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ebas — learning how to walk again

Published: 2008-12-25 15:25:58 +0000 UTC; Views: 31637; Favourites: 420; Downloads: 1205
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Description who this girl is?? i dont know, and i really dont care. all i know is that this was one of the best and worst times i've had on a computer.

ever since i was 15 yrs old its been a fantasy of mine to learn how to color comics...thats young u say?? no. i new that my all time "dream" was to DRAW comics professionally at 8yrs old..i did start young....i remember when i was in third grade i used to sell my drawings for a quarter each...didnt sell too many cause i was as lazy back then as i am now. soon after i started to get better at drawing i noticed "inking"...(the guy that "traces" over the pencilers lines..we've all seen "Chasing Amy") and i wanted to try my hand at that...by the time i was 12, ALL my drawings were penciled and inked by ur's truely... not professionally by any means, but i was studying my fav guys Jim Lee and Scott Williams and those guys were the best... i was looking at "Wild Cats" one day (when i was 15, that was 1995 and the internet was created a yr b4 that) and the colors really jumped at me...and i was like who's this Joe Chiodo guy?? well he was the guy that colored practically every comic at Homage studios including my boss Marc Silvestri....im like damn this guys good...ever since then i new that i wanted to learn how to color too..i found out what program he used and it was something called photoshop 3.0 (yes Nei..."2.0") and u use it on something else called a computer... and i was like SH#T!!!! i can barely spell and they want me to learn on this.. "computer".....blah!!

so i put that dream and the highest shelf i had and focused on pencils and inks...i did pretty good at booth, in fact my first paying gig was inking...did that for about a yr while my pencil skills progressed much slower....

i've never really had a computer b4...just laptops (which im good at breaking) and i didnt think laptops could handle a program as big as photoshop... my friend recently gave me his old one cause i told him i wanted to learn how to color one day....turns out this thing wasnt up to par...through in some ram to make it faster and crap....but that was pointless cause i didnt have a monitor, tablet or keyboard...so i begged the very talented and good friend Nei (she colors professionally [link] )to go with me to best buy to help me pick out all that crap...so anyway's i've had all the junk for about a month now and my friend came over who photoshops all the time and went to art school, to have a drawing jam.. and he was like...so eBas, show me all the magic u've been cooking up on photoshop...and i thought to myself...dammit, i havent even touched it yet...this inspired me to find some matches and pull down my pants and light that fire under my ass...

two days ago, im staring at a blank screen.....and for the first time in a very long time...i...had....no...idea...what i was doing...............people pay att here....this is actual advise im giving here..................not like the other stuff i post, i just write down my thought process. but this is something i learned that really helped me................fear was the main reason that everything took me so long to learn...because i learned how to ink... all my pencil lines were too "perfect"...i was always afraid to mess up...always "afraid" that someone might look at something i did and say...man u suck!! i cant tell u how many sketchbooks i started and never finished because of this..."fear"....i had this fear until i was about 20yrs old...too timid to "attack" the blank white space....i cant count how many unfinished drawings i have because i would get to a point in my drawings that i felt happy and if i continued i might "mess" it up...fear.... and this "fear" kept me from growing...every time i wasnt drawing...i wasnt letting me learn...so from 15 (when i got the fear) to 20 i had waisted a lot of time not learning cause i kept stopping...and i realized that if i had just learned to attack everything i did i would be much better than i am now....i got a sketchbook that NOBODY was ever allowed to see....ever...and in this book, i grabbed a sharpie that i cant erase...and just attacked the page... NO FEAR...i wasnt affraid to mess up cause nobody would ever see.... this taught me to focus one my weaknesses and not care about what it looked like.... this is advise i've given to many up and comers....fear holds u back....and remember that everytime ur not drawing...ur not learning.......ok advise over...

so i picked up that pencil/mouse thing for the tablet and remembered that im suppose to attack every new medium, like painting or photoshoping....so i started scribbling a face for the SOLE purpose of getting used to the tool not caring about what it looked like cause nobody was going to see it anyway..i already had the drawing knowledge i just didnt know squat about shop...and MAN i wanted to poke my EYES out with that sorry excuse for a pencil!!! i kept thinking im never going to learn how to color comics...but just like everything else...its just a matter of time....and i stuck it through remembering ...NO FEAR.... and by the time i got to her hair i was rocking and mojo was oozing all over the place and what almost drove me mad in a few hrs was the most fun i had in awhile....

i stared it like any other drawing....drew the "cross" down the middle of her face...very wobbly lines.... and then the jaw and head....i dont know how to "do layers" or anything else so all this is on one...i was told that u are suppose to go from dark to light and my brain just dont work that way...i've always had a white empty space...so erasing my mistakes were easy cause i just swiched colors to white and used that....by the time i got the hair i was feeling pretty good about all this...and then my brain went retarded again...i couldnt get the rendering quite like i wanted and by instinct i realized that i was coloring the hair dark to light instead...which was much easier than the face cause the face is white...

knowing all the commands took a load off....having to go to "Edit, undo" was SOOOO annoying and i made myself learn the commands...saved so much time...and by accident i learned the "Alt" button selects the....um..that color squeeze drop thing....i dont know....and some other short cuts keys....so at first what started as simply a no fear approach at learning the tools...turned out to be a finished piece.

the hair came the easiest cause i have a hair fetish...it was very natural for me, i was whisping lines by this point cause that undo button sure puts u on that fast tract to no fear....i tried not to over do the single strands of hair and use the same frame of mind i use when convention sketching... rookies tend to think u can actually see every strand and draw ALL of them in...so annoying...i also kept the light source in mind and have only four main "sheens" on her head...

i really dont know what to say here, this is my VERY FIRST ATTEMPT at photoshop, and since i have no idea what im doing i cant say squat....i just know this was fun and getting over fear 8 yrs ago has really helped me a lot.....and two days ago, something that doesnt happen too often in life did, i've come that much closer to my childhood dream of learning how to color...i've been very happy the last two days accomplishing the next step in my artistic career.. and i couldnt wait to tell Nei.. the only color friend im close to..

this took about 5hrs to do... i already finished my second attempt at shop(will post it in a few days) and it kicked this ones ASS...speaking of which..... GO ASS!!!
Related content
Comments: 178

NICK-XMG [2012-10-15 03:31:34 +0000 UTC]

cool

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

NASStudiosLLC [2011-08-10 03:46:19 +0000 UTC]

WOW, go ASS

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AgustinArtx [2011-07-13 19:31:32 +0000 UTC]

Nice.

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Xenik-the-Rogue [2011-05-19 04:57:06 +0000 UTC]

Wow... you sound like me.

I started doing comics at a young age. I would make my own Sonic the Hedgehog Comics and I would also make Killer Instinct and Mortal Combat comics when I was young. I knew that I wanted to draw. Then someone gave me an idea to create my world. Give people a window into my mind.

I just recently started drawing on the computer and it is a different kind of technique to doing things. I got to start all over and my art came out pretty bad (for my standards). So I had to learn to walk again too. Though my portfolio is not as incredible as yours I still continue to draw everyday, and maybe develop my own style of art. I say, thank you for letting me know what I am capable of.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Xenik-the-Rogue [2011-05-19 04:57:06 +0000 UTC]

Wow... you sound like me.

I started doing comics at a young age. I would make my own Sonic the Hedgehog Comics and I would also make Killer Instinct and Mortal Combat comics when I was young. I knew that I wanted to draw. Then someone gave me an idea to create my world. Give people a window into my mind.

I just recently started drawing on the computer and it is a different kind of technique to doing things. I got to start all over and my art came out pretty bad (for my standards). So I had to learn to walk again too. Though my portfolio is not as incredible as yours I still continue to draw everyday, and maybe develop my own style of art. I say, thank you for letting me know what I am capable of.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Xenik-the-Rogue [2011-05-19 04:57:06 +0000 UTC]

Wow... you sound like me.

I started doing comics at a young age. I would make my own Sonic the Hedgehog Comics and I would also make Killer Instinct and Mortal Combat comics when I was young. I knew that I wanted to draw. Then someone gave me an idea to create my world. Give people a window into my mind.

I just recently started drawing on the computer and it is a different kind of technique to doing things. I got to start all over and my art came out pretty bad (for my standards). So I had to learn to walk again too. Though my portfolio is not as incredible as yours I still continue to draw everyday, and maybe develop my own style of art. I say, thank you for letting me know what I am capable of.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

luk0i [2010-11-19 08:32:27 +0000 UTC]

Wonderful!
Where can I meet her?

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Alexandru0209 [2010-11-15 23:44:56 +0000 UTC]

is beautiful

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mumitrold [2010-11-07 23:33:46 +0000 UTC]

Wow, it's absolutely beautiful!!

And funny, i've recently picked up pen-tablet-photoshop etc too....and experienced ABSOLUTELY the same things!!

I can see you're professional and everything....but here's some links to some tutorials and stuff about colouring. They've helped me immensely...and if u cba it's all good


[link] (some basic stuff about colouring digital -very well explained)

[link] (very thorough and awesome tutorial about digital colouring -u probably kno a lotta the stuff but...well yeah )

[link] (this dude has some awesome tutorials on speedpainting + free download of his custom brushes)

[link] (she's got a special way of painting --> doesn't look like she's using a lotta layers -more kinda irl-painting-approach)

[link] (just a little thing about digital airbrushing --> creating that finish)

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yellowsmoke321 [2010-09-23 06:20:55 +0000 UTC]

gorgeous..

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I-Do-Care [2010-09-22 15:01:33 +0000 UTC]

Thanks so much for the pep talk. I really need it. Definite rookie. Fight the fear.

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Luaprata91 [2010-08-12 11:25:00 +0000 UTC]

cool, i did read everything you wrote

and the painting is pretty good, specially the hair lol

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George-Hernandez [2010-07-10 05:12:34 +0000 UTC]

wow nice advice it really reminds me of my self and that fear that keeps me back every time i sketch in my book, and something comes out wrong i keep ripping out the pages just so any one that would look at my sketchbook would not notice my weakness. i am now 19 so its time 2 brake barriers. Thank you so much for your advice love your gallery man! keep it going!

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vitasimplex [2010-07-04 14:02:19 +0000 UTC]

Your post is highly inspirational, thank you.

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QueenFairyAssassin [2010-06-20 22:44:43 +0000 UTC]

She looks like a girl version of Brad Pitt, or him
in Interview with a Vampire...


That was random....


I like it!!!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

AFomidableOpponent [2010-05-18 06:54:08 +0000 UTC]

This is epically, ridiculously, incredibly good for a first try. I'm attempting to teach myself right now too, and i'm a long way from getting anything looking half this good.

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SovransArt [2010-04-11 21:11:50 +0000 UTC]

Reading this has made me realize I too have the "Fear" Granted I love drawing but when I look at others work like yours I feel..the "Fear" and my mind goes blank. I have been wanting to open up to more artistic work rather then just do the anime/manga thou I still need to work on that. But really your advise has helped and I'm really hoping I can put this "fear" aside.
Thanks <3 and I really love your work its so amazing!
cheers -Sov-

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Gollorr [2010-04-01 09:52:35 +0000 UTC]

This paitning really is kinda lame compared to what you are capable of.But no1 is gonna judge you.All your other stuff is increadible which only prooves that even a great illustrator doesnt always create masterpieces. I am rly thankful that u have posted this one. It helps us (the begginer illustrators) to overcome the FEAR, yes this is the same fear- everyone who considers him/herself better than the mass knows it. And you have just shown us how to fight it

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

pochpoch69 [2010-02-16 02:47:40 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much for the story. You have no idea how much this inspires me and will inspire others to just suck it up and jump.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ebas In reply to pochpoch69 [2010-02-16 18:08:37 +0000 UTC]

i get this a lot and im glad i can help...it takes a lot of time to be so specific u know?

keep the passion alive

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inuyasha666hiei [2010-01-23 20:14:28 +0000 UTC]

i love the blue in her eyes

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DeBratski [2010-01-19 06:13:41 +0000 UTC]

oh my god.. the FEAR .. I know what you mean. I stopped drawing entirely (from 16yrs to now - 26yrs old) as a result of that same accursed FEAR! This might sound mean, but it's kinda comforting to know that I'm not alone when it comes to the epic fear of drawing f-up and that someone like you would have had the same thing! I'm only now starting to learn to ignore it, but getting there.

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hellmanns [2010-01-04 01:20:36 +0000 UTC]

Dude, you draw well, but writes a lot. ^ _ ^ "You make such a story of your life man. - I'm kidding ... hehehahahha guy ... I'm the same sometimes.

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KateRodrigues [2009-11-30 09:38:17 +0000 UTC]

An awesome effort for a first time!

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Azetlor [2009-10-21 20:03:04 +0000 UTC]

Hey Ebas, figured i'd stop by and show my support for you jumping on board the photoshop train. was jsut at the comic shop here in Texas and my girl always has to buy every cover you do still (you may halfway remember her from heroes 4 heroes thing a while back and we went and got sushi afterwords). anyways i really think your gonna love where photoshop leads you and this may seem a weird thing to say now but don't ever forget teh pencil and paper heh cuz once ya shop your gonna be spoiled by that cntrl+z. anyways keep the progress shots coming they're great to look back on a month from now and feel a strong sense of achievement that alot of people never get to feel.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ebas In reply to Azetlor [2009-10-27 09:06:56 +0000 UTC]

hey man, i do remember u and ur woman...u guys are good ppl..i had an amazing time and it was a fun trip...its one of those days u never forget...

thanks for the kind words man, i feel u. i love the pencil and can NEVER turn my back on it..i shop now from time to time and dabble with paint, and i can ink too...but the pencil still remains...tell her i said hi and thank her dearly for her support

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Just-plain-weird [2009-10-08 09:12:19 +0000 UTC]

THIS IS SO COOL - your advice really stuck with me! I'm 15 and 'the fear' just set in -.-" but geez whizz golly gosh... XDD that gelped a fair bit! and you're such a good artist there's hope for me yet!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ebas In reply to Just-plain-weird [2009-10-27 09:09:00 +0000 UTC]

theres hope for us all...and i started when i was 8....thats when i said i wanted to do comics....so keep at and remember to NOT let the fear hold u back

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Just-plain-weird In reply to ebas [2009-10-27 10:37:54 +0000 UTC]

yayz ^.^

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bittersweetdreams [2009-05-30 02:47:58 +0000 UTC]

An easy face to look at. Great work detailing her nose.

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AnnaKayArt [2009-05-13 19:07:24 +0000 UTC]

Heh I got my first proper comic book when I was like 8 too and I just fell in love with the drawings in it (Tomb Raider, pencils by Andy Park) and as now I found your site,'love' to this style of art is coming back to me . I try to practise as much as I can, but, as stupid as it sounds I don't really know how. Is practising drawing realistic things, observing objects and trying to grasp their shape or would drawing from my head and doodling count as it too? I really think I have the potential to improve, but I think I'm holding myself back by that feeling of confusion
Well, anyway I just wanted to say that I highly admire your work, it's definitely one of the highlights here on DA I only wish that maybe someday I'll be at least half as good as you are
Cheers >.<

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ebas In reply to AnnaKayArt [2009-05-25 05:58:32 +0000 UTC]

thanks for the kind words and glad u like

keep practicing and not only from ur mind, cause u cant learn from ur own imagination sometimes...you need ispiration

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AnnaKayArt In reply to ebas [2009-05-25 19:33:22 +0000 UTC]

you're welcome and thank you

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AnneRiceBowl [2009-04-06 11:03:50 +0000 UTC]

I had a hard time accepting digital art as art. I finally learned that PS is just another media. I also had to train my hand to use a mouse (I haven't gotten a tablet, yet). When I do anything in PS, I tell myself, "The mouse is my pencil. The mouse is my pencil." which works for me because the mouse soon becomes a pencil in my mind's eye.

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tifastrife7 [2009-03-21 12:28:12 +0000 UTC]

Wow, sounds like me trying to learn PS, and I am totally intimidated by it. So I have just been staring at it and doing nothing. The blank surface is very scary to me. This is lovely and inspiring to a noob like me. *lights that fire under ass*

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ebas In reply to tifastrife7 [2009-03-25 10:16:22 +0000 UTC]

i was too, but i just picked up the pen and went away with my tablet...fearless

glad i lighted ur ass on fire...hehe

and what a noob
??

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

theRealJohnnyCanuck In reply to ebas [2009-05-02 01:18:45 +0000 UTC]

Short for Newbie with the "newb" spelled "Noob" meaning beginner!

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abnormalinyoureye [2009-03-19 04:40:47 +0000 UTC]

that looks a shitload like carmen electra XD hawt

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ravenhawk13 [2009-02-03 19:06:58 +0000 UTC]

I just wanted to say, I love the work! And the insight you gave about the fear. I have the fear still , I am going to put the personal sketch book to work. I think that is awesome. the hardest thing I had to get use to was the hand eye with the tablet.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ebas In reply to ravenhawk13 [2009-03-10 03:37:56 +0000 UTC]

i normally try and NOT give advise and just state my opinion...but when it comes to fear i will speak my mind...i know what fear can do adn how it cripples ones momentum...and i had to voice my experiences in hopes that it can help at least one person

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Juisifer [2009-01-31 01:45:19 +0000 UTC]

I think a lot of the artist's that give in to their fear of rejection, usually tended to rely on praises as a sole motivation.
Recognizing when a tough time comes from a lack of understanding, and not an inherently difficult project can be tough, so don't open the door to doubt and keep coloring!
I bet you'll have PS mastered in no time flat with such a positive attitude. Have fun!

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ebas In reply to Juisifer [2009-02-03 05:53:06 +0000 UTC]

wow, ive never had someone understand what i mean so well...good job, and im sorry to see that u have met such ppl with fear...stear clear of them...they tend to only critique

PS is fun, and i wil continue to play with it

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Caleb-Brown [2009-01-25 06:16:50 +0000 UTC]

it looks great
i would only epect a computer feind would know how to make something this great




i do the same thing with the whole not letting anybody see your sketchbook thing
but i do it a little too much and rarely finish anything

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ebas In reply to Caleb-Brown [2009-01-29 11:30:10 +0000 UTC]

why, thank u...

and as long as u keep moving that pencil i guess its all that matters

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redstarhangar16 [2009-01-23 20:59:55 +0000 UTC]

Gosh I liked the article about the FEAR so much, makes me kinda inspired at the moment, hope my laziness wont take it faster then I do something, thnx for the feeling and great job on creating this piece.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ebas In reply to redstarhangar16 [2009-01-30 03:06:46 +0000 UTC]

wow, i feel i can die a happy man now...i was hoping that my own past fears would eventually help someone..

it was my honor

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redstarhangar16 In reply to ebas [2009-01-30 23:59:37 +0000 UTC]

Haha, well don't die yet, the honor is mine however as I went to art school for 1 year ,but because of personal lazyness lost all skills earned, while you prove that the actual skill comes from "work,work" and thats great even though I dont like it.

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lyrilyri [2009-01-21 05:03:09 +0000 UTC]

its still amazing. i think sometimes photoshop has ruined my ability to pick up the pencil because of the convenience of the undo button. did you know you can set the undo limit to 2000 times?! thats insane! and i feel guilty with it on default 20.

great job, keep it up. one day i might achieve your skill. maybe!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ebas In reply to lyrilyri [2009-01-21 11:17:18 +0000 UTC]

keep drawing and creating and u will reach my level...however high that is..

and the undo button is in deed a handy cap...but i have confidence in my line

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mackrafty [2009-01-20 14:32:42 +0000 UTC]

man your first attempt in PS is better than my 1000th. of course you have been drawing a lot longer.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it's refreshing to see into the mind of another artist.

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