One thing I used to miss about good old pen and paper was the scratchy not quite perfect look that adds magical character to cartoons. For those of you who are totally digital getting that feel of the hand drawn look into your work can be a pain in the neck. Digital art lets us […]
Online drawing tools can be enjoyed by users of all skill levels. Artists, engineers, graphic designers, and teachers use online drawing to express their creative ideas. With all the free drawing applications available, users can practice drawing on their own or collaborate with others in real-time. Some online drawing applications form a sort of chat […]
Easy drawing warm up to keep your creative genius supercharged! Top athletes work really hard to keep their bodies and minds in peak condition. plenty of exercise and mind preparation. Professional and aspiring artists are no different. Your artistic muscle needs to be exercised and prepared for action and simple drawing warm up exercises can […]
If you are a cartoonist wondering ‘how to improve drawing skills’ – try this easy cartoon exercise Athletes exercise to keep their bodies in tip top shape so what do cartoonists do to exercise their creative muscle? The brain needs to be continually challenged artistically to enable you to improve your drawing skills and capacity for […]
Not all sketch pads are created equal. Some sketch pads are designed for a specific purpose. Paper weight, surface texture, and binding all play a role in determine what makes the best sketch pads for an artist. Spiral binding makes it easier to hold as you draw and gives the option of laying the pad […]
‘ Creativity is intelligence having fun ‘ is one of Albert Einstiens most famous quotes and I cannot think of a better quote for artists and cartoonists. Artistic creativity is a wonderful feeling for an artist…most of the time. Occasionally it can become a curse particularly if you rely on the magic tap to turn […]
Have you often wondered ‘how to sell my art?’ There are several directions you can take to sell your cartoons as any artwork lends itself to a multitude of merchandising products. One of the easiest ways is by creating cartoon prints for sale and also selling the original artwork which can be highly profitable and provide a […]
How to straighten a picture in photoshop with the ruler tool If I draw a cartoon in pen and import the scan into photoshop I don’t usually scan it perfectly level. The Ruler Tool which you can find sharing the same spot on the Tools Pallete as the Eyedropper Tool (color selector) is one of the easy […]
Using the Photoshop Blur Tool to Create Depth You have created a great cartoon with lively characters but then you think ‘Would it look better with a background?” Then comes the humdrum of creating a fantastic background which can take for ever. The other problem is that the background needs to be just that…IN THE […]
There are a few ways to duplicate a layer in Phototoshop. Duplicate one graphics file into another graphics file… You can click drag and drop the layer from the layers pallete into the new document. In the example below I have opened up a cartoon image and also created a new blank document. I […]
Download lynda.com videos and become an expert on your graphics software Modern day cartoonists and graphic designers are relying more and more on software to to produce quality artwork. With competition for jobs at an all time high employers have the luxury of picking the best, most knowledgeable people. High level software skills in cartooning, art […]
Photoshop layers – wonderful windows to build up your cartoons and artwork Adobe Photoshop is one of the best graphics software tools in existence. I am slightly biased as Photoshop was my first graphics software and in this case familiarity breeds content! If you are unfamiliar with Photoshop or are a beginner to the software […]
Watercolor Paper FAQ’s Can you print on watercolor paper? Yes is the short answer but there are quite a few things to take into consideration. Check that your printer can take the paper. Paper over 140 gsm (grams per square meter) often jams in the printer. I have found that the best type of printer is […]
Create a portfolio of your best artwork This is essential to be able to show off what you can do. This can either be an electronic version or a physical portfolio of your very best work. I produced a booklet using word/ pdf format and created a physical hard copy which was wire bound to […]
How to become a cartoon artist more easily! If you have a burning desire to draw cartoons and get paid for drawing there are certain things you need to do to move you towards this target. There are many different jobs available such as freelance comic book artists, editorial cartoonists and many more. But unless […]
Very often the first pencil sketch of a cartoon is the best version you produce and I have often ruined the cartoon when inking in either make a mistake or accidentally spill ink or slop half a cup of coffee over the drawing. For those of you not familiar with Adobe’s suite of fantastic graphic […]