Category Archives: Painting

The Best Essential Art Tools For Graphic Artists

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There might be no part of globe or any profession that does not need the service of a graphic designer. The least indirect interaction that any business can expect with a graphic designer is creating an awesome logo for its business. Today, lots of software and tools have been developed to make the complex tasks of graphic designers very easy and fast. Let’s have a look on some of the best art tools for the graphic artists.

Deviant ART

Deviantart is probably one the most popular art tools for graphic artists. It is an online platform for community of artwork, photography and videography. It offers the artworks in several categories such as digital art, photography, traditional art, flash, literature and skins for applications. Supplementary features comprise polls, journals, portfolios and groups.

Pixlr

Pixlr is a famous cloud-based platform for image tools and utilities. It offers numerous photo editors, photo sharing service and a browser extension for screen recording. The app of Pixlr provides the best feature of simple to advanced level photo editing.

PicMarkr Pro

PicMark Pro is the software which helps the graphic artists to Import the photos and pictures from computer or Flickr account, Add image or text watermark to the pictures, provides professional presets for watermarks related to text and gives an opportunity to edit all the characteristics of watermark such as fonts, transparency, backgrounds, color etc.

Wacom Bamboo

Wacom Bamboo is a Pen Tablet which enables to see the virtual canvas of your computer. It allows you to generate digital artwork just with pen touch. The Wacom bamboo tablet can simulates the instinctive feeling of pen on the paper thanks to its textured feature. Wacom pen tablets are easy to set up with user-friendly features. It can work with lots of creative programs. Moreover, it comes in bundled packs of software which are designed for just for the creative such as ArtRage® Studio and Autodesk SketchBook Express.

Artist Tool Feature: Drawing Lightbox

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A drawing lightbox is a very handy tool for artists as it helps draw with precision, particularly when tracing.

However, it can also be extremely useful for a variety of artists (or aspiring artists) and helps create better-looking pieces.

That being said, today I want to break down how lightboxes are used and how to pick the right one for your needs.

What is a drawing lightbox?

Drawing lightboxes are just like their name implies: a box with a glass surface that is backlit by LED lights.

It’s mostly used by illustrators to trace drawings and designs into paper, particularly for animations or preliminary drawings.

What are drawing lightboxes used for?

  • To trace images or patterns
  • To transfer your own sketches
  • To transfer elements from resource materials
  • Crafts like calligraphy and stained glass techniques

Tracing images saves time over drawing everything freehand. If you need your images to look similar or even the same, freehand is a risky path.

Plus, it ensures you’re able to catch details and make consistent artwork.

What to consider when buying your drawing lightbox

Brightness

In order to trace well, you need high quality LED lighting within your drawing lightbox with a maximum brightness of 4000 lux. It should be bright enough to shine through 2 sheets of thick paper.

If you need the lightbox for a different purpose (like photography or drawing without tracing), 1500-4000 lux should suffice.

Also, make sure your lightbox has adjustable brightness so you can adjust it as necessary and comfortable for your project.

Dimensions

Drawing lightboxes come in regular paper dimensions, like A4, A3 and A2. So consider what sized paper you want to work with.

If you need a more portable device, A4 is the better choice. Otherwise, go for the larger devices.

Price

Drawing lightboxes are very affordable. They go for anything between $20 – $100, depending on the size, brightness and power supply.

The non-dimmable options tend to be much cheaper, so if price is a strong consideration, you can save by selecting a lightbox without adjustable brightness.