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Question for the Artists here

Custom_Grafx

Custom_Grafx

New Member
I have a question which I'm hoping some of the artists here might be able to help me with.

This is more of a personal interest of mine, however I can quite easily apply it to the work I do also.

I am after finding either a good textbook or even a website which showcases the works of a well known artist who makes use of the style, so I can sit down in my free time and practise with a pencil on paper, and then gradually learn how to do it on Illustrator using custom brushes and the such.

The style I am keen to practice and learn, is the black and white style usually found in old etchings/prints. I don't even know what it is called, so even that's kind of embarrassing. I really do appreciate it though, and although I realise it is a very difficult style to master, it is something I would enjoy trying over and over - even if it takes me a decade to get anywhere.

Whenever I see it, I am fascinated by it, and always think to myself that it would be quite an achievement to draw like that, not only by hand, but on the computer as well, especially with vectors.

Any direction to artists names who specialised in this style, or any good textbooks out there on the subject would be highly appreciated.

I have attached an example of the style I am referring to which I found on this website http://www.bearskinrug.co.uk/_articles/2005/05/23/blackwhite2/

Thanks in advance.
 

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mikey-Oh

mikey-Oh

New Member
Those look to be etchings...
My suggestion for all artist is to get into a life drawing class. Least every other year, but preferably every six months.
To recreate that style get into a printmaking class, intaglio, lithography, woodcut..... any of those would help.

I find great inspiration from this thread from another forum. It's packed full of phenomenal pen and ink artist
 
Custom_Grafx

Custom_Grafx

New Member
mikey-Oh said:
Those look to be etchings...
My suggestion for all artist is to get into a life drawing class. Least every other year, but preferably every six months.
To recreate that style get into a printmaking class, intaglio, lithography, woodcut..... any of those would help.

I find great inspiration from this thread from another forum. It's packed full of phenomenal pen and ink artist
Click to expand...

Hey thanks a million Mikey - really appreciate it. I have a client who runs an art association/school who I do engraving for. Could be time to reciprocate :)
 
G

GypsyGraphics

New Member
Custom_Grafx said:
The style I am keen to practice and learn, is the black and white style usually found in old etchings/prints. I don't even know what it is called, so even that's kind of embarrassing. I really do appreciate it though, and although I realise it is a very difficult style to master, it is something I would enjoy trying over and over - even if it takes me a decade to get anywhere.
Click to expand...


i believe it's called "Stipple"... much like the portraits in the Wall Street Journal or presidential portraits on bills.
i did some old style portraits from photos, using that affect, a few years ago.

i'll look for them and see if i can find the tutorial i used. i searched and search and only found one that even came close to a real Stipple style.

to do a true illustration, look into Wall Street Journal Stipple Portraits. but if anyone is interested in trying their hand at creating a mock version using PSD, i'll hunt down the tutorial.

EDIT: the here's the before and after... i'd forgotten that the image was very small and needed less detail for the affect to be visible.

Stipple_before-after.jpg
 
Last edited:
Custom_Grafx

Custom_Grafx

New Member
Thanks Gypsy,

Yes, it's not as easy as I thought to dig up info on it. As a kid, I remember my dad used to do up things like are on Mikey's website suggestion on napkins as we would wait for a meal to arrive at a restaurant or something, using a ballpoint in his shirt pocket.

He started his hand engraving apprenticeship when he was around 15 I think so that probably helped... lol

There was a guy in Sydney on the street with a paper artwork on the footpath spanning maybe around 2 metres by a couple of feet - like a long scroll. He had put all the empty ball pens he had used next to it (around 15 or 20 of them). It was really amazing to see him in action.

Initially though, I would just really like to be able to turn an abstract idea into an artwork using this technique, then go onto more still life/nature with it. I have done a couple of samples in the past on my laser engraver and the results are stunning. It's the artwork side of things which are difficult - which is what I like about it. You can't really just push a button in photoshop and make it happen (well not as good anyway)... then again, I will probably be proven wrong and someone will post a link to some fancy plug in lol.
 
SignManiac

SignManiac

New Member
Absolutely. Any style of traditional art can be produced using digital methods. If you want some inspiration, google Corel Painter 12 gallery and look at the work and styles of many digital artists. You will be impressed.
 
Custom_Grafx

Custom_Grafx

New Member
SignManiac said:
Absolutely. Any style of traditional art can be produced using digital methods. If you want some inspiration, google Corel Painter 12 gallery and look at the work and styles of many digital artists. You will be impressed.
Click to expand...

Wow, I just did, very inspiring stuff! Thank you!
 
G

GypsyGraphics

New Member
Custom_Grafx said:
You can't really just push a button in photoshop and make it happen (well not as good anyway)... then again, I will probably be proven wrong and someone will post a link to some fancy plug in lol.
Click to expand...

it definitely WAS NOT just a push of a button or merely applying a filter, effect or the use of a plug-in... it was a process with numerous variables and results. getting the original image to just the right amount of detail and contrast was the first step but the length and curvature of the lines right was the key to getting the desired effect.
 
OldPaint

OldPaint

New Member
your example is of 2 different styles. the 1st as some are calling it stippling, is usually created when the artist did a woodcarving, linoleum type and made prints on paper with that type of grainy pattern. old world artists such as DEGAS-ESCHER did a lot of this. the more they printed off the original the grainer it got. this was also down and dirty photo reproduction for newspapers, pamphlets. black ink and used dot pattern to make gray scale outa black ink on white paper. the 2nd drawing you have is more closly related to old world Renaissance Line art.....italian artists Michelangelo/devinci did a lot of there prelim sketches in this form. and it probably can be done on a computer, but would a lot easier to do with pen and pad........and the talent to do that.
 
Custom_Grafx

Custom_Grafx

New Member
Pat, you're a legend.

Just played around with the trial - it's just the effect I was after.

Although I'll use this to see the results with some sample images on the laser, I think I might also use it to generate images that I will then aim to trace and copy by hand to learn the technique.

A great tool - thanks again.

Also, the artist you link to is very impressive and inspiring.
 
SignManiac

SignManiac

New Member
Now that I'm on my desktop, here's a direct gallery link to some Painter works using Corel Painter X. They are up to version 12 now which is a bit salty. I just bought ver. 11 for $78 online and trying to get the hang of it with my Wacom tablet. Draw, paint, portraits, you can do anything if you have a little artistic ability. I like that you can create and not have to clean out all your brushes afterwards :)

http://apps.corel.com/painterx/us/gallery_artwork.html
 
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