Having a Blonde Moment, or Two
Sunday, June 4, 2006 by BarbieDahl | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
I tried so many times, to make skins of my own, but they never came out quite the way I wanted them to. I found some tutorials, and learned some tricks of the trade (I owned Photoshop for five years before I discovered that handy little paint bucket tool, and even worse, how to make a straight line using the "shift" key). I always used Paint for most projects (yeah, you read that right, I used Paint), because I knew my way around the tools, until the tutorials taught me not just the basics, but some other fun tricks.
So now I’m feeling pretty good about myself, for being able to follow directions on the tutorials (and I’ll be honest here, even some of those I couldn’t follow very well). Some of my pictures never did turn out (I blamed the author, for not giving advice like they were talking to a ten year old). But for the most part, I was happy with the outcome.
Around this time, I start feeling smug. No longer was I impressed with some of these great skinner. After all, they were just people that knew their way around the program (not that I was one of them). Anyone could make beautiful art, if they knew what all those cool tools are for. I felt much like Dorothy, when Toto pulled back the curtain. It was all just an illusion.
Now I’m ready to make this really nice butterfly from a tutorial. And lo and behold, I can’t make a simple leaf shape with the pen tool (God I hate that pen tool). I had to download the template, just to make the picture.
It suddenly dawns on me. This isn’t as easy as it looks (apparently I was doing some novice tutorials, when I was feeling so smug). Not only does this require the knowledge of the program, you need patience, skill and the imagination to create a masterpiece (I can create the Mona Lisa in my head, honest, getting it to not look like a Picasso in Photoshop is another matter).
So to all my favorite skinners out there, I salute you for not only mastering the tools of the trade, but having the talent and imagination to get it on a canvas. I’m back to being in awe of your work.
Reply #2 Sunday, June 4, 2006 7:33 PM
You can 'always' put your Photoshop aside....just for a 'while' [ten/twenty years]...and practise the ancient art of.....
....art.
Not surprisingly, many successful skinners actually had a graphic education BEFORE computers/Photoshop OR skinning.
Photoshop will NOT substitute for artistic 'eye' [perception] or creative design. It is a tool....pure and simple....and equally as dumb and ignorant as that sable brush you might be dipping into thinners....or the kneadable eraser and 6B Staedtler.
Remember...skinning has been around for about a decade. 'Art' has been around just a wee bit longer....
Reply #3 Sunday, June 4, 2006 8:42 PM
Now, when I play with Paintshop Pro, and see all those buttons (for who knows what
) I get even more confused. Hence, my rather confused dabbling and slow learning curve results in NO skins....uploaded here or otherwise. I'm at the point of doing a reasonable manipulation of a pre-existing photos/pics, etc, but nothing of any note or anywhere near acceptable here.I think what Jafo says is right, some artistic flair is required to translate through the tools at hand, and therein lies my problem....
....I've only one artistic bone in my body, and that's the one that knows what I like, but putting it on canvas or another medium, for me, is like trying to pass a camel through the eye of a needle.
Oh well, practice, practice, practice!!!! Maybe one day I'll be able to design for myself a great headstone, cos by the time I come close to mastering this, it'll be close to being due/needed.
But hey, BarbieDahl, don't let me put you off!! It sure is enjoyable and a heck of a lot of fun trying, hey!!!
Reply #4 Sunday, June 4, 2006 9:01 PM
As for putting away my Photoshop, I probably will...I just bought Bryce 5 today...and that is way more fun. And although I still have a long way to go on learning, I'm at least creating much nicer pictures than I ever could in Photoshop.
This is one I am hoping to sumbit here...let's see if it's good enough
Link
Reply #5 Sunday, June 4, 2006 9:17 PM
Refinement is key!
Reply #6 Sunday, June 4, 2006 9:21 PM
Citizen BarbieDahl ...unfortunately, Bryce is one of those proggies that actually requires MORE practice and 'skill' to handle well than even Photoshop.....
.....simply because it 'appears' to give 'groovy' results.
It doesn't.
What it does is quickly provide 'generic' images that STILL are no substitute for creative thought/imagination.
Bryce and its brethren CAN do amazing things....but, unfairly, like all other TOOLS... it needs to be in 'amazing hands' for those 'amazing' results....
Reply #7 Sunday, June 4, 2006 9:41 PM
Citizen BarbieDahl ...it'll be a 'no'.
That 'Golden Dreams' has what is known as 'jaggies'...meaning it's a poor resolution render that has 'artifacts'....in other words the 3-D imaging is not natural or smooth.
It's like wobbly pencil lines and smudges when you are trying to be neat...
Reply #8 Monday, June 5, 2006 8:48 AM
| Admin Jafo, I'm a blonde, what can I say |
Being blonde is no excuse 
I agree with Jafo- the inexperienced with Bryce end up with generic results. Bryce *can* be a great tool if you know how to use it, but you will never get great results with button pushing.
Reply #9 Monday, June 5, 2006 1:59 PM
| That 'Golden Dreams' has what is known as 'jaggies'...meaning it's a poor resolution render that has 'artifacts'....in other words the 3-D imaging is not natural or smooth. |
Because I am new to the program, I interuptted a few pictures before they were done rendering, and didn't realize it. The wallpaper I submitted here had the same problem.
I agree that Bryce does give generic results, but even at this early stage, I am making images that I never thought possible. And I'm having a blast with it.
Reply #12 Monday, June 5, 2006 7:01 PM
| And I'm having a blast with it. |
That's the key, more than anything else, Barbie. You've got to enjoy what program you're working with and what you're producing. Who knows, if you continue to work with and produce with Bryce, maybe someday you will become one of those skinners with "amazing hands" that produces "amazing results" that Jafo so aptly mentions.
Reply #13 Tuesday, June 6, 2006 12:45 AM
I wrote a little about my love/hate relationship with Photoshop http://design.skinartistry.com/news.php?extend.5
Art is whatever you make of it, IMO. Don't give up. Twist a few arms to get some mentoring (hehehe that's what I did), check out the workshop at SA - ask questions and practice, practice, practice. But above all just keep on having fun!
Reply #14 Tuesday, June 6, 2006 1:33 AM
**Twists boopish's arm**
I'm as subtle as a pit bull at a kitten festival
Reply #15 Tuesday, June 6, 2006 3:19 AM
Reply #16 Tuesday, June 6, 2006 7:33 AM
BarbieDahl,
Having used Bryce 5 & 5.5, I would recommend getting a good understanding of the following:
1 - The mathmatical expression of location in the scene (explained in a basic way in the tutorial). This will allow you to place your objects in relation to each other using the "Attributes" dialog (accessible using the little "A" icon displayed when any object is selected).
2 - Boolean objects (these are the complex objects that result from combining two or more objects using negative or positive attributes) - this stuff can be found in the included tutorial. One example would be if you were to intersect a square object and a sphere object of equal size, where 1/2 of each object overlaps each other, and then set the square object to a negative attribute - the result would be a visible 1/2 sphere.
3 - Material lab (this is where you will learn to really obtain "Artist" status). This is where you create the "colored fabric" - if you will - of the objects in your scene.
4 - Recommend saving your default camera angle for the scene using the camera preset buttons found in the upper left of the screen first before moving the angle. This will allow you to pan the scene, and return to the original view with the click of the button.
Bryce is great fun, and remember: "In art, there are no rules".
Have fun!
Reply #17 Tuesday, June 6, 2006 10:35 AM
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Reply #1 Sunday, June 4, 2006 3:51 AM
I'm not a great skinner, but I do "dabble".I use a free progeram called paintdotnet (paint .net). and it's awsome!!! the tools are easy to work with, and comes with some great effects.Please don't be afraid to expiriement.I to am still in awe at some of the great work done here. I'm still learning as well and have submited some of my works. (mostly objectdock backgrounds). But I didn't give up. so keep trying and enjoy!!!!!!!!