The AFG Logo Contest

[Garek Maxwell]

Zuri-kai

Yeah, sorry but Gimp and Photoshop are incomparable. GImp is at best 2/10ths of what Photoshop CS[x] is. Believe you me. I tried gimp back when I didn't have access to PS...let's just say that computer was lucky it belonged to the school or it'd be history.

That's what I said though. sad
I know Photoshop can do a lot of crazy things, especially in CS5. I just wasn't sure if gimp had anything special it did that Photoshop never implemented. I can never tell, because there's so many instances in the software world where a free alternative can offer more than the paid for alternative. That or unique features.

Zuri-kai

True here though. Corel, SAI and OpenCanvas all try to imitate traditional media. Though in some regards I think SAI can get pretty close, as it has vector, as well as raster capabilites, and may of the tools are similar in function, differing only in how you control their settings. (I'm still working out a lot of the finer points of SAI).

As for the logo images, that's good. I always design my images at at least 2000 x 2000 pixels, but I shrunk this one down for posting it here. sweatdrop

Yeah, I think Sai is great if you're looking to work with the Asian art style, and to some degree European. Though I think Corel really has the right features and abilities for traditional western artwork. It doesn't feel very contemporary like Sai does (though artists who use it can easily make their work contemporary). But that's all just my opinion on how each feels. Not really an expert opinion or anything. razz

2000x2000 is more than enough. eek
If you ever wanted to do it commercially, you'd want to do it in vectors so ti can be scaled to any size. This is the internet though, so it doesn't matter much. xd  

[Zuri-kai]

Garek Maxwell

Zuri-kai

Yeah, sorry but Gimp and Photoshop are incomparable. GImp is at best 2/10ths of what Photoshop CS[x] is. Believe you me. I tried gimp back when I didn't have access to PS...let's just say that computer was lucky it belonged to the school or it'd be history.

That's what I said though. sad
I know Photoshop can do a lot of crazy things, especially in CS5. I just wasn't sure if gimp had anything special it did that Photoshop never implemented. I can never tell, because there's so many instances in the software world where a free alternative can offer more than the paid for alternative. That or unique features.

Ah, that would be me misunderstanding what you said then. To my knowledge Gimp can't do anything PS can't, it may have different ways of doing similar things that people may find easier, I'm just not one of those people. sweatdrop

Garek Maxwell

Zuri-kai

True here though. Corel, SAI and OpenCanvas all try to imitate traditional media. Though in some regards I think SAI can get pretty close, as it has vector, as well as raster capabilites, and may of the tools are similar in function, differing only in how you control their settings. (I'm still working out a lot of the finer points of SAI).

As for the logo images, that's good. I always design my images at at least 2000 x 2000 pixels, but I shrunk this one down for posting it here. sweatdrop

Yeah, I think Sai is great if you're looking to work with the Asian art style, and to some degree European. Though I think Corel really has the right features and abilities for traditional western artwork. It doesn't feel very contemporary like Sai does (though artists who use it can easily make their work contemporary). But that's all just my opinion on how each feels. Not really an expert opinion or anything. razz

2000x2000 is more than enough. eek
If you ever wanted to do it commercially, you'd want to do it in vectors so ti can be scaled to any size. This is the internet though, so it doesn't matter much. xd

I was never able to effectively use Corel. I tried it for a while, but the tools felt clunky to me, and I couldn't get the to work the way I like. SAI for me is pretty much purely a lineart tool. It has great features where I can manually control the pressure and thickness of my lines at each point, which is one of the areas where I really struggle. So for me SAI was a godsend.

And I'm aware of the vector thing. I do have a degree in design after all. ^^;
This isn't an official job so I just threw what I made together in Photoshop rather than mess around with Illustrator's exceedingly irrigating pen tool. XP
That and I don't think AI incorporates layer styles like PS does, in which case I wouldn't have been able to achieve the colour I have in the lettering.  

[Garek Maxwell]

Zuri-kai

Ah, that would be me misunderstanding what you said then. To my knowledge Gimp can't do anything PS can't, it may have different ways of doing similar things that people may find easier, I'm just not one of those people. sweatdrop

It's okay! And yeah, I kinda feel like photoshop is sort of the benchmark on what you should do most of the time. I mean, there's always going to be a "better way" for doing certain things as technology improves (like CS5's amazing new features for photo manipulation), but eventually it all levels out to personal preference and then there's no real "better way" at that point.

Zuri-kai

I was never able to effectively use Corel. I tried it for a while, but the tools felt clunky to me, and I couldn't get the to work the way I like. SAI for me is pretty much purely a lineart tool. It has great features where I can manually control the pressure and thickness of my lines at each point, which is one of the areas where I really struggle. So for me SAI was a godsend.

I think I only used an old demo thing of Sai. But Corel I also couldn't get to work well for me. I never understood the effective use of the tools and I often felt like I was learning the digitized mediums for the first time. It...well, that is understandable, but not when you have more options than the traditional method. Like, with charcoal, you move your hand around to get different effects but you can't do that with a "brush tool" that imitates charcoal. I pretty much get ya'. I'm sure it'd be awesome for painting, but photoshop has done what I need it to do for that. neutral

Zuri-kai

And I'm aware of the vector thing. I do have a degree in design after all. ^^;
This isn't an official job so I just threw what I made together in Photoshop rather than mess around with Illustrator's exceedingly irrigating pen tool. XP
That and I don't think AI incorporates layer styles like PS does, in which case I wouldn't have been able to achieve the colour I have in the lettering.

Oops! Sorry. I wasn't sure... I can't ever remember who in the guild is a designer and who's not. There's usually a lot of artists in the guild so it gets confusing. sweatdrop

I actually learned to use the pen tool, but I've never enjoyed it. It's not fast and I avoid it when I can. With a tablet, the brush (I think?) tool will do the same thing I believe, it just paints lines according to your movements. That's wayyy faster for me and I can clean up the rough spots easy. But for layer styles, it depends. It can do certain things with layers. They're usually called "appearance" I believe.. I could be wrong though. But if you mean something like...uhh... a Level's adjustment layer for example, then I don't know. sad

If appearance sounds something like what you're looking for, I can check and see if I have it all right and how to mess with those things if you like? I would now, but I shut down that computer out of frustration of not getting anything done right today. razz Just not been a productive day.  

[Zuri-kai]

Garek Maxwell

Zuri-kai

I was never able to effectively use Corel. I tried it for a while, but the tools felt clunky to me, and I couldn't get the to work the way I like. SAI for me is pretty much purely a lineart tool. It has great features where I can manually control the pressure and thickness of my lines at each point, which is one of the areas where I really struggle. So for me SAI was a godsend.

I think I only used an old demo thing of Sai. But Corel I also couldn't get to work well for me. I never understood the effective use of the tools and I often felt like I was learning the digitized mediums for the first time. It...well, that is understandable, but not when you have more options than the traditional method. Like, with charcoal, you move your hand around to get different effects but you can't do that with a "brush tool" that imitates charcoal. I pretty much get ya'. I'm sure it'd be awesome for painting, but photoshop has done what I need it to do for that. neutral

From what I understand, you can actually do all of the same things with Photoshop that you can with Corel, it's just a matter of building the right specifications into your brush (scatter, hardness, jitter, ect), but this is also something I've never really been able to pick up on. XP

Garek Maxwell

Zuri-kai

And I'm aware of the vector thing. I do have a degree in design after all. ^^;
This isn't an official job so I just threw what I made together in Photoshop rather than mess around with Illustrator's exceedingly irrigating pen tool. XP
That and I don't think AI incorporates layer styles like PS does, in which case I wouldn't have been able to achieve the colour I have in the lettering.

Oops! Sorry. I wasn't sure... I can't ever remember who in the guild is a designer and who's not. There's usually a lot of artists in the guild so it gets confusing. sweatdrop

I actually learned to use the pen tool, but I've never enjoyed it. It's not fast and I avoid it when I can. With a tablet, the brush (I think?) tool will do the same thing I believe, it just paints lines according to your movements. That's wayyy faster for me and I can clean up the rough spots easy. But for layer styles, it depends. It can do certain things with layers. They're usually called "appearance" I believe.. I could be wrong though. But if you mean something like...uhh... a Level's adjustment layer for example, then I don't know. sad

If appearance sounds something like what you're looking for, I can check and see if I have it all right and how to mess with those things if you like? I would now, but I shut down that computer out of frustration of not getting anything done right today. razz Just not been a productive day.

No worries, to many others that would have been useful information and it was good of you to share it. :3

Yeah with Illustrator I'm pretty sure you're right, the brush does basically the same thing just quicker. Most times I prefer to use the pen too though because I have an unsteady hand, and in the long run it's actually less work for me to dink around with the pen too than it is to draw freehand and then fix everything up. razz
I'm super envious of those people who have that kind of control with their brush (be it digital or otherwise).

Appearance doesn't sound familiar. I may rifle through my old Illustrator and InDesign Bibles left over from school one of these days and look though. Might as well put them to use, right?  

[Garek Maxwell]

Zuri-kai

From what I understand, you can actually do all of the same things with Photoshop that you can with Corel, it's just a matter of building the right specifications into your brush (scatter, hardness, jitter, ect), but this is also something I've never really been able to pick up on. XP

I've only just started to figure out some of it. I don't know what all the settings are that pro's use, but I have my brushes almost always set to resize and change in opacity based on pen pressure.

A lot of artists use custom brushes, such as the fur brushes you can find on Deviant Art. I haven't worked with them much yet. A lot of the brushes can be made by yourself though. A large number of useful ones are just a bunch of noise dots in some arrangement and/or contrast.

Photoshop comes with a lot of default ones that work as well. Dry brushes and even under the default set there are a few I like to use. One way to play and mix things up is to use the dual brush function. That can really change how brushes behave.

Zuri-kai

Yeah with Illustrator I'm pretty sure you're right, the brush does basically the same thing just quicker. Most times I prefer to use the pen too though because I have an unsteady hand, and in the long run it's actually less work for me to dink around with the pen too than it is to draw freehand and then fix everything up. razz
I'm super envious of those people who have that kind of control with their brush (be it digital or otherwise).

You'd hate my process for doing vector sketches then. I do them in flash, of all programs, and I will sometimes edit the lines as if they were fills made with the pen tools. It's ...weird. But I love the flexibility and speed. razz

About the same on the envy thing. I'm sort of "almost there" on understanding how they do it, but my skills need a lot of work. So it's a little frustrating. x3

Zuri-kai

Appearance doesn't sound familiar. I may rifle through my old Illustrator and InDesign Bibles left over from school one of these days and look though. Might as well put them to use, right?

True! I found that it can be pulled up under the Window tab (at least in CS5). It allows you to change opacity, but also change the shape/layer to things like multiply, exclusion, etc. Effects cover other things, and I believe you can also texturize things too. It's not the same as adjustment layers on photoshop, but you can do a lot of other things with it.  

[Zuri-kai]

Garek Maxwell

I've only just started to figure out some of it. I don't know what all the settings are that pro's use, but I have my brushes almost always set to resize and change in opacity based on pen pressure.

A lot of artists use custom brushes, such as the fur brushes you can find on Deviant Art. I haven't worked with them much yet. A lot of the brushes can be made by yourself though. A large number of useful ones are just a bunch of noise dots in some arrangement and/or contrast.

Photoshop comes with a lot of default ones that work as well. Dry brushes and even under the default set there are a few I like to use. One way to play and mix things up is to use the dual brush function. That can really change how brushes behave.

I've made a few custom brushes by following a nice tutorial, and got some fantastic dot brushes from a friend of mine that I've been using for fur, but I'm not intuitive enough to think up the patterns and how they'll behave as brushes on my own. XP

I'm not familiar with the dual brush feature though. Where's that found?

Garek Maxwell

You'd hate my process for doing vector sketches then. I do them in flash, of all programs, and I will sometimes edit the lines as if they were fills made with the pen tools. It's ...weird. But I love the flexibility and speed. razz

About the same on the envy thing. I'm sort of "almost there" on understanding how they do it, but my skills need a lot of work. So it's a little frustrating. x3

Oh yuck. I tried doing drawing in flash a few times to get the neat dynamic look the brush gets in that program by my GOSH it was annoying. Lately I've been taking full advantage of the Live Trace feature in AI when I want to vectorize something I did in photoshop. It takes a bit of tweaking in the settings but if it's less work for me I'm happy. XD

I use to watch people like neondragon and sugarpoultry on livestream so I got to watch their technique, but it's one of those things I just don't have the skill or the tools to do yet. I'm using an off brand tablet that has connection issues at the worst times possible. XP

Garek Maxwell

True! I found that it can be pulled up under the Window tab (at least in CS5). It allows you to change opacity, but also change the shape/layer to things like multiply, exclusion, etc. Effects cover other things, and I believe you can also texturize things too. It's not the same as adjustment layers on photoshop, but you can do a lot of other things with it.

Interesting. I'll have to play around with that some time. That's for AI, right? Lately the layer styles in photoshop have been my best friends when scanning and cleaning pencil drawings for DA. Use the Multiply layer style, put an old paper texture behind the drawing and it can look pretty fantastical. :3  

[Garek Maxwell]

Whoops! I meant to reply much earlier today but I completely forgot. Sorry about that. ^^;

Zuri-kai

I've made a few custom brushes by following a nice tutorial, and got some fantastic dot brushes from a friend of mine that I've been using for fur, but I'm not intuitive enough to think up the patterns and how they'll behave as brushes on my own. XP

I'm not familiar with the dual brush feature though. Where's that found?

Well, from what I can tell it's just experimentation. There may not be a right way to do it.

The dual brush feature is... Well:
1. For photoshop 7 (and maybe higher?) there is a section in the upper right corner that looks like it may have a tab. It's called Brushes.
2. Click it, and under the options there should be Dual Brush as an option to check off.

I'm not entirely sure if it's hidden normally, but it is under the title Brush Presets if that makes any difference.

Zuri-kai

Oh yuck. I tried doing drawing in flash a few times to get the neat dynamic look the brush gets in that program by my GOSH it was annoying. Lately I've been taking full advantage of the Live Trace feature in AI when I want to vectorize something I did in photoshop. It takes a bit of tweaking in the settings but if it's less work for me I'm happy. XD

I use to watch people like neondragon and sugarpoultry on livestream so I got to watch their technique, but it's one of those things I just don't have the skill or the tools to do yet. I'm using an off brand tablet that has connection issues at the worst times possible. XP

Yeah, you'd probably hate how I do vector sketches. xp

Ahhh, I actually just watched someone do a live stream last night. It was pretty cool. They were using Sai, but I was really impressed with their control over lines and things. It was very precise. They're Pac on FA, if you're wondering.

Zuri-kai

Interesting. I'll have to play around with that some time. That's for AI, right? Lately the layer styles in photoshop have been my best friends when scanning and cleaning pencil drawings for DA. Use the Multiply layer style, put an old paper texture behind the drawing and it can look pretty fantastical. :3

Yeah, Illustrator. :3
And I completely understand. I once took a picture of a blank sheet of paper just so I could get the texture quality on my work. I just loved the look of it and the different layer styles helped a lot. 3nodding  

[Zuri-kai]

Garek Maxwell

Whoops! I meant to reply much earlier today but I completely forgot. Sorry about that. ^^;

Well, from what I can tell it's just experimentation. There may not be a right way to do it.

The dual brush feature is... Well:
1. For photoshop 7 (and maybe higher?) there is a section in the upper right corner that looks like it may have a tab. It's called Brushes.
2. Click it, and under the options there should be Dual Brush as an option to check off.

I'm not entirely sure if it's hidden normally, but it is under the title Brush Presets if that makes any difference.

Oh, I've seen that, but I didn't really notice a major difference when I checked it. razz

Garek Maxwell

Yeah, you'd probably hate how I do vector sketches. xp

Ahhh, I actually just watched someone do a live stream last night. It was pretty cool. They were using Sai, but I was really impressed with their control over lines and things. It was very precise. They're Pac on FA, if you're wondering.

Hey as long as the way you do it works for you. No one says I have to like it. ^^
Oh, I just looked at him and his line work looks really nice. O.o
I tried freehand lines in SAI but that was a total bust. It seems the only lines I can do freehand are sketcy ones. XP

Garek Maxwell

Yeah, Illustrator. :3
And I completely understand. I once took a picture of a blank sheet of paper just so I could get the texture quality on my work. I just loved the look of it and the different layer styles helped a lot. 3nodding

Indeed. I don't know what I'd do with my traditional work without textures and layer styles. :3
I'm really hoping InDesign has a similar feature though. Otherwise when I go to get my husbands rpg core rules book ready for pubishing I'll need to lay out the pages in PS first and then bring them into ID which would be a massive pain in the rear. xp  

[Garek Maxwell]

Zuri-kai

Oh, I've seen that, but I didn't really notice a major difference when I checked it. razz

Sometimes it's like that. It kinda depends on what brushes you mix together. You have two to work with at that point. 3nodding

Zuri-kai

Oh, I just looked at him and his line work looks really nice. O.o
I tried freehand lines in SAI but that was a total bust. It seems the only lines I can do freehand are sketcy ones. XP

Took me a while to find out, but Pac's a woman. smile
I would have found out sooner if I ever checked out their professional website. xd
I understand on the line thing. It sort of depends on what I'm doing, but often freehand sketches are when I put down lines. Just today, I worked mostly line-free in vectors since I already sketched out the character.

Zuri-kai

Indeed. I don't know what I'd do with my traditional work without textures and layer styles. :3
I'm really hoping InDesign has a similar feature though. Otherwise when I go to get my husbands rpg core rules book ready for pubishing I'll need to lay out the pages in PS first and then bring them into ID which would be a massive pain in the rear. xp

Ooooh, InDesign. I'm pretty sure it does not have that kind of feature. However, there are ways around this depending on what you want. Whichever you want from the following examples, make sure to get the image the way you want it first, then save it as a jpeg or something for importing.

Now, if you want the page background to have a textured quality to it, take a textured image of the same proportions and import it onto one of the master pages (I forgot what they're called, but they are always separated from other pages and can be applied to those pages). This will apply that texture to all pages that pull from that master (you can have multiples). You will also not be stuck with trying to select your text and instead getting the background.

Alternatively, you can import and place that image on a normal page, similar to how the master pages are. This is better if you only have one page with a texture or one page with a special texture. Not friendly to work with, but not so bad either.

That's my two suggestions based on what you told me. InDesign is really more of a page layout tool than a content developer. You probably already know all this, but I'm just suggesting stuff in case you didn't know much about indesign. In my school, I only used it once for one class and I never felt like I really harnessed it for it's full potential.  

[Zuri-kai]

Garek Maxwell

Sometimes it's like that. It kinda depends on what brushes you mix together. You have two to work with at that point. 3nodding

M'kay. I'm figure out I'm going to need to just experiment if I want to find stuff that works.
Makes me miss the days when there weren't a bajillion different tools with twenty dozen different options for each one. XP

Garek Maxwell

Took me a while to find out, but Pac's a woman. smile
I would have found out sooner if I ever checked out their professional website. xd
I understand on the line thing. It sort of depends on what I'm doing, but often freehand sketches are when I put down lines. Just today, I worked mostly line-free in vectors since I already sketched out the character.

Lies. Didn't you know everyone on the internet is a man? XD
Nah, that is a bit embarrassing. It's so hard to tell sometimes just by looking at their DA pages. XP
Oh, nice. That's usually how I operate when I plan on finishing something. I'll sketch, scan, then whip out the ever so wonderful pen tool and go to town. It's time consuming but I'm finding it's way better than me trying to draw the lines freehand. I can do it on paper, but on a computer there's not a hope in Hell for me. sweatdrop

Garek Maxwell

Ooooh, InDesign. I'm pretty sure it does not have that kind of feature. However, there are ways around this depending on what you want. Whichever you want from the following examples, make sure to get the image the way you want it first, then save it as a jpeg or something for importing.

Now, if you want the page background to have a textured quality to it, take a textured image of the same proportions and import it onto one of the master pages (I forgot what they're called, but they are always separated from other pages and can be applied to those pages). This will apply that texture to all pages that pull from that master (you can have multiples). You will also not be stuck with trying to select your text and instead getting the background.

Alternatively, you can import and place that image on a normal page, similar to how the master pages are. This is better if you only have one page with a texture or one page with a special texture. Not friendly to work with, but not so bad either.

That's my two suggestions based on what you told me. InDesign is really more of a page layout tool than a content developer. You probably already know all this, but I'm just suggesting stuff in case you didn't know much about indesign. In my school, I only used it once for one class and I never felt like I really harnessed it for it's full potential.

Yeah, I think master page was the correct term. I remember leaning about them in school but we didn't do many multi-page projects so I didn't get much practice in with them. I'm glad you at least know a bit about the program. Most people I mention InDesign to tilt their head and go "wha?" I didn't know that the background image on the master page would carry over to the others. That'll be really helpful.

I think I may have to find a way to make the white background on my image scans transparent then export them from photoshop. What want to replicate is the multiply layer style, so the white background of the image will disappear and the drawing will appear to have been drawn on the old paper texture I plan to use for the background. I have the CS3 ID Bible from school (2 versions behind my software but there can't be that big a different, right...) so maybe I'll get lucky and find something in there if I can't figure it out. razz  

[Garek Maxwell]

Zuri-kai

Makes me miss the days when there weren't a bajillion different tools with twenty dozen different options for each one. XP

I think they're still there, just slightly more tucked away. 3nodding

Zuri-kai

Lies. Didn't you know everyone on the internet is a man? XD
Nah, that is a bit embarrassing. It's so hard to tell sometimes just by looking at their DA pages. XP
Oh, nice. That's usually how I operate when I plan on finishing something. I'll sketch, scan, then whip out the ever so wonderful pen tool and go to town. It's time consuming but I'm finding it's way better than me trying to draw the lines freehand. I can do it on paper, but on a computer there's not a hope in Hell for me. sweatdrop

You're right! I forgot! It's even more true the furry fandom! Technically they should be named something like sexkitten894 though... razz
And it kinda is! Especially when you want to say how awesome they are and that you've been following their work, but then implying they're a male or female when they're not. x3

I can actually do it on a computer and on paper interchangeably. The only problem is that I cannot seem to duplicate something between the two without scanning it or something. I've tried multiple times, even redrawing characters and they just never seem to turn out the same. There is a difference in how the mediums work, but I would think it would be easy to translate things between each one. sad

Zuri-kai

Yeah, I think master page was the correct term. I remember leaning about them in school but we didn't do many multi-page projects so I didn't get much practice in with them. I'm glad you at least know a bit about the program. Most people I mention InDesign to tilt their head and go "wha?" I didn't know that the background image on the master page would carry over to the others. That'll be really helpful.

I think I may have to find a way to make the white background on my image scans transparent then export them from photoshop. What want to replicate is the multiply layer style, so the white background of the image will disappear and the drawing will appear to have been drawn on the old paper texture I plan to use for the background. I have the CS3 ID Bible from school (2 versions behind my software but there can't be that big a different, right...) so maybe I'll get lucky and find something in there if I can't figure it out. razz

I've only done one multi-page project, and in the end I think I ditched whatever the master pages could offer at the time.

I'm not too surprised a lot of people don't know about it. It's ...not a "big name" program like photoshop. Although, I do find it amusing that more people aren't aware that after effects is the photoshop of video. razz

But from the sounds of it, you could probably use channels to get a selection of your lights and darks, start a new layer, then have photoshop fill the selection. Providing they're black and white, you could then get a background-free set of lines you can save in PNG format.

...If it's in color, the channel option may still work, but instead of filling in black you'd fill in RGB or CMYK for multiple layers. It'd be time consuming, but if you just wanted to do it to multiple images you could also automate that.

...I spend way too much time in photoshop. I just love it though. I learned most of these tricks trying to do tutorials for unrelated things. Like, map making tutorials or globe generating ones or something like that. Always fun. :3  

[Zuri-kai]

Garek Maxwell

You're right! I forgot! It's even more true the furry fandom! Technically they should be named something like sexkitten894 though... razz
And it kinda is! Especially when you want to say how awesome they are and that you've been following their work, but then implying they're a male or female when they're not. x3

I can actually do it on a computer and on paper interchangeably. The only problem is that I cannot seem to duplicate something between the two without scanning it or something. I've tried multiple times, even redrawing characters and they just never seem to turn out the same. There is a difference in how the mediums work, but I would think it would be easy to translate things between each one. sad

Oh, yeah I've done that before. XP
I've learned my lesson now though and just stick to pronouns like "your" and "their".

Oh, I hear that. It's amazing how difficult it can be to recreate something from a traditional into a digital medium. I blame it on the fact that I can turn paper to get at just the right angle to make my strokes nice, but turning a digital canvas just doesn't accomplish the same effect, rather it makes me feel a little disoriented in the drawing. =/

Garek Maxwell

I've only done one multi-page project, and in the end I think I ditched whatever the master pages could offer at the time.

I'm not too surprised a lot of people don't know about it. It's ...not a "big name" program like photoshop. Although, I do find it amusing that more people aren't aware that after effects is the photoshop of video. razz

But from the sounds of it, you could probably use channels to get a selection of your lights and darks, start a new layer, then have photoshop fill the selection. Providing they're black and white, you could then get a background-free set of lines you can save in PNG format.

...If it's in color, the channel option may still work, but instead of filling in black you'd fill in RGB or CMYK for multiple layers. It'd be time consuming, but if you just wanted to do it to multiple images you could also automate that.

...I spend way too much time in photoshop. I just love it though. I learned most of these tricks trying to do tutorials for unrelated things. Like, map making tutorials or globe generating ones or something like that. Always fun. :3

Oh, After Effects is such a useful program. A major glutton and memory hog, but pretty much necessary for any decent video editing all the same. I'm actually a little pissed because CS5 After Effects and Premier are 64bit exclusive, so I wasn't able to install them on my computer. I understand they probably need a lot of memory to run but to do something like that is kind of a d**k move on Adobe's part. =/

Your knowledge of the program is really really impressive. A lot of the stuff you've mentioned I've practically never touched. Channels is one of those things I've never really understood, so I never messed with them. I'll have to try what you suggested though because if I can really isolate the linework from the white background the way you say then that'll make finishing things digitally soooo much easier. :3
I probably should start rummaging around with Photoshop's tools more. I've only lately started really utilizing layer styles and modes, and that's only because I found this really neat map tutorial that I've been using for my husband's rpg campaign maps. razz  

[Garek Maxwell]

Zuri-kai

Oh, I hear that. It's amazing how difficult it can be to recreate something from a traditional into a digital medium. I blame it on the fact that I can turn paper to get at just the right angle to make my strokes nice, but turning a digital canvas just doesn't accomplish the same effect, rather it makes me feel a little disoriented in the drawing. =/

It's partly that, but also I think it's the disconnect between action and result. When I draw on paper I can see the line right there. When I draw on a tablet, I can't see it and have to look up and away from what I'm doing. It's...Well, weird. I'm still not used to it at times. I can do it, it's just odd.

Zuri-kai

Oh, After Effects is such a useful program. A major glutton and memory hog, but pretty much necessary for any decent video editing all the same. I'm actually a little pissed because CS5 After Effects and Premier are 64bit exclusive, so I wasn't able to install them on my computer. I understand they probably need a lot of memory to run but to do something like that is kind of a d**k move on Adobe's part. =/

Definitely. sad
I think they thought they could get away with it since so few people use the program, but if it was as popular as photoshop it would have really cost Adobe. I think they know they'd never get away with this if photoshop was that way.

Zuri-kai

Your knowledge of the program is really really impressive. A lot of the stuff you've mentioned I've practically never touched. Channels is one of those things I've never really understood, so I never messed with them. I'll have to try what you suggested though because if I can really isolate the linework from the white background the way you say then that'll make finishing things digitally soooo much easier. :3

I probably should start rummaging around with Photoshop's tools more. I've only lately started really utilizing layer styles and modes, and that's only because I found this really neat map tutorial that I've been using for my husband's rpg campaign maps. razz

Ctrl + Left click for selecting the black/white on the channels I believe...for PCs anyway! It can work with line work though it's kinda faint. I'd use a level's adjustment layer to increase the contrast first so you get better results of course.

If you ever need to ask me about some things, feel free. I don't mind giving advice or help. I'm no expert but I know of sites that are useful for finding things. And speaking of maps, I don't know if I ever linked you to this website...
http://forum.cartographersguild.com/index.php
They have a lot of great information and there's tutorials on the forum too!
I haven't really used them to the fullest extent yet, but it seems like a great resource if you're doing maps. 3nodding  

[Zuri-kai]

Garek Maxwell

It's partly that, but also I think it's the disconnect between action and result. When I draw on paper I can see the line right there. When I draw on a tablet, I can't see it and have to look up and away from what I'm doing. It's...Well, weird. I'm still not used to it at times. I can do it, it's just odd.

Oh yeah, that's a big part too. I've been saving up for one of those nice Cintiq tablets that has a screen that you draw on, rather than just a pad. But they are reeeaally expensive. >.<

Garek Maxwell

Definitely. sad
I think they thought they could get away with it since so few people use the program, but if it was as popular as photoshop it would have really cost Adobe. I think they know they'd never get away with this if photoshop was that way.

That's true. Such a shame though. I was really looking forward to playing around with AE CS5. XP

Garek Maxwell

Ctrl + Left click for selecting the black/white on the channels I believe...for PCs anyway! It can work with line work though it's kinda faint. I'd use a level's adjustment layer to increase the contrast first so you get better results of course.

If you ever need to ask me about some things, feel free. I don't mind giving advice or help. I'm no expert but I know of sites that are useful for finding things. And speaking of maps, I don't know if I ever linked you to this website...
http://forum.cartographersguild.com/index.php
They have a lot of great information and there's tutorials on the forum too!
I haven't really used them to the fullest extent yet, but it seems like a great resource if you're doing maps. 3nodding

That's what I usually do, is play with the levels before I put any background layer behind it. Either my scanner or my sketching is a problem. My lines are always too faint. razz

I appreciate that. You're the only other person I've talked to who knows so much about photoshop. I have friends who claim to know the program but from talking to them they know even less than I do. XP

I have actually seen that site. It's where I got the tutorial for the map technique I used. But I didn't actually explore the rest of the stuff. There are some really neat looking tutorials there. :3  

[Garek Maxwell]

Zuri-kai

Oh yeah, that's a big part too. I've been saving up for one of those nice Cintiq tablets that has a screen that you draw on, rather than just a pad. But they are reeeaally expensive. >.<

Yeah, I bet. sad
I'm okay with just a regular tablet. I figure in another 10 or so years those draw on tablets will get cheaper since the DS is able to do that with some special methods or ...something. I don't know how people do it, I just know they do.

Zuri-kai

That's what I usually do, is play with the levels before I put any background layer behind it. Either my scanner or my sketching is a problem. My lines are always too faint. razz

They're not much better with a photograph, which is what I do usually because I'm too lazy! x3

Zuri-kai

I appreciate that. You're the only other person I've talked to who knows so much about photoshop. I have friends who claim to know the program but from talking to them they know even less than I do. XP

I have actually seen that site. It's where I got the tutorial for the map technique I used. But I didn't actually explore the rest of the stuff. There are some really neat looking tutorials there. :3

Hey, no problem. I learned the basics of photoshop just before highschool 'cause my brother got it back then. I had a long time to learn and get used to it. ...Everything else adobe was new when I got to college though. Well, except for flash but back when I got it was a Macromedia product. I just had a lot of time to learn these things.

Anyway, yeah, I really love that site. I hope to make some interesting maps of my own. I once had fun tweaking with one but never did a serious work on good fantasy map. I'd probably spend days looking for the perfect typeface anyway. xd