I'm always interested in the techniques of other artists, and also what tools are out there, so I'm wondering: what software do you favor when doing coloring?

Photoshop. I use 5.5, but that is because...well, it's what I got

Actually, I've used all versions except for CS, and 5.5 is my favourite.

Photoshop CS. It's not all that...

I've heard that CS is a real resource suck. I decided not to use it because of that

The one thing I really like about CS (from what I've heard about it, anyway) is that you can twist the brush heads around. I like that idea.

I'm big into customized brushes, and, if I want to aim 'em in different directions in 5.5, I have to make further customized versions.

But, then, 5.5 digs into my resources enough - I used to just have my 10gig hard drive set up as the only scratch disk for 5.5, but then I started painting files that were larger than 200megs, which just caused trouble.

Now, I have my 80gig HD set up as the scratch disk, and things are cool. I even painted a file that topped out at about 850megs, and it still worked just fine. Took an hour and forty-five minutes to save the damn thing, but it worked just fine otherwise...

Woah. That's one long save, man.

Yup. It's a good think I have my Playstation 2 to see me through the hard times

No shit. You could watch a movie in the time it takes to save that file, but it's cool that your computer can handle such a large file without imploding.

Fortunately, most of the work I do only runs between 20 and 50megs, nothing at all to worry about. Which is good, as, when I'm colouring a comic book, I tend to like to have entire sequences (2 to 5 pages in length) open at the same time... just to cross-reference colours and such.

I understand. I've often wished for another monitor for that reason. And sometimes fractals can really get unweildy and huge -- some of my files are close to a gig, like yours.

There are some tweaks I've recently done to get CS to run a bit better. I was having horrible lag between my Wacom and the monitor when inking something. I reformatted the entire hard drive and partitioned about 20 gigs for my scratch disk alone. I also put XP on it's own 10 gig partition. I think that Ian's idea is the best in having a second HD is the best, but I can't afford one right now. If you let CS suck up your resources, it will, so you have to try to limit it as best as you can. There is a whole write up on Adobe's website on how to tweak your machine to get it to run smoother. I also read another article that talked about not having PS CS load all the fonts when the program starts.

I think if 5.5 is working for you, then there's no reason to go to CS or CS2. I've even thought of "borrowing" my work copy for home just because of the performance issues of CS. I personally think Adobe needs to get their act together a bit more and make the software more hardware friendly in that you shouldn't have to tweak all this stuff just to get a decent performance out of it.

Tina - when you get a chance, would you post some of your fractals? I like to see them.

I'm using PhotoShop 5.5 for much the same reason Ian is!

I have tried CS at the office, but I prefer mine more. (tho there are a few features in CS I like)
'course, I'm not a Pro.....what I do is for fun, and learning (mostly, once some things clear, I may post a few things I've done professionally).

Sure, Matthew. I haven't done much fractal work at all lately, mostly some coloring, as school has kept me really busy. Here are few -- hope they don't break the board. Please keep in mind they were created to be viewed on a white background. Thanks for asking.

Here's one called Me, Jane:


Post-Modern Non-Objectivity:


Allergy Season in D-Minor:


Cosmos:


Emotional Depths:


Pliable:


Angles

Those are beautiful pieces!!

Yes! They're fun to look at for sure. I couldn't even begin to start something like that.

Thank you for your kind comments.

They were generated with free fractal programs and then post-processed, to one degree or another, in Photoshop. What I love about the programs I use, created by Stephen Ferguson, is that they, more than any others, give the most vibrant color blends. Being all about color, that does it for me.