Chromatic's Overcomplicated vector art

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Chromatic's Overcomplicated vector art

Postby ChromaticChaosPony » 27 Oct 2012 16:19

I started vectoring recently. I'm overcomplicating things, but it looks good so far.

Here's my first WIP:

Image
What the hell?! Ten layers for this?! How many layers am I going to have when this whole thing is finished?

--

Feel free to request stuff. I need the practice. Just don't be sad when it takes me one week long than it should have. Quality>Quantity
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Re: Chromatic's Overcomplicated vector art

Postby Kopachris » 27 Oct 2012 17:57

Yay, another vector artist! If you need any tips or advice or critique, feel free to ask me. ;)

(Also, looking good so far.)
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Re: Chromatic's Overcomplicated vector art

Postby ChromaticChaosPony » 27 Oct 2012 19:06

Kopachris wrote:Yay, another vector artist! If you need any tips or advice or critique, feel free to ask me. ;)

(Also, looking good so far.)


How do make the hair properly?

I think I'm going to do it in 2-3 layers like with the tail, but is there a more efficient way?
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Re: Chromatic's Overcomplicated vector art

Postby Kopachris » 27 Oct 2012 19:57

For a side or 3/4 shot like that one, I usually only use a few layers (in order from bottom to top): Shadow (if present), Tail, Legs behind (the body), Body (includes head and legs in front), Cutie mark, Stroke (has to be above the cutie mark), Face (eyes, mostly), Mane (and horn, if present), Ear. For the hair, I usually start with the stroke, then the fills. Remember, it's easy to re-layer things if you need to. There's really not much to it, though each hair style does require its own approach and planning. Judging by what you have of the tail, it looks like you've already got it handled pretty well.

I found one of the best ways to help me learn how to vector was to open up SVG files posted at http://mlp-vectorclub.deviantart.com and pull them apart. There are also plenty of tutorials there, as well.
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Re: Chromatic's Overcomplicated vector art

Postby ChromaticChaosPony » 27 Oct 2012 23:05

Kopachris wrote:For a side or 3/4 shot like that one, I usually only use a few layers (in order from bottom to top): Shadow (if present), Tail, Legs behind (the body), Body (includes head and legs in front), Cutie mark, Stroke (has to be above the cutie mark), Face (eyes, mostly), Mane (and horn, if present), Ear. For the hair, I usually start with the stroke, then the fills. Remember, it's easy to re-layer things if you need to. There's really not much to it, though each hair style does require its own approach and planning. Judging by what you have of the tail, it looks like you've already got it handled pretty well.

I found one of the best ways to help me learn how to vector was to open up SVG files posted at http://mlp-vectorclub.deviantart.com and pull them apart. There are also plenty of tutorials there, as well.


I definitely haven't tried messing around with anyone's SVGs yet. I should definitely give that a try tomorrow.

The reason why I use such a ridiculous amount of layers is because I want it all to fit together seamlessly. Having 3 separate layers for the rail alone definitely helped it fit together more smoothly. However, there has to be a better way. I only did it because it looked more natural.

I think I'm going to actually start using the sub-layers feature for better organization from now on.

I'll try 1 layer on the cutie mark. If it looks choppy, I'll just use 3 or more layers. I realize that separating the body from the front legs was horribly inefficient though. I guess I'll just have to develop a workflow that I'm comfortable with.

At some point I'm going to upgrade to Photoshop. Inkscape is great, but it lags horribly when scrolling and zooming. Not to mention, I like having more tools available.
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Cutie Mark: Blank flank

Re: Chromatic's Overcomplicated vector art

Postby Kopachris » 28 Oct 2012 07:42

ChromaticChaosPony wrote:
Kopachris wrote:For a side or 3/4 shot like that one, I usually only use a few layers (in order from bottom to top): Shadow (if present), Tail, Legs behind (the body), Body (includes head and legs in front), Cutie mark, Stroke (has to be above the cutie mark), Face (eyes, mostly), Mane (and horn, if present), Ear. For the hair, I usually start with the stroke, then the fills. Remember, it's easy to re-layer things if you need to. There's really not much to it, though each hair style does require its own approach and planning. Judging by what you have of the tail, it looks like you've already got it handled pretty well.

I found one of the best ways to help me learn how to vector was to open up SVG files posted at http://mlp-vectorclub.deviantart.com and pull them apart. There are also plenty of tutorials there, as well.


I definitely haven't tried messing around with anyone's SVGs yet. I should definitely give that a try tomorrow.

The reason why I use such a ridiculous amount of layers is because I want it all to fit together seamlessly. Having 3 separate layers for the rail alone definitely helped it fit together more smoothly. However, there has to be a better way. I only did it because it looked more natural.

I think I'm going to actually start using the sub-layers feature for better organization from now on.

I'll try 1 layer on the cutie mark. If it looks choppy, I'll just use 3 or more layers. I realize that separating the body from the front legs was horribly inefficient though. I guess I'll just have to develop a workflow that I'm comfortable with.

At some point I'm going to upgrade to Photoshop. Inkscape is great, but it lags horribly when scrolling and zooming. Not to mention, I like having more tools available.


Layers are pretty much just to help you organize things. In terms of the final product, there's absolutely no difference if you put everything on separate layers or just on one layer (except for the file size). Also, keep in mind that Photoshop and Inkscape are two totally different tools. Photoshop may have more tools overall, but Inkscape has far superior control over vector graphics. And if Inkscape is lagging when scrolling and zooming, I wouldn't be too hopeful about Photoshop being any better on a project of any large size--compared to Photoshop's processor and memory usage, Inkscape is pretty lightweight.
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Re: Chromatic's Overcomplicated vector art

Postby ChromaticChaosPony » 28 Oct 2012 09:24

Kopachris wrote:
ChromaticChaosPony wrote:
Kopachris wrote:For a side or 3/4 shot like that one, I usually only use a few layers (in order from bottom to top): Shadow (if present), Tail, Legs behind (the body), Body (includes head and legs in front), Cutie mark, Stroke (has to be above the cutie mark), Face (eyes, mostly), Mane (and horn, if present), Ear. For the hair, I usually start with the stroke, then the fills. Remember, it's easy to re-layer things if you need to. There's really not much to it, though each hair style does require its own approach and planning. Judging by what you have of the tail, it looks like you've already got it handled pretty well.

I found one of the best ways to help me learn how to vector was to open up SVG files posted at http://mlp-vectorclub.deviantart.com and pull them apart. There are also plenty of tutorials there, as well.


I definitely haven't tried messing around with anyone's SVGs yet. I should definitely give that a try tomorrow.

The reason why I use such a ridiculous amount of layers is because I want it all to fit together seamlessly. Having 3 separate layers for the rail alone definitely helped it fit together more smoothly. However, there has to be a better way. I only did it because it looked more natural.

I think I'm going to actually start using the sub-layers feature for better organization from now on.

I'll try 1 layer on the cutie mark. If it looks choppy, I'll just use 3 or more layers. I realize that separating the body from the front legs was horribly inefficient though. I guess I'll just have to develop a workflow that I'm comfortable with.

At some point I'm going to upgrade to Photoshop. Inkscape is great, but it lags horribly when scrolling and zooming. Not to mention, I like having more tools available.


Layers are pretty much just to help you organize things. In terms of the final product, there's absolutely no difference if you put everything on separate layers or just on one layer (except for the file size). Also, keep in mind that Photoshop and Inkscape are two totally different tools. Photoshop may have more tools overall, but Inkscape has far superior control over vector graphics. And if Inkscape is lagging when scrolling and zooming, I wouldn't be too hopeful about Photoshop being any better on a project of any large size--compared to Photoshop's processor and memory usage, Inkscape is pretty lightweight.


My processor is fine, but I think that Inkscape is just a little slow. How else would I be able to open 4 Ableton Live projects at once? Or run 5 instances of Massive in each of those project files? In that sense, I think Photoshop would be better for sketching and creating the basis of the project. Maybe it's just drawing and graphics programs in general that are slow. It's worth a try.

Also, I was considering Photoshop in case I wanted to draw via tablet and create stuff completely from scratch, like comics or non-vector artwork. I wouldn't switch over completely though; I love how Inkscape handles vectoring.
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Re: Chromatic's Overcomplicated vector art

Postby Captain Ironhelm » 28 Oct 2012 17:59

do Inkscape vectors work with Adobe Flash cs6 professional?
Image
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Re: Chromatic's Overcomplicated vector art

Postby Kopachris » 28 Oct 2012 18:48

ChromaticChaosPony wrote:
My processor is fine, but I think that Inkscape is just a little slow. How else would I be able to open 4 Ableton Live projects at once? Or run 5 instances of Massive in each of those project files? In that sense, I think Photoshop would be better for sketching and creating the basis of the project. Maybe it's just drawing and graphics programs in general that are slow. It's worth a try.

Also, I was considering Photoshop in case I wanted to draw via tablet and create stuff completely from scratch, like comics or non-vector artwork. I wouldn't switch over completely though; I love how Inkscape handles vectoring.


Dunno, then. I've only had trouble with it being slow if I'm Livestreaming.

Captain Ironhelm wrote:do Inkscape vectors work with Adobe Flash cs6 professional?

Short answer: No. (You can get it to work, but it's complicated and probably not worth it.)
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