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PART I1 THE PAGE
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INPUTTING
There are three ways to enter or input
drawn forms into a computer file: draw and scan, draw in bitmaps, draw in vectors.
via digitizing tablet
Adobe Illustrator is the application of choice for professional graphic designers and illustrators. You draw in vectors, and this gives you tremendous depth, flexibility, and artistic range.
A digitizing tablet is a computer input device that converts the motion of a hand- held stylus into both vector and bitmap images.
Although computer software facilitates and extends the powers of the human hand, it is still the hand, eye, and mind of the artist that drives the creative process. It can be a comfort to remind yourself of this at times when the gear seems to take over.
When using a tablet, the eye is fo- cused on the computer monitor, while the hand holding the stylus moves across the plastic surface of a draw- ing tablet. With practice, the eye-hand coordination approaches pencil and paper accuracy and the digitizing table becomes as easy to use as the famil- iar computer mouse that it emulates.
via paper and scanner
Carolina Correa would be the last to proclaim herself an artist. Yet her dogs, drawn quickly as examples for this book, are quite terrific. The one done in pencil, shows the very light planning or “restatement” lines that have lead to the final drawing. The colored drawing is a bit- map sketch, done in Photoshop. The third K-9 was done in Illustrator with a Brush tool, and thus shows lines of varying thickness or “weight.” Carolina Correa
via mouse and keyboard
When you draw on paper and then scan, you input an illustration by digitizing an analog image.
A mouse is a device that controls a cursor. A keyboard enters letterforms, numbers, and other typeface elements onto a computer display.
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CHAPTER 4: ILLUSTRATION
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There are few expressive modes more trusted than our ability to hold a pencil or pen and make marks with it. The human hand sets the standard.
The mouse and keyboard are the default input devices for most computers. The way the hand holds and moves a mouse cannot equal the precision of fingers holding a pencil or stylus. Yet even by mouse alone, digital drawing proceeds ably when the cursor turns into cross hairs or tiny pen, pencil, and brush icons—depending on the application in which you are drawing.
A scanner is a separate piece of gear that can capture all the nuances of a drawing made by hand.
Shown here is the Intuos, a 4 x 6–inch tablet manufactured by Wacom. If you are doing lots of illustration, a drawing tablet is recommended. But be aware that it takes some time and practice to achieve real fluency. Jamie Kruse