ArtStation Marketplace: I was given $50 to spend, this is what I chose. (Reviews to come)
The amazing people at ArtStation gave me an early Christmas present! I received a $50 gift certificate to use in the ArtStation Marketplace.
In the past, I was a writer for the Wacom InfoChannel, Advanced Photoshop Magazine and Photoshop Creative Magazine. During that time, I wrote articles featuring amazing and talented artists from around the world. Additionally, I produced over 18 events featuring artists as well as two full scale creative conferences for Adobe. It was amazing featuring talented creatives on the stage and inspiring the creative community.
Because of this ArtStation asked if I would like to review some of the products in their Marketplace. So, this will be a beginning to the series where I feature some of items available in the Marketplace as well as the brilliant artists producing them.
EXPLORING THE MARKETPLACE ON ARTSTATION
I could spend hours looking scrolling through the Marketplace… there is simply so much to offer. What I enjoy is that it allows artists not only to monetize their work, but also inspire others.
You can find tutorials, brushes, reference photos, sculpting tools for 3D, game assets, game assets, artwork, comics and more. With over 56,800 items in the Marketplace there is something for everyone. Also it covers the gambit of software and game development engines: Photoshop, Illustrator, Procreate, Clip Studio Paint, Affinity Designer/Photo, Unreal Engine, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Maya, Unity and more. Oh and FYI, there are also tutorials for traditional artists too, not just digital. Needless to say there is something for every creative.
What I Chose and Why…
First, I just want to briefly share what I decided to use my $50 on. It was a tough decision. Literally, I found so much on ArtStation that I wanted to buy. It will not be a one time trip so to speak, I will have to go back and get more. Once you purchase something it is automatically added to your library so that you can always access it.
What I do promise are follow-up articles that review what I purchased on ArtStation and hopefully alongside Q&A with the artists (hint hint… I will be reaching out to all of you soon!).
Essential Hand Poses by Juan Elias
Let’s face it, drawing feet and hands is not an easy task. Thus, I thought having some hand references would be useful, plus it allows me to practice drawing them. Juan has included 70+ photos!
1000+ Female & Knight Pictures Part 1 by Grafit Studios
Over the past few months I have been looking for photo books with face references to practice with. Prior to Corona, I was hosting Portrait Drawing Meetups and really wanted to get back into practicing.
I also have been looking for various reference photos for figure drawing and character design. Grafit Studios has several reference photo sets. I really like this one as I feel that not only would it be fun to draw knights, but could use some of these images to reference Cybperpunk style fighters/warriors (it is a stretch but I can do it!).
Portrait Painting in Photoshop — Video Tutorial by Yaşar VURDEM
Yaşar literally has tons of cool tutorials, brushes and more on the ArtStation Marketplace. It honestly was hart to choose just one. I also actually wanted his Skin Painting Tutorial as well. In fact, it was in my cart… but I opted to come back to it later on.
What I liked about this is that it has a one hour video with commentary. To me this is very important. Sure I love seeing process videos… but as a streamer/content creator on Behance myself, I think it is important to explain your process. So this is what I was looking for when it came to tutorials. Plus, he includes the sketch, reference image and brushes! More bang for your buck! I am really looking forward to digging into this one and writing a full review.
Lime Chan —Photoshop Painting Tutorial by Gui Guimaraes
I wanted something fun and when I saw this illustration I fell in love. Not only does the character look nicely illustrated, but it has cool glow effects!
Now, I was skeptical about spending $20 on one tutorial… but Gui did not let me down.
He included around 18 video tutorials that are fully narrated! Also a layered PSD as well as all the brushes that he used to create this stunning scifi girl.
Plus, he shared a link to his YouTube channel showcasing a sample. Hey, if you are going to promote yourself… do it RIGHT! This was very nice of him and I can say as a Marketing/PR expert, I can say this was smart way to entice people to buy your tutorial.
I am really looking forward to this. The cool thing is (and I did not know this) you can either watch video tutorials on ArtStation or download them. This is such a brilliant move by ArtStation! Not everyone has a lot of space on the computer, so being able to play them online or download them is wonderful.
Cyberpunk Sam — From Sketch To Final by Ibrahem Swaid
With the release of Cyberpunk 2077 this month. I have to say I am excited about diving into some Cyberpunk inspired artwork (in fact, I will feature some soon on my YouTube channel).
Needless to say when I discovered Ibrahem’s work I had to add it to my cart right away. In fact, it was the first thing I put into my cart.
Again it was important for me to find narrated tutorials. I just believe this provides more information and also give you a special insight not into the workflow of the artist, but also into their personality/character. So with 5.8 hours of video, I think I will have some cool insight into how Ibrahem creates stunning characters like this!
I Also Picked Up Some Freebies
There are several items in the Marketplace that are free. So, I decided to check them out.
Magda Proski
So, I live in the wonderful town of Düsseldorf, Germany. The city and the whole state of NRW is full of talented artists and is the home to Ubisoft Blue Byte. As I mentioned early, I have featured several talented artists at live events and Behance / Dribbble Portfolio Reviews. One of the artists, that I featured is Magda. Maybe you have already heard of her, as she was also featured in ImagineFX magazine issue 166 (hint hint, nudge nudge… find this issue online and buy it)!
Anyways, Magda is super talented… nice… and a brilliant person. In fact, she was nice enough to sit with me in Coffee Fellows one time for a few hours to show me Clip Studio Paint (note I gave away a copy of Clip Studio Paint Pro on my YouTube channel and will be giving another license away soon, so make sure to follow me there). Anyways, back to Magda… you have to check out her work. Also, she has hosted a live workshop! So hopefully after we get through this whole Corona mess, she can host some more as I would definitely attend!
Hint hint, nudge nudge to Magda…. I think everyone would love for you create some in-depth tutorials for the Marketplace. I know I would pay for them and others would too! Your work is super awesome… but you already know that!
Free Brushes for Clip Studio Paint by Sundeep Kumar
I thought it could be cool to pick this up as well. It never hurts to have more brushes in your arsenal of assets.
So I am quite happy that Sundeep was nice enough to share some for FREE!
Character Color/Render for Beginners by Cristina Cid
Cristina Cid from Barcelona, has some amazing artwork on ArtStation. Her characters are really beautiful and well designed.
Thus, when I saw she had a FREE tutorial, I had to nab it.
I am really looking forward to going through this and checking out. Thanks Cristina for sharing this cool tutorial with all of us!
Tips Are Appreciated
What is cool, whether what you selected… you can leave your favorite artists at tip. I think this was a nice gesture by ArtStation. Of course tips are optional, but if you start purchasing several items from one artist it could be nice to leave him or her or them a tip.
WRAP…
Again, this going to be an ongoing series. I will write reviews on various items that I acquire from the ArtStation Marketplace. I am hoping that several artists will agree to take part by doing a small interview for those articles.
I think the Marketplace is really special. It allows artists to earn money, gain exposure and inspire other creatives. Whether you are digital artist or traditional artist you will be able to find things that in the Marketplace that are useful.
I want to thank ArtStation for this opportunity and for the $50 Gift Certificate! I think I will have my hands full for the next few weeks creating content based on what I added to my ArtStation Library. Hopefully, I can produce some cool work along the way.
Visit my profile on ArtStation and see what I have created! If you like it, then make sure to follow me and comment on my projects.
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