Finally here...or there for now?

Well, I got myself to uni, alive and well. And within freshers week(!) we were given our first project...

"Describe 'G' as in Graphic Design."

Yes that's all we got given. So now I have to fill an A3 sheet of what I believe graphic design to be, in the form of G's. Or something along those lines anyway.

So good old wiki came to play, and I spent an hour looking at the history of the letter G (yes it does have a history, a boring one mind) and any graphic terms beggining with the letter. There's not many.

And now I'm sat surrounded with pieces of A4 paper and scribbles of ideas all over them. Talk about testing my brain.

On another note, I did some copic testing using a few of the tutorials I posted last time, and I must say, it didn't turn out half as bad as expected! The tutorial I found helped me most was this one: http://www.mangarevolution.com/tutorial_display.php?tutorial_id=171 which I just realised I never originally posted...oops! But there it is anyway. Mine doesn't look much like that, I simplified it an AWFUL lot for my first attempt, therefore it turned out very...basic looking. Ahh well. Practice practice.

Now I best get back to my G's. Next update shall be with my next project no doubt!

Graphic markers?

New post finally, and it was inspired by the new "The Art of Wall.E" book that I got for my brithday, of all things. It features some absolutly FANTASTIC marker done drawings, of different stages of the films design process. And they inspired me. So, I went on a hunt for tutorials.

During this hunt, the first thing I came across was a site detailing all the good things and the bad about the different brands.

http://www.elfwood.com/farp/markers2/

I myself have a growing selection of copics bought from the only local store I know that sells them. But I never really learnt how to use them, so I thought it's high time I learnt. So here are some of the best tutorials I found.

First off then, some more beginner/basic ones:

http://toounit.deviantart.com/art/Too-s-Tutorial-Marker-Basics-29151189

Includes how to take care of your markers (copics in this case), and then a very thorough step by step tutorial of colouring a female.

http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com/2008/08/anyone-can-color-copic-marker-tutorial.html

From another blog, this seems pretty simple at first, but you gotta start small right? And it also shows how to use the colourless blender effectively which many don't seem to use. Aaand it makes a change from a manga drawing =)

And some more advanced tutorials:

http://www.sheezyart.com/view/208180/

Is explained well and in detail, but I would think you need to know some of the basics first. Uses Prismacolour and Tria markers.

http://www.designertechniques.com/tutorials/markrandallmarkerrender01-page1.htm

And finally, a much more advanced tutorial, for rendering a car. Steps are written in detail, but seems like something best done by people with practice.

In the next post, I may well post my experiences with following these tutorials, and how successful I was, like a review in a way. Seeing as I only have 5 days till I leave for university, I could do with some last minute practice!