#it felt like doing scratchboard again a little...

[wackywatchdotcom]

i dont know what i just did, but i did something? and it was fun! and i have a bunch of different versions of this something

[spiffyworks]

Artist’s Software Surfing P2 - Inking

This time around I’ve created a better sketch similar to the ones I made for the first part of this exploration series and I have tried different tools in different programs to see if I can learn anything new or find any inspiration among this heap of brushes I’ve accumulated. @o@ Lettuce begin!

Artist’s Software Surfing P1 - Sketching Artist’s Software Surfing P2 - Inking Artist’s Software Surfing P3 - Colouring Artist’s Software Surfing P4 - Painting

Corel Painter

This is the program that is inspiring this journey through different tools and brushes, so most of my time in here is experimentation.

“Liquid Ink” - Dry Camel I probably should have read the manual on “liquid ink” layers and why they are important, but this time I just jumped right in and started using the tool like I would an inking pen in CSP or Paintstorm. I was surprised how nice it felt, how it would cleanly fill in spaces up to the shadow line I drew, and the subtle texture if I made a light stroke. This “Liquid Layer” system I guess means it changes the behavior of the pixels however, and erasing was a little wild and the ability to pull ink from what would be considered a “blob” was really neat. Fun tool, depending on the style you are going for. Happy accidents happened with this brush so you have to be willing to relinquish a bit of control. My only gripes are, I can’t flip the canvas with this layer type, eraser was more of a hindrance than a help, and cross hatching or shade lines work a lot differently with “wet” ink than I’m used to.

“Artist Favorites” - Scratchboard This is one I actually remember from back in the day, and when I googled “Inking in Corel Painter” this one came up in a few people’s lists. If you are used to inking on the computer with some stabilization, this is just like those other tools you’ve used. Great line width variance, smooth lines, easy to control, easy to erase. It’s basic, but you get the most control out of it, meaning no happy accidents or unexpected behaviors.

“Natural Media” - Smooth Croquil This is that awkward moment where I admit to never having used quill tipped pens. I know they are a favorite of many veteran inkers who still work traditionally. I guess it’s on my to-do list. That being said, I have no frame of reference for the expected behavior of this pen, but I actually really enjoyed working with it. This was the “Smooth” version, meaning it had more stabilization in the stroke, but I was surprised at the nice hatching I could get. Would not recommend for filling black solid shapes, but the more “drawing” portion of the inking process, this would probably be my go-to for artwork with big shapes and long, sweeping lines.

Sumi-e Though I tried many of the options in the brush box, I ended up being pretty disappointed with this set. I never like using digital sumi-e brushes, the usage is just too different considering the traditional brush shape, but the texture in here just makes the artwork look pixelated. I included it just as a special mention. Won’t use it again.

Photoshop, Kyle T Webster’s Inkbox

Lord, I swear I saved past this point of this draft several times and some how Tumblr really dropped the ball. I still have the artwork, but I’ve lost all my immediate first-impressions of the almost dozen Kyle’s Inkbox variants I got to mess around with. A real shame, so I’m going to simply do my best and group them up, as I noticed some patters with some of them. Also, I hadn’t updated in two years and they’ve added a couple of important features I thought Photoshop was missing, like brush stabilization and symmetry drawing.

Nice, Scratch brush with decent texture and line width variance :: Pocketbrush 1, Badass Brush

Personal favorites :: Thick, chunky, expressive, and fun to ink with: Belgian Comics, Fountania, Guelph inker, Seth Comics

Interesting, but impractical :: Brush Beauty, Copier Rat, Fountania Brush Pen

Everything else, as far as I can recall, was just standard smooth pen with a touch of texture.

Paintstorm

Out of the box, this program doesn’t have much. It’s basically your basic round brush with stabilization settings. It’s very fast, however, and the customization is easy and fun if you want to add some texture to your ink pens. The toggle for turning your ink brush into an eraser is as easy as pressing E which makes for some nice hair push-and-pulling. Rewarding to work in, but very basic out of the box.

Krita

So, similarly to Photoshop, I hadn’t updated Krita in a handful of years and some of the features have been updated. It feels a bit better, I am able to mirror view and rotate the canvas just like I like to. I still struggle with the interface a bit but I’m sure I will get used to it with time.

I didn’t find many default pens that I liked or were unique enough to remark on so I just ran with the... (jfc is that really the name?) ... “d)_Ink-7_Brush_Rough” because of its bit of texture that’s revealed more as the lines thin. Figuring out the stabilization options was hell. It took a lot of fudging the sliders and making assumptions on the difference between “Distance” and “Delay” and why those mattered. Most programs just have one slider for brush stabilization. In fact, they all do. Not sure all of these options are necessary, but have at it if that’s your thing.

Clip Studio Paint

Not much out of the box here either, but the customization options are always nice. One thing I do want to mention for inking in CSP is the Vector layer option. You can create a “vector layer” then draw on it with any subtool and to back and edit those lines later. Or you can draw with the Figure tool and adjust lines there. Honestly this feature makes doing linework, especially for hard surface objects, super easy breezy and clean without removing the organic feel in areas that need it. I noticed Krita had vector layers as well, but like I mentioned before I just don’t have a whole lot of experience with that program so I’m not sure if it works the same way.

Well that about wraps it up for inking software, Kyle T Webster’s brushes in Photoshop coming out on top for this particular drawing. o7 I think I’ll do basic colouring next (comic book style). Hope this helped!

Artist’s Software Surfing P1 - Sketching Artist’s Software Surfing P2 - Inking Artist’s Software Surfing P3 - Colouring Artist’s Software Surfing P4 - Painting   

[mikeyd1986]

MIKEY’S PERSONAL BLOG 42, March 2017

On Monday morning, I went to my Restorative/Yin styled yoga class at Just Be Yoga and Meditation in Beaconsfield. It’s been months since I’ve last been to one of Kelly Wallis’ classes and even though I was feeling sleep deprived and didn’t want to face morning peak-hour traffic, I still pushed myself to go. And it was well worth it. There was about 9 or 10 others in the class today. We all began in a restorative version of bound angle pose, reclining over a bolster and having a blanket wrapped around our ankles. http://www.yogajournal.com/pose/rec...

The first half of the class concentrated on Wind Relieving (Pavanamuktasana) poses which is essentially releasing tension from the toes, feet, legs, knees, hips and lower back with gentle movements. We also did various Yin poses including Cat-Cow pose, Sphinx pose, Pigeon pose and a supported variation of the Splits. We ended the class by doing a Yoga Nidra meditation which I nearly dozed off in since I was so restless from last night. https://www.yogaoutlet.com/guides/h...

On Tuesday morning, I decided to tackling the 1000 Steps Challenge at 1000 Steps, Upper Ferntree Gully. This has been sitting on my goals list for quite some time now and it’s taken me several months to be both mentally and physically prepared. Today I felt like I could smash it. Also known as the The 1000 Steps Kokoda Memorial Track, this trail is a very steep climb up to the One Tree Hill Picnic Ground flanked by beautiful rain forest scenery.

It actually brought me back to my scouting days back in 1998-1999 where I went on various hikes and was much fitter than I am now. I did have several moments where I did struggle and forced myself to rest at the benches and plaques along the way. Thankfully I wasn’t the only one gasping for breath and saturated in sweat. It’s a really tough walk especially if you’re not used to traversing steep, uphill sections and uneven, rocky concrete steps.

I wisely paced myself through it and it felt like such a huge accomplishment making it to the top. It was my version of conquering Mt. Everest. Six to twelves months ago, there’s no way in hell I would have even attempted the 1000 Steps and it shows that I have come a long way in my fitness and well-being journey. It’s a proud moment being able to say “Yeah I did that”. My advice to anyone wanting to do it is don’t rush it, take your time and enjoy it. http://www.dandenongrangespoint.com.au/...

On Thursday morning, I had my second personal training session with Luke Davey at Breakaway Fitness in Narre Warren. I was feeling a little more relaxed this week as I’m slowly opening up to Luke more and more. I also bumped into familiar faces Joel Perryman and Mariel Viray whilst waiting for my session to start. I’m still letting go of my past negative experiences at UFT - CrossFit Fountain Gate and what certain people think of me.

To be honest, it really shouldn’t bother me so much. I’m there for a reason and if someone doesn’t like me, then so be it. For the most part though, I get along fine with almost everyone at UFT. I’m friendly, caring, polite and well-mannered and I think most people there really want me to do well. That’s what I need to keep my focus on. Do the best I can and smashing my fitness training goals. It feels good to be apart of the UFT family again.

Today’s session focused on the hips, glutes and legs. We started with a warm-up game on the rowing machine where my target was to get to 100 in each of the five rounds. Anything above or below 100 I’d have to make up for in burpees (Joy! :P). Next I did some exercises to release tension and strengthen the muscles in my hips and glutes including the cowboy walk. Luke put resistance bands just above my knees and pretty soon I could feel the burn.

Next I did some weighted squats. I haven’t done much weight training besides a handful of Body Pump classes and a couple of deadlifting sessions last year with Nick. So I was going back to basics with it. I had to do 3 rounds with 8 reps each. I ended up squating with 50kg which was much more weight than I thought I could do. It certainly wasn’t easy. The struggle was real, especially during my last round. I was shaking especially coming back up but I got through it and I felt reassured with Luke spotting me.

The final workout was a 10 minute AMRAP including 50 single skips, 15 leg raises and 12 box step ups. The leg raises were hands down the hardest of the three exercises. I could feel pain in my lower back and eventually the fatigue and panting was increasing. I’ve been setting myself low goals because I honestly don’t know what I’m capable of and I’d rather be realistic about it rather than set a huge goal that is clearly unachievable at my current fitness level. Once again, I smashed my goal of 2 rounds and ended up getting through 3.5 rounds. https://www.facebook.com/breakawayf...

On Thursday night, I attended a group meditation class at Just Be Yoga and Meditation in Beaconsfield. We all arranged our yoga mats in a semi-circle formation, radiating outwards. Dell Brown began the class by reading some passages about the link between the mind and the breath as well as explaining what pranayama (prana = life force, ayama = control) is. We then did four different meditations which included:

Deep Abdominal Breathing...Sitting or lying down in comfortable position, place your hands over your lower abdomen. Take a slow deep inhalation right down into the belly and feel your hands rise up and separate as your abdomen expands. Hold for a couple of seconds and then release it.                                                                           https://www.verywell.com/how-to-bre...

Viloma Pranayama (Step Breathing)... Sitting in a relaxed, cross legged position with your spine straight. First, breathe into your lower abdomen for three seconds, pause. Then breathe into your chest for three seconds, pause. Finally, breathe into your shoulders for three seconds, pause. Then exhale and release the breath slowly for a count of nine seconds. https://www.soulfularogya.com/vilom...

Guided Visualisation...Laying down flat on your back supported by a cushion or pillow under your head and a bolster under your knees. Imagine that you’re standing in a green field on a bright sunny day. In the middle of the field, there is a large tree filled with various kinds of fruit. The fruit contain magical properties. You pick one of the fruits and begin to examine it before taking a bite. You instantly feel a sense of overwhelming joy and bliss. https://psychcentral.com/lib/guided...

Yoga Nidra (Yogic Sleep)...This is a deep relaxation in which you’ll remain conscious between the dreaming and waking state. It is essentially an in depth body scan which releases tension from individual body parts as well as the whole body together. http://www.yogajournal.com/article/...

On Friday morning, I did an RPM Indoor Cycling class at YMCA Casey ARC in Narre Warren. For some reason, I just wasn’t feeling it today. Part of it could be my lack of sleep and irritability. I got easily annoyed at the conversations the ladies around me were having in the cycle studio. I felt socially excluded even though I was pretty much a stranger there. But I just had to remind myself of the reason why I was there.

The first half of this new release wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. The second track, Flo Rida’s Zillionaire, contains a god-damned awful trumpet section and typically shallow, materialistic lyrics. Thankfully things did improve during the second half and I was slowly finding my rhythm. There were some tough parts that alternated quickly between racing and standing but I managed to push through the burn. I averaged around 30km/h and burned about 450 kcal.  https://www.fitnessfirst.com.au/fin...

On Friday afternoon, Mum and I attended the Grand Art Exhibition held at the Edrington Park Retirement Village in Berwick. The arts and crafts styled Edrington Homestead was colossal looking and was surrounded by large oak trees and a tall garden hedge. There was a nice collection of sculptures near the front entrance including some kangaroos, an alpaca and a cow. Inside there was a large collection of paintings, drawings, scratchboards and collages. It was all really impressive and as always inspiring to look at as a fellow artist myself. http://www.artshowsofoz.com/page2

“The disconnect is welling up, and good intentions are not enough. Your words are weary, their hearts are strained, and idle vows find the deepest pains...You’re one of a thousand voices in my head that all just sound the same. If I will make a change, it’s by my words and not my name.” Hands Like Houses - I Am (2016)