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Thread: DOs - SquareMess Brushes (brushes 6-8 of 8)

  1. #21
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    Hey DO!

    Yes, I enjoy our side show too! No one is reading these posts so why not solve all the problems of the art world in one thread or less...

    I am swamped right now with work so haven’t had much time to paint.

    I will get back here soon to analyze your handy work. Funny side note: I thought your brush strokes were real paint on canvas! ArtRage can be so cool sometimes. Like any medium they all require tweaks to get good results.

    Thx for your kind words DO!
    Robert Hopkins

  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by HwyStar View Post
    Hey DO!

    Yes, I enjoy our side show too! No one is reading these posts so why not solve all the problems of the art world in one thread or less...
    *lurks quietly*

    Yes, nobody else is here, continue...

  3. #23
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    You crack me up HR! Thanks for the kind... Word?
    Robert Hopkins

  4. #24
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    Nov 2011
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    It’s not just Hannah lurking! Like you Robert I’m swamped with work too
    But I try and keep an eye on the forums here (when I can) and interesting threads like this...
    Maker Of Replica Macoys

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    My Animal Paintings In The Forum Gallery
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  5. #25
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    I have been studying Chad's work; and honestly, it's not just about "the brush". It is how to use the entire software package.

    He does use PS or Affinity Photo more than I will ever do. I have tried so many times to warm up to PS/AP and it has too much bloatware for my tastes, in regards to painting.

    He is exploiting all the features in AR. Layers, textures, brushes, opacity, maybe even blend modes? He has spent many years using PS and because of that experience, he may be able to do things in AR that we just would not think about at the time of painting brush strokes. There are more things going on in his paintings than we are seeing from afar. Look closely at his images. Fingerpainting or not! There is a lot going on in his images. Use the F11 key in your browser and get in close to the image. You will see hidden things going on in his paintings. He is a magician with paint!
    Robert Hopkins

  6. #26
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    Apr 2012
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    I agree Chad is a magician, but "with paint" is too limited a characterization of his sorcery, as the substance of the rest of your post aptly describes. His magical bag indeed is full of digital tools.

    So, I sit and ponder. If an artist is given countless tools at his/her disposal what is to stop him her from the bounty of wonders he/she can achieve exploiting it all? We might think this is something entirely new, something we are only faced with in the digital age... but it is not.

    Before digital, traditional media included a wide disparate range of tools for marking, coloring, texturing, scoring, burning, embossing, papering, welding, combining materials of all sorts into flat, on paper, or canvas and/or non-flat sculptured pieces which could represent an infinite variety of subjects in an infinite variety of ways, and to a greater or lesser degree these various media could be combined or aggregated in countless combinations.

    So why DID some artists mostly primarily work, for example, only in oil or only in pastels, or always in watercolor? Why didn't all artists use all of these in every piece, or employ them on demand as required to get the most out of each work? I have no formal education in mixed media, or whether certain disharmonies make mixed media less desirable, but I do think the answer lies in the tastes and affinity of the Artist. One water color artist might get bored and need to try something new like Acrylics, whereas another might simply love water color, and spend time perfecting his artistic expression and interpretation of the endless variety of possible subjects for a lifetime. Such an artist would have found the myriad possibilities of the day, available at the Art Supply Store as "bloatware"... but because of the sheer physical separation of the supplies he takes home with him from those in store, his art studio would not be cluttered with them.

    So, you now have in each piece of modern digital art software a plethora of tools, this bloat or clutter now sits at your desk whether you want all of it or not. Luckily, as an artist who is exploring and learning and doing, it poses no problems, and represents no impediment to your work. It can only increase the possibility of further creativity, if ever you get bored, or need to change things up. etc.

    As you say, to your tastes, you have a process or a set of tools which you are happy with, but its nice to know the bloat is only standing by, for you to choose IF you want to, not nagging you in any way.


    These ponderings are not linear so instead of anything like a real conclusion I will simply say, how lucky to be given the possibility (thank you Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Corel, and Ambient Design) of having an Art Supply Store sitting in a little magic box in your home, and that given enough focus and inspiration one can choose to stop browsing (which could be an endless endeavor) and simply pick a few choice items from the shelf, and start making magic.
    Last edited by DarkOwnt; 05-10-2018 at 01:48 AM.

  7. #27
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    You are so right, DO. We have everything at our disposal we need to rival any artwork on the planet. If we could just get 3D paintings to print from our computers with real pigmented paint that will last for five hundred years then real media "may be" dead. At least for us...

    But, there are so many people who want that brush in their hand, and the smell of the paint, and the bins of tubs of paint at their side. And, not having to worry about the task manager getting in their way of creativity!

    These are fun times right now that we are living in, with all of the great tools we have to use. I know that I just get/am lazy. I want to get into the software (ArtRage only), paint my painting, share it on the web, and finally print it and put it in a frame. I do not like loading the images back and forth between software programs to get that perfect desired look.

    I think right now, that ArtRage gives me everything I need, except:

    1. Give us an easier way to adjust the overall image. Just like we can adjust an individual layer. I know I could copy all the layers then merge the copies down into one layer then adjust the entire image... But once again, I am lazy! Is there an ArtRage feature to merge all layers into a new layer at the top? I don't think so? VAF (value added feature)?

    2. I seem lately to usually want to add a simple vignette. I just modify my images in Apple's, iCloud photo edit feature and add the vignette there. I also edit the overall image colors/exposure there too. But it would be nice to just do it in AR. Yes, I am lazy!

    That is all that I need to change from ArtRage. I am content with the rest of its functionality. If ArtRage is good enough for professionals to use then it is just fine for this amateur!

    (If you are lurking... Don't be shy... Speak up!)
    Robert Hopkins

  8. #28
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    Okay, Mr. Techno I bet you can figure this one out:
    Different artwork that I am printing sometimes is too dark for the printed output. The difference between backlit work by the monitor and printed works is enough that it is wasting print jobs and ink.

    Is there some tool or histogram viewer that can tell the artist what the overall brightness is for a picture to be printed? I'm pretty sure there isn't anything in AR that can do this.

    I know that PS probably has something in there to do that but I decided to scrap PS because of the subscription cost. I have a license for Affinity on my iMac in Nevada but I have not installed Affinity yet on my Virginia system.

    Any ideas? Any internet tools you can think of? My Google searches have come up dry.

    I am part of a Facebook group that is all about printing and I will ask there too. If I get a solution I will post it here.

    Sorry for the off-topic post. This "is" our thread!
    Robert Hopkins

  9. #29
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    Apr 2012
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    Topic?? What's that?

    Ahem.


    Your best bet is two fold:

    1. Monitor and Printer calibration, and always use color management.

    2. IF possible, use additional "software proofing" provided by some software to simulate on your monitor, how the printed picture will look.


    1. Is relatively straightforward. I have DataColor Spyder products for monitor calibration and printer calibration. Essentially, it takes measurements of your device, and makes a profile which is meant to tweak it toward proper color reproduction as possible. So when you finish, you'll have a color profile for your monitor whih you then make windows use to always make your screen as accurate as possible, and you'll have a color profile for your printer which will always make your printer as accurate as possible. All the while you just keep working in the native color space (sRGB) and everything should be taken care of for you.

    2. Due to actual differences in color gamut, your printer (a subtractive device) will not be able to display certain colors with the same saturation AND brightness as your monitor (an additive device). So the final step in the matching is soft proofing. This odd little concept takes the color profiles you made for your monitor and your target printer and using them to simulate on your monitor how the print will look once you print it. This works well as long as your monitor is set at a reasonable brightness comparable to a fully lit piece made on your printer (i.e. the white of your monitor should be only as bright as the white canvas under the brightest lights you will be lighting up your displayed work) [ASIDE: note that lighting up your artwork with color balance which is OFF of your monitor will cause trouble - IF you want to work with 2700K light, then calibrate your monitor to 2700K white point, if you like 5300K lights to light up your work, use 5300K for your display calibration]. Now, I know Corel Painter had (has?) this feature, and I suspect so do other advanced photography and art programs which include color management. I'm not sure if there is any stand alone viewer for this... In any case. While soft proofing, use the program to adjust gamma, saturation, brightness etc. until your expected output is acceptable. Try to remember that prints have always looked different from monitor outputs, so concentrate on what could have been achieved with real paints versus what can be displayed on a ridiculously colorful and bright monitor. Programs like Corel PaintShop pro (very useful for all kinds of things) also has a software proofing mode.

  10. #30
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    I knew you would know the technical side (you) and the laymen’s side (me!). I have to think about systems all day long at work and refuse to do the same in my off time. I’m getting to old for the techno-babble.

    Ahem!

    Okay, calibrate the monitor. Check. I think I have a spyder some where in a drawer that I will dig out and try.

    The colors don’t appear to have any issues between my iMac and the Canon printer. It is just the darkness of some prints that need pushing higher with the brightness. Using my k.i.s.s. Technology approach to life at this point I will look around for a tool that can color proof my work. Excellent suggestion! Affinity may support color proofing. I will google that. I don’t remember if PS does, and if it does then Affinity probable does too.

    Thanks for the quick answer DO! I did order my favorite paper in 8 x 11 today, to do some proofing with, so I don’t burn through my bigger sheets of paper. You da Man!
    Robert Hopkins

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