~Muro: DA's answer to PS~

Many people recently have asked about what software is good for creating digital art and while this is still a new area for me I'm trying to keep my eyes peeled for good things to help both myself and also the other artists here.

One thing that comes up repeatedly is concern over cost as the industry standard tool (I'm looking at you Photoshop) is ridiculously expensive. I have posted on occasion when I find a good sale but even at 80% off it's still more than many care to spend.

Well Deviant Art has now launched their alternative to PS. It's pressure sensitive, comes with 21 pre-programed brushes, works with tablets (like Wacom) and has layers built in. It also has a beginner version for those who want to try it out without being overwhelmed and a Pro version for those already familiar with apps of this sort and lets you submit your work when complete right to your DA gallery. It's HTML5 based (meaning you only need a modern web browser like Firefox or IE to use it... or heck even an iPad will work) and appears to be completely free (for now at least)... it's called Muro and you can check it out here.
Cheers.

One --> Artz Giveaway <-- To Rule Them ALL!

I will settle this. ORANGE FTW! - Ex Libris

I've messed around with it a bit, and if you can start digitally from scratch (I can't) and can tolerate a little bit of lag its kinda cool.

So there's no way to import stuff from your gallery and mark it up? Haven't tried to do that yet myself.

My PS knowledge is pretty limited thusfar so I'm curious to see what some of the more experienced PS users think of it.

One --> Artz Giveaway <-- To Rule Them ALL!

I will settle this. ORANGE FTW! - Ex Libris

I'm looking at it now... and sofar have not found any option to upload a piccie.
It would be a good idea for them to put an option in for being able to use DevArt piccies to work with. Even if they limit it to your own piccies (due to copyright and stuff).

Also with DevArt Points you can add more options like the "Dragon Pack" or the "Splatter Pack" which unlocks more brushoptions.

To use a (Wacom) tablet you need to install the proper plugin, which is also available through a link you can click left-below.
Let's see how that goes....

It works with a drawing tablet!

I suppose Muro is a nice way to get started on digital art, though I do miss that option to load a yet excisting image as many of us actually want to use it for colouring.

CoH Fan-Art Sale still several slots open!

Read my in-game stories and check out my DeviantART page.
- coXso - It was a memorable time filled with art!

Hey, neat.

Yeah, I don't see a way to import, select, copy or paste, and those are big deals. There are no gradients, which are big deals to normal people who are not me. There doesn't seem to be a way to change the canvas/image size. However, as free alternatives go, this one is really (As I said) neat, and easy to understand. I dig it. You can make really cool-looking things with it, so I support the endeavor.

The eraser function is not pressure-sensitive, sadly. I don't see this catching on with tablet users, but that's largely because they all probably have better software that came with their tablets. Still fun to take for a spin, but I think the only draw it has is its price.

It's fun to mess around with, with what the delay and the ghosting effect or w/e.
It's pretty much perfect if you're bored and just want to put something down.
I wouldn't put it at photoshops level of complexity since it does not have the same level of layer manipulation amongst other things. The limited canvas tripped me up more than one time, but maybe this thing isn't designed with a old 4:3 CRT in mind.

Still, very neat and fun.

I will have to check that out, CR! Thanks for the info.

Hey Secret Orange! Welcome to the koolest section of the forums!! Are you related to Mr. Orange Tang aka CR?

I tried Muro briefly when it was introduced...but as someone pointed out, the lag isn't terribly friendly, and since I couldn't find an option to introduce my own sketches (I never start from scratch in Photoshop, but always import my pencil sketches...because most of my sketching is done away from the computer)

It was fun to play around with though, and for people who don't have Photoshop as an option, it may well be a good choice.

That's my problem as well darque, I can't for the life of me sketch digitally, I have to draw on paper, scan and import. I'm way more an illustrator user than photoshop for my drawings too, the lack of a pen/anchor tool drove me nuts :7

So it sounds like initially it's an interesting distraction with a great price tag (I too think it needs the ability to import from your gallery and don't see any way of doing so yet). I guess the question is what they plan to add going forward.
PS has had a long time to get to where it is (it's been around 22 years is in it's 20th edition if you include the mac only versions) with each new edition adding more stuff to the mix and that is partly why it's the industry standard... Muro may be something to keep an eye on or it just may be something to burn (those otherwise unused) points on. I'm curious what direction they plan on going with this.

P.S. I have no idea who Secret Orange is (it must be like a secret n' stuffz) but I like them already.
Welcome Orange to the best part of the forums! Btw it's only VexXxa that calls me that. She really likes orange stuff though... like, a lot.

P.P.S. I am happy to see it's not just me that does all the drawing on paper first and scans it in if it needs anything adjusted... I honestly wish there was a tool in PS that behaved like a real pencil but have yet to find one even close. I have heard people talk of custom brushes that come close but not tried any yet... anyone come across one they wouldn't mind sharing?

One --> Artz Giveaway <-- To Rule Them ALL!

I will settle this. ORANGE FTW! - Ex Libris

I tried it for half an hour or so, for a web app I have got to say I was impressed but I am still trying to get used to my tablet, i keep reverting to my mouse :S

As for free alternatives I use GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program not the leather clad chap who sleeps in the basement... opps :-o MT! ) I've heard people say that it's a really poor piece of software and to be honest I have no idea why... Although I am operating from the "Ignorance is Bliss" perspective. So I wouldn't know which adobe product I would use as an alternative anyway.

I created this in GIMP, took me aaaaages literally months of a couple hours every few days as I was learning everything on the fly

http://timberwolfd3.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2u0ai7

Welcome to the boards Orange I've only been here a day or two myself ^_^

Something like a pencil: Regular round brush, reduce opacity to 75%, set the brush hardness to 75%, use the "pressure opacity" with a tablet.


Muro would be better if it had the ability to save/load (I couldn't find a way to continue on something) and I could change the canvas size.

Me personally? I'm not trying to learn digital art tools. Drawing is a low stress for the fun of it thing for me and while I occasionally stumble my way towards sucking less, if the process of doing it becomes work in figuring out brushes and settings and new ways to take days to do what I can do in pencil in one or two hours, well, then I'm completely not interested :7

That's valid, but stumbling around for days to learn how to do something that takes a few hours with a pencil can eventually morph into doing in hours things that you simply cannot do with a pencil at all.

Even something as simple as realizing, "Oh, dang, I made that head too small, but otherwise it's perfect" and being able to upsize it by 4.7% saves me scads of time.

I sure it could for those who have several days worth of time to devote to it Not saying its useless to do, just that the benefit I would get out of drawing digitally would never come close to the amount of time required for me to learn it. Drawing as a hobby comes somewhere below music for Cape, crafting for The Bottle Shop, and random steampunk projects so I might turn out a drawing once or twice every two or three months :7 Not everyone who plays around with drawing software wants to be an artist for a living or even work it as a side income, so I personally at least don't think there's anything wrong with not making full use of a program

According to someone that worked at adobe that I knew they like that amateur and small businesses use photoshop illegally because if they ever get big they'll likely request or buy more copies of photoshop ^.^ In other words they are using the piracy to benefit themselves.

Any medium will take effort to master. If you're not willing to put any effort into learning one--obviously you're not going to get good results with it. Personally, I just find it odd that people who do end up toying with digital art programs limit themselves to trying to replicate the things they will do with a pencil on a piece of paper.

Digital art is qualitatively less than traditional art because it produces no tangible result unless you print it out.

In every other way it is qualitatively more. My brush can behave like whatever thing I want it to. It can blend and blur whatever way I want it to. And as Foo pointed out, there are a whole class of transformation and translation tools that will quickly let me correct mistakes and make changes that would be impossible with traditional media and require me to redraw things constantly.

I think comparing Muro to Photoshop at all is a teensy bit silly. I think we tend to forget that Photoshop is very powerful software and is NOT centered around its digital painting capabilities. Heck, Photoshop is a required class for me, and we went the entire semester without doing any digital painting.