degree) but painting is not a skill I've acquired and in my own foolishness, have avoided for years and years. It's come back to bite me on the ass though as my BA Game Art degree at De Montfort University requires you to have skill in painting both traditionally and digitally. I've heard mutterings that often people can do one and not the other (at least not easily), so where does that leave me as I have skill in neither!

Well let me tell you: BONED. That's where.

I splashed out with as much money as I could afford and bought myself a Waccom Intuos4 with some student loan money and have immediately begun using it in an attempt to do what everyone who is an artist of any calibre tells you to do - Draw, Draw, Draw.

Unfortunately I don't have the time to solely dedicate to just digital painting, but I am attempting to do at least one a day, even if it's just something small. My first attempt was this rather shoddy excuse for a painting:-

I wasn't pleased with how this turned out, so I went in search of some tutorials and posted on DMUGA facebook for some crits, went away today, after watching a great video tutorial (which can be found here: http://vimeo.com/1715081) and painted this:-

I rather thought it was an improvement and rather pleased with my second ever digital painting. Inspired and pleased that I'm getting to grips with my tablet and Photoshop CS5 as a painting package and not just a photo manipulator and processing package I began my first landscape. It's just the bare-bones for now as I work out what I want to put in it. I was desolate, misty and ethereal in the end. Watch this space for the final piece!

Edit:

Final piece.

An Introduction and an Explanation

I'm Emma and I'm a mature student studying Game Art at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK. I've played computer games all my life from Amega/Amstrad/Atari/Commador stuff and Sega Master System/Nintendo/Mega Drive/Snes to Gameboy/Game Gear right through to the current generation of platforms available today such as PC, Xbox360 + Kinect, Wii, PS3, Nintendo DS/3DS and PSP.

There are a vast array of games on the market for all of these platforms, some across all and some exclusive titles for specific platforms, but are they what the consumer's want?

This blog has been created to discuss some of the questions that arise among consumers surrounding the game industry, game reviews, hardware discussions, new technologies and points of interest. It will also feature my own work as I progress through my degree and hopefully into my career as a Game Artist.

Stay tuned and GET INVOLVED! Your say is paramount to the success of this blog, but I ask that all comments and feedback be constructive and respectful to myself and other posters. No flame wars will be permitted; you'll just look like a moron before being removed.

(as posted originally by motifake.com)

Next Post: Learning to Paint...Digitally.