ImagineFX: Fantasy & Sci-fi Digital Art/ Dec 2012

Some photoshop layering tips from Dec 2012's issue.

P88. Workshop feature by Annie Stegg.

• Group layers together, and apply Mask (mentions Alpha Mask; restricts painting to the area).
• For lighting, suggests creating two layers: one set to Multiply and the other to Colour Dodge. Work between these layers to get definition and depth.

• Once basic lighting is done, add texture. Create a new layer; "setting a basic Speckled Brush to Screen"; put the layer on Soft Light.

• Use Emboss and Bevel effects (try setting the directions to Up/ Down) to create inset looks on plate armour.
• Shortcut: Use [F] to cycle through different screen modes in Photoshop.
• Use the Smudge tool to "pull" hair strands when painting hair.

ImagineFX: Fantasy & Sci-fi Digital Art/ Sept 2012

From ImagineFX Sept 2012, p75.

Screen print effect using Photoshop:

• Filter > Pixelate> Colour Halftone
• Opacity to 15% or less
• Blend mode: Overlay
• Change the angles of the Halftone settings.

Learned about a software called Manga Studio.

Adobe Photoshop CS6 essentials/ Scott Onstott

One thing I learned from this book: manipulating text/ fonts and working in tandem with path/ vectors.

Use the Pen tool; draw a path (free form or straight); then select the Text tool; place over the path (cursor will add on a little symbol to show a path); click and type.

Easy to follow short exercises.

Painter X for photographers/ Martin Addison

Useful primer on Corel Painter. I'm using version 12 and can follow this easily even if its talking about an older version.

Comprehensive section on the various brushes, pens, pencils etc. Particularly useful on understanding the various Clone Brushes and their effects.

Dedicated section on Clone painting. With short descriptive tutorials and examples.

Customising brushes, paper textures.

Explains watercolours, oils and pastels, blender brushes, portrait painting, hand colouring, Layers, printing and presentations (colour management).

27 First Set (Twenty-Seven)/ Charles Soule & others

A "how to sell your soul to the devil and get away with it" story, told in a refreshing contemporary way.

Rock guitarist wants to regain his ability to play. Somehow gets hooked up with an entity called The Nine.

Not exactly the devil but a devil's bargain in that sense.

Strange buttons embedded in his chest, each giving him strange creative abilities.

He gets 27 chances, hence the title.

And what happens in the end?

A perfectly logical twist.

Like I wrote earlier, in a way this is the ageless "how to sell your soul to the devil and get away with it" story.

Like the Billy Goats Gruff triumphing against the troll.

Underdog wins. That's all I can say.

(Aside: from another angle, it's like the devil and trolls being short changed, but that's for another tale, I think).

Chew/ John Layman & Rob Guillory

Had to borrow these since the title sported my family name!

It did not disappoint.

Tony Chu is a "cibopath" investigator for the US Food and Drug Administration, one who can get psychic impressions (past sequence of events) by taking a bite into things. Some things include corpses.

What a oddly different class of super powers.

Plus a really weird storyline that's so quirky and somehow believable, in a comic book way.

The FDA is a powerful agency namely because if the Avian Flu outbreak, resulting in a global enforcement of a chicken and poultry ban.

Add some high-powered (money and/ or similar new superpowers) characters -- baddies and sidekicks -- in a unfolding conspiracy, plus Alien writing in the sky.

So very X-files.

Adobe Photoshop CS6 Digital Classroom/ Jennifer Smith, AGI Creative Team 26

Clear instructions; illustrated. Good systematic approach in learning Adobe Photoshop CS6. Presented as specific lessons and tasks (vs just describing each features).

Secrets of Corel Painter Experts: Tips, Techniques, and Insights for Users of All Abilities/ Daryl Wise

Features individual Corel Painter users. Each digital artist shows a work, explains how its done. Most have a sequenced walk-through.

Plenty of inspiring works; insights into the digital art creation process using varying preferred techniques and styles.

A few artists I really liked (interestingly they happen to be asians):

• Song Yang http://www.zhajiang.com
• Benjamin
  http://blog.sina.com.cn/benjamin
• Youchan http://togoru.net
• Pete Revonkorpi http://peterrevonkorpi.daportfolio.com

The Hidden Power of Blend Modes in Adobe Photoshop/ Scott Valentine

Many 'Single-technique' examples of Photoshop CS6 blend modes (in Layers).

Second part has a more technical explanation of the workings and mathematical calculations.

UI Design with Adobe Illustrator: Discover the ease and power of using Illustrator to design Web sites and apps/ Rick Moore

Well-organised book.
Clear instructions and illustrations.
Concise chunks on using specific Adobe Illustrator features.
Step-by-step guide in using the required features to complete a (mock) site.