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Ask a Pro Ask a Pro is a collection of illustration related questions answered by top art directors, designers, editors, artist representatives and other professionals in the commercial illustration industry. If you have a suggestion for a question or know someone who might be a good candidate to answer a couple questions Contributors Advertisement
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In your opinion which medium do you consider is the easiest and which is the toughest to work in and why?
This is a very good question! All of the different mediums are always fun and
enjoyable. These depend on their art styles, feelings, experiences, methods and
thoughts what mediums they consider.
In your opinion which medium do you consider is the easiest and which is the toughest to work in and why?
This is an interesting question if only because I have never considered it. For
me, working with an eclectic array of mediums is always fun and I don't find some
“easier” or “tougher” than others. They each have their
distinct challenges and require an artist to employ slightly different skills
and methodologies to work effectively within any given medium’s technical
parameters, but I welcome that because it forces me as an artist to view them
as poetic restraints that force me to visually express myself in (hopefully) unique
ways. For example, painting with creamy gouache on a sheet of gessoed luan board
encourages me to slather brush strokes that reveal the “bite” and
grain of the wood. In contrast, creating a piece in real 3D makes me consider
not ONE “heroic” angle, but accept the fact that the item will be
viewed from a limitless number of perspectives, so I try and almost evoke a sense
of “object animation” within the piece. Of course, most of my work
is created digitally. In 1995 I started creating my work on a Mac using Photoshop
3.0 -- and it was extremely hard learning how to do that. Today, I STILL work
in Photoshop 3.0, but have mastered the program to such a degree that I have found
ways to work with the program in ways it was never designed to be used. At the
end of the day, I honestly believe working in different mediums is a leap of confidence.
I'm a pretty quick study, so once I get into the materials and see how they work,
I can pretty much lasso the specific tools, implements or materials and make them
work for ME. In your opinion which medium do you consider is the easiest and which is the toughest to work in and why?
I think they are all fairly difficult to get proficient at. Each has its own advantages
and disadvantages, and each artist must dedicate him/herself to their chosen medium
in order to become proficient. I will say that certain media are easy to learn
at first, but they are all difficult to master. In your opinion which medium do you consider is the easiest and which is the toughest to work in and why?
I think as long as you know your medium and what it can do then there are no ‘easy’
or ‘difficult’ mediums. I really think it depends on your experience
with the method. As with everything there is a learning curve but once you are
experienced with your tools then certain things become second nature. Particular
methods, such as working digitally offer you a kind of freedom for experimentation
that you wouldn’t necessarily get with traditional media but I don't know
if that makes them ‘easier’. On the surface of things it looks like
taking a photograph is easy because all you have to do is press a button. The
reality of course is that it takes a lot more than that to take a really good
photograph. I think the medium which you chose is just one part of being creative.
What you do with that medium is the really important bit. In your opinion which medium do you consider is the easiest and which is the toughest to work in and why?
This is a good question but a difficult one for me to answer since I am not an illustrator and do not work in any one medium. From my perspective, as long as we can email it to the client that is what is important to me. From what I have heard, watercolor is a fairly tough medium to work in. if you make a mistake on your final, you have to start the piece all over again. Digital illustration seems like it would be the easiest to work in and make corrections on. In your opinion which medium do you consider is the easiest and which is the toughest to work in and why?
I think it’s different for each artist and it depends on their technique.
For me I love to blend and get soft edges so oils are "easiest" for
that method of painting. If you want a dry brush and get a textured look or you
want the paint to dry fast then acrylics would be a better choice. In your opinion which medium do you consider is the easiest and which is the toughest to work in and why?
The hardest medium to work in has to be oil painting. You need a whole room dedicated
to it. It takes forever to dry. There is the smell, the turpentine and the mess.
You need a sink that you can destroy to clean up afterwards. It is such a demanding
medium. Not for the faint of heart. It aint cheap, either. Then when you are finished
you have to photograph it perfectly in order to have a digital file. The easiest
to work in is ball point pen and a piece of paper. You don't need any skills or
training to do it. Even a 5 year old can participate in that medium. Plus it’s
cheap. In your opinion which medium do you consider is the easiest and which is the toughest to work in and why?
I wouldn't necessarily call it the easiest but rather more efficient in regards
to meeting deadlines and flexibility from art direction is the digital medium.
Toughest from my point of view being a digital illustrator is 3D applications.
They have a very difficult learning curve and even after learning the tools it
takes years to finesse your work flow to achieve a unique professional look that
doesn't look and feel like anyone else that knows the tools. Too many tool driven
illustrators in my opinion. In your opinion which medium do you consider is the easiest and which is the toughest to work in and why?
Well photography’s pretty difficult but that’s because I don't know
how to do it..... Of the mediums I use, screen printing is the easiest as it means
that you have to have an image planned out already, then you can just switch off
and print away.....The only thing you can really change once you start is the
colours, and even then if something’s not working its not going to make
an awful difference if its blue or red. I think the most difficult medium to work
in is to work totally digitally, (something I never do!) because then it’s
possible to do anything and you have no real constraints to work against, and
I think that takes away the fun. In your opinion which medium do you consider is the easiest and which is the toughest to work in and why?
All digital techniques and technical programs aside... I find pencil and ink to be the easiest way to get an idea out. I find watercolor painting to be very difficult, but very satisfying! While working digitally, doing vector illustrations comes very naturally to me because I can work with a similar process to my pencil and ink sketches. 3D programs are the watercolors of computer art! In your opinion which medium do you consider is the easiest and which is the toughest to work in and why?
Easiest - pen and paper - ease of use and total immediacy. In your opinion which medium do you consider is the easiest and which is the toughest to work in and why?
In my own experience I find digital illustration to be the easiest, I love both
bitmap illustration and vectors, they have their individual pros and cons as well
as specific challenges, but the amazing advantage of digital illustration is its
time travel feature. You can easily go back as many steps as you want and go in
a different direction, try out colours and compositions and change your mind as
many times as you like. I must confess that I always find myself starting a digital
illustration on paper and then take over with the computer, it just makes the
pre-planning so much easier. |
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