The Setup
I confess that my setup for my PC (double blasphemy for graphics) is really for gaming. I would prefer to work on Mac, but as my second passion is gaming, specifically MMOs, I opted for PC. Perhaps some day I’ll pick up a little Macbook Pro, but until then, this is the setup. I couldn’t tell you specifically why Macs are better for graphics, but from my experience their hardware is certainly dedicated, and the machines are a lot more powerful with a lot less–I peg the blame on the Mac OS.
My Rig
O/S:Windows Vista Home 32-bit SP1 OEM
Motherboard: XFX 780i 3-way hybrid SLI
Processor: Intel 8400 Wolfdale 2.4 ghz
Memory: G.Skill DDR2 800 2 gb
Graphics Card(s): XFX Nvidia 9600 GT x2 SLI
Chimei 22″ LCD Flatscreen monitor
Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
Logitech MX 518 Gaming Mouse
Wacom Intuous 3 5×8 tablet
The following is a list of tools I use in Painter.
Cover Pencil
Used for initially sketching. I tend to start on a white canvas or background layer with black, set at 30 percent opacity at 5px or so. This is so I can sketch real loose and quick.
quick tip: set your tablet preferences first under edit > preferences > brush tracking. this allows painter to gauge your natural hand and it will make drawing and painting so much easier.
Digital Watercolor
Once I am satisfied with a sketch (hardly ever), I use this tool to block in basic shadows. This is a transparent tool which means it will not muck up your drawing. The trick to using this tool successfully is to quickly block in large areas and once satisfied, to dry the layer (pc: Ctrl-Shift-L); and then to do another pass over it to deepen the shadow. This is also great for doing initial color washes to start laying in your colors.
Square Chalk
An opaque tool. I use this to quickly block in areas of color. This will wipe out your pencils, so make sure you are satisfied with your basic shadows.
Artists Oils
Another great opaque tool. I have customized the settings for this tool and I really like the build up texture I can achieve with this brush.
Glow F/X Brush
This is one of those brushes to use for your last touches or highlights and extreme color. The trick with this brush is to set the color on your color palette on the darker values so you maintain the color without washing it out with a lot of white. This tool is also the signature of the grand master Ryan Church.
Blender
I have this really bad, bad, bad habit of using the blend tool way too much. However, doesn’t that kind of make it part of my signature? As a side note, I believe it is better to lay down as much solid color where you want it as possible and then blend for those nice soft shadows.
Custom Brushes
I messed around in Photoshop and then took the image into Painter where I created a ‘dab’ which acts as a custom brush. The creation of these brushes was completely experimental and accidental and I am very pleased with the result.
Thank you for visiting my online portfolio! I hope you enjoy my work. If you would like to contact me, please feel free to email me, or hit ‘contact’ at the top for other ways to get in touch with me. I am always to happy to chat with anyone.
