Discussion: Different art media

[mekare]

So, a thing I thought about just now, after having done the recent challenge in pastels...

What is your preferred medium of choice? What exactly do you like about it? Is it special techniques or effects that other media don't provide? Is it the haptic experience? Is it the cost? Childhood experiences? Art from artists you admire? The "comfort zone" due to practice?

What brings you to push yourself into trying a less practised/or new medium? (Is it a mood, a character/situation, just variety, inspiration from other artists using that medium ...)

Do you ever play around with a mix of traditional and digital media?

---------------------------
For example, I just did a smallish pastel drawing (will post tomorrow when I have good light for taking a photo) because I miss working with colour. The format isn't really great for using pastels or even pastel pencils because the medium just isn't so great for detail work. (I think I remember a post by Alby Mangroves, for example, where she had a photo of her works on huge formats. There you can put in detail more easily).

Yesterday I tried using coloured pencils (which I rediscovered for a challenge piece this week) and found that things I do in other media don't work with them). It got a tad frustrating and I wished I had done the art on watercolour paper so I could used those instead.

Media I use (roughly in order of frequence): pencil, watercolour, pastels, ink/felt pens and the like

I'm just really interested in your experiences with or feelings about the different media we have available for drawing.

Comments

[alias_sqbr]

I am currently very happy with my current system: digital base picture with an overlay of scans of traditionally painted watercolour textures I made myself. I have experimented with traditional inking but like undo and layers too much.

Every now and then I enjoy doing a coloured pencil drawing, there is something very satisfying about the process, but I'm generally not very happy with the result.

I find traditional pencils a bit more natural than digital ones but usually can't be bothered with the hassle of scanning them in so just do my pencils digitally.

[mific]

OMG I know! The number of times I make a mistake with traditional paints and my hand searches for the nonexistent undo button! And layers are very cool, yes. I made watercolour backgrounds too, recently, but for actual backgrounds, not as overlays.

[alias_sqbr]

nods I use them for that too, sometimes. It looks a lot prettier than doing gradients etc.

[minoanmiss]

Your textures really are lovely!

[alias_sqbr]

Thank you!

[mekare]

I sometimes wish for an undo button, especially with watercolour. Pastels are more forgiving, you can layer over them and take them away to some extent. And with pencils, there's always the eraser. Thinking about it, that's probably why they are my favourites LOL.

[alias_sqbr]

Yes my few forays into traditional media generally involve pencils or acrylic paints. I love the look of watercolours but don't have the nerve.

Warning: long and a bit overshared

[minoanmiss]

My preferred medium has actually changed due to issues in my life.

I used to love drawing (with colored pencils and gel pens) on shrink plastic, and turning the results into fridge magnets or holiday ornaments or pendants. I loved the small size and saturated detail of the results.

My eyesight got worse, though, around the time I gained more access to computer tech. My boyfriend gave me a scanner, which is the Best Thing Ever. Still, I can't draw on shrink plastic or with pencils anymore -- I simply can't see the lines. The strong outline in my current art is done in marker, simply because I can actually see it. I'd rather use something finer, but my eyesight prohibits it.

So now I draw with paper and marker, and scan into the computer where I correct and color using a MS paint clone. (I really should learn Photoshop.) I can still make fridge magnets but I haven't in awhile; what I have made a lot of are stickers, which satisfy my artistic urges towards small detailed artworks and are easier to give away.

My eyesight is still deteriorating, though. I hope I don't have to go to crayons next, she said with a half smile.

Re: Warning: long and a bit overshared

[mific]

It’s great that you’ve been able to adapt to use larger format and digital techniques, and sorry to hear about your eyesight - that sounds frustrating. With me it’s carpal tunnel affecting my hands badly if I draw or paint too long.
Honestly, for what you want I think Photoshop is too unwieldy and excessively complex - it also tends to pack a lot of small detail into the screen, re tools, icons, etc. I vastly prefer my old PS 5.0 version but it only runs on my old PC now and both their days are numbered! There are probably other programs out there midway between MSPaint and PS that’d suit you better. Maybe someone else can recommend something? I looked into options recently but the only other alternative I’ve tried is Rebelle2, which might work okay as long as you have a big monitor. You can certainly scan art then work on it there. Rebelle3 is just out, I think.

Re: Warning: long and a bit overshared

[minoanmiss]

Thank you a lot for the information about the Rebelle programs, and just generally for responding to me so Kindly!

Re: Warning: long and a bit overshared

[mekare]

Wow I have never heard of shrink plastic, so thanks fro introduing me to something new.

Sorry about your eyesight, but it sounds like you found some ways to work around it. The bold lines actually make for a very distinctive style IMO.

Re: Warning: long and a bit overshared

[minoanmiss]

Oh, cool, thank you. :D

Shrink plastic is awesome, and fortunately I can still print my art onto it with the printer I was given.

Re: Warning: long and a bit overshared

[amberdreams]

That is something I fear very much, losing my eyesight - especially after a brush with corneal scarring thanks to shingles in my eye. I've been really lucky, the scarring stopped before if impaired my vision too much, and now I just have an annual check to make sure it's not spreading farther across the cornea. the steroid drops I was given gave me a cataract though, so I had to have the lens replaced. It's all quite scary, so it's encouraging to hear how you are adapting in spite of your problems.
What is causing your declining vision?

Re: Warning: long and a bit overshared

[minoanmiss]

Adventures in corneas! I have keratoconus, and it's getting worse. But I will keep trying to make what I can.

It is scary, though. I hear you, and thank you for reaching out to me.

Re: Warning: long and a bit overshared

[amberdreams]

I just read up about keratoconus -it sounds not only scary but hugely frustrating too. I hope you are able to access the treatments the article I read was recommending. Plus I understand that even though you are adapting and being mighty brave, there will be times when you just want to have a melt down about it. So I also hope you have someone close to lean on when you have those melt-down moments!

Re: Warning: long and a bit overshared

[goss]

Cool that you make ♥stickers♥!! Also, I'd never even heard about shrink wrap crafts until you just mentioned it. I just went on YouTube and saw how it works. OMG MAGIC, it's amazing!

And I'm so glad that despite challenges with your eyesight, you've found ways to consistently produce lovely, creative work that we're all enjoying at the community. :)

Re: Warning: long and a bit overshared

[minoanmiss]

*blsuhes* Thank you very much. :) I've been drawing all my life, I'll keep it up as long as I can.

[mific]

Hah, this turned out to be tl;dr! I’m in between traditional and digital at the moment, and likely to stay there, I think. Drawesome has been a wonderful boost for me in exploring - or re-exploring I should say - traditional media. I used to do gouache-type pics many years ago using kids paintbox paints. Then did some years of digital art and blended manips/smudge-manips after I discovered fandom.

These days I’m always drawn to traditional media first, mostly watercolour or gouache, but as I almost never use the finished pic in RL I often tidy up details digitally, or add a layer with a background painted separately, etc. I’m not a purist about a pic that’s in traditional media having to be solely done that way - I’ll go with whatever works. For occasional real-world gifts or xmas cards there’s no undo button, of course, so I have to do all of those traditionally and take more care about the borders abd details. Gouache is very handy for RL edits :)

I want to get better at traditional art techniques but I’ll never be selling it so it’s basically about having fun. Niffer had a good tip as well, that stopping a trad watercolour and finishing it off digitally can help stop you overworking it, which is a fault of mine. I’m a bit of a control freak so my style’s never going to be loose/rough/free-flowing, and I tend towards overworking details. But my greatest satisfaction at present is when I manage a watercolour with okay luminosity and shading without messing it up and needing to muddy it with corrections, so I don’t want to use the “I’ll fix it in post” (post-production) thing so much that I stop learning how to get it mostly right first time. I just can’t see the point in not using digital techniques where necessary, or where they can add something different or special.

With media, I found watercolour pencils disappointing - maybe mine weren’t such a good brand (Derwent Academy), dunno, but I prefer not to still see all the pencil marks, also I should swatch them out to be clearer about the real colours. I like watercolours and gouache a lot. I discovered inking with markers and black paint/ink in Inktober but I love colour and am lazy about practising drawing so my fallback system is to digitally collage a pic then use that as the ref to draw from, then to paint that. I used to use oils many years ago but can’t be arsed now as I have no studio and they’re smelly and messy. Pastels also don’t interest me due to the mess factor. Have tried copic markers but I have limited colours and found them hard to blend - don’t think they suit my style as I’m not really into lineart. I love the ink-resist technique I learned on Skillshare - more about that soon! :)

[mekare]

I find the combination of traditional and digital techniques fascinating!

I’m a bit of a control freak so my style’s never going to be loose/rough/free-flowing, and I tend towards overworking details.

sounds familiar ;-)

Re watercolour pencils, I found that they mostly work if I use them only sideways for shading larger areas (instead of keeping them upright), that way you don't get the distinctive lines, but this doesn't work for really large areas you want coloured with an even layer. I sometimes take a wet brushtip to the pen-tip and take colour off that way (esp. if it's a colour I don't have in a pan). But mostly I use them for details (like I would 'normal' coloured pencils) on a watercolour painting done with the colour from pans. Sometimes I don't even put a wash of water over those details, esp. if they are small. Don't know if that helps you.

I'm looking forward to your skillshare review!

[amberdreams]

Your development path sounds very like mine!

I've got some Inktense watercolour pencils, the colours are really gorgeous. I don't know if there's a way of using them that means you lose all pencil texture, I haven't used them that much yet, and I actually quite like that graininess thet you get with pencil.

[goss]

I'm so delighted that you've gotten back into exploring traditional media and that the community's made an impact in that respect. :)

I also found watercolor pencils to have a lot of limitations, but it was my stepping stone from pencil sketching to watercolour paints. So I guess it does have its uses, for those like myself who need to get their feet wet before diving into ~scary~ media.

[amberdreams]

When I got back into arting, I wasn't confident enough to use traditional media even though I had no clue how to use digital either. So my early fanart is all (bad) digital manips and messing about with layers and effects. I did get better at it but then I decided to pick up a pencil again after digital drawing in GIMP and PaintTool Sai. So now I regularly draw in pencil then photograph the drawing and digitally colour it, which mostly works well.

Then a couple of years ago I went back to re-learn traditional stuff. I painted a pig - a giant fibreglass sculpture for a trail in our town, and then discovered there are trails all over the country that anyone can enter designs for. So since then I've painted an otter, two bears, a lion, a hare and a giraffe, and am waiting for a giant bee to arrive in the next week or so. The giraffe was the hardest, being 2.5m tall... Painting is done in acrylics, though I can't say I'm exactly good with them.

I've also started a sketchbooking course (been doing it for a few terms now) and we are using all kinds of traditional media, and mixing them up - watercolour or gouache over acrylic, lots of experimenting, which has been very challenging! I admit, I'm still most comfortable with a 2B pencil. And digital is still my go to, especially if I need to do something quick, because the ability to undo and to draw in layers is makes life SO much easier.

So why I'm trying to do an actual acrylic painting for an upcoming convention I don't know. Heh. Though maybe painting all these giant animal sculptures gave me a false sense of confidence LOL

Yeah, basically I'm still learning, on all fronts.

[goss]

Great topic! I'm really enjoying all the detailed responses! :)

For myself, I started out with traditional media in high school, using lead pencils, fine-tipped ink pen, oil pastels and acrylics, and that's all I stuck to for many years after. I thought that I was great at landscapes, but (in my eyes) an utter failure at portraying people, so I basically stopped attempting them.

Years later when I discovered fandom, I'd been teaching myself Photoshop, so naturally my very first foray into fanart was Photo-manipulations, which I enjoyed profusely. They are so bad, looking back, but I still have them up at my website because I'm proud of myself for taking that step out of my comfort zone and publishing my work online.

A year or two later, having gotten so many positive, encouraging responses to my Manips, I one day attempted a sketched portrait, which I scanned and colour-tinted in Photoshop. It came out amazing (to me) compared to the portraits I'd tried in high school. I guess somehow my eye for detail and proportion had gotten more developed through honing my skills producing Manips.

And that's when I slowly began transitioning from digital fanart to traditional media. However, I still do some playing around and correcting in Photoshop up to today.

My foray into any new traditional media (chalk pastels, watercolour pencils, watercolour paints, coloured inks) since then has been directly inspired by fanart and artists in fandom.

(I could go on and on with this topic, but will close here for now. *g*)

[dylan_mx]

I love digital and I use mostly SAI and a bit of Photoshop, it's just cheaper and I can't make a mess. Also I'm addicted to swapping the canvas horizontally to check for mistakes lol.
With digital you still have a lot of brushes you can chose and you can achieve very different looks, so I use different styles depending on the mood.

As for traditional I sometimes use cheap ink, cheap watercolor pencils and Copics, I like the effect of Copics and Laovaan is a great inspiration for what you can achieve with them.
If I really like something I scan it and fix it.

I love the textures of traditional, I wish I was able to recreate them digitally...

[darthneko]

It's been so so long since I worked in physical media. I still have a ton of it - there's boxes in my office full of old watercolors, inks, markers, pastels, and colored pencils. I've lugged another box full of empty sketchbooks around through multiple house moves. I even have my coveted chameleon pen set (I jumped on one of their kickstarters) out on my desktop, but I only use it very rarely. The lack of an undo function and the knowledge that all physical art supplies are a consumable (and usually costly) makes me twitchy about using them.

My workflow of choice is my ipad pro (first gen) and apple pencil. It goes everywhere with me and I use it for art, writing, and reading. All in one! I've tried a number of art apps and my current favorite is Procreate - the brushes you can get for it are amazing, mostly either free or large packs of them for between $3-$10 on places like gumroads, and it has a lot of the same layers/mode etc functionality of Photoshop. Plus it exports to PSD files, and it actually records every brush stroke you made - you can export a time lapse video of the art when you're done. Since my internet connection is too slow for streaming, at least I can pop time lapse videos up on my youtube. ^_^

[mekare]

I find digital drawing with a tabelt very intriguing bt I just love the haptic feel of traditional materials too much :-) At he moment I am spending my art money there but I'm not ruling out getting a tablet for drawing at some point in the future...