Digital Matte Painting tutorial?
aquablue
aquablue
software, etc.. what techniques are used if PS is used...b/c i know you
can't paint like in the real world in PS.. but, i don't know how to paint
yet anyway, but this is for future reference.
"aquablue" <luck...@erols.com> wrote in message
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Mark Spatny
> can someone explain how they are done...
What you are asking is to explain a lifetime's work. It's not as simple
as knowing what software and "what techniques are used if PS is used". A
good matte painter can have decades of training and experience behind
him/her. The feeling I get from your posts is that you are looking for
instant gratification in the arts, without actually understanding the
level of training or dues paying required. So let me enlighten you.
I'm going to give you a valuable lesson in how to be a visual effects
artist, because you aren't asking the right questions, and you won't get
the answers in a simple newsgroup posting. Your are going to read this
and think I am a total a-hole, but if you continue to try to work in
this field, eventually you will realize that I was telling you exactly
what you need to do to become a visual effects artist and it's great
advice.
Here's a typical path for a visual effects artist: First of all, he
probably has been drawing nonstop since he was a little kid. First he
tried to draw comic books, then fantasy art as he got into high school.
He's the kind of guy who always carries a pencil and sketchbook in his
backpack, and doodles all the time. Then he went to college to get a
degree in art or visual effects. He worked about a million late nights
doing art, learning many software packages, getting a portfolio
together, studying art history, and making independent movie projects
with DV cameras and home computers. Then he graduated, thinking he was
the hottest aspiring artist in the world and he was just an interview
away from a fantastic career.
After about a month of phone calls and sending letters, he realizes he
is just one of about 10,000 recent graduates looking for a career in
graphics or visual effects and nobody wants to talk to him. Plus, every
one of those 10,000 guys has similar experience and portfolio. So he
takes an entry level job doing xerox copies, shuffling tapes, or making
data backups for a visual effects facility for not much more than
minimum wage. That goes on for a few years, during which time he spends
his breaks watching the real artists, and realizing that almost
everything he learned in school was just theory and had no practical
value. So he convinces his bosses to let him train (on his own time
nights and weekends without pay) by trying to do simple shots and have
them reviewed by the senior artists. After a few months, the senior
artists take him seriously, and begin to give him tips on how to do
shots better. Maybe they let him help doing the most basic simple work
on real shots going to clients (still for free in his spare time). After
a few more weeks of proving themselves that way, they get promoted to a
job as a junior artist where they basically do all the work that is too
tedious for the REAL artists to do. This work is often done on the night
shift, so forget about partying or hanging out with friends at night.
During the day you sleep. A few years of that, and you start to get
better and better work, until you get promoted to being a senior artist
on the day shift, for which you still get paid less than you would make
if you had gone into accounting, finance, or massage therapy for your
career. At that point, now that you went from being support staff to
being an artist, you might find that you are moved from staff to a
project hire position, which means when the project is over, you loose
your job, and then you are having to collect unemployment until you can
land another project hire position.
That's how most of the great visual effects artists I've met worked
their way up. It is years of ball-busting hard work for many years of
low pay and a lot of sacrifices in your personal life before you become
a success. It will be many, many years of study, training, all-nighters,
and mindless drone work before somebody pays you to give your creative
input to projects. In the meantime, you will suffer through what is
basically the creative equivalent to boot camp, being harassed by
teachers, senior artists, producers, and clients for all the things you
don't know and the mistakes you will make. Most quit long before they
make a living as an artist. You'll be well into your 30's before you are
making a decent living as an effects artist, and that's assuming you
have any talent when you finally get around to taking some classes and
learning the basic skills.
Does that still sound like the career you were looking for? If not, look
elsewhere, but I'd stay away from any of the creative fields. Whether
you are talking about visual effects, film making, architecture, or
graphic design, you will have to work equally hard, and put put up with
similar personal sacrifices.
Can you see why you aren't getting many replies to your questions on
this newsgroup when all your posts basically say things that sound like
"your job is boring" or "I'm basically looking only at the position that
does the cool work". Do a little more research, then come back and ask
some better questions, keeping the above in mind if you want helpful
answers.
Now, to get back to the subject of this particular post. If you still
really want to learn more about matte painting, log out of this
newsgroup, go to Amazon.com, order this book, and read it cover to
cover. That will answer a lot of your questions:
"The Invisible Art" by Mark Cotta Vaz and Craig Barron.
Good luck.
Dave C
>.....b/c i know you can't paint like in the real world in PS..
Want a bet? Have you had a look at any of the digital art forums springing
up all over the place? Or any artists' websites?
Get yourself over to www.conceptart.org/forums
and
www.gfxartist.com (when it's back up)
and
and
To see amazing stuff directly painted in Photoshop, (and in Painter)
Dave
aquablue
describe, since I've only started to draw recently and I'm an adult in my
early twenties.. i've taken several life drawing classes and made good
progress in a year..i'm still a beginner. Basically, I wanted to become a
pilot for my whole childhood and then abadoned that, moved on to a liberal
arts kind of degree...so not everyone is going to start the same way. I've
only found that I love visual FX recently and I know I have to work hard to
achieve the goal... Basically, I'm just searching for which path to head in
the VFX field.. I'd had several very good responses from CGtalk anyway. I
guess my posts seem silly or un-educated to you, oh well... Its difficult
being on the outside looking for answers, and my questions may seem naive,
but again I'm still just searching...
As for matte painting, I know i'll need to take loads of painting classes,
which i intend to do.. I just wanted to know the basic methods they use.
Also, I didn't realize they used PS only... i thought they would have used
painter..but i was wrong.. anyway, if someone can tell me how they paint in
PS that would be interesting, since they can't just blend colors on a
pallette...and from what I've read, the blending modes are not the same as
blending colors in real life... anyway, Yes, I intend to work very hard..
i've allready taken 2 maya classes...and discvoered that character animation
is probably not for me, although I could be wrong though.
On a side not, i'm considering various colleges to go to... I've narrowed it
down to 3 or 4. School of Visual Arts in NYC and Savannah... the others are
Academy of art college. Savannah seems to have more VFX courses but I
prefer NYC and the job opps. there. Savannah seems a little quiet, but i'm
still not sure... anyway, if you have any information regarding the
reputation or so, I'd appreciate it.. thank you. I've visted them both
also, and liked SVA better...still, the courses are more comprehensive in
Savannah for VFX it seems.
Thanks again,
Regards
aqua
"Mark Spatny" <vfxpr...@NOSPAMhotmail.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1a4476ae4...@news.west.earthlink.net...
aquablue
much thought that you couldn't mix/blend colors like in the real world... I
suppose they use a different method than in tradiational painting..sorry..
"Dave C" <d.corc...@SPAMvirgin.net> wrote in message
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Littleboy
perhaps you should try to simply roll in on yourself?
I know this sounds a lot easier said than done, but you can reach a lot by
simply looking around yourself.
For instance, have you tried to investigate if there's small companies
nearby you that do some of this work? (companies you could start with,
perhaps doing nearly, partly of full-time DP; just for working experience
and building a portfolio)
Do you have some finished works or examples already? Then try to present
your case to someone in a high position at an incredibly big company
(animalogic for example shows interesting email addresses, however a letter
accompanied by printouts could work less intruding). See what response you
get. They might advice you different things or they might say: it's a shame
you don't live nearby, we could have wanted to hire you!
About the latter: once I send an email to The Mill in england to ask how
they did a certain effect in one of their car adverts. I got an incredibly
good answer from one them. Often the big companies have special PR people
for these answers as well. So try!
Greets
Littleboy
"aquablue" <luck...@erols.com> wrote in message
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aquablue
yes, i'll be looking for some places around here soon..
aqua
"Littleboy" <littleboy_at_emp3mail.com> wrote in message
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