How do you Start...

[amosa]

How do you usually start with a design? do you begin with sketches on paper or just jump right into the program? if the idea requires photos, do you do research first or look up how other artists dealt with similar topics?

Share!

i usually do a little of everything- first i'll take the idea and sketch my first impression, then i do some research and look up how other artists dealt with the idea, then i revise my original sketch or start from scratch... then find textures and photos that go with the idea and throw them all together using the elements and principles

 

[.+Destiny.Eclipsed+.]

I have a bad habit of just diving in and hoping for the best.  

[Nightmare Kandii]

Usually I sketch.

 

[blank_account_deleted_]

Well, when it comes to drawing anime characters i try to sketch but have a habit of not wanting it to be messy ^^"
So i try to carefully draw each part how i want it so i don't make frequent mistakes.

However when it comes to drawing still life i like to sketch it out and then go back and start to work on the details ^^

Same with painting whenever i get back into the habit of it. I lightly sketch the layout of the piece and then try to erase enough to where i can't see the lines but can see enough to tell where to paint. =3

Now if only i can get more practice with designing on the computer ><  

[shiroiusagi]

I'm not sure what kind of design you are talking about. XD But always a good design comes with good research. I find that important to beginning anything. Then I being to do thumbnails/sketches. I go through a few a few ideas, but if you want to push your design to the best you should try to pour your ideas onto different thumbnails. They don't need to be full scale big, just proportional to the real drawing size you have in mind. Never erase the things on the thumbnail you are doing just move on to a new thumbnail. After getting a good composition I start putting together roughs it might be a few ideas from the different thumbnails that were done. Then when I hit the right composition I want I start making the final thing.

It's also good to get critiques on your work as well. I feel that if people always baby someone's work saying oh "it's good it's good!" things that need correcting will never be corrected. You might have to be a critique on your own work (though it's hard maybe flip the design or something it might work).

smile  

[Larzar]

Depends.

Sometimes I just get a mental flash of what I want the site too look like and hop right into the program, Other times I attempt to sketch my outcome, dose not really work though.

But if its for assessment or a client I do proper prior research on what Is needed.  

[DemonSpirit713]

At the moment I'm only into sketching. I actually joined the guild in hopes of figuring out how to digitize them but I don't have much free time anymore. (By the way, I have no idea whether or not digitize is a word... but I like it. 3nodding )  

[PhoeJynx]

Hmm. When I first start a project I do some thumbnails, maybe a page or so, then develop those more in a bigger size. I'll research fonts, take/draw pictures if needed because I don't like to use other people's artwork, unless they supply it to me or something like that. Once I have narrowed it down to what I want to use I use tracing paper and trace what I want roughly a few different ways to figure out what I definantly want before I put it all into the computer, if Ai, Ps, or Id is needed ot be used. smile  

[Sumomo4life]

I'm new to the whole thing. I just got photoshop and i've been playing with it a bit. I've been starting out with a background and then adding to it. I haven't really done much that I need to research for yet. I really hope to do things like that in the future though!