Drawing painting

[Emieno]

http://images.google.com.my/imgres?imgurl=http://www.neurogalaxy.co.uk/images/pets/Letrut.png&imgrefurl=http://www.neurogalaxy.co.uk/rules.php&h=150&w=150&sz=21&tbnid=rLMDNYfnmHgJ:&tbnh=90&tbnw=90&hl=en&start=6&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dneuro%2Bfunny%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den% 26lr%3D%26sa%3DG

I would like to draw something like those animals in the link posted, could someone give me some help on tools, methods used? Thanks a bunch for your suggestions.

[dduardo]

I use this one personally. It's a great program.

Inkscape: http://www.inkscape.org/

[DaveC426913]

My advice:

Sketch them by hand. Finish in marker. Scan the black & white. Colour on the computer.

If you're hoping to actually use a computer to draw them freehand, well - good luck to you.

[dduardo]

You'd be suprised how well some people can draw freehand with a mouse. It is pretty amazing.

If you don't feel confortable with a mouse, try a watcom tablet.

http://www.wacom.com/index2.cfm

[Danger]

I've always used Illustrator (first 6, then 8; I bought 10, then found out that the stupid thing won't work on my system, so it'll have to wait until I upgrade). I've really missed having it, since my computer is still at my old place and neither this one (N/W's) nor the one at work have any art stuff. Thanks for the link, Dduardo. I've downloaded it, but haven't had a chance to look at it yet.

[DaveC426913]

You'd be suprised how well some people can draw freehand with a mouse. It is pretty amazing.

If you don't feel confortable with a mouse, try a watcom tablet.

http://www.wacom.com/index2.cfm

Yes, I am an artist illustrator myself and I have a tablet. But to meet the OP's needs, he should maximize his ability at sketching and then maximize his ability to modify it - he should go with the tools that do their job best. A pencil for initial illo, and a computer for modification and finishing.

You want a tool that doesn't interfere with the creative process. you don't want to burn through brain cycles concentrating on the interface of the tool itself.

[Danger]

Despite the badge, this isn't a joke. I sometimes go with the "poor man's tablet"; I freehand what I want on the monitor with a dry-erase pen and trace it with the mouse. I can't move it or scale it until I'm finished, of course, but it can come in handy in a pinch. :approve:

[Emieno]

http://www.inkscape.org/
http://www.wacom.com/index2.cfm
Dduardo, inkscape looks good, just downloaded it :wink:

[dduardo]

potrace is built into inkscape. Just scan your b/w hand drawn image and have it convert to vector graphics:

http://potrace.sourceforge.net/

Check out the examples page. They are pretty good.

-----------------

You can also try autotrace:

http://autotrace.sourceforge.net/

[Danger]

Dduardo, can you possibly assist me here? I need a plain English explanation of what might be wrong. When I installed Inkscape on N/W's computer and tried to run it, the following message came up:
Pango-ERROR**.file shape.C:line 75(pango_shape): assertion failed:(glyphs->num_glyphs>0)
aborting
When I clicked the 'OK' button in the dialogue box, it repeated the above message and added:
Pango-WARNING(recursed)**. Couldn't load font "MS Sans Serif 8" falling back to 'Sans 8'
aborting
I re-downloaded and reinstalled it with all of the translators except for English and Russian deselected, and exactly the same thing happened again. Any idea what's wrong and how to fix it?
If it matters, it's an HP with Celeron processor. I think that her Windows version is Millenium, but I can't check for sure until I get home from work tonight. Thanks.
PS: I suspect that it's a hardware problem, because that machine is terribly slow and freezes up a lot.

[dduardo]

This is a bug in the windows version. You can see the details here:

https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=93438&atid=604306&func=detail&aid=1277746

It is still open, so I assume it hasn't been fixed. I would try the nightly development version if the stable 0.43 version doesn't work.

[Danger]

Thanks, man. That saved me a lot of messing around and cursing.