brigsis

Oops! Its not my profile pic now!

five

To get accurate movement in animation, you have to vary the length of the jumps (squash and spread out) as even spacing ends up stilted. It's hard on TD, though, because you are stuck with "frames" that you can't just repeat, since you have to lay a piece down each time. To slow the animation down, you have to make the picture last as is longer than one "frame" by putting the exact last piece over that piece, at least 3 to 5 times in a row to make any kind of difference. You can speed it up by separating the next piece you lay down further from the last piece you laid down so the "jump" from one to the other is quicker. You can also distract the eye by adding a second moving element.

Qsilv

Just a small additional note-- rather than trying to position the same piece in exactly the same spot several times, it's sometimes easier to insert the number of pieces needed for slowing things down by placing arbitrary ones *outside* the picture frame with just one or two pixels showing along an edge or corner of the picture to make it "stick".

inked_gemini

Saba left a comment on my Spiderman picture asking for my opinion on how she could improve. I figured this was a better place that any for that discussion.

Let me start by saying that all I can do is explain what techniques I use to draw. There is no right or wrong way to create art. There is only what works for you. Saba you are a wonderful artist. That much is evident in so many of your pictures. Your bottle tree is terrific, and you have taught me a thing or two about reflections with that picture.

That said, in regards to your Garfield…you have already tackled the most important step. If I am drawing a picture that involves a lot of layering, I almost always have to work in one direction. Either from bottom to top, from left to right, or from the inside out. I watched the playback of your Garfield and you drew him from the feet up. Doing it this way helps me to keep the front pieces in the front and the back pieces in the back. Too many times have I tried to draw from two different starting points and ended up with a background piece stuck on top.

To get clean lines, I always just use very, very, very, close layering. You can make a straight line with any of the pieces on this site as long as you place them close enough together. That’s the only trick there is to that.

Fine details in a picture = Using the smallest sized pieces

However, I have noticed that once I hit the submit button, my pictures tend to get smoother. For example, with Spiderman I chose to use the red petals for his costume because when I lay them on top of each other, you can see that they have a fine black outline around the outside. I thought that would be perfect to use for the spider web detailing in his costume. But after I submitted it, I think I lost a lot of the contrast. Click on it and then watch the playback. You’ll see the difference. So sometimes it’s just better to forgo the really fine details.

First and foremost, though, take your time. It seems like madness spending hours carefully and strategically placing dog belly after dog belly, flower petal after flower petal, jelly bean after jelly bean. All of my pictures reflect the time and effort I put into them. If you look closely enough, you can see where my impatience turned into sloppiness.

There is a methodology to this. For me it’s more challenging than picking up a pencil and sketching a picture. With Think Draw you have to look at each individual piece like it is a piece to a puzzle. Look at the color. Pay attention to the shape. And find a way to put the pieces together to create the “bigger picture.”

Saba, I hope this information helps you.

matthew

So very well explained Inked... The desire to see the picture finished has killed many of my efforts... Patience... that is one HUGE key to success here on Think Draw...

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That's so true fro me as well, matthew. I work for two or three hours on a serious picture and when I see it beginning to 'look right' I start to hurry it along ... I get tired and submit it before I should. If only I could leave it and come back in the morning to check, but no ... too impatient.

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By the way, you are all very generous with your tips ... thanks to you all.

saba

thank you very much for your help dear inked gemini ! I will try to use your tips and well...I dont have much patience and thats really a problem! thank you again and that was very kind of you!

eyelegalalien

this is so cool, do you people run this sight?

matthew

No we do not run it... Rachel is the think Draw queen... We are just players in her game... But we will answer any questions for you as best we can...

Welcome to Think Draw...

eyelegalalien

thank you.
I made one quick picture and figured out the profile thing.
This isn't so diferent from a social network, how things work anyway.
animation seems to be how you order the pieces you use. sounds tricky but ill play with it

eyelegalalien

these forums are set up different though
most have the recent comments first then you work back.

matthew

Click on the "GO" link instead of the thread title & it will take you to the most recent post...

a4e4ka

Thanks again Matthew, I think I am doing better with the sky now, you really helped. Now I will try to improve my waters: seas, lakes, rivers.
Unfortunately I do not have patience, always on the run. Maybe that's why "Animals" is my last choice palette.
WIth your lessons here we got many improvements here, don't you agree. Thanks again - for all of us

matthew

No kidding a4e4ka... your pics are looking great...

polenta

ae4, I want to point out that your series of black and white pics shows a technique that is excellent with few pieces on the screen and using almost only one or two different pieces. A superb example of it is "The Violinist". I find the pics have great movement and are so simple!!! SIMPLICITY IS SO DESIRABLE!!!! I tried to use this technique but couldn't get out anything that good. How do you do it? Here are some examples:

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=48580

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=47483

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=47481

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=37093

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=37716

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=41058

a4e4ka

I don't know Polenta. Simplicity comes from the lack of skills...I do not have patience and any experience in drawing. For me it is like a puzzle, where I just need to put given pieces together. Certainly FACES & AVATARS are the easiest ones. I wish I can do better with colors but it's a long way to go. So far my "THINK" part is way ahead my "Draw" part. LOL. I am a slow learner and thank to all the artist here I've learned a lot in 3 month and hope to be able to learn much much more

polenta

I think simplicity is a NUMBER ONE quality. I remember having seen a picture of a profile of a very well-know person. The profile began by forehead and ended by the curved part of the chin. If you took the two ends (forehead and chin) in your fingers and stretched it , you got A ROPE.
This is simplicity in itself, only a rope. The talent was in the ARTIST who could take a rope and without cutting it or making knots or anything could make a profile that recognizable. I think you should learn all the new drawing "tricks" you want, all the landscapes, the colors, etc but admit the simplicity of the abovementioned technique in your pics is simple TALENT.

a4e4ka

You are very kind Polenta.
Someone said that talent is 99% of hard work and only 1% is a gift from heaven. I think that's very true and can be applied to any human activity: art, music, science, etc.

polenta

Someone also said:

99% perspiration
1% inspiration.

LOL