Tools

Not sure how I missed it, but poking around a bit, I found that my Ubuntu boot had upgraded my Inkscape to version 0.46. Not sure when it was released, but it seems like it was out more than about two months back.

Be sure to grab/upgrade your copy.

Some time back, I had written an article - Be The Ultimate Open Source Artist. This post is a follow up on it.

I had been upgrading my laptop’s OS, Ubuntu to the latest version (8.04 or Hardy Heron), and that is when I noticed Ubuntu Studio. Ubuntu is a Linux distribution - it is actually a family of distributios. Kubuntu, Edubuntu, and Ubuntu Server Editions are the officially supported derivatives. Xubuntu, Gobuntu and Ubuntu Studio are recognized derivatives. It was released sometime at the end of 2007.

Ubuntu Studio is not different than Ubuntu plus some of the packages that are not installed by default. You can infact, go to the package list page of Ubuntu Studio, and install them on your Ubuntu and feel no difference in terms of functionality. Ubuntu Studio is just a distribution along with the set of software packages installed by default that would be required by a studio professional.

The package list basically is grouped into the Audio set, Graphics set and the Video set. So, any kind of artist you may be, Ubunut Studio is the OS of choice (or atleast is making an effort into getting to that point).

Ubuntu Studio is a multimedia editing/creation flavor of Ubuntu. It’s built for the GNU/Linux audio, video, and graphic enthusiast or professional.

Our aim is to make it more accessible for new users to get into the tools that GNU/Linux has to offer for multimedia creation and production. We also want to spotlight what’s out there, and show users tools they might not know to exist.

Here is a subset of the packages included for the ‘graphics professional’:

• GIMP
• Inkscape
• Scribus
• Blender
• FontForge
• Wacom Tools

If you are acquainted with installing the packages through Synaptic Package Manager of Ubuntu, then you just need to install these packages. On the other hand, if you do not want to meddle with the nuances, and would just want it all out of the box, Ubuntu Studio seems to be the choice of OS and Application suite of which is free - both in terms of freedom and funds.

To be specific, use keyboard shortcuts in order to do digital paintings a lot quicker than doing the same process with the mouse or tablet pointer.

It does not matter which software you use - GIMP or Photoshop or something else. They all have keyboard shortcuts for most of the common tasks that you usually access through the menus and other user interface options. We do regularly use the generic [Ctrl]+[c] and [Ctrl]+[v] for copy and paste operations in the other applications, and it translates well to digital painting softwares.

But there are other shortcuts. For example, you can color pick from the painting area, just by holding down [Alt] and clicking on the color on the painting in case of Photoshop - it is [Ctrl]+Click in case of GIMP. Also, for changing the brush size you can use the [ and the ] buttons, in both GIMP and Photoshop.

Before you proceed to go searching for the documents and study all the available shortcuts, do a bit of experiment. Just pick up some subject and do a digital painting as you have been always doing. As you paint, pay attention to your workflow. Do you use the eye dropper tool option often? Or may be you switch between the pencil and the brush tool. Everyone has their own rythym of working on a painting. Each of the rhythm cycle consists of what you do on the canvas before you go and change some option. If you can change that option with some shortcut using the other hand, then it lets you continue in that rhythm. Effectively, you end up doing more painting in lesser time.

Once you figure out which of those option selection makes you get away from the flow, try and see if there is a shortcut for that. Some of the software even allow you to customize the shortcuts the way you need it. Use them. After all, the software you use is just a tool in creating art. But it is digital medium which has advantages. Keyboard shortcuts is one of them, and hence use them to your advantage.

I have been using GIMP for quite some time now and am still using it. I have been telling people to use GIMP when they cannot afford for software like Photoshop CS3 due to high costs. It does not serve to pirate them either. The solution to keep practicing your skills when you cannot afford is to use open source software.

Cost

There is also a class of affordable software like full version of ArtRage which costs around $20. And if you can afford a bit more, there is Photoshop Elements. It is sort of a lite version of Photoshop CS3. It costs $99 when you buy it first time, or a $79 for an upgrade.

Did I buy it? Not actually. I got mine, bundled with the Wacom Intuos3 Graphic Tablet I had bought months earlier. I was so facinated in experimenting with the tablet, that I had not realized, I had gotten one with Photoshop Elements bundled along with it - albeit version 4. I just happened to discover it couple of weeks back when I was sorting out the packaging.

So, if you do not yet own a tablet, and plan to buy one, see if you can get a deal that has Photoshop Elements bundled.

Features

As a matter of fact, there is not much that keeps Photoshop Elements unique from GIMP when it comes to simple photo touch ups and digital painting. Though Photoshop Elements is marketed as a photo manipulation product for hobbyists, it still packs enough of the features that can be used to create art from scratch. It has same set of features like GIMP - standard free form painting, cropping, transformations, layers, smudge, burn, dodge, blend and quite a few others. It does not have a CMYK support as I know of - similar to GIMP which is available in Photoshop CS3.

The things that I believe worth spending the money would be the brush engine of Photoshop Elements. I believe it is almost at par with Photoshop CS3. The set of unusual brushes that comes with it is quite useless, but with the engine, creating your own custom brushes would be far powerful than GIMP, even after its recently released features. For photo enthusiasts, the features like red-eye reduction, and straightening tool would come handy.

To buy or not to?

Well that really depends to what extent you want to get into art. Speaking only in terms of professional digital painting, and if you feel you want something more than GIMP, I would say wait and save up until you can buy pro software like Photoshop CS3 or Painter X. If you can get it bundled with some hardware like graphic tablet, then consider it.

If you are a hobbyist when it comes to art and feel GIMP is not sufficient, or if you have too many friends invovled in art and design - and need to share and collaborate, then you can buy Photoshop Elements. It supports PSDs - naturally.

Disclosure: The Amazon link above is a referral link.