Help a newb.

[Zonk]

Hi,

I'm quiet new to concept art and all around it (Sorry, my English is not the best, but I try it) and wanted to ask you some questions.

1. What tools do you use? Which do you prefer?
(For shadows, sketches, etc ...).

2. How do you colorize your drawings? Do you use computer programms (like Photoshop, or Painter), or are there special "pens" to do that?

Thanks.

[Zopheal]

depending on what your doing there is a wealth of tools out there. If you prefer not to involve computers, but want a similiar look of something done with simple 256 computer coloring Coloric Markers i something i find quite useful. You can find them at most art shops, or order them online. They're widely used by anime artists if you're into that sort of thing.
Personally, I usually sketch my drawings, clean them up to finished pencil product, then scan them in and use Adobe Photoshop 7 for coloring. Paint Shop Pro and Painter are also wonderful tools to use, although i'm somewhat infamiliar with painter, i used to use PSP for a lot of my art and found it to be quite useful. PSP also comes with a nifty little animation tool that i still use for my animation over other tools.
If you're looking to do more so 3D art then i recommend that you get your start with Poser 4. It's simple for begginers, and somewhat powerful once you really learn the program. There's also a wealth of premade models included with the software and available for you to use. If you think your ready to create your own models and want more control look to Cinema 4D or 3ds Max. I have no experience with 3ds, but many people seem to like it and I find it's more commonly used than Cinema 4D. C4D is rather nice in my opinion, decent control over options, the animation tool is a little complicated, but you'll figure it out. Another one i have yet to use (it's quite expensive) is Combustion. To my understanding Combustion is very useful for landscapes and whatnot, but i'm not positive. I'm sure there has to be at least someone on the boards who uses it and/or knows more about it.
If you just plan on sketching and that's it, get your self a decent set of sketch pencils, about 10 different hardnesses would be best. These are also available at your local art store.
Paints i'm familiar with as i don't use them often, however, i'm know there are some people here who would be glad to help you with what materials to buy, what brands to get, etc.

I hope I was of some help.

[Zonk]

Thank you.

I think I'll try out some different things and then decide which I like best. But I think, that I will do the sketches (and some shadings) by hand. The only thing I'm not sure about is, how to colorize my drawings.
Can I only add color with Photoshop or also lights and shadows?
If someone knows good pens (also ones in color), that I should try out ... - tell me.
I'm thankfull for every help.

[OLSEN]

good pens: pantone tria markers (expensive but well worth the price, dont get crappy pens just because youre a beginner.)

photoshop: you can do just about anything you want with photoshop, including shadows and lights... but have a look at painter7 before you deside what to get. Theyre both good, but different. Most people here use both i believe.

[Zonk]

Oh yes, they are expensive ;)
But thank you, I think I'll try them out.
Can anyone recommend me pens for inking the lines of my drawings?

[Banzai]

ok I think it's better to ask here than to open a new thread for it.

Here again some very stupid questions:

1. How can I make the UV maps in Lightwave that they fit the model, I have tried it, but after I had colored it in Photoshop and returned it to Lightwave it doesn't really fit.
There where white parts in the texture and I think there must be a method to make the Uv maps fitting.

2. I always see some people in this Forum who show their models. Are those pics just a copy of the monitor which was prepared with photoshop or is there an oppinion to make a direct picture of the model after rendering.
Something like "Save as" under Photoshop.

Please help me I am a really newbie. (But I can drwa very well) :D