sketching, resolution, speed

[Andrew Fuller]

i've had painter since version 5. but have only begun to play with it.

i have run through a few tutorials and read various notes about people's
illustrations.

at this point, i have a number of sketches i am ready to develop into
detailed illustrations, and i experimenting with various brushes. oils,
watercolor, etc. i'm not sure what look or technique i would like yet,
but i feel i am spending too much time experiementing.

what resolution do people typically work at in Painter? (for print) 300
dpi? or higher? what brushes do people feel comfortable with, that
render at a realistic speed for base color painting?

i am having a devil of a time finding any information about this.

thanx

andrew f.

--
Andrew Fuller
asfu...@owlsoup.com

http://www.owlsoup.com
• the official web site of Andrew S. Fuller, the writer
• the official web site of Rew X, the artist
• Legion Press: publisher of new speculative fiction, illustrated
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• the Three-lobed Burning Eye: an on-line magazine of speculative
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• Foam Train: a font foundry
• Owl Soup: graphic design services

"I have great faith in fools.
My friends call it 'self-confidence.'"
--Edgar Allen Poe

[J.B.Allen]

Hi Andrew,
I use 300 dpi for colour work. ( saved as EPS in Photoshop ) and I use
the pen tool and the watercolour brush for everything, never touch anything
else, but that's coz i am translating mr line and wash style onto computer,
so I'm a special case. . . . Black and white line work however, I have to
do at 900 dpi (!) to match the resolution of a normal b&w artwork scan.
Huge files in Painter but then converted to greyscale in Photoshop and then
into 900dpi bitmap knocked the file size down hugely. Shame painter does
not let you work in greyscale ( or cmyk for that matter ) directly. if your
work isn't for print, 150 dpi is ok for experimenting and just enjoying
yourself etc. . .
cheers, Jonathan Allen
p.s. This is for book illustration. Magazine work might well demand higher
res on colour work, nearer 600 dpi I would guess. Get plenty of RAM !

Andrew Fuller wrote:

--

Jonathan Allen's Seriously Real Materials
http://www.j.b.allen.btinternet.co.uk/seriouslyreal/seriously.html

Seriously FREE sample pack
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Jonathan Allen's Bryce Thing
http://www.j.b.allen.btinternet.co.uk/br/brframe.html

[Andrew Fuller]

thanx Johnathan.

i have been sketching and scanning sketches into Painter, with the intention
of building base colors, then gradual highlights and detail. i enjoy the
texture of both the water colors and the oils, but some of these brushes just
don't move naturally at 300 dpi. even with 324 Mb of RAM. the default brushes,
like the circular blend, move much quicker, more natural, but not the same
texture, obviously.

i know a number of fine artsists work in Painter. i'm just trying to figure
out whether they work very slowly, or... just what they do. because they don't
usually say, "i generally use this brush" they just say " i did this in
Painter."

so, i'm not trying to get everyone to reveal secrets, i just find it
interesting that not many people say what brush they use. since there is
obviously a big difference in the speed.

anyone else want to share?

andrew f.