Starting out with Photoshop and a graphics tablet

[Stardotboy]

I've been itching to do some drawing and painting for a while as I haven't done any for a few years, but I currently don't have the living space to store much equipment - so this weekend I had the idea of unleashing some of my creative energies via my iMac!

The tools I have at my disposal are:
- Wacom Bamboo tablet (just ordered, arriving this week)
- Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator CS3
- My trusted 24" iMac
- Two hands (steady)
- Two eyes (some wear and tear but decent working order)

What I was really looking for here was some tips to help me (or anyone else starting out in a similar position) break into this world of computer assisted graphics. I've used Photoshop before for fairly light-duty image manipution, but have never faced starting with a blank canvas before - something of a daunting prospect.

My current concerns, in no particular order, are:
- What's the best way of learning how to best use the features in Photoshop? Is it worth picking up a book about it or just going for the trial and error approach?
- Are there any great tutorials on the internet for using a graphics tablet and photoshop for drawing/painting on the net that I've missed? So far the ones I've come across have been a little lacklustre.
- Is Photoshop the best software to use for this kind of thing if you're using a graphics tablet for input?
- Can you recommend any sites to share drawings, tips and tricks?

Any help would be much appreciated - wish me luck

 

[LeviG]

does the bamboo come with any software, I know my intuos came with a version of painter. This is more natural painting style of approach and may be worth playing with. It will probably take you a few days to get to grips with the eyes not looking where the pen is so to speak.

As to photoshop - personally I like to get a program and just have a play around at first. Then if I can't figure out how to do something I read the instruction manual, failing that a google for (example) photoshop tablet techniques ends up being a good course of action

Link to a quick help page so to speak

 

[xparaparafreakx]

does the bamboo come with any software, I know my intuos came with a version of painter. This is more natural painting style of approach and may be worth playing with. It will probably take you a few days to get to grips with the eyes not looking where the pen is so to speak.

As to photoshop - personally I like to get a program and just have a play around at first. Then if I can't figure out how to do something I read the instruction manual, failing that a google for (example) photoshop tablet techniques ends up being a good course of action

Link to a quick help page so to speak

The old ones did, I have no idea if bamboo does. Intuos and bluetooth graphire did.

Try tracing a few things to get an idea how the pen works.

 

[jerryrock]

If drawing and painting are your goals, Photoshop is not the program for you. Corel Painter X is the best fit for what you want to accomplish. Adobe Illustrator is the industry standard for vector art. These programs can be daunting to learn and I would recommend a book such as:

Adobe Press- Illustrator CS3 Classroom in a Book

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Painting-Fundamentals-Corel-Painter/dp/1598634046

 

[InLikeALion]

Ditto on Painter X and Illustrator.

However, I would recomend getting a Lynda.com (or totaltraining.com) membership. You pay $25 a month and get access to hundreds of online video tutorials, covering many subjects and software titles.

My vote is for finding some sort of video tut. over buying a book. Even though I do buy books on design and web coding, etc, I find that video is a quicker and easier medium for learning on-screen tasks/skills.

 

[aldog]

I'm a photoshop man myself, I've always found it the best. Gimp is also a good program for digital art, but I wouldn't use it for website building, or basically anything but drawing, but it's free, and very nice.
http://www.cgtalk.com is the best site I've seen for artists, great feedback for the most part and tons of tutorials.
http://www.deviantart.com is also great for those 2 things, but moreso for tutorials than feedback, because it can take a while before people start commenting on your work.
http://aldog.deviantart.com
That's about 1/10th of my stuff on there, I have lapses where I don't upload anything because I already spent so much time uploading my wip's to sites like cgtalk and amateur illustrator for feedback that by the time it's done i'm done with it all together.

 

[ChrisA]

does the bamboo come with any software, I know my intuos came with a version of painter.

There are two version of the Bamboo. One with and one without the software for $100 or $60 respectively.