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Post by AirCoaster on Oct 3, 2009 13:32:59 GMT -5
Hi Gang, I thought I would show some of the studies I did for my Art Institute of Pittsburgh Color Theory course. Nothing here is super fantastic. I got a 96.62% for the course. Crash Morgan was my Final Project. I got a 98.95% on it. Only because I screwed up the transparency selection, and the Professor thought I should have used more color interations to show depth. But, I was extremely happy with the results. I will add more in my next post, but you have to remember, these are my color studies, not actual images that are for any specific need other than that.
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Post by Dan on Oct 6, 2009 3:40:29 GMT -5
Very nice, indeed!! Interesting how they teach color nowadays - I'm assuming this is computer generated - I'd be interested in knowing. I guess general landscape color went the way of the crayola! I'd be very proud with a 96.62 - you did good!! Dan …it’s great being a kid again – without the crayola! ;D
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Post by felipe on Oct 6, 2009 7:12:27 GMT -5
nice work coaster! thats sweet! im going to school for journalism, so bleepignments are not AS entertaining to look at congrats on the grades, hard earned!
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Post by windrunner on Oct 6, 2009 11:56:43 GMT -5
Very nice! with wich program have you done it?
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Post by AirCoaster on Oct 7, 2009 10:05:40 GMT -5
Hi Gang,
These were all done in Photoshop CS4 with the exception of the Crash Morgan project, it was done with Paint Shop Pro 7. All were color studies, nothing to be realistic. The bubbles were to show transparencies using color, the alleged landscape is color used to create depth, and the starburst to show color used to create vibration. Color studies are nothing that has to do with finished artwork, although it is part of it.
Crash Morgan was the final project I chose, and is suppose to have at least three aspects of color involved. It was truly an eye-opener course for me. Even some of the folks that have experience in the field of graphic design that attended the course were amazed at the things they learned. Art Institute of Pittsburgh has a much more aggressive approach to art and design than my past college, and that I certainly do appreciate.
I just wish I had had this chance earlier in my life. Oh well, onwards and upwards.
I must say though, it is refreshing to meet people in art that are actually in this for the art and experience. Not those arrogant know-it-alls in the Flight Simulator community, and elsewhere, that flaunt there alleged knowledge like some sort of flag of honor. These people are truly knowledgeable, and aren't afraid to share their experiences. I am slowly making my way to shadowing a few that I have met, but doing so is a bit of a process. We all benefit from other's knowledge and previous experiences.
John
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Post by sgtmajor on Oct 7, 2009 10:18:29 GMT -5
Congratulations John on the great work and wonderful grade.... I know it was a true labor of love!!
If you have any good CS4 advice; i.e., tutorials, books, web-sites etc., I'd appreciate the info.
I had purchased CS2 through e-bay and actually snagged it for a price I could live with. However, I didn't realize until after the purchase that folks have had some problems getting it to install on 64-bit systems. (Can be done it appears but troublesome at times.)
Anyway.....CS2 is upgradeable to CS4 so I'm considering making the jump. (Early B-Day present) I did download the 30 day trial version last evening....(2+ hour download) but it installed nicely on my laptop and I'm already seeing what a great program it is. Sure makes some tasks a lot easier...... however, there is a tremendous learning curve for an old knucklehead like me. (smile)
Once again.....Congratulations on the completion of your class and well done my friend!!
Cheers,
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Post by AirCoaster on Oct 10, 2009 9:40:40 GMT -5
Hi Steve,
From what I have noticed, the free tutorials at Adobe are pretty straight forward. Lynda.com and Virtual Training Company(vtc.com) have excellent videos on just about any application you might need help with.
I love PS CS4, I wish they had made the tools in Illustrator a bit more handy in PS CS4, but that's another can of worms to be opened. Sure these tools are available in PS, but are as intuitive as they are in Illustrator.
When I bought my Master Collection of CS4 it came with both the x86 version and the x64 version of Photoshop. The x64 version really kicks butt. I have had up to 60 layers at one time, and saw no drag on my resources at all. The key to learning Photoshop is learning the dos and don'ts, the ins and outs of each tool, which is the case with any application. You not only need to learn how to activate the tool, you need to know what it can do and the result, plus be able to escape from the tool if something goes wrong, or if it doesn't have the results you may have thought. I think Photoshop is a great applications.
Those programming architects certainly did their homework on this one. I am certain there are those who would argue the point, but the tools in the Creative Suite Master Collection is what the school requires, and these are suppose to be the general tools of the trade, so it is what I learn and am happy with.
I use to use Paint Shop Pro 7.0, and still do on occasion, but Photoshop runs rings around PSP 7. Don't get me wrong, PSP still is an excellent tool for those who have it and don't want to update. But, to be at the top of things and keeping up with the trends, I would say Photoshop CS4 is the bee's knees for any digital designer.
One of my favorite artists is Ron Crabb at crabbdigital.com. He uses Cinema 4D and Photoshop to create digital fine art. The best way to know him is to visit his site.
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Post by sgtmajor on Oct 10, 2009 11:36:24 GMT -5
I use to use Paint Shop Pro 7.0, and still do on occasion, but Photoshop runs rings around PSP 7. One of my favorite artists is Ron Crabb at crabbdigital.com. Thanks John for the info. I still use PSP 8 as I've grown accustom to all the tools etc., etc. I also use Corel IX Painter as I had purchased it several years ago by mistake...... I should have gotten Corel Draw instead for what I wanted. I downloaded and installed the 30 day trial of PS CS4..... it is a very powerful program and one I've already fallen in love with, however, there is so much I don't know..... or I find extremely hard to do. Example...... In PSP 7 or 8 you can take your line tool... click on areas around an object and it will completly paint over that object. I haven't found a way in Photoshop or Corel to do that other than draw a line around the object and then use the fill tool. I suppose there's nothing wrong with doing it that way..... but it was just easier with PSP 8. Drawing curved lines I still can't figure out with PS CS4. I think the biggest reason is I don't seem to understand paths etc. I'm hoping a good "How to" book or something will eventully shed some light on the old knucklehead. Lastly........ Thanks for the link to Ron Crabb..........AMAZING artist indeed. If I could only achieve about 2% of the knowledge and talent he has I think I could die a happy man. (smile) Cheers,
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Post by AirCoaster on Oct 12, 2009 2:03:34 GMT -5
Steve,
I think maybe Illustrator would be more your cup of tea by what you have explained. I would suggest if you can get a demo of Illustrator to demo it too before you buy. But, PS CS4 has the same abilities as Illustrator just not quite as intuitive.
For instance, the Pen Tool will do exactly what you want that you did in PSP 7. You plot anchor points as you progress along the path, and the area on the inside of the curved path will fill with whatever color you want. The anchor points can be modified afterwards by using the Direct Selection Tool. You select the Path you want to modify with the Path selection Tool, and modify the path with the Direct Selection Tool.
All the Tools between the horizontal separators in the Toolbar are related. So, take a look at them, and don't be afraid to try them, CRTL-ALT-Z and CRTL-Z are your friends, UNDO and STEP BACKWARDS. Also, under the Pen Tool are more tools used to modify Path Anchor Points, such as the Convert Point Tool, and this is a bit of a tricky one if you don't know how to use it. You select your path with the Convert Point Tool then locate an Anchor Point click and drag to create the handles for the point to line alignment,Bezier Curve. If you just click the Anchor Point and don't drag, nothing will happen. So, it is all in how you handle the tools that makes the difference. Knowing which tool does what, and then being able to create what you want from those tools is one part of the battle.
I think you will find that Photshop can do almost anything you want with very little effort, and like I said Adobe has some great tutorials and help links to get you going.
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Post by sgtmajor on Oct 12, 2009 18:30:29 GMT -5
John..... MANY Thanks my friend for all the great advice and information. I've been playing around with just the tools.....click drag.... click drag.... ctrl-Z..... (smile).
You are absolutely correct in your statement that half or more of the battle is just finding out what everything does or doesn't do.
I have been searching tutorials etc., on the internet and have found many to be very useful. I usually read or view a tutorial then go play for an hour or so to see if I can re-create or in some cases found new things not covered in the tutorial.
I plan on getting my pea brain wrapped around this CS4 thing........... it's a matter of pride now. (smile) I now understand why so many painters in FS have made the switch to Photoshop though..... very powerful tools once you figure out how to adapt them to your needs.
I'm finishing up my years work in the next 4-6 weeks and then I'll have quite a bit of down time. I'm hoping to be ready to start my first aircraft paint by then....... we'll see. (smile)
Best wishes as always and once again......."Thank You" so much for your help!!
Cheers,
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Post by sgtmajor on Oct 14, 2009 8:50:23 GMT -5
Well...... I downloaded and installed CS4 Illustrator (Trial) last evening, however, WHEW.......... I thought Photoshop was complicated!!!!!! (smile)
It's a little too early to say for sure, however, I'm pretty sure the Illustrator won't last long on the old system.
In fact........between Illustrator and Photoshop, my PSP 8 and 9 is starting to look better and better everyday.
Cheers,
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Post by AirCoaster on Oct 14, 2009 9:49:33 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that Steve. The learning curve for PS CS4 isn't even as hard as Gmax, and for imaging work that's saying a lot, because PS CS4 can do a lot of things that really speed up the process. I think you aren't giving it enough time.
Illustrator is a vectored object based application where Photoshop is normally raster based, although it has the capabilities of creating vectored based objects which can then be converted to raster.
If one hasn't the basic knowledge of how and why the processes and procedures all works in imaging, then I would think it would be harder for one to understand the learning curve of a new imaging application.
I have also found that a lot of the processes are similar in PS as they are PSP, but it's just a different way of getting to them and handling them between the two. As far as I am concerned, PS runs rings around PSP in that it is easier to create the same processes as PSP, but with little effort, and PS offers additional processes that PSP doesn't for the same operation without having to go through several additional steps.
I am stuck with PS in regards to my education, and besides, I am paying for it. So, I will be learning more and more about it. The thing I like about school is they offer instruction and tutorials on the different application that you can learn on your own time. These courses or tutorials all use the same way of approaching the learning process, give the information of why and what for for the particular operation, then take what you know and apply it to the exercise. Say you are learning how to make shapes, you drill on that until you get the proper results, and if you have questions you ask the instructor or monitor.
Here is something that I have found from my own experience. Some of the simplest operations that you think you know all about can fool you when you are required to follow a set course criteria. So, no matter what seems so intuitive and passe' one should learn as much as possible of the operation as they can, even if they think they will never use it. You may be surprised at what you do use because you know the proper operation and procedures.
Good luck with your decision, and if I can be of help let me know.
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Post by sgtmajor on Oct 14, 2009 21:17:07 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that Steve. The learning curve for PS CS4 isn't even as hard as Gmax, and for imaging work that's saying a lot, because PS CS4 can do a lot of things that really speed up the process. I think you aren't giving it enough time. That's why I've never even attempted Gmax. (smile) Appreciate the good advice as always, and you're absolutely correct............ I haven't given enough time to either........ however, I'm fairly certain that Illistrator is not for me. To be completely honest......CS4 is probably a lot more of a program for a paint diddler like myself however, I do hope to eventually understand it more. I had purchased CS2 through e-bay at a very reasonable price, however, it wasn't until after the fact that I saw on many forums that CS2 doesn't work on 64 bit Vista (Win 7) systems. That's why I was thinking about upgrading to CS4. However, I received my CS2 yesterday and it installed and is working quite nicely on my Win 7RC 64 bit system. SOooooo - do I need to upgrade to CS4...... honstly speaking, probably not for what I do......... will I.......hmmmm..... that's hard to currently say, however, I can already see there has been many improvements from CS2 to CS4..... just don't know if it would be worth the $$$$$ spent for someone who will never really do much more than paint an aircraft or two for personal use..... or perhaps paint one for a friend every now and again. For me anyway............. it's like buying a Ferrari to run a couple of blocks to the store when bicycle would probably work out just fine. (smile) No doubt about it...... for someone in the graphics business..... CS4 or a product such as this would be the way to go. Cheers,
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Post by AirCoaster on Oct 16, 2009 7:46:56 GMT -5
Agreed, but man you would look good going to the store...... *chuckles loudly* . I guess I thought you hadn't purchased CS2 yet, and were in a quandry over which to purchase.
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Post by AirCoaster on Mar 20, 2013 9:57:50 GMT -5
Since it has been a while since I had added anything to this forum, I decided to update what I have created for school work. These collages in this PDF are a small quantity of some of the better stuff I have done in the past few years. My GPA is 3.85 and that should go up after the data for Photography is entered, plus the removal of the F for when I was in the hospital last August. GPA is a school thing, most employers are looking to see your talents and your attitude. adventureasylum.com/images/toh/John_Williams_Art_Collages.pdfEnjoy.
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