Any “Sketchbook Pro” Users Out There?

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I’m slowly working on a post (or series of posts) about digital inking. In my research and in talking to other artists I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about a drawing program called Sketchbook Pro. Apparently it’s super fantastically awesome, rivaling Photoshop and Painter at a significantly lower price. When it comes to inking with a Cintiq, Sketchbook Pro (I’m told) blows Photoshop out of the water.

So, to any of you Sketchbook Pro users out there….Fill us in! Share your knowledge! Enlighten the rest of us with your wisdom! Leave a comment below and tell us what you like (or don’t like) about Sketchbook Pro.

[EDIT: If you’ve drawn or painted anything in Sketchbook Pro, feel free to share a link to the artwork as well.]

Deadline Crunch

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Another crazy day in the studio. Still trying to get my finances put together for my accountant. Gotta love tax season.

As always, please check out the great art blogs listed over in the left-hand column.

Ask Mr. Artist Guy: Updated Review of Cintiq 12wx

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Since I started the “As Mr. Artist Guy” feature a couple of weeks ago, two people have written me asking for a follow-up review of the new portable “sketchbook” Cintiq 12wx. I wrote my first review after having played around with the Cintiq for only a day or two. Overall I’m still very happy with it, but now that I’ve logged a few dozen hours with it I’ve got some additional thoughts.Read More

Sketchbook Update

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I’ve just come off of a long, crazy stretch of freelance projects, so today was the first time in a long time I was able to kick back and enjoy noodling around in the ol’ sketchbook. The top sketches are warm-up doodles and the bottom three are sketches from magazine photos.

Ideally I’d like to spend at least a half hour every day doing warm-up drawings. It feels good to do some relaxed drawings just for fun, without thinking about a client’s requirements. Don’t get me wrong—I enjoy working on client projects and I like the challenge of finding a solution to a visual problem—but every once in a while it’s nice to be able to loosen up and do something for myself, with no structure or agenda.

Here’s hoping I can keep this up every day. Although if I suddenly get a full load of client projects again, that would be nice too (hint to art directors). As a freelancer the lull’s are always a bit nerve wracking, but I’ve been at this long enough to know something will be coming down the pipe soon. Better enjoy the light load while I can.

Ask Mr. Artist Guy: Should I Buy A Laptop Or Dekstop Computer?

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Illustrator Doug Jones writes:

I have always had a tower type computer but now I am wondering if maybe I should go for a MacBook Pro as my main computer. Is there any reason to have the large tower type computers anymore?

A great question. I had to do a little research to answer this one. I’m fortunate enough to own both a powerful desktop machine and a laptop, and I use both regularly. Like many creative types I’ve been a devoted Mac user for several years, so I’m pretty clueless as to what’s available in the PC world. But I’m pretty sure most of what I have to say is just as true for users of either platform.

I’m not an expert on computers, so someone else may give you different advice. But as a commercial artist who works digitally, here’s my two cents. There are several issues to consider:Read More

Deadline Crunch

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I’m busy wrapping up a giant client project that is due post-haste, so unfortunately I don’t have time to write a blog post today. But please take some time to browse the list of Art Blogs over on the left-hand side of the page. Loads of inspiring stuff!

Fresh bloggy goodness coming tomorrow.