Sunday, March 3, 2024

Free Online Course for Beginner Artists - The Benefits of Thumbnail Sketching

 

The Benefits of Thumbnail Sketching - Free Online Course

Welcome Fellow Artists!

I am sharing a free course with those of you that are looking to improve their skills at drawing.  This course focuses on some of the fundamental drawing principles that beginners tend to overlook or realize too late.

This course will help you to simplify aspects of the work and stay creative as you sketch and search for ideas.  Just remember that the sketch is the life and energy of the artwork.  This course is meant to help you learn to take full advantage of that area of your work, not just rush past it!

You can share your work at any point of this course for myself and other students to see.  If I can offer any valuable insight into your drawing process, I will.

If you find value in this course let me know and consider signing up for future updates if you enjoy the content.

Thank you for considering my course and good luck with your art!

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

Get my FREE art course herehttps://ram-studios-comics-art-school.teachable.com/p/the-benefits-of-drawing-with-basic-forms-and-thumbnail-sketches

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Drawing Backgrounds in Clip Studio Paint - Freehand Method Over a Perspective Grid


Drawing Backgrounds in Clip Studio Paint - Freehand Method Over a Perspective Grid

Hello Fellow Artists!

I just wanted to share another video with you that I created.  In this one I show my process for starting with a very loose sketch and cleaning up the work with minimal use of the perspective guides.

Don’t get me wrong, I still use the perspective tools here and there as well as the straight line tool but by drawing as much freehand as possible we tend to get a more interesting and organic look.

I picked this concept up from the amazing talented David Finch.  He does his version with pencil and paper but then I started to emulate it with digital methods.  Clip Studio is my weapon of choice today but I also like to use Procreate as well.

So here is the breakdown of the drawing process -

1. Draw a rough sketch.  It’s good to have a concept first but some people like to drawn the perspective guides first. Try both ways to see what fits for you.

2. Drawn a perspective grid through the design on a new layer using the perspective ruler.  I personally like to add more lines where I need them and less where I don’t.  Another cool technique you can try here is making the lines different colors for each direction.  This is insanely easy in Clip Studio since you have layers to work with.

3. Now you can start inking and cleaning up the work.  I like to tighten up the work as I go rather than redraw it all again.  This takes practice but it can be a bit faster and help us to avoid over thinking all the details.  I’m a chronic over thinker.  Plus, since we are working digitally there are lots of ways to correct things as we go.  

4. Try drawing just a couple of thin lines in perspective but then draw over them and through them as you render your scene.  Too many straight lines can make everything look too clean.  This is a style choice but for this example I want a building that looks older and more weathered. 

I also feel like this approach lends to creative thinking since you are making decisions on the go and using the rough sketch as a blueprint.  Rough concepts are where the ideas and energy come from.  We tend to lose some of that as we over refine the work.

5. Just continue to clean things up but also keep adding imperfections along the way.  It really helps to tie it all together. I like to use black and white and flip between them by hitting “X” on the keyboard.  It’s like having unlimited whiteout as I ink.  You can always change the layer mode to “Multiply” later to color beneath it all.

You can watch the video here and see it all in real time with me blabbing on about my process of course! ;)


If you have any questions or requests for new video tutorials you can reach me through my website at https://www.ramstudioscomics.com on my contact page.

I also have some perspective tutorials on my main website like this one - Perspective Drawing Techniques - How to Mirror and Map Distance

More videos are on the way and thank you for viewing.  I am working on a cleaner line art version to show the comparison.  I know styles vary greatly and I enjoy experimenting anyways.  So more on the one soon.

I hope you found some value here!

-Robert


Friday, February 17, 2023

Digital Brushes and Stamps on Etsy | Pose Packs

 Hello Everyone!

I have been working hard on my Etsy store and I wanted to share some of those listings here with you today.  I have been focusing on various Pose Packs that can help with reference and drawing things that you may find difficult at the moment.

You can get these brushes and pose packs for Procreate and Clip Studio Paint.  If there is something you want specifically please reach out to me.  As I am creating new sets I will take your request and work on that.  It helps me to know what people out there need and want.

You can contact me through my website at - https://www.ramstudioscomics.com

Here are a couple of my items and a link to my store -

Procreate Pose Pack | 25 Stamps | Superhero Figures

Procreate Post Pack | 25 Stamps | Superhero Figures

These are all high quality stamps that were originally created at 2000-3000px documents.  So that you can scale them up very large without losing quality.

They are also helpful when trying to understand anatomy of the male and female figures.




Procreate Eye Stamps | Male and Female | 15 Brushes

Theses brushes are very helpful for expressions and tough angles of the eyes.

They are also stylized and perfect for comic art reference.  I am already using them myself!





Clip Studio Paint - Manga Studio 5 - Digital Painting Brush Pack

This set is packed full of cool effects and time saving brushes.  Everything from chain mail to reptile scales and they are highly detailed.

Make sure to flip through the listing photos to see what I mean.  Lots of fun brushes in this set!






At that time of this post I have 14 listings.  You can check them all out here on my store - 

https://ramstudioscomics.etsy.com

I am working on more digital products right now.  Some ones to be on the lookout for are backgrounds elements, anatomy references, and more pose packs.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my post and be sure to head over to my Youtube channel for video tutorials and my website for written tutorials.  I create new ones all the time!

Have a great day and good luck with your art!

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

https://www.ramstudioscomics.com

https://www.youtube.com/c/robertmarzullo