A great video (in three parts) which explores illustrator and artist (and really cool guy) William Low’s use of computers in his work, especially the ever elusive Cintiq computer display that he paints on.

Find the second and third videos here. I believe these were produced by PageTurner Films.

I’m in awe of the hardware, the software and Kassan’s talent. Shout out to Drawn.ca

While I do have this very app for my iPod Touch, the weensey screen and my lack of painting talent = suckage.

If you aren’t a digital artist, this might sound like run-of-the-mill gadget lust. It isn’t, but let me put this in perspective for you:

• If you run, this is your Boston Marathon
• If you drive, this is your driving a Lamborghini on an open track
• If you golf, this is your Masters
• If you cook, this is your Iron Chef
• If you swim, this is your English Channel
• If you ride government test planes, this is your Moon landing
• If you play guitar, this is your screaming solo in front of 50,000 fans
• If you garden, this is your Royal Botanical
• If your lucky, this is your winner numbers
• If you’re still with me here, this is the canvas to my Mona Lisa

I love “the cloud” – that puffy, windy-bagged metaphor they use to denote “the internet” in networking diagrams. A geek joke goes like this: The best way to backup your data is to zip it all up into one big file, give it a racy filename and upload it. The odds are very good your data will still be in circulation a decade later.

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I like drawing (duh) and I like computers (really) and yet mixing the two up has been a slow, evolutionary process. From the Koala Pad of the Commodore 64 days to serial and USB mice and back to a drawing tablet in the form of the Wacom Bamboo, the mechanics of computer drawing has been almost as important as the software end of things. Almost.

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If you’re like me, the ability to do a thing is the end result of first understanding how to do that thing. Process is like the secret society of accomplishment. You want to bake from scratch the best pizza people have ever had? Join the Illuminati of pizza-making.

I’d like to introduce to you a site which got me excited enough that I had to take a moment and post a note about it. It’s called The Tools Artists Use and is the brainchild of Bill Turner (not of ‘Bootstrap’ fame, savvy?) Bill voluntarily interviews a variety of artists, designers and illustrators with the express goal of learning which tools are favoured and used (and why).

While not a full investigation into process, The Tools Artists Use certainly gives me insights and ideas useful to my own work.

Did you get a thumbdrive for Christmas? Or have one kicking around, perhaps carrying a few files but otherwise not as useful as first hoped? Put your USB drives to work by using portable apps.

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Maybe you’ve been drawing or painting for years and have been wondering about using computers for your work. Or you’ve newly discovered a love for drawing and want to make the most of any digital opportunities. Setting up a digital drawing and painting studio isn’t rocket science and doesn’t need to cost much. Let’s get started. (more…)