Making Concept Art in Photoshop

#1

I didn’t see a place for making concept art so I guess this is where this query should go.

Does anybody know how to make concept art with photoshop. Does it require an ink tablet?

#2

Is this a joke question from a first time poster? I am such a sucker for answering this…

If you mean a wacom digital art tablet, then yes. Pens, pencils, old fashion paper, good drawing skills and a decent imagination also work too.

Have fun.

#3

No, that wasn’t a joke. I had already researched wacom tablets and have narrowed my choice down to two. Along with that I had a basic idea that I was probably going to need a tablet anyways.

The reason I asked was because I wasn’t sure, maybe there was some way to make concept art in photoshop without an ink tablet. And the reason that question came up is because at the moment I am saving up money for both of those things.

#4

ok i want to say if you are planning to do concept art and DO NOT know the answer to that question then you are at a very big dis advantage already. Reasearch the field and the career path.

#5

Like I had already said. I was just double checking, im 14, I think double checking with more experienced people would be a good idea. I have been directed to someone at deviant that makes amazing artwork in a field much like Concept art without a tablet, he just uses the mouse, although it is much harder.

#6

well then your question was answered … the answer is actually no. IF you can do it with out a tablet then you dont need one. There are plenty of concept artist that don’t use photoshop or a computer for that matter. Seeing that you are 14 i still say research and not on forums… forums are where us bored proffessionals go to kill time :slight_smile:

#7

Unfortunantly thats why I like forums. They allow me to view several different perspectives of other people that are use these programs while when researching I usually get only one opinion that I commonly find. I will continue to research though, thus getting more than one perspective, again (forums/people + research sites).

#8

I agree, forums are often a very good place to learn about things. People come and discuss the same subject everyday. Things that could take you your whole life to figure out on your own are usually common knowledge on forums, and bad opinions get shot down fairly quickly.

Regarding your question...

It is possible to do good work in photoshop without a tablet, but I think you would feel quite limited. You would be forced to use paths and masks for everything which is painfully slow. If you want to do digital art I would say a tablet is an essential piece of kit.

Photoshop however is not essential at all. I'm not sure I understood you right when you said you were saving up for "both these things" if you meant both tablets, or a tablet and Photoshop. But there about a million other painting programs out there which are a lot cheaper than Photoshop and would probably suit your needs.

Maybe when you leave college and decide to turn pro you could justify $600 on Photoshop, but if I were you I would look at my money first.
#9

ii disagree sort of about waiting. When I was in highschool I did oil painting and color pencils I used my money I made working at a buffett to buy a computer and photoshop. I rode my skateboard to work cause i didnt buy a car. Don’t wait till you are a ‘pro’ to buy the tools you need to become a ‘pro’

#10

Hey RubberDuckE,

Sorry for thinking this was a joke question. After being on this forum for so long you sort of overlook some stuff because it sounds silly. We also assume that most of the people posting are professionals or at least college students. We forget that there are also a large number of talented teenagers roaming around. Seeing as you are only 14 and are in need of serious answers to your questions, feel free to contact me anytime with your questions.

For now I’d say get yourself a solid foundation in traditional drawing and illustration and take that knowledge into a digital art application. You wouldn’t paint an oil painting with a brick and I don’t advise digital painting with a mouse. There are some cheap wacom tablets out there with good pressure sensitivity so you can draw and paint with ease.

Best of luck.

#11

I’m a first time poster, joined this site when I first got into my college program for game design. Just wondering if a tablet for concept art would be better than using pen and paper with a printer/scanner. I’ve got a great deal of ideas just minimal artistic talent in the visual department. Any help would be much appreciated.

#12 
 I don't disagree with you, I'm just saying you don't actually need Photoshop to do pro work. I've used GIMP and Micrographix picture publisher, and there is very little difference in terms of what you can do (at least paintwise). Even the interface is similar.

The main reason I use Photoshop is because the people I work with use Photoshop. If I turned up and said “I work in GIMP” and then someone gave me a file made in Photoshop, and it turned out certain layers or text wouldn’t display properly or it was CMYK etc… then they would be very annoyed and I would not be asked to work there again. You don’t have those kind of issues when you are 14 though.

   Working on your own or just doing personal stuff, it doesn't matter what you are using. All anyone is going to care about is how well you paint.

   All I'm saying is if I was on a budget then I would definitely want a graphics tablet. Photoshop however is a luxury I could work quite happily and just as well without.

   I just thought I should let the guy know before he goes and gives a whole years pocket money to Adobe, that GIMP is free, legal, and does most of the same stuff.
#13

concept art tools:

Prismacolor Graphite Drawing Set

http://www.dickblick.com/zz204/92a/
Tortillons blending stumps

http://www.dickblick.com/zz229/43/

Flatbed scanner with included Photoshop Elements
http://www.directron.com/perfection4490.html

Corel Painter 9 or Corel Painter Elements
PurPlus sells Corel Painter 9.5 for $49.95! Full versions and a reputable store
http://store.purplus.net/copaixae.html

Wacom Graphire 6x8 drawing tablet runs about $199 but a 5x3 Wacom Bamboo will get you started for $99.

Draw, Draw your heart out, draw everything. Scan it into the computer. Color it, change it, paint, edit etc.

The biggest things for any concept artist is to be able to take an idea or words and make a picture of that quickly and done well. Two guys walk into a bar…space? western? manhatten stockbroker bar? what do the two guys look like? what do their costumes look like? suits? space? western wear?

If your into doing costumes draw front, side, and back. Spaceships? what if you change the wings, what if their were no wings?

Get a hold of Starwars episode I and watch the extras where they are showing George lucas art and the artists are talking about the process. Great stuff. Grab a copy of The Art and Making of StarWars Unleashed the Making of the game http://www.amazon.com/Art-Making-Star-Wars-Unleashed/dp/1933784253/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223964865&sr=1-1

This book is GREAT for how ideas change, shows artwork that did and did not get used.

and keep asking lots of questions. Your 14 just have fun creating and use whatever tools ya can get your hands on. Full Photoshop is fantastic but it’s also a lot of money and ya don’t need it at this stage when Photoshop Elements would do.

As others have said you don’t even need a computer to do concept art, though it sure helps. Get some good art supplies and draw draw draw.

That’s my best advice. my 2 cents

#14

Doing the work digitally will allow you to make multiple iterations of an idea much faster but I know guys that work just as well with traditional tools and only use the computer for minor tweeks and adding color.

Understand, there are no shortcuts for learning how to draw and design. Practice, a creative mind and hard work come first. Expensive computer equipment second.

Pollux710, work on improving on your “minimal artistic talent” first. There are tons of professionals that got by and continue to get by just fine with paper and a scanner. When you feel like your work is ready, slowly move into learning some software. All the computer software/hardware in the world is not going to make anyone a better artist. Perfecting your craft will.

#15

Other than doing college work for practice are there any personal suggestions anyone can add to help me refine my drawing skill. As stated earlier at the current moment its at a very minimal level, to be honest I think I draw more like a grade schooler.

#16

Phew! Finally done reading! That took a good 4 minutes of my life.

Buying photoshop will not be a big problem, my parents have agreed to pay for half of it at christmas and given me special chores to earn the other money. And for the tablet I found a deal with wacom where I get 50% off of photoshop if I buy one of their tablets. I just have to hope that deal is still around when I get photoshop. Another reason for spending the money on photoshop rather than on a cheaper program is because then I will actually be paying for two programs, therefore more money in the long run. And unfortunantly I am going to need that extra money to put toward my college. So as far as my opinion at the moment goes, I would rather spend the money for the high quality program (of which I really like) and put the other money (that would be spent on a cheaper program) for college.-

Personally I can’t stand working with paints and clays in real life…way to messy for me, very aggitating. I am also saving up (for who knows how long) for autodesk 3d’s Max. That however is not my top priority.

Also, I use gimp right now. It is a very nice program none the less but the loading takes forever. I have a photoshop demo, and a few other demos from adobe and they all work very quickly and don’t take 10 minutes to load. That is my personal opinion.

Also, thank you EricUNSL for your offer. If I have any questions that I can’t find answers to I may ask for help. Although do remember that you do not have to help me, its completely up to you.
I would also like to thank everybody else for helping answer my question and even go beyond that to give me additional tips. Also thanks MachineClaw for the links you gave me. I may look into some of those tools.

All of this help is very appriciated! Thank you very much.

On the side note, I have also found myself very interested in game design, using RPG Maker vxtill I can afford a real engine (like Unreal Tournament 3). Although still very interested in Concept Art, and will take everybodies advice and draw my mind out. Thanks again.

#17

Other than doing college work for practice are there any personal suggestions anyone can add to help me refine my drawing skill. As stated earlier at the current moment its at a very minimal level, to be honest I think I draw more like a grade schooler.

  I don't think practice helps a great deal when it comes to drawing. You can draw something over and over but a lot of the time you will just be reinforcing mistakes, unless you accidentally work something out through trial and error, but improvement will generally be slow.

  Real improvement comes from observation. The better you understand a subject (i.e. it's component shapes and the way it is proportioned) the better you will be able to draw it.

  Now you could try observing stuff on your own. Just like you could go out in the garden with a telescope and a magnifying glass and try to teach yourself science. But a far quicker and easier way would be to go read about it. That way you can learn all the cool stuff other people have observed through many lifetimes of research without all the pain of having to figure it out yourself.

  In the science example you will find out about blackholes and thermodynamics and atoms and the speed of light and all kinds of other things that it would take a long time to figure out on your own.

  In art you will find out about perspective, composition, anatomy, colour theory, shading etc... (it's probably not as hard as quantum physics actually).

  I would suggest you read about stuff. I have a lot of books on anatomy. I have two just on drawing hands. And they are very helpful, I wish I bought them years ago when I was at school instead of idling away drawing things over and over with all same mistakes in them.

  It's also good to look at other peoples work, and see how they have observed and interpreted certain subjects (just be careful you don't also adopt their mistakes)

Another reason for spending the money on photoshop rather than on a cheaper program is because then I will actually be paying for two programs, therefore more money in the long run.

  That's not strictly true. New versions of Photoshop are coming out all the time. by the time you leave college your version will be old hat, and you'll have to upgrade if you're serious about concept art.

  So actually you won't be buying a cheaper program and Photoshop. You'll be buying Photoshop twice. (I've bought it like 3 times now)

  But I'm not going to try and talk you out of it, since you clearly have your mind made up and it is a good piece of software. I'm sure you'll love it.
#18

Hey RubberDUckE,

You can get full versions of photoshop and other software for half the retail price at journeyed.com. It’s a education software discount site. Just provide them with proof of age and that you are a student and you can get your tablet and anything else for a nice price.

Best of luck. You’re at the beginning of a very long journey.

#19

Eric, do you know if they offer things like the adobe design premium for lower prices? I was just wondering if they offer program packages such as it.

#20

I’m sure they do. go to the site and see. http://www.journeyed.com