Advice question on best route to take

[cksuhr]

My 14 yr old son is a very good artist. Right now he is using Paint and a mouse. What would be the best course of action, or what software, hardware so I look into get him to encourage this talent. Does most of his drawing using the circle , square tools and modifing from there. Is Flash a good way to good? Thanks for any suggestions in this area

[ivanjarvis]

im 14 aswell and im artist! So i'd say hmmm......photoshop is one of the best programs out there. Flash is just to make animations on the computer (not drawn by hand) Also, there is a program called Corel Painter but its a little advanced, im still trying to find out how to use it myself. So I'd say photoshop would be the way to go.

[gasbag15]

Flash isn't a program aimed for art - it is used for making web based applications, multimedia websites and other various things (can be used for animation too) but it isn't equipped with the drawing tools best for art pieces(its about as limited as paint ).

Most likely you would want to invest in a program like Adobe Photoshop (there are others such a Corel Painter, etc but I think Photoshop is the best) although this is a rather expensive piece of software :S but you aren't going to find anything else similar for a much different price.

Another thing you could look into buying is a Wacom drawing tablet. It is like a pad that can be drawn on which will then be directly transfered into a program like Photoshop - this isn't as expensive as Photoshop but it can still be fairly costly (anywhere between $100 - $1000+ depending on which country you're in ofcourse)

If he is keen on drawing and art you should help him by getting books and stuff on drawing techniques and other useful tips, never know, maybe you will get into it to

Hope this has helped you alittle

[cksuhr]

My son is very interested in creating a game / animation. What is the best way to focus his talent as a artist. Would it be better to look towards Maya or other animation software or keep him into PSP / Photoshop and flat art. Do you think he would enjoy flash for game making?

[ivanjarvis]

maya is way too difficult... If he is intrested in making a game you should get'm flash. If he is more into digital art get him PS...or you could get him both!!!

[ddobson]

Speaking as someone who always has more ideas than time to implement them, I'd challenge your son to define what it is he wants to DO right now, then find the tools to do it with. It's not hard to do some research these days on the Web, download a few demos and see what works out. There are software programs for doing EVERYTHING, it seems - a little focus may help him pick a tool, master it, then look elsewhere as he outgrows it or finds his skill leading him in a different direction.

I would highly recommend a Wacom graphics tablet if he's used to working with traditional media; it even comes with a few nifty little graphics tools that'll keep him busy during the experimental/research phase, and any serious tool will support the Wacom tablet as he explores the technological options.

[gasbag15]

If he is interested in making basic games like you can play on websites and stuff, then yes Flash will be a very useful tool (there is a whole forum here devoted to game creation) but as ddobson was saying, I would just go out and buy a whole bunch of overly priced software for him to maybe lose interest in it after awhile.
Programs like maya and even flash take a fair bit of devotion to get the hang of.