Getting started drawing on procreate in 2021?

[jzknives]

I have been trying to break into this hobby for awhile now and I just cant get the hang of drawing on the Ipad. I checked the forum and alot of the info is outdated

are there are any suggestions for starting out on how to get the hang of it? brushes? templates?

I also have both "how do draw scrolls" books. but i cant get a spiral to look right to save my life.

 

[vanLanen]

I think if you want to learn the basics (which is really all you need for drawing scrolls) of these kinds of software. Your best option will be watching a few tutorials on the tubes and try not to skip any parts that may seem unnecessary.

Cheers,
Thomas

 

[Matthew Evans]

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[jzknives]

Hey there, While there are even classes to attend, what I’m hearing is a basic how to or quick tips. I am currently being shipped a sketch board pro for my iPad and will update when I get it for those interested. For your scrolls, there’s no easy way except practice, but if you practice smarter you’ll get there faster.
Some “smarter” ways of practicing are going fairly slowly and making light marks instead of one continuous line at first, that way your eye can be trained on proportion and then your hand will follow in the future.
If you are practicing on an iPad you have a benefit of seeing the scroll from all angles and adjusting on the fly and layering. Use that to get the best backbone on scrolls possible and keep that as a first layer. I’ll let the pros tap into it for anything else, but hopefully it gives some more insight. Sam Alfano has some brushes available on the Facebook forum if I remember correctly. Last note if you need a template, the fega manual has some gun templates and even just making odd geometrical shapes and filling in with proportioned scrolls is a great benefit. I’m an open book if you have any questions, I’m learning just like the rest =).

Happy chip making,
Matthew Evans

Ya I can’t really travel right now because of COVID so.
And I don’t want to buy any dvds when we live in an HD world now.

I just need like practice templates , I saw the gun templates but they are all low resolution.

i don’t know what do do

 

[sam]

Ya I can’t really travel right now because of COVID so.
And I don’t want to buy any dvds when we live in an HD world now.

I just need like practice templates , I saw the gun templates but they are all low resolution.

i don’t know what do do

I never heard of a gun template when I started engraving. And you're not happy with DVDs or templates because they're low resolution???

 

[jzknives]

I never heard of a gun template when I started engraving. And you're not happy with DVDs or templates because they're low resolution???

Yes not just low resolution but also the discs are easy to damage compared to blu ray. New videos in HD should be shot for blu ray. I can’t pay like 40-50 bucks for what is basically a vhs.

 

[vanLanen]

Yes not just low resolution but also the discs are easy to damage compared to blu ray. New videos in HD should be shot for blu ray. I can’t pay like 40-50 bucks for what is basically a vhs.

I see it like this: you will not pay 40 or 50 bucks for a dvd or vhs, or for the quality of the image you will be looking at, if you buy instructions or course dvds/download you will pay for the knowledge that they most likely worked really hard for, and in the field of engraving i think this kind of information is rare and very valuable, and it almost makes the image quality a non issue,at least to me. And this kind of information is definitely worth more then 40 or 50 bucks. more like 10x that.
just my 2 cents...

cheers,
Thomas

 

[jzknives]

I see it like this: you will not pay 40 or 50 bucks for a dvd or vhs, or for the quality of the image you will be looking at, if you buy instructions or course dvds/download you will pay for the knowledge that they most likely worked really hard for, and in the field of engraving i think this kind of information is rare and very valuable, and it almost makes the image quality a non issue,at least to me. And this kind of information is definitely worth more then 40 or 50 bucks. more like 10x that.
just my 2 cents...

cheers,
Thomas

The difference between 480p quality video and 720p is massive

what we are talking about is 1080p and 4k. Which is an astronomical amount of detail that aids in learning.

Im not in charge of GRS or sam but i would seriously consider reshooting all their stuff in 4k and putting them on blu rays because there is no reason not to. pretty soon physical media like blu ray is going to be gone so its important these artists get their lessons in high definition so they stand the test of time before we enter the hellworld of digital media where a server failure can lead to the loss of content forever.

 

[sam]

And to think when I started I was thrilled to have a crappy low res photo in a magazine. When Roger's book came out I thought I'd died and went to heaven.

Best of luck to you brother. I'm afraid there's not much any of can do to help you. There's enough info archived in this forum to help you your entire career, but you gotta go get it.

 

[jzknives]

there really is not much here on procreate. And all of your videos on it are paywalled. Not spending 40 dollars on a DVD or a stream that i do not own forever

 

[vanLanen]

like I said in my first post in this thread, there’s a lot of stuff on Procreate or affinity or whatever program you wish to use, on YouTube. you should first learn how to use those type of programs, and then after that you can use those programs to assist you in learning how to draw scrolls. The subject of the video you choose doesn’t necessarily need to be scrolls, because that is not all the sudden gonna make you be able to draw a pleasing backbone or fill, and being able to use Procreate isn’t gonna do that either.
just start with simple line drawing tutorials.
oh and study scroll and ornamental designs.. A LOT! I’m saying this because I’m new and this is how I’m learning.

 

[Si si]

Wow! I have never been able to attend a in person class. But I’ve got all of Sams DVD‘s and the downloads dvds as well as Diane’s Bright cut dvd. Not to mention all the books and info on this site I’ve been able to obtain. I was able to just spend almost $13,000 in tools and material and this was all money I made last year from engraving. If I would of never been able to watch Sams dvd’s I’d still be playing with a home made engraver trying to engrave coins. I’m forever thankful for those old school dvd‘s and the new ones. Diane’s two dvd‘s are super old school but the information she has on them is by far superb. To each their own though.

 

[sam]

there really is not much here on procreate. And all of your videos on it are paywalled. Not spending 40 dollars on a DVD or a stream that i do not own forever

Then find an engraver who will teach you. Try looking over his/her shoulder while they're cutting and try to connect the dots. If you were in my studio, my HD camera would be outputting to a display, but that probably wouldn't suit you.

You have the gift of this forum and the gift of thousands of engravers who share their work and helpful tips. Sounds to me like there's no way of pleasing you.

 

[papart1]

that in person teaching is priceless and there might even be stuff on this procreate program too.................but sadly the class's and connective devices are out of your price range I fear

 

[papart1]

warm bottle........................dry........................................

 

[Memorymaker]

warm bottle........................dry........................................

What is that supposed to mean? Hopefully not something disparaging

 

[jzknives]

Then find an engraver who will teach you. Try looking over his/her shoulder while they're cutting and try to connect the dots. If you were in my studio, my HD camera would be outputting to a display, but that probably wouldn't suit you.

You have the gift of this forum and the gift of thousands of engravers who share their work and helpful tips. Sounds to me like there's no way of pleasing you.

we are in the middle of a pandemic sam.

you have an HD camera but wont produce new blu rays why? not trying to be rude but you guys are stuck in the 1900s. You have deep relief engraving being done with lasers now at a fraction of the cost and labor. You really need to try a bit harder than "search the forum" and "all the info is here" when it clearly isnt. I know many of you are trying to run teaching businesses and cant give out info for free , but you should think about producing real content for beginners that is not "search the forum". You used to produce content on youtube but that stopped.

And while im venting i guess i should mention the exact same machines GRS is selling on their website at prohibitive inflated pricing can be obtained from the original source (china) online for 200 bucks. but you wont tell beginners that. Instead they need a car payment to get started in a hobby right?

I already spent quite a bit on tools already and it seems that the only way i can really participate in this hobby is by shelling out tons more money on live training that i cant access because of the pandemic , or low quality DVD's that are marked up 150%

Sorry for the rudeness but i have been trying to break into this hobby and its just extremely prohibitive. And it doesnt have to be since i know you are technically proficient and can produce real content for beginners at extreme quality without devaluing your teaching business. In fact quick , informative videos can get people in the door.

I would HEAVILY consider , especially since we are starting the year with president pandemic and could be shut down nation wide soon , you hit the ground running on producing content again for free for beginners sam that can pipeline them into GRS. And if you do. Just make sure its on HD format?

Start with a 5-10 minute youtube on quickly setting up procreate and drawing a simple scroll. Something like that cant kill you can it? Blu rays in 1080p or even 4k (especially the latter) will be valueble for 100 years because the maximum detail the eye can pick up is somewhere between 4k and 8k. DVD's are already not worth the plastic they are printed on.

rant/off

bad year for me and my family

 

[Jim P]

I have been trying to break into this hobby for awhile now and I just cant get the hang of drawing on the Ipad. I checked the forum and alot of the info is outdated

are there are any suggestions for starting out on how to get the hang of it? brushes? templates?

I also have both "how do draw scrolls" books. but i cant get a spiral to look right to save my life.

You can check out a site Pinterest and search hand engraving, pencil art, tattoo art, scrolls and lots of basics about drawing scrolls, golden ratio and more stuff than a person could go thru in a lifetime.

 

[dcurrie911]

rant/off

bad year for me and my family

dear jzknives, I wish well for you in 2021 and hope that you start seeing the blessings and opportunities that you and all of us have. Sam and so many others have knelt down and offered their hand to all of us. Be it a dvd, class instruction, or advice on this forum. A true gift that I, for one, do not under appreciate.

Dan

 

[Brant]

Dear JZK. At the top of this page is a button marked “HOME”.

CLICK ON IT AND READ EVERYTHING THAT IS THERE, report back and ask question then. When I started my journey I read EVERY post and item on this forum and the other one as well. Everything you need to get started I’d there. That is about as close to a free lunch as is possible.

Most people here have to earn a living, it is not their responsibility to spoon-feed cry babies. Put your Big Boy pants on and act like a mature adult.

Rant over for now.