>Dear Sci artists
>Please can you help.?
>I have been toying with the idea of creating pen and ink or line
>drawings using a computer and the appropriate soft ware.I am just a
>beginner and have not the faintsest idea where to start and whether
>this is possible.So off I went to a pc store and saw Corel Draw
>9.Well I simply fell right out of my tree when I saw the price.But
>for the meantime I have resolved to find some literature which can
>tell me more about illustrating with a computer.I would like to ask
>you whether you know of any book or other literature that gives an
>introduction to this.Thank you in anticipation.
>James Le Roux

James,

You might want to consider several other programs befor you decide on
Corel Draw. Line drawings can be done as Vector art (print any size)
or Pixel art (print best at the creation size).

____________

Painter (also owned by corel)- This is a pixel based program for
painterly effects, and works best if you hav a pressure sensitive
tablet.

PhotoShop- King of the hill in Pixel manipulation (but not painterly
effects)., Works best if you hav a pressure sensitive tablet.
______________

Adobe Illustrator
Macromedia Freehand
Canvas

These three do vector art, like Corel Draw, which is ideal for pen
and ink representations on the computer.

I personally prefer Adobe Illustrator, but I have not seen the Corel
interface in several years, so they may have improved it.

Are you on a Mac or PC, and how old is it?

I would recommend you visit the site of all these products, Most have
a tour or overview that will give you a bit of an idea what they do.
Many have tutorials as well, which may be better than many of the
books out there.

I can not recommend a general book that I like for a beginner
overview of pixel and Vector based art creation.  I do like the "Real
World" books which have nitty gritty details on specific programs
(PhotoShop and Illustraator), They may offer some more general books,
and the press that makes them has many good offerings.
http://peachpit.com

If you can wait a couple of years the revised GNSI Handbook should
have some info on this ;7)
--
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