Preface

Why strive to be an artist? There are certainly easier ways to make a living, and there are definitely better-paying vocations. Combine those two points with the fact that most artists are not at all satisfied with the end results of their efforts and the question almost becomes absurd. Why on earth would anyone want to do this? Why does someone continue with an activity or profession when a sense of failure or disappointment with the final product is so common? If you were an air traffic controller or surgeon and failed to reach your goal at the end of each landing or surgery, I doubt you could continue in that profession. Why, then, do we keep trying to do this? I really think that there is only one reason that we persevere in our efforts: we love the feeling that the process of creating art instills within us. It is the travel and not the destination that we love. Professional artists or not, we feel the same inner reward when we are in the process of creating art, and this alone is reason enough to continue to struggle and call ourselves artists.

I myself am an artist through and through. I just cannot seem to control myself . Give me a crayon at a restaurant and I will draw on the tablecloth. I carry a sketch book with me always. My hands permanently smell like turpentine. For as long as I can remember, this need to draw and paint has been part of my existence. As for a label, you may call me a professional artist in as much as creating art is how I support my family and lifestyle. Up until 1995, I was only a 'traditional' artist. I painted in oil and sold the paintings through a very traditional art gallery. Never had I seriously considered the possibility of doing art on a computer, and yet I remember vividly in the late '70s going into an art supply store and seeing a massive machine in the corner. It was a computer, and the darn thing could make pictures. As I look back, the pictures were not very sophisticated, being mostly primitive shapes filled with colors or gradients, and the output was on PolaroidTM film. Nevertheless, it did not matter that the machine was as big as a small car or that it cost as much as a small house. I was hooked on digital art. The possibilities seemed endless.

Here it is a new millennium . Computers are small enough to be easily carried when you are traveling, imaging programs have now reached a level where virtually anything is possible, and movies, games , the Internet, television, and even the printed media are relying more and more on digital imagery to communicate ideas. It is now economically possible for artists of all experience levels to create digital content, and as an audience we are becoming more sophisticated in our demands on the quality of images we see. The future of art is here whether you like it or not.

So what does all this philosophy have to do with a book on character design and digital art? Plenty, I hope. What you have in your hand is my attempt to merge two distinct yet intimately interrelated subjects: character design and digital painting.

Character design is all about ideas and how to put those ideas together. Any time that you need to design a character, your mind starts spinning and the cogs start turning. You come up with ideas that will fulfill the client's vision but that are also merged with your thoughts and ideas. Possibly you are lucky and you only have to come up with ideas for yourself. Your ideas may be very concrete or amorphous. It really does not matter who you are designing for; the design process is all about ideas.

On the other hand, the digital painting process is about the combination of method, techniques, and artistic theory. It is all about how to do a 'thing' and that thing is how to make something that is ultimately viewed in two dimensions imitate three dimensions. The subject is not only about the theory of how to make images in two dimensions but often how to create a specific effect in a specific application.

This book is about merging these two distinct subjects. Though different, neither of these subjects-character design and digital painting-can stand on its own. A great design is nothing if you can't communicate that idea to the audience; conversely, the most beautifully rendered image is nothing without a good idea.

This is the crux and solution to the problem at hand. Why not have a book that deals with both subjects? The first section could explain how to come up with great ideas, and the second could explain how to visualize those ideas so that others could appreciate their beauty. So here is that attempt at merging two very creative and different disciplines that nevertheless require each other to be successful.

The book is in three parts . Part I deals with character design and coming up with the ideas that are worth visualizing. Part II is a brief review of some traditional artistic principles that will improve your art skills when you incorporate them into digital painting. Part III shows you how to solve some of the visual problems that will always be present when you are painting digital art and specifically figurative character art.

There is only one reason for this book and that is to help you merge the differing disciplines of character design, the ever-expanding digital universe, and good old-fashioned artistic skill and creativity. This book has been written so that anyone from the seasoned professional to the aspiring artist will find something of use. Professionals will possibly find ideas for ways of doing things that had never occurred to them before. Aspiring artists will find valuable information on very basic artistic principles and specific techniques for designing a character. If you are neither a professional nor an aspiring artist, we hope that there is some art you will find intriguing to look at.

I found it rather difficult to write a book about the technique of digital art and how it merges with traditional principles because there is no definitive right or wrong way to create art. Almost everything that you find here is a result of my study and experience as a professional artist since the early '80s. The artistic ideas presented for the most part are not new but rather are as old as art itself. I have found that while we have been taught the same basic principles, sometimes the implementation of that knowledge is less well taught.

This book is similar and yet very different from the previous edition. While the first two sections of the book dealing with strategies, techniques, and fundamental artistic principles as applied to digital art have changed very little, the third part is completely new in both subject matter and technique.

1. Part I looks at strategies to help you come up with your initial ideas.

2. Part II discusses some fundamental artistic principles that are often overlooked in this digital world and how to incorporate them into your efforts.

3. Part III looks at some basic tutorials on painting on the computer. These are followed by in-depth tutorials on how to create more sophisticated paintings.

When all is said and done, I hope you will feel inspired by what you see and that this book will help you as you struggle to create and realize your own visions .