| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Bob the Hamster
OHRRPGCE Developer
Joined: 22 Feb 2003
Posts: 2526
Location: Hamster Republic (Southern California Enclave)
|
 Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:35 am Post subject: Fun with MyPaint |
 |
|
(shamelessly reposting from here)
NeoTA clued me in to MyPaint which is a nifty paint program. Unlike most computer programs for making pictures, this one attempts to simulate the feel of actually working with pencils and brushes and inks. At this it failed, because I did not get any paint on my clothing, or in my hair, or in my eyes. I didn't get dizzy from chemichal fumes. I actually did not make any mess at all, nor did I have to spend any time with turpentine cleaning my brushes. But for the non-unpleasant aspects of painting, it has done a great job of simulating the painting experience, which the caveat that it provides so many fancy magic brushes that it almost feels like I am cheating sometime.
For example, I did most of the work on this one using a brush tool that simulates a flurry of vertical brush strokes along a gradient of shades. Cheating? Well... actually, it is probably not really possible to "cheat" when it comes to creativity.
I know I can do better with this tool. I have always had a dual fascination/fear with painting, and this tool takes away most of the things that I dislike about painting and adds UNDO and LAYERS. That can't be anything but good. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Pepsi Ranger
Reality TV Host
Joined: 05 Feb 2003
Posts: 493
Location: South Florida
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:40 pm Post subject: |
|
|
That looks nice. How does it compare to Paint Shop Pro?
_________________
Progress Report:
The Adventures of Powerstick Man: Extended Edition
Currently Updating: General sweep of the game world and dialogue boxes. Adding extended maps.
Tightfloss Maiden
Currently Updating: Chapter 2 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bob the Hamster
OHRRPGCE Developer
Joined: 22 Feb 2003
Posts: 2526
Location: Hamster Republic (Southern California Enclave)
|
| Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:02 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Pepsi Ranger wrote: | | That looks nice. How does it compare to Paint Shop Pro? |
It has been a long time since I used Paint Shop Pro (I think version 7 or 8 was the last I tried.) Paint Shop Pro struck me as just another Photoshop Clone, and when I switched from PSP to the Gimp, my workflow really didn't change much.
MyPaint feels very different to me. As far as I could see, it doesn't even have a flood-fill tool (something I rely on excessively in other programs) Everything is about brush-strokes.
Oh, also, it helps a lot that I am lucky enough to have a laptop with a pressure-sensitive touch-screen. That makes the paintbrusheyness far more realistic. Also I can clearly see that it was designed for touch pads, unlike the Gimp, which works with touch pads but sometimes feels clunky and awkward. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
NeoTA
Idiomatic Nomenclature
Joined: 15 Mar 2004
Posts: 165
|
| Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:50 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Pepsi Ranger wrote: | | That looks nice. How does it compare to Paint Shop Pro? |
In general: it doesn't. They are totally different creatures that may as well have originated from different galaxies. PSP edits images. Mypaint paints.. that's explicitly all that is in MyPaint's purview. You don't select, cut and paste image regions (though you can copy/paste layers in their entirety), you don't mess with different layer modes, you don't filter images or layers.. you just draw content. Consequently, it's very good at that task. (for me, I can often just zen out and forget the program's actually there.. it's very unobstrusive in common operation and requires very little thought, placing far more emphasis on experimentation)
The author says something to the effect 'If you want to edit pictures, use GIMP'.. so you can see the influence of the Unix philosophy here (each tool should do one thing only, really well).. and this approach works for me -- MyPaint and GIMP make a pretty good team. (OpenRaster support in GIMP would make things pretty much perfect from my point of view)
| Quote: | | Also I can clearly see that it was designed for touch pads, unlike the Gimp, which works with touch pads but sometimes feels clunky and awkward. |
AFAIK it's designed explicitly for tablets (try bringing up the brush settings dialog and clicking on one of the buttons at the right and checking out all the factors influencing it sometime). It doesn't surprise me that it does well with touchscreen (I think this is what you meant.. touchpad is something else AFAIK, like the little rectangle below the keyboard on the laptop I'm using to type this.), because it seems to be very usable whether with old-style mouse, laser mouse, or tablet.
There is indeed no floodfill, that would be toolism  Seriously, though, you should be aware that you can change the canvas by using the Layers->Background menu item.
GIMP GUI has improved recently re: tablets.. it has the option to lock individual dockables to prevent you from accidentally flinging them across the screen (which I used to do by accident frequently.).
Apparently its 'GIMP' not 'the Gimp' too I think that's an effort to combat people seeing the name as offensive 9_6 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bob the Hamster
OHRRPGCE Developer
Joined: 22 Feb 2003
Posts: 2526
Location: Hamster Republic (Southern California Enclave)
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 3:46 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I am loving mypaint more and more. It makes me feel like a kid again... except my box of colored pencils and markers is now infinite in size! It has every color, every thickness, every opacity. Searching through them to find the one I want takes me almost no time at all. The pencils never need sharpening and the markers don't dry out after 5 bloddy minutes!
Also, I watched this, which is pretty inspiring, and shows me how very very much I have to learn.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Newbie_Power
Joined: 04 Sep 2006
Posts: 1762
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 6:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
That is absolutely incredible! I really gotta try using Alchemy to create chaos to draw off of now (or maybe I could also try using a picture of some clouds that have shapes). Love the tip for mirroring to help correct mistakes (something I have begun to do myself).
_________________
TheGiz> Am I the only one who likes to imagine that Elijah Wood's character in Back to the Future 2, the kid at the Wild Gunman machine in the Cafe 80's, is some future descendant of the AVGN? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bob the Hamster
OHRRPGCE Developer
Joined: 22 Feb 2003
Posts: 2526
Location: Hamster Republic (Southern California Enclave)
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 8:41 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I spent way too long on this one... but it is just so much fun! 
Also, whenever I try the trick with making chaos in Alchemy, I tend to get carried away just enjoying the chaos, and never bother to actually find shapes in it :P
   |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
NeoTA
Idiomatic Nomenclature
Joined: 15 Mar 2004
Posts: 165
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:19 am Post subject: |
|
|
On the 'finding-inspiration-from-chaos' subject, here's an interesting game with MyPaint:
1. activate 'live update last stroke' in brush settings
2. scribble something (doing good scribbles for this is relatively easy but difficult to describe. try starting by scribbling a quick rough concentric spiral)
3. play with the brush parameters and watch the stroke change.*
4. draw a dab and then change brush, when you are satisfied.
* list of good parameters to try:
Offset by speed/offset by speed filter,
the color sliders, slow position tracking, slow tracking per dab. speed1 filter/gamma, tracking noise
Dabs per.. are useful in conjunction with offset by speed.
elliptical dab parameters can be useful (mainly for animation effects, if you want to use a video capturer on the stroke as you play with them)
hardness = 0 is very useful for pixel art compatible sketching.
Particle explosions/disintegrations are exceedingly easy to achieve using 'offset by speed'.. with the settings I'm using currently, it looks like the big bang.
more 'filter' makes it more controlled.
'vanishing' effects: gradually drop 'dabs per actual radius' with a high jitter
cet etera... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
