Introduction to Digital Painting in Photoshop - Beginner's Guide

Introduction to Digital Painting in Photoshop - Beginner's Guide

Hello Artists!

I have just released a new course, “Introduction to Digital Painting in Photoshop!”  Very excited to be bringing you this course and I hope you learn a ton of great techniques to add to your skill set.  Currently, this course sits at 33 Lectures and a Runtime of 3hrs 55 Minutes.  ( You also get the Art Files + over 50 Custom Brushes to work with. )

In this course, you will learn all the basic tools I use to create digital art in Photoshop for my clients.  This course is designed to get you up and running with digital art in Photoshop quickly and effectively. 

Get this Course here on Gumroad - https://gumroad.com/l/MVouph/ramblogger101

( Lifetime access ) 

After covering all the basic tools and shortcut commands we jump into a scene creation.  You will learn to illustrate this Space Scene from scratch.  You will learn how to create this scene with a very simple approach.  This way you can focus on being able to paint without learning all the complexities that Photoshop has to offer.  This course is designed for the beginner to the intermediate digital artist in mind!

As with any of my courses, if you feel this content needs an additional lecture or two I am happy to help.  Just message me and I will improve the course as soon as possible.  Also, feel free to leave your honest review of this course so others will know what to expect!

Thank you for everything you do and more lessons are on the way very soon!

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

http://www.ramstudioscomics.com

How to Draw Superheroes - Female Proportions and Suit Designs

How to Draw Superheroes - Female Proportions and Suit Designs

I just created a new Skillshare class to add to my next course on, "How to Draw Superheroes - Start to Finish!"  This will be just another part to the course that will be packed full of great information!

In this particular lesson we will cover basic proportions of the superhero female form. You will learn how I draw a turnaround of a character, then how to apply anatomy and a suit design. Breaking down the process can make it much easier to accomplish.

This can seem like a basic lesson but I assure it is a very important one to practice. Turning the character around on the page gives you a great sense on how they look from these basic angles. Then drawing them in more dynamic poses is easier to envision. Don't worry, we will get into all that advanced stuff later, I promise!

Get them on Skillshare!

If you want to give this class a look here is the link - https://skl.sh/2K8mb2w

You can also get my class on the male proportions version here -  https://skl.sh/2HCOOY2

Do you prefer Gumroad?

If you want to just buy this course you can get it on my Gumroad page here. Just please keep in mind that you pay for the full course now and get the lessons as they are completed. I will be adding new lessons each week until the course is completed. 

Get it here - https://gum.co/zgpix

By the end of this course we will cover all the various techniques I use to create comic book heroes. Things like proportions + distortions of the body, dynamic anatomy, suit designs, powers, rendering/crosshatching, shapes of shadows, action poses, foreshortening, and by the end of it we will complete a full scene creation to put all that knowledge to the test.

I hope you will join me for these lessons and I am here if you have any questions. As always keep drawing and keep having fun! :)

Robert A. Marzullo   

Ram Studios Comics

http://www.ramstudioscomics.com

How to Draw Comic Stye Hair for Male Characters - Video Tutorials

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Next lessons on How to Draw Comic Style Hair for Male Characters are LIVE!!!

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Welcome back everyone! 

In this class you will learn how to draw these 3 hair styles. We will cover basic form and rendering techniques that will apply to not just these but lots of other various hair styles as well. This should give you a basic understanding of how to design your own favorite hair style for your cool characters!

You will start with a male face that I have created for you. This allows you to simply focus on the hair drawing and not worrying too much about the characters face. Try creating lots of variations over the same pose. See how much you can change the characters look with a new hair style! Have fun with it! :)

You can get these lessons either on my Gumroad ( Which gives you lifetime access to the content. ) Or on my Skillshare which is a monthly membership site.

Here are the links and good luck with your art!

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Gumroad - https://gum.co/KsSja

Skillshare - http://skl.sh/2Bu5spR

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Sign up to my Newsletter for more updates and FREE content -- http://www.ramstudioscomics.com

Thanks for your support! ;)

Sincerely,

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

How to Improve Your Creature Design Drawing - Step by Step - Now on Skillshare

Creature Design Course on Skillshare

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How to Improve Your Creature Design Drawing - Step by Step

In this class you will learn how to draw a variety of creature concepts. I will walk you through all the techniques that I use to draw imaginative creatures every day. This class is good for traditional and digital artists.

You will learn how to draw various studies to improve your knowledge and gain inspiration. We will cover break downs of specific areas in the creature anatomy to better understand how their bodies work.

You will learn to draw and study the spine since it is the foundation of almost any creature you will draw. I will walk you through creating lots of different concepts in this class. 

Here is a break down of the Lessons that are currently available -

L1 - The Spine Says it All - In this lesson you will learn why studying the spine is so important and follow along with me as I illustrate a few examples.(Run Time - 13:09)

L2 - Thumbnailing the Concepts - In this lesson we will thumbnail 11 different concepts. This is an integral part of the design process. By keeping the ideas loose and the sketches quick ( 5-6 Minutes ) you can express a lot of concepts to work from.  (Run Time - 8:54)                                                                           

L3 - The Brain Box - In this lesson you will learn how to draw various heads for our creatures. We will talk about some of the differences that define predators and prey. (Run Time - 9:19)

L4 - Creating Variations in Your Concepts - In this lesson we will draw 6 creature designs but focus on making each one very different from the previous example. This can be a great way to stretch the imagination.     (Run Time - 12:00)

L5 - Animal Leg Studies - It is important to study various parts of animal anatomy to gain perspective on your creature designs. Here we will draw 3 examples from animals and adjust them slightly to look more imaginative.  (Run Time - 7:57)

L6 - Merging Concepts Together - In this lesson you will work with me as I draw 6 different creature limbs. Each will have at least 2 various traits mixed together to create the design.  (Run Time - 11:04)

L7 - Adjusting Proportions - In this lesson you will learn how to create a creature concept and then adjust the proportions to make a very different version of that same creature. This can be another very useful exercise in developing a unique creature design.  (Run Time - 11:03)

L8 - Project Ogre Thumbnails - In this lesson you will learn how to work from a script like a real pro does. This is a fun and important exercise to do so let's get to it. We will start by drawing out our thumbnails to this concept.  (Run Time - 17:02)

L9 - Cleaning up the Concept - In this lesson we will draw one more thumbnail and make our decision on what to keep and what to pitch. We will then start to clean up our sketch.   (Run Time - 17:08)

L10 - Refining the Drawing - Now the heavy lifting has been done and we will start to refine the line work and make it pretty for the client or our portfolio...or both!  (Run Time - 18:50)

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To get started with this class just visit this link - http://skl.sh/2xbxSiD

More lessons are on the way and I am here if you have any questions or feedback for me. You also get access to all of these art files to study from.

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

www.ramstudioscomics.com

My Next Lesson on Digital Painting in Manga Studio 5 - Character Design!

Digital Painting in Manga Studio 5 - Character Design

I am currently working on my next lesson for drawing and painting in Manga Studio 5 / Clip Studio Paint.  This fantasy art piece will be what I demonstrate from start to finish while explaining the tools I use within Manga Studio 5.

In these lessons you will learn how I draw out a concept like this one and continue to make changes until I am satisfied. Then we will move to applying the paint effects. You will learn how I use layers and groups, combine modes, custom brushes, quick masks, mesh transformation, and pretty much everything it takes to bring this artwork to completion. You will even learn some cool post processing techniques that I use to get my artwork ready for the old portfolio!

You will also get some cool custom brushes to work along with as well as a copy of the art file.

I will keep everyone posted on the release of this next lesson so be sure to follow me on my Gumroad here -

http://www.gumroad.com/robertmarzullo

Thanks for your support and good luck with your art! ;)

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

http://www.ramstudioscomics.com

Digital Painting in Photoshop - Create Amazing Concept Art - Course Offer

NEW! Digital Painting in Photoshop - 

Create Amazing Concept Art (Course)

Dear Students!

Would you like to improve your digital paintings using the powerful features within Adobe Photoshop? Do you want to create amazing character designs? Then this is the course for you!

In this 6.8 hour course you will learn how to use Adobe Photoshop CC to better create your digital art. This course has 27 lessons that move you through the entire process of creating a fully rendered character concept.

In the first section you will learn the tools  that I use and how I use them. You will learn about the layers and groups, the selections tools, dodge and burn, custom brushes and settings, blending modes, adjustment layers, layer styles, quick mask, and much more.

You will then move through the illustrative process with me from the rough sketch to the digital painting. We will start with a pre-drawn pose that I have supplied and we work out the concept from there.  You will learn how to rough sketch your ideas without jumping in too fast with refinements.

This course can be completed with any drawing tablet. I am using a Wacom Intuos 4 to create this art and although I will be mentioning things about that device you can use any tablet with pressure sensitivity. Mainly so the brushes will react in the way that I explain them.

I have designed this course to be a basic approach for beginner and intermediate digital painters to learn from. I created in the way that I would want to learn. This will not teach you everything about Photoshop but it will give you a firm understanding of how I use it to create my digital paintings every day.

Bonus Content - With this course you get all the art files, textures,  and my full Photoshop custom brush set ( 50 Pack ) to work along with. 

I am here if you have any questions and I would value your feedback so that I can continue to create better products for everyone. Please leave your honest review so others know what you gained from this course. Thank you for your support. Good luck with your studies!

Get Lifetime access to this course for a Discounted Rate of $12 -  

https://gum.co/remqf/ramcomicsblogoffer101

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

www.ramstudioscomics.com

How to Improve Your Figure Drawing Course -- Update

-- How to Improve Your Figure Drawing Course Update --

Quick update on my Figure Drawing course on Udemy!

If you have taken the course ( or possibly thinking about it ) you might be happy to know that I added 3 NEW lectures to the course. Adding another full hour of video content. These new lessons are on drawing and shading muscular arms. These are a little more geared for comic artists but I still feel it can be a great exercise for most art styles.

I will also be adding a few more lectures on drawing female arm poses since I had a student mention it would help to make the course more well rounded. I am always happy to get feedback to make these products better for everyone.

Like all my other content you get the art files to work along with. If you have any questions about the course content I am always here to help!

Here is the link with the discounted price to the course and good luck with your art! 

Get the course here - 

https://www.udemy.com/how-to-improve-your-figure-drawing-step-by-step/?couponCode=RAMSTUDIOSCOMICS101

Bonus Lectures will cover these illustrations from start to finish.

My next course is on the way and it is How to Improve Your Figure Drawing 2 - Characters in Action! It will be pack full of great content so hope to have you back for that one as well.

Thank you and I am here if you have any questions about the course! 

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

www.ramstudioscomics.com

Figure Drawing Foundations - Proportions

Figure Drawing Foundations - Proportions by Clayton Barton

Hello fellow comic art guys and gals. I have a pretty cool offer for you if you find yourself wanting to get better at drawing comic book hero proportions. We have all struggled in that department a time or two and it never hurts to work on that subject as much as possible. So here is just the thing to get those mental gears working on that topic.

Figure Drawing Foundations - Proportions by Clayton Barton. Clayton has done a stand up job at breaking down the barriers when it comes to understanding proportions. He goes into great detail on this subject and sheds light on this tricky topic. He also gives you a nice variety of tiers to choose from. Since one size doesn't fit all, you can choose from a few packages to suit your level of interest for this topic.

In the various packages you get video walkthroughs, PDF's, access to a virtual classroom, and lots of finely crafted lessons. I have been drawing a long time and I must admit that I am finding some great tips and tricks in here that I needed to learn. He has done an excellent job at covering all the bases to understanding body proportions and character designs. He breaks it down in an easy to follow manner which is so valuable when doing these types of studies.

So if you need that level up on your character work this is the course content to check out. And please share the work. Clayton is an amazing teacher and to keep him creating great content sharing the work is essential!

You can get his content here and good luck with your art!

click here - https://gumroad.com/a/941962355 

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

www.ramstudioscomics.com

Art Year in Review 2016 by Ram Studios Comics

Well another year in the books and it went by all too fast. Now it is time to reflect and make some well needed improvements to my art. I am decently happy with some of my creations of this year but I have also found some real chinks in my armor. I don't want to sound negative but I feel it is an integral part of growing one's art abilities to find our flaws. To fix something you must first acknowledge it's presence. And it is easy to look the other way when our work is less than perfect. A bad habit to get into if you want to improve.

So here are some of the things I will be working on this year and what I see wrong with my current work. First and foremost I will be focusing on my proportions. Exaggerating features is common in comics and science fiction illustrations but it must be kept in check or your art will border on the realm of amateurish. So to hone my skills and perception in that arena I will be doing lots of figure drawing studies. I don't think there is any better excercise for that problem.  Unless I can get my hands on one of those machines from the Matrix where you can just upload the data to your brain box.

The next thing I want to improve this year will be my knowledge in adding colors. I think a few of my pieces came out nice but my ability with the coloring process could be much better. I am confident with the application of the colors and digital painting but I need to know more about moods, color balances, color theory, and all that jazz. I have always enjoyed creating the line work the most but now it is time to grow past that.

And finally, I want to improve my backgrounds and compositions. Drawing cool characters is great but you can't bring them to life without amazing backgrounds. So I will be doing lots of studies where I break down the composition from all my favorite comic book panels. Don't worry, I won't steal any bodies work. I will just study the work and figure what my scenes are lacking.

There are lots of things I can complain about when it comes to getting better at my craft but I don't want you to think I am an unhappy camper. I am extremely grateful for where I am at with my skill set. I just really want to be the very best that I can. So I am excited to learn all that I can in 2017 and I will do my best to share that process along the way. So if you enjoy comics like I do, please stick around! We can learn together.  ;)

Robert A. Marzullo
Ram Studios Comics
http://www.ramstudioscomics.com

How to Draw Marvel Comic Characters Step by Step Tutorials

Spiderman Drawing Step by Step

Here are a few step by step drawings to play around with.  I enjoy practicing these characters so I figured I should share them with you.  I will be doing a lot of the more famous characters from Marvel Comics so be on the lookout and you are also welcomed to suggest a character you would like to see.

I will be sharing the images on my various sites and you can always watch my work on my Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/c/robertmarzullo where I created time lapsed videos of these

These are being drawing and sometimes colored on the iPad Pro using the program Procreate along with the Apple Pencil.  This setup has quickly become my favorite for my quick concept type rendering.  I still do almost all of my finish work in Clip Studio Paint on my Cintiq but almost all of my work starts on the iPad Pro with these types of sketches.

The Hulk Drawing Step by Step

So if you like drawing superheroes like I do then this post if for you.  Like my Youtube channel, this is a way for me to improve my skills and share that progression with you.  I think drawing comics is a collective experience.  We all grow and thrive from one another.  So I enjoy participating in that process.

More superhero art is on the way so stay tuned!

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

www.ramstudioscomics.com

Ram Studios Comics Website is now LIVE!!

I created a new website for Ram Studios Comics.  I needed an updated website that was mobile optimized since so many people use phones and tablets these days.  This new site is created with Wordpress so you can also comment on posts and give me your feedback.  The website is still a work in progress but I will be adding new content to it each week until it is done.  Then I will do new updates at least twice a month or as needed.

This new site will be an online portfolio for my comic and digital painting work but it will also be a resource center for aspiring artists.  I will be sharing step by step demonstrations in both image and video format.  I will create blog posts that will be to help educate artists on topics like finding work, completing projects, finding motivation, staying inspired, and ways to collaborate.  I am sure there will be lots of other topics to cover as the website evolves. You are always welcome to let me know what problems you face and would like to see covered.

You will also be able to get my custom brushes and art courses through my website as well.  And don't worry, if you don't have the extra money to spend there will also be free content on my Youtube channel.

So I hope you enjoy the new site and be sure to let me know what you think! Keep drawing and keep having fun!

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

http://www.ramstudioscomics.com

Follow me on Gumroad for Custom Brushes and Video Lessons -

http://www.gumroad.com/robertmarzullo

Teaching Art Lessons Online with Udemy and Gumroad - My Thoughts on This Experience

As you may or may not know, I am a Storyboard and Comic Book illustrator. I enjoy creating images for nearly anything I can get my hands on. I recently needed to fill some gaps in my work schedule so I started teaching online. I started with lots and lots of Youtube videos and got my feet wet in the process. After some time doing that I was approached by Tuts Plus by Envato to start recording video lessons in Sketchbook Pro and Photoshop. Then after that ran it course and I started to feel the need to keep going I looked around for other platforms. I now teach on Udemy and launched my own lessons on Gumroad. You can view my page here - http://www.gumroad.com/robertmarzullo

I now have lessons on How to Improve Your Figure Drawing - How to Digitally Paint in Manga Studio 5 and so on. I even make custom brushes to help other artists create their work. It has been an extremely rewarding process and I am excited for what the future will bring. I am always an artist first and a teacher second but it does come with the added benefit of helping my fellow artists grow their skills. Which feels pretty cool!

If you prefer Udemy then you can get my courses here -

Use this offer code to get 25% Off my Figure Drawing Course -

https://www.udemy.com/how-to-improve-your-figure-drawing-step-by-step/?couponCode=-25PERCENTOFFNOW-

Use this offer code to get 25% Off my Creating Comic Book Faces Course -

https://www.udemy.com/creating-comic-book-faces-in-sketchbook-pro-8/?couponCode=25OFFNOWPLEASE

I just wanted to share this in case you are someone that is thinking about how to fill up your own schedule and create other sources of income. Teaching online is a great way to do that and helps you to further grow your audience and establish yourself as a professional in the industry. And you get to work in your pajamas, so that is pretty nice also! ;)

I am working on a new course now so if you like them there are more on the way! And let me also say that when you purchase any of my digital products I am here to help and to listen.  If you experience any problems or have questions then feel free to reach out and I will do my very best to help.  I also like to get feedback so that I can continually improve my lessons.  Thank you for stopping by and good luck with your art journey.

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

www.robertmarzullo.com

How to Draw Shadows on Comic Book Faces by Robert A. Marzullo

Hello fellow comic artist.  Just wanted to share my latest work with you.  Practicing shadows once again.  Never can get enough of this.  I have always struggled with adding the right amount of shadows to my work.  Especially in the faces.  So easy to either do it incorrectly or just add way too much on a certain area.  So its practice, practice, and more practice.  One day I will get there.  I hope!  And if I do not at least I am having fun trying to get there.  It is all about the journey!

You can watch the video here and be sure to let me know what you think and what you would like to see in the future!

https://youtu.be/shchOdqZkGk

To support this channel and the Blackstone comic please visit my Patreon Page at :

http://www.patreon.com/robertmarzullo