Public apology to rotaryworks. and cintiq and what it is and isnt to me.

[redrichie]

First and foremost I wish to extend an apology to rotaryworks as recently he was gracious enough to hold a facebook competition giving away some of his machines to the winners of his art competition.He is a stand up guy and i applaud him for hosting any such event. We had a bit of a tussle and as usual I lose my cool and like to type fast and think later. Especially after 2 no call no shows on a friday.
Our skirmish began when I asked a question if I could use my WACOM cintiq as he stated only paint, pencil colored pencil etc. but explicitly excluded digital even though I entered (and did not win) his last competition with a digital piece. I felt a tad discriminated against as a digital artist especially when he said we should be artists and not computer freaks. Even though the likes of some of the best tattoosist in the world, such as dan hazelton, sean sullivan, markus lenhard and tons of other guys use digital media everyday. But alas it is his bbq and he can invite who he wishes.

That aside here is what the Cintiq is to me. A tool. something I use everyday to get my art out in an efficient and profitable manner. It is my sketch pad. MY light table. My canvas. EVERYDAY. I do use it a lot for editing and arranging things in photoshop for tattoos. if youre not using photoshop for certain things im telling you, you are behind the 8 ball fellas. I can take a picture of the clients area to be tattooed and rapidly draw on them with multiple thumbnail drawings right in front of the client. once a design is given a thumbs up I can then push the design to a near finished product in the same EXACT manner as if I use a pencil.
If a client brings in design or a picture I can use it as I would a light table. then print out my line work and make a stencil. that in and of itself has paid for this little nugget of technology.
As a canvas...What can I say. Simple. it is no different than painting. I use one round brush at different sizes and opacities. I use an eraser. thats pretty much it. Sure Ill use layers from time to time but in all honesty those end up being a bit of a pain in the ass as blending with layers doesnt work between 2 different layers. the object is to paint as normal as possible but without the mess. It allows a total range of any color I can imagine in any tone or hue I wish. With the cintiq you arent limited by your media but only by your ability.
About ability. This isnt some magic drawing bullet. Getting a cintiq or any wacom wont make you a better artist because you own one. Only you and your talent can do that. If you cant draw with a pencil or a brush then chances are you will still suck with one of these. in fact they tend to be a bit harder for quite a while as anyone who has used one will tell you. If you dont put in the hours of hard work and have some talent then your art will still look like like shit.
A few drawbacks. One appears to be the stigma that somehow digital art isnt real. If thats how you feel. Well whatever, I cant change that. Some others would be that you may use filters, or various other PHOTO type tools to give you an advantage. Well if thats what you are doing then whatever, you are cheating. But the artists that use this as a painting and drawing tool arent doing that. They use it in the same manner as anyone else uses canvas and brushes or pencil and paper. and with the talent they have personally spent hours upon hours and sleepless nights perfecting. The digital art I will post below are all still drawn BY HAND. No manipulations. You think Jim Lee of comic book fame uses a pencil anymore? pretty much no. he has a cintiq 24 HD. Why because the industry has progressed into the modern age. not that there is anything at all wrong with ANY anolog media. I love and use them all. But just like tattoo designs of old that have a special place so do the new bob tyrell and nikko and a thousand other realism guys tattoos.
Digital art is here and it isnt going anywhere. Its not meant to be a replacement to any of our time tested and beloved media. It is just that...another media. Give it a chance if you havent.
the first 2 are a fellow tattooists, chris morant's, digital works. his totem isnt even complete yet. the second 2 are mine. all paint. no photo manipulations. all of these works take the same amount of time and effort as any canvas or pencil media.
necrotech.jpgtotem.jpgskull roses 2.jpggiraffe head.jpg