Photoshop help

[-58]

I'm not certain if this is the correct forum or not, but here goes.

I only recently got back into using Photoshop (having lost my copy, I only recently re-gained access with the acquiring of my writing tablet), and apart from being a little rusty, I was never that brilliant with it to begin. Now, the sort of help I'm looking for is not technical; I don't have a software problem. I'm looking for the experience of those who have enjoyed years of use of the program.

The thing that is at me the most right now is that I am having a problem with my images, a difficulty with getting them to look more realistic and less, for lack of a better word, cartoony. I can't seem to get past the look and feel of a skillfully done sketch covered in finger-paint. I asked an experienced fellow from a different website, and he suggested the use of custom brushes, supplying me with a few of his own. While I consider this a good suggested, I don't feel as though it is enough . . . so if any of you folk here can offer suggestions as to how to better shade and colour my creations, I would be very grateful.

Again, I apologize if this is the incorrect forum for this particular sort of query.

[MartinBabies]

Well, first of all: being good at Photoshop isn't the same thing sa being good at painting. It's all about practice. You say you have problem with lighting and color? Show us some examples and maybe it's easier to help. But a suggestion: always use sharp brushes. Start with bigger brushes and make all the basic painting and then move on to smaller and smaller brushes. Never start with details.

Also, here is a color palette that I made: http://www.gfxvoid.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22982
It has some good basic colors for different stuff.

[-58]

Thanks; I'll find a use for the palette.

I do tend to use the smaller brushes for details and the larger ones for large areas, but I'm having some difficulty finding a brush that I would consider "sharp."

Here's an example:



He looks somewhat blurry and smudgy, and almost all of my work ends up somewhat like him. Yesterday, I managed to create something I was very proud of (the following image), which I think breaks away from the cartoonish look a bit, but not in the direction I was intending to go; it looks more like a sketch with coloured-pencil and pen than what I'm going for. Backdrops and such are also a bane, possibly due to the aforemented issue of lacking a "sharp" brush.

[MartinBabies]

Are you working in high resolution? You should always work on large scale. Then it's easier to change small details and you will be able to print your work. Always use 100% sharpness on the brushes. Technicaly that's all you need. Then again: practice. :P Learn more about basic lighting. Good lighting is the key to realism.

[-58]

Most of my stuff is 1024x768 at full-zoom. I usually don't like to work larger, as I like to be able to see most or all of the image I'm working on at the same time, and any larger than that, I have to scroll a good ways to see an edge at full zoom.

I'm slightly confused, I think, as to what you mean by sharpness. My writing tablet has a pressure sensor that allows it to change the opacity of what's being drawn based on how hard I press, so that I can make something lighter or darker as I draw . . . ought I to turn off this feature in exchange for flat, homogeneous shades?

[MartinBabies]

When you become more advanced, you will realize that working in high resolution is necessary. No advanced artist work on small scale.

No, the tablet's pressure-sensitivity should be used. But you shouldn't use soft brushes too much. If you right-click with the brush tool, just drag the hardness to 100%.