Art Tips For Programmers? 565
An anonymous reader writes "Recently I've found myself in a bit of a bind with artwork. My programming contracts have been rather small, barely enough to pay myself let alone an artist. The art needs aren't intensive, mostly icons or sprites depending on the project. Despite owning a few key apps (Photoshop, LightWave, Maya) my art production output is rather poor. Are there any other developers who have learned to be self-sufficient? Are there any resources available to educate me on the finer points of making graphics that look professional?" One resource for the less-artistic among us is the collection of free SVG clip art at freedesktop.org, though it won't give advice for creating new art. What are some others?
one place to look (Score:5, Informative)
openclipart.org and inkscape (Score:3, Informative)
Also, try openclipart.org, where there is a lot of public domain licened content you can use.
buy an icon collection (Score:3, Informative)
POV-RAY (Score:1, Informative)
College students (Score:5, Informative)
Generally, you'll find one or two students who have the budding (or more developed) skills and know-how, and who will be more than grateful for the opportunity to earn a little extra cash or, more importantly, who will work for free in exchange for being able to use a "real world" project or two in their portfolio.
Not only are you "giving back" to the community, but you get what you need for cheap/free.
Two words of caution though. First, don't be a condescending ass. A lot of non-artistic, business-types tend to think of art students as starving-scum-of-the-earth, and they end up coming across as assholes who don't get the best they could. Second, realize that college students aren't always 100% reliable (were you?), and budget for that time-wise).
get a graphics tablet (Score:3, Informative)
Using a tablet means you can draw like an adult on your computer (directly on the screen if you spring for a Wacom Cintiq...).
I used to think a mouse was okay for GIMP and Blender use. It's not. It _utterly sucks_ . I got myself a tablet on a whim and now I can draw as well on my computer as on paper (okay I'm not brilliant at drawing on paper, but like most people I've ever seen, I'm far better on paper or a tablet than drawing with a mouse!)
For an amateur (Score:0, Informative)
I'd REALLY suggest trying GIMP. For a newcomer it's far easier to create good quality (and standard format) images. I've been in the same situation as you, and getting used to the way PS works for my own needs takes just a little too much time I could be spending coding.
Glyfx.com (Score:2, Informative)
Re:buy an icon collection (Score:5, Informative)
What not to do (Score:3, Informative)
Have you no decency? (Score:4, Informative)
So's sitting in my bedroom jacking off into the GIMP, thank you.
"Portfolio Building Experience" means it pays a pittance if you're lucky, and you can totally forget about having any rights to your work. Oh, and PBEs are typically long hours with shit pay and no benefits. My first field experience was one of these- a contract job to do some multimedia work. After the dust settled, my hourly for the project was somewhere around eighty cents.
You get what you pay for- if you get into the habit of taking advantage of art students, don't be surprised if the talent pool suddenly dries up on you.
Re:get a graphics tablet (Score:2, Informative)
Even if you have no artistic ability (conception, composition, etc), having a wacom table - just like pen and paper - makes blocking out your ideas much easier and clearer than using a mouse or text document alone. Keyboards require us to compose and ponder.. they don't really allow freeform abstract creativity.
Get a table, create at the speed at which you think (and write by hand). Then use the keyboard to clean things up.
And as the original poster stated, even if you can't draw but you can chicken scratch with a pencil, it's a lot easier to do that with a tablet than a mouse.
Some survival tips from a fellow non-expert. (Score:5, Informative)
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1. Stock photos. A good picture is worth a 1000 design elements. Start scavenging for stock photos NOW. A good place to start is here: http://sxc.hu/ [sxc.hu].
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2. Avoid excessive effects and filters when not needed. Nothing ruins a good design like trying to emboss everything or making it 3D.
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3. Keep it clean and simple. Think Apple.
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4. Learn from the experts. Visit places like http://www.deviantart.com/ [deviantart.com] You can even post designs and get peer reviews. Also, http://http//www.alistapart.com [http] will help.
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5. Use and abuse CSS. The separation of design elements from everything else will help immensely. You will be amazed by this site: http://www.csszengarden.com/ [csszengarden.com] Change the themes and be amazed by the power of CSS!!!
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6. Buy graphic design books, preferably those with collections of commercial art made by different designers. Get inspired
;-)
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7. Get a digital camera and take lots and lots of pictures of the world around you. Current examples of designs and logos and ads will help.
I hope that helps!Cheers,
Adolfo
Microsoft to the rescue! (Score:5, Informative)
Art (Score:3, Informative)
I highly reccomend it. The before and after images are just asounding -- in just 5 days Dr. Edwards' students show simply AMAZING progress.
Re:buy an icon collection (Score:3, Informative)
Free Software Icon Howto (Score:2, Informative)
Much more to it that you probably guessed.
Iconfactory (Score:3, Informative)
Try www.RentACoder.com (Score:1, Informative)
Illustrator, Freehand, Inkscape, and Class (Score:3, Informative)
Photoshopping is for editing, well, photos. It's fine also as a finishing tool for icons that are already made.
Maya is used for making 3D models, which is almost always overkill for an icon. (I've never used Lightwave, but I recall it being a 3D app as well).
What you need is a vector graphics editor. I would have to recommend Adobe Illustrator myself, although Inkscape is coming along quite well (and is free, so start there if you just want to see what I'm talking about). As for Macromedia Freehand, it seems to be a good program. However, I've always found it awkward (many will disagree) and at the school where I work it has incredibly many printing errors, so I can't really say.
And, beyond all that (as others have said) the key problem is most likely that you are an amatuer, not a professional. So, take an art course. Just go to a local college and sign up for a 2D design course of some sort.
Re:DO NOT USE inkscape (Score:3, Informative)
I know a lot of artists for free/open source software projects use non-free programs like AI or 3DS, but not all.
Different people are used to different tools, and I primarily use Sodipodi, with a couple of extra programs on the side (most notably the Gimp).
Wait 5-10 years before using the free art tools? That's crazy talk. They're usable enough to do great art now. (You know that Susan Kare, one of my favourite artists, did a lot of her most beautiful work using only MacPaint or Windows Paintbrush?)
Re:If you really can't spare a penny (Score:3, Informative)
Delete the original layer (which you have no right to appropriate),
If you don't have the right to use the image, the above procedure won't get you off the hook. Tracing the outline creates a derivative work of the photo and the copyright holder of the original image can still make a claim on it.
Of course, you could always work around that by taking your own source pictures with a digital camera. I've done that a couple of times (without the tracing step, granted--I need to give that a shot) and it's come out not-too-horrible.
Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer.
Open Source Web Design (oswd.org) (Score:3, Informative)
"Open Source Web Design is a community of designers and site owners sharing free web design templates as well as web design information. Helping to make the internet a prettier place!"
Re:if you don't have it, you don't have it (Score:3, Informative)
I've spent $75 the last 3 months at Lynda.com taking online courses of the Macromedia Suite. That $75 has given me hours and hours of great learning at a fraction of the price of an evening class at a brick and morter school.
I've cut back on TV and try to watch for a couple of hours a night. Miss some nights, but on others I'll watch for 5-6 hours.
I don't have much artistic talent, but for my web pages I wanted clean fonts, lines, graphics etc. I knew what I wanted, but not how to achieve it properly.
I can know produce output that is exactly what I envisioned, even though that vision might not be so artistically inspired :)
Here's a sitepoint article that might just help. (Score:3, Informative)
Here's the article: Good designers copy, great designers steal [sitepoint.com]. Two thumbs up for that one. They even give you examples of how to do it right.
Might wanna try.
Re:DO NOT USE inkscape (Score:3, Informative)
Larry Ewing, the designer of the Linux pengiun, used GIMP 0.54, which is about where Sodipodi is compared to something like Adobe Illustrator today.
GIMP 0.54 and pengiun [tamu.edu]
Sodipodi complements GIMP *greatly*. It's a joy to use both together, since GIMP vector tools aren't that useful for actual drawing purposes and can be tedious.
For 3D Modelling (Score:2, Informative)
Try the works of Dr. Betty Edwards (Score:2, Informative)
[just published this past August]
ISBN:1585422193
ISBN: 067163514X
ISBN: 0874774241
I also purchased the following at Linuxworkd NY this year and found it a good read that would be germane to your needs:
- The Art of Interactive Design
Once you have an idea of what you need to illustrate, you should be able to use any application (I recomend using the same Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) standard [w3.org] used at Open Clip Art because:by Chris Crawford
ISBN: 1886411840
- Edges;
- Spaces;
- and Relationships;
(Read Drawing on the Right Side of the Brian)Relationships (yes there is some crossover);
Lights and Shadows
Gestalt [mit.edu]
The tables are turned (Score:2, Informative)
Since I own and operate a tiny web design studio (on a shoestring budget) this often leaves me in a bind when it comes to development projects. I can't afford to keep a full time PHP programmer on staff so I'm forced to sub things out on a project per project basis. Even though this work method is prone to failure (my experience has been that development projects are rarely, if ever delivered on time) I know well enough that programming isn't something you can just 'pick up' by reading a book. Like any other trade it requires training, dedication and at least a little bit of skill.
In my opinion this is the major problem with developers who "design" web sites. They marginalize the actual design of the site as if it's an afterthought (eg. who needs a designer, I have animating clip art!). The truth is, a successful site is a marriage of good design and solid programming. And until you realize that, and accept it, you're belittling all the work involved in either trade.
Understand the Basics (Score:2, Informative)
get a scanner (Score:2, Informative)
PovRay? (Score:2, Informative)
However, it's a rendering program, so perhaps using it for icons and sprites is an overkill.
Microangelo studio (Score:2, Informative)
Re:if you don't have it, you don't have it (Score:2, Informative)
After many years I started being quite good at borrowing from others.
My favourite software is Corel Draw. Some people think it is quite difficult but not for me, since I've been using it from version 2.3 and I now have version 11. I know how to use most tools there and I always install the maximum number of fonts and clipart. You don't need to use the clipart "as it is". Take it, ungroup the elements, delete some things, change others...
DON'T start from stratch!!!
I made many things that initially were based to existing stuff, but after some time I had eventually replaced all those elements with things of my own creation.
If you have an analytical mind with a bit of sense of style (like me), don't go for artistic software like Photoshop. Go for something more like Corel Draw. Use Photoshop only for... photos!! Duh!
Good luck and start working! Experience is everything!
Re:if you don't have it...HOW TO FAKE IT (Score:3, Informative)
Second hand copies of out-of-date versions are much easier to get hold of. I find Photoshop 5 does pretty much everything I need. You can find copies on eBay for next to nothing.
Re:if you don't have it, you don't have it (Score:1, Informative)
Try Microangelo from Impactsoft. It's the application I use to design icons. I've been collecting and designing icons for about 12 yrs. now and haven't found anything better to do this job.
Re:Leave it to the artists? (Score:4, Informative)
Photoshop 8 CS : $275 USD [studica.com]
Lightwave 8 3D: $249 USD [studica.com]
Maya Personal Learning Edition : $ZERO [alias.com] (free as in beer)
Note that these are all essentially student discounts: "normal" people will have to pay quite a bit more. I got Photoshop (4.0) plus MSVC (5.0) and a couple of others as a student (5+ years ago), and paid something like 20% of "normal" cost for them. I still use both of these in their original versions, I haven't even felt the need to upgrade yet.
Also, as mentioned elsewhere, you can pick them up from someone on Ebay for considerably less, although the legitimacy of those copies could be questionable.
Basic Art Tips (Score:2, Informative)