Hi all, I am after a program for my macbook that is easy to navigate around and generate psychedelic/visionary style art. I am coming close to completion on an album of music and don't really have much money for commissioning another artists work and want to have a go at generating some occultish, dark psychedelic art for the album cover. I have a background in drawing from way back but haven't done it in ages and have a good eye for what I like personally and thought my best bet is to try in digitally to see what comes out...

Any suggestions would be much appreciated

Give Photoshop a try. Not much it can't do...

Also, Corel Painter 12.

Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Quartz Composer is sick for trippy video animations. There are tons of programs that will help you push pixels in anyway imaginable. Especially on a Mac.

If you want to draw freehand, look into the Wacom line of tablets. You'll be able to draw into a program like illustrator, then use the applications powerful tools to manipulate your drawing.

Awesome, thanks guys! I thought photoshop would be one of the ones to use but good to hear a few alternatives too

Photoshop is possibly the most versatile of them all, although it lacks some of Illustrator's specialized functions. One great thing about PS is that you can know only 1% of it and still be able to do quite a bit... And you'll keep learning new tricks and capabilities every day (I am, even after 15 years). It's also a great platform for bringing things together- a background photo that you've imported off a camera, with a 3D object created in a separate program, with a scan of a line drawing. The level of control possible is complete and total, down to the last pixel. You can also simply draw and paint in it.

The tablet, as RayTracer mentioned, is essential. The Wacom Bamboo is like $69 or something like that. I prefer the smaller tablets because I can navigate the screen corner to corner with one wrist movement.

If you want to do anything in 3D, zBrush is an amazing program with a very intuitive and versatile interface. You use a configurable airbrush to "paint" material on and off objects. It's great for figures, animals, organic stuff, as well as crazy geometric objects ;look at Art VanD'Lay's Ganesh in the front page collab thread: https://www.dmt-nexus.me...sts&t=36734&p=12

3D studio Max seems to have its own unique set of tools: check out the Daedaloops snake animation in Art Bin: ttps://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=22752&p=10

There are some great and amazingly trippy fractal generators out there too... Great for backgrounds. Then in PS you can merge layers of backgrounds, create transparency effects, use blurs or distortions or other effects... It's limitless, and once you get the hang of the menus you'll find it easy to play around with all kinds of different options in shortish periods of time.

Don't be afraid to post stuff in progress and ask advice... There are a lot of veteran PS artists here, many of us Mac users.

Wow Guyomech, great post! I checked out some of the linked thread, some great stuff on there.

It obviously can go pretty deep with what you can do, kinda similar to Pro Tools in the audio world (that's what I use and feel like I've gotten to a level with it where I can do justice to the sounds in my head). Thanks for that, I might just start with photoshop, I have a friend who wants to swap some guitar teaching for some photoshop tips so that might be the best way for me to start, thanks for all the advice everyone!

I used to be pretty anti-Corel. But I got the chance to watch Android Jones do a little seminar with it a few weeks back and was hooked. The stuff he does with it (others do crazy cool stuff too) is just incredible. I'm now on a quest for a Wacom tablet after 20 years of mouse drawing.

http://www.androidjones.com/

Super nice guy. Was really cool to watch him work some and be able to ask questions.

So yeah... Painter 12 - but I use Illustrator, Photoshop, and a couple different fractal generators as well.

(Fractal Architect 2 - for flame fracs)

Really, with any of these tools (individually or in combination) and the know how, one can make very visionary art.

Good luck

Wow, another serious digital artist with no tablet! I oughtta start up a carpal tunnel clinic...

Basic Wacom Bamboo, $69!

I'm trying to score a used Create. Android had a big Cintique... it was luscious looking to work on but it'll be a while before I have that kind of bread to drop.

Guyomech... I'll take any recomendations on tablets that take advantage of the pressure sensitive stuff . Maybe a Bamboo Create is really more than I need ot get rolling.

I'm busting for an Intuos 4 medium....soon come.

Also Groboto for a mac is a worth while addition...

or go PC...everything is free...

@Pup http://www.totemical.com/artwork

Is that your work? gorgeous!

I wish...

me:
https://www.dmt-nexus.me...osts&t=35902&p=2

Beautiful as well my friend! A pleasure to behold

I've logged thousands of hours with my cheap-ass Bamboo. It has no bells or whistles at all but is one of the most useful things I've ever bought. Don't let your desire for a $2800 Cintiq stop you from making this very inexpensive upgrade.

Does the low end Bamboo dealio support painting and the pressure sensitive stuff? I was under the impression it didn't, but I'll go back and read some more - they seem kind of vague with features...

I don't need the pomp and splendor either. If it does those two things.... cheap is good

Sweet!.... the splash does what I want.... $79 out the door... me thinks I'll be dropping that coin today or tomorrow.

Thanks for the inspiration to stop procrastinating Guyo!

Intuos4 (or 5) is the way to go.

Hey I have a question about the tablets that don't have a screen built into them (in other words the ones that normal people can afford), how do you know where you're putting the pen on the tablet? I mean does it start drawing immediately when you place the pen on it, or is it like you gently place it first and then you can move the cursor around, and if you use more pressure it starts to draw? Or however it works does it feel natural and do you get used to it quickly? It feels a bit weird that you would be drawing into another place and looking at the result on another place.

It starts to track when the pen is a half inch or so above the tablet, and the cursor follows on screen as you move your hand. Once you touch the tablet, you're drawing (or painting, or sculpting...).

There is a tiny bit of a learning curve, but after a few days it feels completely natural. Once you use one you'll never go back. You need a good one, however, with solid tracking and sophisticated pressure control.