Book Image

Draw and Paint Better with Krita

By : Wesley Gardner
Book Image

Draw and Paint Better with Krita

By: Wesley Gardner

Overview of this book

Krita is a free, open-source digital painting program with industry-leading functionality and a creative suite of tools able to bring any visual idea to life. It allows for a fast, clean approach to creating digital art, without the hassle of pay-to-play or subscription license fees, but just like all other art software, it takes time and effort to learn it. This book provides a comprehensive look into functional tools, visual problem-solving, and leading painting techniques using Krita to unleash your inner artist. You’ll learn the functionality and tools of Krita for creating digital and print-quality work as well as explore manipulation toolsets, custom brush creation, overviews of color spaces, and layer management. As you progress, you’ll get to grips with ‘key styles’ needed to make professional-grade digital art, through techniques such as photobashing, 3D paint-overs, and more traditional painting methods, along with covering how Krita handles these workflows. Next, you’ll work through a few step-by-step art pieces using the skills and tools learned throughout the book. By the end of this Krita book, you’ll have a solid understanding of the Krita work environment and be able to bring your artistic visions to life with a myriad of leading industry-standard techniques.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
1
Part 1: Intro to Krita and Digital Art Terminology Review
6
Part 2: Methods of Visual Communication within Krita
11
Part 3: Projects Unleashing Your Inner Artist with Krita

Summary

In this chapter, our goal was to accurately transfer information from a stock photograph to a canvas. There are many ways to approach transferring an image, all of which are equally valid. Artistic intent, knowledge of skillsets (or lack thereof), setting goals, and the willingness to use tools to aid in the pursuit of your goal is a balance each artist must find for themselves. Whether you use elements of tracing, gridding, pure transferring-by-eye, or a mix of all of these methods, Krita can comfortably handle the task at hand. The tools are there; you just need to utilize them in the way that suits your vision the best!

We looked at the Reference Image Tool and the Grid and Guides docker, activated the Subwindows mode for multiple windows, and broke down some helpful hints and tricks for finding a proper stock image to study.

In Chapter 10, Enforcing Fundamentals, we will be taking this study to the finish line, and primarily discuss some helpful tips on painting using...