Crow Dawn: Digital ATC

bwahahahaha. cool thanks Laura... i may soon have to slip off and go play... erm... i mean work!

aloha Rene - thank you - yes, way too much fun. i'm now realizing in really need to break my time up a little more between using this tool and using real paper and materials... thanks for featuring this piece.

thank you De. this Wacom Cintiq is my first pen/tablet style tool. some of my terminology needs a little more refinement - but need a little more knowledge to go with it. i placed pen and tablet in quotation marks because i think there is a difference between the tablets and the cintiq(s). if i am now clear on this the tablets are a surface that you can write or draw on with the pen - and you see what you've written or drawn by looking at your computer monitor. that's what i originally had wanted for a long time. so long in fact that they came out with the cintiq before i got a tablet. the difference between a tablet and the cintiq is that the surface you write and draw on with a cintiq is also a monitor. it's even more like drawing on paper than the tablets altho there is still a "sense" of drawing through the glass of the monitor to reach the paper. i know i'd like a tablet - however the cintiq is probably the nest step up (when we draw without the glass between the pen and surface - that will be another big step up i suspect... if that is ever possible). still... i would have liked having a tablet - the cintiq is a step up in price too - but for me i felt it was worth it. i hope you do get into the tablet - because i'd like to see - and i also think that if you become familiar with working on the tablet, when you are ready of the next step up you will dive in with beauty and grace and the learning curve will be a lot easier. have fun, yes. and thanks.

bwahahahah - thank you Renda - i see you have the right spirit for toys... i mean tools. dance on! and fun on too!

Dancing is wonderful :)  Did you know I piroutetted in the backyard today, just because the storm was raging?  LOL ~ Regardless, I'm glad you posted this.  I am getting some valuable information on this t...I mean, tool.

That should be *pirouetted*.

bwahahaha - cool. it's been a daily 20 to 22 hour weather pattern all week this week. with heavey down pours earlier and earlier in the afternoons and sun in the mornings. i occassionally go out and do my version of a jig in the rain. . . and puddles. altho in that kind of drenching i leave my ipod inside... otherwise i'd be stepping along with Flogging Molly in the rain. . .

the Cintiq is just plain awesome as far as i'm concerned.

aloha Sonia - yes, i think there are a lot of similarities in the process i used to create this and a lot of other techniques - including textile processes. cool.

bwahahahaha - cool Karl. yes, i do understand that lure to create with both the software and the tools. your skills btw are awesome.

thank you Jan. one of the things digital technology allows me to do is to move up extemely close as well as to stand back a great distance with a click or two. so i can litterally work and see the work pixel to pixel or from across the room. so both detail and the over all look can both easily be considered when working. good point to be aware of, Jan, thanks for bringing this out.

thanks Renne - it's a lot of fun too.

aloha Spartan - i agree with your comparison of tablet/cintiq to mouse. i can draw reasonably with a mouse because i tried to do it for so long. however with a pen tool and tablet/cintiq the difference is like using a bicycle vs a pogo stick to travel across the city.

i'm considering your suggestion regarding and article on tablets. my hesitation is that altho i understand a little about it, i've never worked with anything other than this cintiq.  and as i'm understanding it now there is a difference between the cintiq and what has been called a tablet. the tablet being a surface you draw/write on and you see what you are doing by looking at your computer monitor. the cintiq surface that you draw on IS a monitor. so you can see on both the cintiq surface and your computer screen as you draw. i can use the cintiq as a tablet - where i'd draw on the surface and only see what i'm drawing by looking at the computer monitor (where you see your tool tip as well).

the other difference is price. the cintiq is still up there price wise - altho i suspect it will come down. tablets on the other hand seem to be available in almost any price range - altho again i dont know the quality or the number of "functions/tool" types you might get with the lower end. still, if someone wants to try a tablet out - getting a low cost tablet makes sense as a try-it-to-see-if-you-like-it place to start - some advertise for $30. altho i dont know what all you get for that. the intuos (Wacom) depends on the size of the tablet you want. the larger work areas are nice - but not strictly necessary.

hmmmm... did i just write a lot of the article here?

ha. have fun. and thanks for the suggestion.

thanks Aunt Boni - yup i can see elements of stained glass in this. knowing how i created it, it might seem even more so, since i started out with black lines on white and then worked color into that.

sigh... yup, i know, i know - bwahahahaha - yes, i'm going to try, Try!, to divide my time up a little more - better?... the problem is, ...okay, one of the challenges, is that when we use our creative brain we are outside of the area in our skull that keeps track of time. so when i get into working, i have no idea when i look up if 5 minutes has passed or two and a half hours. yikes!  however, yes, i will be seen again. i hope. erm... that's the idea at least.  have fun.

I know what you mean.  If I get on a roll with a craft, or a sewing project, or gardening the hours just disappear!  But, aw, the reward of sharing and showing off the finished project is worth the time that slips away!

exactly. same area of the brain is engaged in all of those activities. and yup again - finding out how others see what you are doing is another reward, yes.  way cool and garden, sew and craft on!

That's amazing - I can see why my daughter wants one (she likes graphic arts and web design...)

Nice job!  Have fun with you tool [toy :o)]

thanks Jan C. - yes, as a graphic artist and for web design i'd think this would be an indispensable tool.  there are some differences between tablets and the cintiq i'm using. even so a tablet would be way worthwhile - imo. check out the comments i left for De and Spartan above for a little more info. even a simple tablet would be a bonus and a great way to get a sense of the tool - imo.

ha. yes, i'm still having fun with it. i just dont dare post everything here because i'd never get to all the comments! ...i do post more on my blog tho (More 19 Planets on eBlogger). on the blog you can follow my learning curve progress a little more - i started with the cintiq this year a few months ago.

Wow, that is really cool!

thanks Toni V. - it is definitely fun and i've a long way to learn on it, yet. i can only imagine that it will get even more fun!

I love the way my eye travels round the image.  I love the glow of it....crow dawn glow

crowing in the glowing dawn

painted bird so deftly drawn

flowing color to gaze upon!

thanks Jan - when the viewer's eye travels around within a piece i've created i'm very pleased with that! so thank you for letting me know. way cool on using it as a stepping stone into poetry too - anytime!

How thrilling to see that so many other Gather friends are appreciating your amazing talent!

I love those colors. 

thanks Sharon - that kind of reaction to color is way exciting to me. cool.

Your welcome.

Very Cool !!

I wish I could afford a digital pen and tablet. It's so hard to accurately draw a mask with a mouse.

Kudos !!

thank you Bill's Spirit. - until recently pen and tablets seemed way out of reach for me too. even tho i've wanted one for a long time. this year i commited my funds toward getting one - however when i began looking to see where they were at now, i discovered the Cintiq i know have. it's a step up and now it's what i'd consider being out of my range if i hadnt already commited so much toward getting what i wanted. ...and after seeing the Cintiq - that's what i wanted. all that said, pen and tablets now can be found to fit any price range. they may not all have all the bells and whistles - but i suspect they do have the essentials - a pen-like tool to fit your hand. i've seen them priced (simple ones i'm sure) for as low as $30. still... it seems to me that's a reasonable price to see if you like them - and you can go up in price from there to suit your budget when ever you wish. it would be fun to see what you do on a tablet. have fun. aloha.

Wrick D, your art outstanding.

Hi Wrick I linked your site to my Facebook group Creative Art Cards & Paper Crafting so they could view your ATC'.