First of all i just wanna say hi and i have been looking over this forums graphic designer content for the past few hours and i,m impressed.

Recently i was deciding what i should do for my highers in college in the next 5 months and thought to myself that i like art and love computers but i was not at all good at hand drawing or painting and didnt enjoy it all that much. Then came along the idea of becoming a graphic designer which means i dont need to become a great painter, i can become a good computer artist. Now that i have explained a little about me i wanted to ask some questions .

1. Where do you guys get your pictures from for creating characters/cartoons/vehicles?

2. What are some good beginner programs i can buy to get me started in contests and practice?

Anyways thats about it and i look forward to see what you all have to say, thanks

i dont get my pictures from no where.. thats where "I create my own images from scratch". only time i would use pictures if a customer intended putting in for like flyers, albums, etc. a good program is photoshop, but its pricey, other programs.. uhh i think like gimp? idk i neva used them b4, others can help you on that. All though if u aint good at drawing by hand, you still need be able to have creavity to produce a graphic.

Hi thanks for advice and is there anything that can help me or show me how to actually get started like make an actualt character or something?

Also i never meant to come across as a non-artistic type, i am. Also i,m not bad at hand drawing as it was my highest grade i got from school( top mark).

then hand draw your designs

scan them

import them into photoshop or illustrator

trace, fill, go nuts

that's where YOU can get YOUR images

Originally Posted by MattCoops

then hand draw your designs

scan them

import them into photoshop or illustrator

trace, fill, go nuts

that's where YOU can get YOUR images

I could practice and such, but when i finally get my multimedia degree in graphic design and go for a job, they might want me to use the computer instead of drawing,scanning,filling. So i dunno if its a good idea to get used to doing that if it does no help for me in my career , plus if you prefer the draw,scan,fill thing doesn't companys want you to have an art degree aswell as multimedia if your going to be drawing it? I thought it was the rules.

What i,m trying to ask is when i finish my multimedia degree and start looking for a full time graphic designer job will they ask for an art degree aswell if i draw my images on a pad?

Originally Posted by Yoozan

I could practice and such, but when i finally get my multimedia degree in graphic design and go for a job, they might want me to use the computer instead of drawing,scanning,filling. So i dunno if its a good idea to get used to doing that if it does no help for me in my career , plus if you prefer the draw,scan,fill thing doesn't companys want you to have an art degree aswell as multimedia if your going to be drawing it? I thought it was the rules.

What i,m trying to ask is when i finish my multimedia degree and start looking for a full time graphic designer job will they ask for an art degree aswell if i draw my images on a pad?

well your not going to be scanning everything, he meant mos tlikely only custom characters and stuff, the others you will do on the computer, using tools like the "pen tool", creating designs, making custom brushes to give a nice grunge effect, and etc. I have a graphic tablet, so i dont have to scan pictures, i can jsut sketch and color it there. If you want to do clean outlines, learn to use the pen tools, you can look up tutorials for it. in your college, you will learn all the basics and fundamentals and else you need to know to get a starting job.

Originally Posted by NeoWeapon

well your not going to be scanning everything, he meant mos tlikely only custom characters and stuff, the others you will do on the computer, using tools like the "pen tool", creating designs, making custom brushes to give a nice grunge effect, and etc. I have a graphic tablet, so i dont have to scan pictures, i can jsut sketch and color it there. If you want to do clean outlines, learn to use the pen tools, you can look up tutorials for it. in your college, you will learn all the basics and fundamentals and else you need to know to get a starting job.

Thanks, i will buy a good graphic tablet soon. One more question though will companys that i work ask for an art degree aswell if i draw my own custom characters on my tablet? I thought it was like a rule to have qualifications in any job for each thing you do. Or do alot of graphic designers still get hired when using a tablet and editing on computer without an art degree?

I would suspect most graphics designers get hired without an art degree. I've never met a graphic artist with an art degree .....I'm sure it would be a good thing to have, but I can't imagine that it is required or that most have it.
I would suggest checking into Photo Shop. Expensive but it's worth it. It has a tutorial built in. The tricks you learn with it will help you throughout your career. And if you lucky they might have a special student price for the software.
You might also look for some of the free resources of pics / images that are available for all to use. The hand drawing might get you started but to work with graphics the hand drawing is the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to do once the hand drawing is scanned in.
Enjoy and good luck with your career choice.

Originally Posted by DotHQ

I would suspect most graphics designers get hired without an art degree. I've never met a graphic artist with an art degree .....I'm sure it would be a good thing to have, but I can't imagine that it is required or that most have it.
I would suggest checking into Photo Shop. Expensive but it's worth it. It has a tutorial built in. The tricks you learn with it will help you throughout your career. And if you lucky they might have a special student price for the software.
You might also look for some of the free resources of pics / images that are available for all to use. The hand drawing might get you started but to work with graphics the hand drawing is the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to do once the hand drawing is scanned in.
Enjoy and good luck with your career choice.

Thanks for advice! I only decided i wanted to be a graphic designer a few days ago because for weeks i kept exploring computing jobs on internet and i was thinking of going into programming just for the money but have expereinced what it was like and its boring as hell for me. So i was tired of thinking about my career so i wrote down my interests(computers,art,games,etc). Then i took a career online test and it showed graphic desginer multiple times and i did some searching about it and i loved the idea. I,m defenatly gonna be a graphic designer. Thanks again.

Edit: Also what photoshop should i buy i think theres alot of them?

yea versions, the highest right now is photoshop cs2, although they are working on cs3 and have a beta version out right now, and no you dont need an art degree, just having the knowledge being able to create custom characters to have is good incase you want to insert it in whatever you are making such a flyer or etc. some graphic designers have only a certain area they like to do such as logo designing, doing magazines, and commercial stuff, i strive to be an all rounder tho, that is why i try everything such as illustrations, being able to do magazine, web templates, brochures, vectored characters, any types... it all depends on what you want to do? i mainly use graphic tablet only to do illustrations or sometimes for rendering out images... just make sure the tablet you getting is actually worth it that your going to be using it alot.. some are completely comfortable without it. some jobs dont always require a degree, as long you have a "GOOD PORTFOLIO", although a degree helps out if they dont have no background on you and can show that you have studied graphic design and have knowledge on it.

Originally Posted by NeoWeapon

yea versions, the highest right now is photoshop cs2, although they are working on cs3 and have a beta version out right now, and no you dont need an art degree, just having the knowledge being able to create custom characters to have is good incase you want to insert it in whatever you are making such a flyer or etc. some graphic designers have only a certain area they like to do such as logo designing, doing magazines, and commercial stuff, i strive to be an all rounder tho, that is why i try everything such as illustrations, being able to do magazine, web templates, brochures, vectored characters, any types... it all depends on what you want to do? i mainly use graphic tablet only to do illustrations or sometimes for rendering out images... just make sure the tablet you getting is actually worth it that your going to be using it alot.. some are completely comfortable without it. some jobs dont always require a degree, as long you have a "GOOD PORTFOLIO", although a degree helps out if they dont have no background on you and can show that you have studied graphic design and have knowledge on it.

Thanks a bunch man. I seen photoshop cs2 on adobe site and i was shocked with price tag, then i heard i can get it small computer shops for about £130(about $200). Is this possible, i don't trust ebay, never have so i dont think i would buy it there.

it all depends... is it new out of the box?, but anyways, as a student, you might be able to get it cheaper

If you cannot afford photoshop straight off maybe start with a free program like GIMP the photoshop tutorials available on the net are pretty much easy to follow using GIMP and its a start, as far as cartooning... I did a two year course most of my stuff is on paper as I started it before I got my hands on a comp as with anything in the art/graphics field ... practice, practice, practice and pen and tablet is cool but most times I still scan something in and then use the pen or mouse to recreate it or color

TATS Y U NEED A CINTIQ, DRAW RIGHT ON THE SCREEN, LOL but youll go broke if ur not rich.