I use Photoshop and Poser, but not to their full potential yet. Alot of people have many programs that cost a fair amount of money not to mention the added cost of tablets and digital pens. Paint, gimp and photoshop are usually the top software packages. I prefer Photoshop because of all the different things someone can do. Deviant Art is a good place to find answers to those questions about graphic software.
Awesome! Poser is exactly the kind of thing I was imagining. Thanks!
When you see yourself in a crowded room / do your fingers itch,are you pistol-whipped
Will you step in line or release the glitch / can you fall asleep with a panic switch
I only use photoshop (its the major program for drawing).
After that, a lot of people use painter (its the 2nd most popular program for drawing).
Then, some people use painter and then finish it in photoshop. But...its pretty much those two when it comes to drawing.
Painter helps simulate real materials (brushes, waterpaints, all those things)...while photoshop can do everything else (and has a lot more customization).
Mew
Poser is by and large a "mannequin" program, which can be used by itself, or in conjunction with Photoshop or Manga Studio or GIMP or any other graphics program to visualize a scene.
The program itself isn't all THAT expensive. What gets you are the PROPS (clothing, textures, poses, scenery, etc etc etc). Some people are good enough to actually make their own - the rest of us make do with what we can scrape together or outright buy.
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
I use paint shop pro 8 which is pretty far short of industry standard but like mentioned above, this software can be pretty expensive. so i make do with what i have
It's the rendering that Poser is short on. alot of people use another rendering engine like vue, I think. The other programs have more options with rendering which help to bring out the subject where Poser can leave things slightly flat. A good comparison is Dark Jedi vs my work. Mine doesn't have alot of depth so I try to make up for it with motion posing, lighting and other things... Of course, photoshop also has it's own set of lighting and what-not. But yeah, Daz, Renderosity, Carrera, 3D Studio, Bryce, Anime Studio and Manga Studio, all the softwares get expensive!
The free one is Daz Studio. but it can get one started into the 3d realm....
I wonder if anyone else knows of other free graphics programs...
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I use paint shop pro 8 which is pretty far short of industry standard but like mentioned above, this software can be pretty expensive. so i make do with what i have
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Depending on what you want to use it for PSP 8 is ideal for most web-based artwork. It's an easily used, extremely inexpensive program - especially considering Photoshop can run upwards of 600$ you can find a copy of PSP 8 on ebay for about 20-30$.
However, it - and photoshop and other programs which you generally scan and import images to alter/color - relies upon your own ability to draw and create outside the program. It can work with a tablet, though I suspect photoshop does that better.
In other words, Poser works if you don't draw particularly well or have less ability to scan things; photoshop or paintshop will both work to help modify the renderings. Manga Studio is apparently pretty good, a friend of mine is using it to show off a comic he's doing in poser as well, and it looks really nice.
Please read my FEAR/Portal/HalfLife Fan Fiction!
Repurposed
depending on what you're looking to do, Gimp is a very useful piece of freeware
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I use paint shop pro 8 which is pretty far short of industry standard but like mentioned above, this software can be pretty expensive. so i make do with what i have
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Depending on what you want to use it for PSP 8 is ideal for most web-based artwork. It's an easily used, extremely inexpensive program - especially considering Photoshop can run upwards of 600$ you can find a copy of PSP 8 on ebay for about 20-30$.
However, it - and photoshop and other programs which you generally scan and import images to alter/color - relies upon your own ability to draw and create outside the program. It can work with a tablet, though I suspect photoshop does that better.
In other words, Poser works if you don't draw particularly well or have less ability to scan things; photoshop or paintshop will both work to help modify the renderings. Manga Studio is apparently pretty good, a friend of mine is using it to show off a comic he's doing in poser as well, and it looks really nice.
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my main problem is scanning. I dont have a scanner large enough to scan comic boards which is a kick to the teathe.
so i have to take pictures with my digital camera and smooth it out, ive downloaded the demo to poser after reading this post but they dont give you alot to work with in the way of models.
does the full version come with models?
There are A3 size scanners available on ebay for less than 150$ which is awesome. Depends on what quality you need. If you've got actual great-quality inked pieces that you have a large number of, save up and buy a big scanner.
Poser figures are usually found on forums, made by fans, and sometimes are quite expensive, that's some of the downside of the program. All the really "great" poser accessories - which include animals, skins, clothing, different models, etc - those cost extra and are not made by the original company.
Poser was originally meant as exactly what it says it is: a maquette program that artists could use to model from, without having a real person or one of those odd little wooden doll things. It took off on its own, but remember one extremely important thing:
POST PRODUCTION.
Poser is *not* a fully functional "ooh look at the pretty landscape with figures" program. It has serious lighting flaws in older versions (corrected mostly in the newer ones, but still you can always tell a poser image by its lighting quality) but also in joints, angles of clothing drapery and the like. without proper post-production and alteration, smoothing and such, everything will still look just like Poser...
Please read my FEAR/Portal/HalfLife Fan Fiction!
Repurposed
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There are A3 size scanners available on ebay for less than 150$ which is awesome. Depends on what quality you need. If you've got actual great-quality inked pieces that you have a large number of, save up and buy a big scanner.
Poser figures are usually found on forums, made by fans, and sometimes are quite expensive, that's some of the downside of the program. All the really "great" poser accessories - which include animals, skins, clothing, different models, etc - those cost extra and are not made by the original company.
Poser was originally meant as exactly what it says it is: a maquette program that artists could use to model from, without having a real person or one of those odd little wooden doll things. It took off on its own, but remember one extremely important thing:
POST PRODUCTION.
Poser is *not* a fully functional "ooh look at the pretty landscape with figures" program. It has serious lighting flaws in older versions (corrected mostly in the newer ones, but still you can always tell a poser image by its lighting quality) but also in joints, angles of clothing drapery and the like. without proper post-production and alteration, smoothing and such, everything will still look just like Poser...
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Ive heard mixed reviews on the cheaper a3 scanners, so im looking to get a better one. im doing alright with my camera for a while i just cant scan it to a massive size (deffinetly large enough though) ive started doing the inking on a different board with a light box now and its made a world of difference.
as for poser ill deffinetly consider giving that a look into cause that kind of thing could become invaluable for posing.
So a list of the tools in order of need for an artist? This is only my opinion so take it for what it's worth:
1: Photoshop or other equal picture editing program
2: Wacom or Intuos Pen Tablet
3: Scanner
4: (which now I think about it should be #1) top processor PC with memory, memory, memory, memory! (just in case you have 4 slots)
Rest depends on preferences and media of choice
Doing your lines and inks and then scanning them in is really a comic book artist sort of thing, imo. Most digital artists just draw directly in their graphics software. If you look at my gallery, I think there is maybe one thing that I scanned in. The only time I draw on paper is when I'm going to be away from my computer.
Blacklisted
"I'AM SATANS FAVORITE CHILD!!"
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In other words, Poser works if you don't draw particularly well
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This describes me 
One thing I love about the CoH creator is it lets people with zero talent (like me) be a bit creative. I'll never create anything like you guys or DarkJedi or the others I admire, but I'd love to be able to play on the edge of your world. Manipulating costume parts to create something unique is very rewarding. If I could manipulate other art objects through Poser and then modify them with my own ability that'd be awesome.
It sounds like if I use Poser 7 to create basic figures and then GIMP or Photoshop to do smoothing and such that might work. I am a software geek so the layering systems and such of software are much easier for me to manipulate than a pen and paper.
I have seen people like Doug Schuler reference 3D city backgrounds and models he uses to save time - are these the kinds of things you are talking about costing extra? If I bought Poser 7 would I then want to buy Model Pack 7 and City Pack 4 or something similar?
Thanks again for the great advice and help.
When you see yourself in a crowded room / do your fingers itch,are you pistol-whipped
Will you step in line or release the glitch / can you fall asleep with a panic switch
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Most digital artists just draw directly in their graphics software.
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Really Frozen? Pardon my ignorance but that is amazingly cool. Have you got any links to digital art 101 type sites that could get an aspiring artist started?
I feel I am dipping my toe in a large ocean. And I do not know how to swim...
When you see yourself in a crowded room / do your fingers itch,are you pistol-whipped
Will you step in line or release the glitch / can you fall asleep with a panic switch
Okey dokey. Unlurking time.
Another piece of software I haven't seen mentioned here is ArtRage. I haven't actually used it, but one of my artist friends has been raving about it to me lately. It seems like a good, inexpensive alternative to Painter. (Only $25 for the full version.)
And on digital drawing. In the end, it is just like drawing on paper... except on a tablet. The biggest different I tend to find is in friction. It takes some time getting used to the smoother surface of the tablet, and the disconnect between your hand and the screen. But, you will get used to it quickly.
For digital inking, I actually find that hopping over to a vector-based graphics program can help. (My hand just isn't steady enough to do free-hand inking and have it come out smooth enough.) I use Adobe Illustrator for that. Inkscape is probably the best free vector software out there, if you don't want to keep throwing cash at Adobe.
... although, a lot of digital artists also tend to skip "inking" all together. I rarely do it.
I am just curious - I am amazed by the artwork some of you guys create. What software do you use?
I have absolutely no talent at all. I imagine artists use applications like Photoshop to augment traditional pen & ink drawings.
However, if there is a sort of package that has stock art that lets you play with it, sort of a CoH character creator on steroids, I'd love to know about it. I was reading up about applications like Manga Studio Debut and did not know if you guys had something similar you could recommend.
Until then, I'll continue to to admire the talent on this forum
When you see yourself in a crowded room / do your fingers itch,are you pistol-whipped
Will you step in line or release the glitch / can you fall asleep with a panic switch