I think that has been mentioned in some of the chats but I would like to hear from the community:
Do you draw your potential design as you study a tree to have a reference as you move forward?
Do you use old school (pencil and paper) or a program / app?
What programs / apps are used with advantages? Disadvantages? Learning curve?
1 Like
This is something I’ve been trying to work on too. I’m not entirely sure the best way to go about it either. I do know that my personal preference is old school pencil and paper. Though I must admit that they are not too good.
I’ve played with my wife’s surface pro on auto desk sketchbook. But i can’t quite get me head around it. I don’t like the effects and the lines. I must admit using it to trace a picture of one of your trees is cool as it can allow you to try and move bits about change angles and work on multiple levels. The working on multiple levels/layer, I forget the correct name, is handy as you can make different changes at different layers and see the difference easily. I should try and play on it more as I haven’t really had the patience with it.
With the old school, my personal preferences is pencil. I do enjoy using aquarelle pencils as with a bit of water the effects are nice. You can blend well to get different layers and shading. This can be full colour or pencil sketch.
I don’t do either. I am hopeless at drawing and by the time a program is mastered the tree has grown too much.
I much prefer to look at a tree, come up with an idea for a style and go for it. If other ideas reveal themselves during the process I can change and am not limited by a drawing.
1 Like
Like @Keith-in-UK I have no artistic talent at all. Technical diagrams I can do with the best out there, but art work? Nope!
I’ve tried using pencil/paper, Corel Paintshop Pro and Corel Draw to create drawings of my trees. They end up looking like something from outer space (or an LSD trip) instead of one of my trees!
1 Like
I feel your pain Bob…
I have no talent for drawing… especially digital…
Would be interesting, though, to get my trees to look like my drawings!
Even though we walk around with our eyes open, looking, I mean really looking, is an acquired skill that requires training. A good way to work at this is by sketching. Try sketching a tree by putting the pen on the page and then just look at the tree and move as the tree does.
As far as making a sketch of the design you want to make, it may be useful, but if your are being ruled by the drawing and not what the tree is telling you, you could be walking into a heap of pain.
2 Likes
It looks like there is a varying level of art “talent” in the group, but just like with your bonsai skills, keep at it and you’ll get better. For me personally, I really love the program Procreate (it was a one time purchase of about $10 on the app store), and requires an iPad and Apple Pencil (not sure if it’s available for android tablets). Procreate is like a really simplified version of Adobe Illustrator. I’ve been using Procreate for about 5 years for tattoo design, and it is really intuitive. For newbie digital artists, you can use the “Streamline” feature to take the shakiness out of drawn lines. On top of using it for sketches, it’s wonderful for making quick layered drawings like how Ryan sketches on top of trees during Q+A sessions.
With all that said, when it comes to 100% original creative drawings, I still like to go back to paper and pencil; maybe that’s just habit. From there, can go into digital format for fine tuning of the design. Similarly with bonsai, I enjoy the raw process of creating as I go rather than pre-drawing a design; but I’m still a novice, so ask me again in 5 years.
1 Like
So, I got Procreate to give it a try. It’s very intuitive so far and is exactly what I need at this point. I also tried Adobe Fresco and it’s clearly more powerful but a bit beyond my skill set. Thanks for everybody’s input.
2 Likes
@KurtP There is software out there that will rasterise a photo and make it look like a drawing. I used to use one about 15 yrs ago when I owned a sign making company. And yes all the designs were digital, no drawing whatsoever…
Keith…Rastafarian trees…
.
I should rephrase; It would be interesting to get my drawings to look like trees…
.
2 Likes
Continuing the discussion from Draw / Paint programs to help with Design:
This isn’t real sophisticated but I take a picture of the tree with an iPhone and go into the edit mode, In the upper right hand corner is a small icon. if you touch it it brings up the markup mode and with the edge of your fingernail or a stylus of some sort you can use the tools to draw on the picture. Not idea but if your sitting around an airport or something it gives you a chance to fiddle with a design…
1 Like