Does anyone here make computer art without a tablet?

[Monkeymascot]

I really want to make Pokemon art (or just art in general) on the computer, but I don't have a tablet nor PhotoShop. Is there any way for me to draw on the computer without a tablet? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Neji]

Well, without a tablet... my talents are useless... when my Mom's tablet isn't available for me to use... I cannot draw... draw on the computer, I mean... I can still use paper... 0_o
Though, what I DO do without a tablet is spriting... I find it quite easy to do, though sometimes it is very time consuming (working on a whole spritesheet for a comic char take forEVER...)

 

[Sanders]

edit: i totally misunderstood

 

[xanax]

I've seen some pretty incredible painters who still use a mouse, but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule. Do you have a scanner?

 

[Monkeymascot]

I've seen some pretty incredible painters who still use a mouse, but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule. Do you have a scanner?

I don't have a scanner, but I can take pictures with a digital camera and put them onto the computer.

 

[Arceus]

I just use a mouse and Microsoft Paint // Gimp. Microsoft Paint is for pixel work, Gimp is for painting. Gimp is freeware. I just upload my sketches and paint them in Gimp. Once you get used to it, it's the next best thing to Photoshop I.M.O.

 

[Easton]

I don't have Photoshop, so I use paint, and use Microsoft Image Editor to resize the images

 

[Arceus]

Loco, get friggin' Gimp. It's pure awesome. BTW, why do you keep making your pixel images blurry?

 

[Lexay]

lol all of these suggestions are absolutely horrible

if you want to draw on your computer when you dont have a tablet, you use adobe illustrator. it's the closest thing to drawing you'll get eventually and the possibilities are endless. illustrator is used by every professional or semi-professional graphic artist out there.

"gimp", "paintshop" and so on are weak illustrator/photoshop-based programs that don't even offer half the options the adobe software do.

i personally only really "draw" when needed. you really should get a scanner so you can scan in your drawings and vector them with illustrator for much better quality. unless you're really really good at drawing, you'll have to keep it at basic stuff when you dont have a scanner.

 

[Lumina]

It can be done, and I used to do it, but I highly dont recommend it.

Not only is drawing with a mouse like drawing with a bar of soap, but its really hard on your hands after awhile and can lead to/help contribute to repetitive strain injuries like tendonitis or carpal tunnel. Not fun.

Here's the deal though... drawing on the computer isnt "better" than drawing with a pencil/paint/pencil crayons whatever. It's just another medium (and if you dont already know how to draw, you often get much worse work out of it). So if you want to show your work online, scanning/photographing it are totally acceptable. Natural light (outside at midday) is the best time to photograph stuff.


GIMP is an acceptable free alternative to Photoshop... There are probably more that Im not familiar with. Illustrator is -completely- different from them both though.... The tools in Photoshop can be used like paintbrushes/pencils, but constructing images in Illustrator is more like building something with sheets of paper. They're both excellent programs, but very very different to work with.


If you're really interested in drawing digitally, you can pick up a very basic Wacom tablet for $100-150. That's like 2-3 videogames. They come with Painter Basic or Photoshop Elements now, and both are really good programs for the money.

 

[GTS]

I'd reccomend saving for a Tablet.

However, you can download Limewire, and the Photoshop, which technically is free...

 

[metroidmania]

Drawing with a mouse is like...blech...

I'm a Flash animator without a tablet, but most of the things I make are made of simple shapes, with only a few complex things here and there.

Save for a tablet.

 

[Linzoy]

I don't know if I'm insane or something but I've never wanted a tablet. A mouse is fine with me. I don't see how moving a mouse is different than moving a pencil.

 

[monkfish]

I'd like a tablet but I don't create computer art enough to justify getting one. I usually manage by re-doing and re-doing and re-doing things that i am not happy with - that's the joy of the computer :)

 

[The.Lost.Hylian]

The Pen tool in Photoshop is my friend.

I have trained myself to draw with a mouse. After hours of practice, it isn't that terrible. Though after finding out what a tablet was, I'm very interested in getting one.

 

[Suikama]

lol all of these suggestions are absolutely horrible

if you want to draw on your computer when you dont have a tablet, you use adobe illustrator. it's the closest thing to drawing you'll get eventually and the possibilities are endless. illustrator is used by every professional or semi-professional graphic artist out there.

"gimp", "paintshop" and so on are weak illustrator/photoshop-based programs that don't even offer half the options the adobe software do.

i personally only really "draw" when needed. you really should get a scanner so you can scan in your drawings and vector them with illustrator for much better quality. unless you're really really good at drawing, you'll have to keep it at basic stuff when you dont have a scanner.

Agreed. My brother got Illustrator CS3 recently, and some of the things you can create with it are very impressive.

He also drew a Spheal with it, which I should post up soon. :x

 

[The.Lost.Hylian]

Art I've done with a mouse. It isn't impossible :\

 

[Vidd]

I was going to suggest the pen tool but I see that's already been suggested.
I owned a Wacom tablet and using a mouse just doesn't compare well at all. It does take some getting used to, though.