Tools of the Trade

Hi there.  I've been thinking some more about how I can share my experience and some of the skills I've aquirred over the years for creating and making.  In my experience the tools you use really matter.  So every so often I thought it would be good to share some thoughts on some of the tools I use to make the things I make.  Some times it will be things as simple as drawing pencils or glue, but today I am going High tech!

I'm going to share the joys of owning and using a graphics tablet.  In my case it is a Wacom Bamboo Create.  This is a great middle of the market product, which is consistently well reviewed.  It is a treat to use for those who would consider themselves in the beginner to intermediate category of digital painting, drawing or photo editing.  I love using it and I am learning so much as I go!


One of the things I am really enjoying is the variety of painting
and drawing options I have at the click of a button.  At the moment I am working on what would have been an ink on paper drawing of an angel.  I am drawing into my computer directly on the tablet.  It is a bit weird at first, whilst your hand is drawing you are watching the result and controlling the process by looking at the computer screen.  It is surprising how quickly this becomes second nature though.  I am using a technical pen from the range of presets that are available to me in the software I am using, but at the flick of two or three screen buttons, I could select a watercolour brush for wet on dry, choose a shade from the colour picker and be adding a watercolour wash to my drawing.  I might want to select an airbrush tool instead, and in a few seconds be wafting soft layers of colour cloud across my electronic page.  (The airbrush thing is a particular joy to me, because unless you have a professional set up and use them all the time, they are awkward, time consuming and wasteful of paint, which means my airbrush stays packed in it's box).

The other plus is that when I finish a piece of work I have it stored on my computer ready to use for any project I choose.  I might simply want to produce a limited run of prints.   I can select a print service and send them the art work.  I might want to print it locally and use the design for cards or some other project, or I might want to upload it to the web and share the file. (The Christmas tree giveaway a few blogs back was drawn this way).  So it gives great flexibility.  I drew this man on a rickshaw for a bespoke card, but having done the work, I can make use of it again in the future.  There are of course some drawbacks.  a painting produced this way means you do not have a real, hands on, 'see and feel the brush strokes' original, and sometimes that matters. But for the most part this is a great tool for me at the moment, and I am loving the opportunity to learn and use it. What are your favourite 'Tools of the Trade?'  Please feel free to share!  Bye for now.