Genopal is a color scheme generator software application I just stumbled across, and it’s pretty interesting.
Instead of the standard color wheels most color scheme generator/explorer software programs utilize, Genopal doesn’t give you the option of choosing a color model such as Complimentary, Triadic and such. Instead there are two sliders, one for Color Diversity and one for Lightness Diversity. There’s a “Generate” button which them cycles though color schemes as analagous or as wild as you set the sliders.
Continue reading 'Genopal Color Scheme Generator Software: Weird Name, Cool Tool'
by George Coghill -
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Primary, secondary, tertiary, complimentary, analagous, brightness, hue, value, saturation, tints, shades… do these words mean anything to you? They should.
A post by cartoonist Matt Glover points out ColorFAQ – very basic web guide to color theory. It got me poking around on the internet for some other sites with some more depth on the subject. Sometimes I forget how much I use color theory every single day, it’s just something that sometimes goes on autopilot and is an easy topic to forget to recommend to others.
Continue reading 'Color Theory Resources'
by George Coghill -
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I touched on the awesomeness of using multiple pencil grades in a previous post on essential cartoonist tools before, but there’s a great overview specifically on pencil grades by cartoonist Matt Glover. There’s some decent additional pencil grade classification information over at Wikipedia as well.
Find out what those cryptic “2B”, “HB”, “6H” and the rest really mean. Knowing the difference, having a full set of pencils with all the grades in the range is a must. This is the way to lay down very thick, dark blacks in your drawings as well as fine, light grays. It’s all in the blackness and hardness my friends.
Continue reading 'Pencil Grades: An Overview'
by George Coghill -
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Paintbrush a cool little free image editor/paint software program for Mac OS X. As the site says, this is no Photoshop competitor. It’s just your basic paint program like Microsoft Paint or the old MacPaint. It has just the basics – pencil, paintbrush, line, rectangle & circle tools, eraser, text etc. Even lets you open up an image and draw on top of it.
Still, it’s a solid application and thought out. Opens quick, runs smoothly, some cool little animations for windows and tools. Definitely designed with fun in mind.
Continue reading 'Paintbrush: Free Bitmap Image Editor For Mac OS X'
by George Coghill -
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Pixelmator is a brand new (and still in beta) raster image editor for Mac OS X. What seems to set it apart, at least from the descriptions and screen shots on their website, is it’s very Mac OS X-ish GUI (Graphic User Interface). Everything has those cool-looking, smoky translucent windows.
I’m not sure how the all-black interface would flow for me, but I am willing to try it out. Looks like a nice lightweight Photoshop alternative for those out there without full Photoshop needs, without sacrificing some of the must-have Photoshop features like layers, thenow-stamdard tool set, transparency, layer blending and certain retouching & effects.
Coincidentally TUAW has a post today about the first public beta being out, and they have a “first look” review. The prognosis is positive, but they say it definitely needs more work under the hood. There’s also an introductory video to Pixelmator.
I am looking forward to trying out the demo. I am not sure how much of a use I will have for this, being a Photoshop owner and all, but I still enjoy seeing how other software makers solve challenges like layers, filter & effect applying and other tools. The intro video shows some potentially cool ways to handle gradients.
via Derek Bender
by George Coghill -
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Creative Bits has a neat informal poll going on about readers preferences for working on concepts: do you sketch with pencil & paper, or jump straight to the computer and work on the graphics software to start?
You can read my 2¢ in the comments section regarding the gradual takeover of the Wacom tablet and my Photoshop sketching habits. I still work on paper, but I find myself more and more finishing up sketches in Photoshop due to the endless flexibility I have to tweak and refine while I am perfecting things.
by George Coghill -
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We’ve all been there – tight deadline, or too many projects at once, or even good ol’ fashioned procrastination. Whatever the cause, you need to finish something and the ideas (and graphite) just aren’t flowing. What to do?
Continue reading 'Ten Tips for Cartoonists to Overcome a Creativity Slump'
by George Coghill -
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