how to make my skill in photoshop realistic

[visionist]

I have been searching for book, but I found that Gnomon DVDs are the best.
That is my $.02

LmB

[berniebernie]

The poor man's tablet is drawing on a sheet of paper and then scanning it and doing the digital stuff later. Unfortunately a mouse is a pain in the arse to draw.

As for books, this one's been recomended by matte artists: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/offer-listing/0811831361/ref=lp_g_1/gp/product/offer-listing/0811831361/ref=lp_g_1/102-9500370-8064919?condition=all
(called 'the invisible art')

[suztv]

If you are going for a painterly feel and look - I would play with the brushes that photshop has and maybe create some of your own. Also, you may want to invest in Painter - just because it is a "Painting" program and is a little different than Photoshop. As far as tutorials - the ones that are here are great, but there are a lot more out there:

http://www.pixel2life.com/

http://www.deviantart.com/

http://share.studio.adobe.com/

this guy rocks: http://user.fundy.net/morris/redirect.html?news0507.shtml

http://www.polykarbon.com/tutorials/index.htm

Of course there are many many more - I suggest that you get a few "Master" books from the renaissance and try to mimic their style (go to the library or bookstore). That is one of the things you do in art school - you copy the masters until you have matched their style. Of course you should always keep or integrate your own style but it is a learning tool.

If you have the money this might be a good course:
http://workshops.cgsociety.org/courses/000008/

As far as drawing with a mouse (i.e. BRICK) - get a tablet. Aiptek http://www.aiptek.com/ makes wonderful tablets for about half the price that Wacom does (if you have a Mac - I have the Driver for OSX, so contact me if you do get one). Also try Ebay - sometimes you can find a deal that wipes out the store discounts given to students.

[Nugen]

I own a few book on the renaissance, I own all of hogarth books except dynamic light and shade. And 3 art history books. They are all right for draw or what not but i just want to know if i am doing the technique right. And yes the fact that I use the mouse to paint may be a factor. the drawing on computer does really matter to me. Because I like the fell and look of pencil on paper. if done right in photoshop with pencil on paper can look great on computer. I really more influenced by comic book artist like Brandon Peterson, Jim Lee, Carlos Pachaco, Chris Bachalo, and James Rochelle(colorist). Which may also be my problem. any more commits

[Crazzy Legs]

here's one of the keys, "have fun, don't worry about the tech".
A huge problem with digital artists is that we get caught up in the digital tech prep way to much. For example. I'll think I need some new brushes for a picture I'm working on in photoshop. Well, I'll spend the entire time making some new brushes instead of painting.

I do completely understand what your talking about when it comes to wanting the wacom tablet. They open up a floodgate of photoshop goodness. I don't want to talk to much about that, or I might encourage you to feel jealous towards tablet owners.

The fact is though. A mouse, yes, a mouse, is something that you can use to paint with. If you want photorealistic images, take some painting classes, and tell the teacher what your going for. Seriously, the basics of color transfer from paint to pixels fairly well now-a-days. If you want to learn how to paint realistic images the traditional way, don't focus on using photoshop techniques. Focus on painting technique. Then learn make photoshop a tool to speed up the process or enhance it. But get the basics.

and don't just read the art history books. Practice whats in them. Thats the key. I thought I undertood mixxing colors, I didn't, not until I finally got my pallette filled with paint and did it myself. This isn't coming from 40 year industry veterin, so go talk with more people to see what they have to say.

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