folioacademy.com is a website that sells video tutorials in a wide range of mediums. From painting in acrylics, photoshop, watercolors, oils and sculpting. To beginning drawing, perspective drawing, digital inking and coloring in corel painter, and How to draw Monsters, Aliens, and Dinosaurs!

I became aware of this website. Because I previously bought Will Terry's "Digital Painting in Photoshop" video from his personnel website. He now only sells his videos through folioacademy.com. The website has just been updated and is easier to navigate.

Video prices range from $9.99 to $29.99. And work on both Mac, and PC computers.  The video works on all versions of iphones, ipods, ipads, and other smartphone devices. I also like that they use paypal for money transaction. Which means your credit card is secure.

folioacademy.com

Cryptcrawler video tutorial by Brad Rigney

TheArtDepartment.org

Theartdepartment.org Is an online school teaching both digital and traditional media. They have drastically reduced the prices for their video tutorials. Videos which used to cost $20 are now $6.99 each. They have over 36 videos covering painting faces, inking, portraits, character design, painting cloths, perspective, and creature design. The gem in the bunch has to be Brad Rigney (Cryptcrawler). I actually paid the full price for this video, $60 over a year ago. Brad starts the video with a mini tutorial teaching his own techniques on how to paint. After you practice his technique your ready to start the main tutorial, which is over four hours long. Below is a link to the Cryptcrawler youtube commercial. It has a speed painting sample of what you will paint.

Theartdepartment.org

Cryptcrawler sample video on youtube

Carlos Cabrera is a freelance illustrator and concept designer from Argentina. He has great fantasy art character tutorials, that you can download onto your computer, ipod, and ipad for free. His style is loose and painterly. You have to have some basic knowledge of Adobe Photoshop to complete his tutorial. The videos are not narrated, its more like a slow pace speed painting tutorial. You have to watch carefully on which tools he is using and brush setting.

Link to Carlos Cabrera tutorials http://www.carloscabrera.com.ar/

Heres a great Illustrator tutorial called "Making of Jamukha Got Milk" by Rodney Mella. In this tutorial you have to already know some basics in Adobe illustrator. Like creating gradients, gradient Mesh, pattern swatches, brushes and layer management. You could get by if you have a book called Visual Quick start guide covering Adobe Illustrator. So you could look up on how to do gradient meshes and etc. Or you can search the web on how to do them. This is one of those tutorials you fell you did a great accomplishment when completed. The final image will look better then most art created in illustrator. Heres the link "Making of Jamukha Got Milk" by Rodney Mella.

"Making of Jamukha Got Milk" by Rodney Mella.

My version of Jamukha

I crave a cold glass of milk when I eat chocolate chip cookies.

So, I added a jar full of chocolate chip cookies to the image.

I enjoy working in Adobe Illustrator for my children's picture books. But, I attended a book fair, and Daniel Kirk the writer and illustrator for Library Mouse mentioned in his lecture. That in the early 90s their was a huge wave of digital and 3D illustrated children's books that hit the market. But they have since went away and went back to a hand painted style. Regardless if the illustration was hand painted or created on a computer. I decided to make myself more marketable by using photoshop to illustrate my next picture book, leaving the comfort of working in Adobe Illustrator. I wanted to practice illustrating loose style before I start my next book. And I ran across a youtube commercial selling a video tutorial teaching painting with textures by Will Terry. The tutorial is called "Digital Painting in Photoshop" its a downloadable video which cost $29.99. I really enjoyed working on the tutorial. I learned several new techniques in the lessons. And was well narrated describing color theory, use of lights and darks, and texture. He also broke down his brush setting and opacity setting, which is often forgotten in other tutorials. Terry talked a little about children's picture book industry working with publishers, and art directors. I would recommended Will Terry video tutorial to both professional and amateurs. He also has video tutorial on "How to illustrate children's books" and Acrylic painting. Here the link to Will Terry Store http://www.willterry.com/store.php

My image created by Will Terry tutorial

Sony Trik Contest

I entered the Sony Trik contest which was held on deviant Art.com.

Trik is a docking station for MP3 player that you can customize.

Just remove the speaker ring, take the acrylic cover off and change the

graphic sheet, easy! They have 1st, 2nd, 3d prizes and, also the top 25

finalist entries will be available for purchase on SkinIt.com. So the 25

finalist can still earn some cash when customers buy their Art. Below are

my entries to the contest. The first is a pray mantis, I came up with the

design because of the shape of the trik gave me. Second is a bright

colored version of a pray mantis. And for the third, theirs was not

a lot of art for females in the entries. So I took the candy from my

book "Dannys a Candy" and covered the panel with them. I believe

My third entry has the best chance of placing.

Dannys a Candy

The inspiration for my book "Dannys a Candy" came from the image below.

I created "Candy Corn Man" for an online Halloween illustration contest.

I thought the image could be made into a scary Halloween story. Which I'm

still considering making. But I didn't want to be the cause of nightmare to

small children. So, I changed "Candy Corn Man" to "Dannys a candy".

Candy Corn Man

Additional images from "Dannys a Candy"