PE: Photomanip - Interview With New Manipulators
Most of us have a special part of our hearts set aside for our first times and new beginnings. I remember myself how I felt when I completed my first manipulation, when I read the first tutorial and above all when I upload my first deviation. These deviants are at this point when things seem so new, but are staring to fall into place. They will share with us their first impressions on DA's PM community.
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What drove you to become an artist? What inspires you to create
Well everybody who knows me will tell you I was born an artist. I have been drawing and painting ever since I can remember. It's really just something I feel inside me, the one thing that is always certain in my life! Life inspires me. There are really a bunch of stuff that drives me to create. It could be a song, or a music video, or something I see on the street, or something I hear somebody says. Really anything that gives me that 'feeling' inside!
What brought you to dA and made you decide to become a member? What were your first impressions of dA?
I used to model for fine art students and I told one of them once in a smoke break that I also draw, but I don't have the finances to study art so I have no idea how to make a name in the world for myself. So she told me about DA and I became a member. At first it was all very confusing to me, I was used to facebook and myspace. But DA welcomed me with open arms and I love it heI'm an addict now!!
What are some things that you know now (about the dA photomanipulation community or about photomanipulation in general) that you wish you had known when you started? Is there anything you would do differently?
Well my first year on DA I wasn't really active at all and I knew nothing about the community or groups or anything. I think I had like 500 pageviews and 4 faves for the first year. I only became very active in August last year. If I could do something over, I would've become a lot more active a lot sooner!!
What can (or did) photomanipulators who have been around this community longer do to support you as a newer member?
Well firstly I saw from them what a photomanipulation is and I learned from them about using stock and crediting stock. And there has been a few of them who are always very happy to critique me and give me feedback on my work so I can become better. And from observing their work and reading their tutorials I have learned practically everything I now know.
There are a lot of people out there who are reading this interview who would like to try photomanipulation, but are afraid to try, or are not sure where to start. What would you tell them?
Try to find as many tutorials as you possibly can. There are also journals written by kuschelirmel on beginner photomanipping, which gives you a brilliant start up to it. Also, as you learn more about photoshop itself and all the functions it has, look at people whose work you like, open all the stock they used and try and figure out how they did what they did. I learned a lot from doing that. And if you don't understand how they did something in particular, ask them, I have found that most artists are more than happy to share their secrets!
:bigthumb273876104:
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What drove you to become an artist? What inspires you to create?
I draw since I was a kid, anywhere and on any scraps of paper), but a few years ago after graduating from art school - I realized that this is not my way because there are a lot of really talented artists who work with a clean slate and even without references. The, I started with study at the university for a class of graphic design, here I discovered photomanipulation ... I think I finally found myself in it.
What brought you to dA and made you decide to become a member? What were your first impressions of dA?
I've always liked this site, first of all because the atmosphere of friendship and support. I already had an account here, several years ago, but as an artist of digital and traditional drawing. This is my new account as photomanipulator because for me it's a new period in the work and in life.
What are some things that you know now (about the dA photomanipulation community or about photomanipulation in general) that you wish you had known when you started? Is there anything you would do differently?
I like the feedback method, which exists in our community. I even think that in our small community of Photomanipulation it works much better than in the others. I would say that the constructive criticism was the most important discovery here. I am very glad that I could used this opportunity as a beginner in photomanipulation.
What can (or did) photomanipulators who have been around this community longer do to support you as a newer member?
Moral support and constructive criticism - that's what gave me the members of our community, in exuberance. Thank you so much to all this wonderful people.
There are a lot of people out there who are reading this interview who would like to try photomanipulation but are afraid to try, or are not sure where to start. What would you tell them?
In my opinion you need to know the software and the basic laws of art. But also you must experiment a lot - with textures, colors, lighting and exposure, mixed with other media as vector, vexel, 3D, fractals ... Also, I think it is very important to be original (even if sometimes the muse leaves for a long time), pay more attention to all kinds of the blending - it is extremely important, do not hesitate to ask for specific advice from experienced professionals and ask for critiques... That's what helps me grow as an artist.
Lilia <333
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What drove you to become an artist? What inspires you to create?
In my imagination there has always been a lot of images, but I do not know how to make this a reality because I am not a professional artist. Many years, I've just watched beautiful pictures on DA. but one day, when I looked at the photomanipulations gallery here on DA, I decided to try it. Also, it helped me a lot all theresources, tutorials and forums I found in the Russian interweb.
What brought you to dA and made you decide to become a member? What were your first impressions of dA?
As I said before, for many years, I only watched the work of other artists, but then, with the support of my friends, I decided to also show my art. And I was very surprised by the number of talented people who wrote kind words to me, and really supported me in my initiative.
What are some things that you know now (about the dA photomanipulation community or about photomanipulation in general) that you wish you had known when you started? Is there anything you would do differently?
I would not change anything. I think I was very lucky during this short period of time, finding a lot of talented friends who are always ready to help with advice, I received an excellent evaluation of my work, a remarkable personal holiday as a daily deviation, many sources of inspiration for my work and more.
What can (or did) photomanipulators who have been around this community longer do to support you as a newer member?
The greatest problem for me is my English, I could not understand the mechanisms of the DA. it would be nice if it was possible, for other people like myself, to gather in one category all the visual tutorials on working with DA in different languages. But even with this problem my new friends helped me. I learned how to publish my work, write correctly the credits, find information and work with groups!
There are a lot of people out there who are reading this interview who would like to try photomanipulation but are afraid to try, or are not sure where to start. What would you tell them?
I am an excellent example for beginners, as I began to learn from scratch. First Photoshop as a program, after - digital painting, perspective, composition and so on. You must have patience and learning tutorials, and carefully observe the art of other artists and try to understand what tools they used
thanks a lot
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What drove you to become an artist? What inspires you to create?
I remember being a little girl and using pastels to draw flowers with my grandmother. She had a "How to draw flowers" book, and every evening we'd practice drawing. As I got older I gradually drifted away from art, and then last year I took a few classes at a local college - Drawing 1 and Photography 1. That was when I re-discovered my love of art.
Anything can inspire me to create - a moment, an emotion, a memory, a song. I'll be out with my boys at the park, see something - an old bench or the way a tree limb curves; or here on dA I'll come across a great stock photo - and it's like a lightbulb flicks on in my brain, the seeds of an idea form and gradually come to fruition.
What brought you to dA and made you decide to become a member? What were your first impressions of dA?
After I took a few art courses I was hooked - I wanted to learn more, but couldn't afford to take any more classes. I kept working on drawings at home, but I didn't feel like I was getting any better. I had nothing to compare my work to, nothing to work towards. I remembered a friend mentioning dA to me a few years ago, so I decided to check it out and joined about five months ago.
First impression of dA....hmmm. Intimidation! I suffer from atelophobia and was intimidated (I still am sometimes) by the sheer quantities of art on dA, and the amazing skill level of many of the artists. I felt like my art would get lost in the masses, never to be seen - or that if it was seen, it wouldn't be good enough. I still struggle with that feeling.
Once I got over the initial wow factor, I fell in love with the site. For a while I just browsed different categories, found some amazing artists. I started commenting on works, and discovered that most people on dA are very friendly and helpful.
What are some things that you know now (about the dA photomanipulation community or about photomanipulation in general) that you wish you had known when you started? Is there anything you would do differently?
The photomanipulation community here on dA has been wonderful! Everyone I've spoken to has been very kind and welcoming. I have absolutely no experience with photomanips prior to the past few months. At this point, I'm completely self-taught. Occasionally I reach out to artists I watch with questions and they are always happy to help if they're able. I do wish I would have stumbled across the various groups here sooner, several of the groups I've found offer tutorials and other information regarding the navigation/features of dA. It would have been nice to have found those resources when I first joined the community as opposed to several months later.
What can (or did) photomanipulators who have been around this community longer do to support you as a newer member?
In my experience so far everyone I've interacted with has been extremely helpful. Special thanks to ^SanguineVamp for pointing me in the right direction several times, I appreciate your help. There is only one thing I can think of that would offer further support and that would be video tutorials (or links to good video tutorials). I'm a visual learner and it's sometimes quite difficult for me to follow a regular tutorial. Sometimes the directions are confusing or not clear enough. With a video tutorial, the description of steps is usually more detailed and I can follow along, pause/rewind etc. if I'm confused about something.
There are a lot of people out there who are reading this interview who would like to try photomanipulation but are afraid to try, or are not sure where to start. What would you tell them?
Just go for it! If you need more clarification as to what exactly constitutes a photomanipulation, kuschelirmel has a great article here kuschelirmel.deviantart.com/jo… . Find some tutorials for beginners and try it out. :dev tamarar: has put together a very informative “Photomanipulation Walkthrough” with several good tutorial resources here tamarar.deviantart.com/journal… . When I first started all I did was watch tutorials for a while before I actually started my first photomanip. Experiment with the various tools and effects available for your program so that you have a general idea of where everything is located and what sort of things you can do. If you have questions, ask! If you see an amazing photomanip that someone has posted, comment on it and ask questions about the technique or how a certain effect was achieved. Also, join a few groups! I like and for all around photomanip discussions and resources. I am also a member of , which is nice because they offer a weekly challenge in a stock photo(s) is chosen as a required image for you to incorporate into a photomanipulation. For me, that is helpful because it takes away the whole feeling of “what should I create” and gives me a starting point. It’s also neat to be able to see what other artists create from the same stock.
Other than that, my advice would be good luck, have fun, and don’t let yourself get too frustrated. It will get easier!
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What drove you to become an artist? What inspires you to create?
I have been making art since I was very young. I need to do it. I stopped for several years, sadly, because I was frustrated by my current skill level. I was pretty miserable.
But now I am creating again and though I still get frustrated at times, I love it and nothing could make me give it up again!
I get inspiration from many places - images, songs, stories and characters in my head. An early inspiration that stands out to me is fantasy novel cover art, especially those fantastic dragon paintings by Michael Whelan on Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Peron series. Part of the mystique was that they were my father's books, but the paintings themselves were magical, a glimpse into another realm.
What brought you to dA and made you decide to become a member? What were your first impressions of dA?
My first impression of dA was seeing students log on during lecture, lol. I thought it was a site for anime and fan art. - nothing wrong with that, but not something that I was interested in at the time.
I finally joined last year because I started writing a fan fiction and wanted somewhere to upload illustrations for it. My first impression was something like:
Look at all the amazing art! LOOK AT ALL THE REFERENCE PHOTOS! In the past I have bought pose reference books, searched libraries, searched the Internet, but NEVER have I found even a fraction of all the amazing reference I've found on Deviant Art!
And then I noticed that most of these photos could not only be used as reference, but used themselves in making art. I thought I'd give this thing called photomanipulation a try...
What are some things that you know now (about the dA photomanipulation community or about photomanipulation in general) that you wish you had known when you started? Is there anything you would do differently?
On the one hand, I wish that I had known what all was involved, that knowing the basics of Photoshop and how to retouch a photo did NOT mean I could make good photomanipulations right away. On the other hand, I'm glad that I didn't because then I might not have tried! But I would have improved faster and indeed be better now if I had sought out tutorials and walkthroughs earlier.
What can (or did) photomanipulators who have been around this community longer do to support you as a newer member?
There are a lot of really great helpful people in this community! I got encouragement from stock providers and cosplay artists in the beginning. Eventually I found #ManipulateThis, a group thats hold bi-weekly challenges, posts articles about making good photomanips and art in general, and most importantly, gives me feedback on how I can improve.
There are a lot of people out there who are reading this interview who would like to try photomanipulation but are afraid to try, or are not sure where to start. What would you tell them?
Don't be afraid to start! Even if you just jump in like I did and learn by trial and error, you'll have fun and get better with practice.
Even better, look at this helpful walkthrough and then the other great tutorials put together by =kuschelirmel-stock Photomanipulation walkthrough
(In fact I would recommend every photomanipulator to take a look at her tutorials. I looked at one for blending - something I think I know how to do reasonably well - and still picked up some good techniques!)
Join a photomanip group that has regular challenges (such as #ManipulateThis and #DarkArt-Challenges and participate in as many as you can (most have different skill levels, including beginner).
Most of all, have fun!
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What drove you to become an artist? What inspires you to create?
I don't know what drove me to become an artists, I don't know if I even really am one. I create, or attempt to create, things I see in my head, to make a physical reality out of all the thoughts swirling around in my head and to give a solid reference to all the things I'm feeling at the moment. Everything I've done so far, shared and not shared, is seriously influenced by the current mood that I am in.
What brought you to dA and made you decide to become a member? What were your first impressions of dA?
I came to dA long before I became a member. I was impressed with the talent around here and would come to browse around regularly just to be inspired. I didn't want to become a member because I didn't feel like I had anything to contribute and my profile page would end up being a wasted space. I've only got a grams worth more confidence in myself now but I'm not regretting the decision to join and try and be a part of this amazing community.
I think dA is a pretty great community overall and like any other kind of venue that brings lots of people together there are lots of little close knit groups. Its always hard being the newcomer, you don't know how people are going to react to you or if they are going to react at all. My experience has been pretty good so far though.
What are some things that you know now (about the dA photomanipulation community or about photomanipulation in general) that you wish you had known when you started? Is there anything you would do differently?
This is an interesting question to ask a newbie. I submitted my first manip 6 months ago and it was a really simple piece that was basically just me testing the waters. From that point I've learned quite a few things but there is still so very, very much that I would like to know how to do. I haven't gone past the starting point in my mind, I'm slow like the tortoise. I can't say that I have done anything wrong, so there isn't anything I would do differently, this is all part of learning and growing.
What can (or did) photomanipulators who have been around this community longer do to support you as a newer member?
They can just be supportive... I know that was an extremely unhelpful answer. Support means different things to different people so I mean find out how you can best lend a helping hand to the newer folk and then do it. It might be featuring their work (I always feel a swell of pride when someone at random decides something I did was good enough to show others); commenting with something constructive and helpful that will aide in growth as an artists (not just, 'hey dude that's nice' but something with a little more depth); being available and friendly and letting the newbies know that they can ask you a question and you won't bit their heads off, or worse in my opinion, ignore them entirely.
There are a lot of people out there who are reading this interview who would like to try photomanipulation but are afraid to try, or are not sure where to start. What would you tell them?
Just try it out, if you find its not an art-form that expresses your voice the way you want it to then you can always move onto something else, but you'll never know if you don't try. There are lots of tutorials and friendly folk who will answer a question to the best of their ability, so there's lots of help to get you started. Most of the people in the photomanipulation community are very nice and don't bite unless you request that they do.
With love from me to you, CatherineCruz
