My work got published! ...but uh...

[Michael Angelo Go]

@Melissa-Bailey-0 @NessIllustration Yeah I can definitely live with this one and chalk it up as experience. My client asked me to design the cover and told me that the text should be a shade of green.

I really hate the limitations of CMYK. If only there was a way for our art programs to work in a setting that already has printing set in mind. I feel like it's going to be tricky trying to figure out what colors work and what don't. Well at least it primarily concerns blues and greens right(????)

[NessIllustration]

@Michael-Angelo-Go In digital art you can set your canvas to be in CMYK mode from the start. It will only let you use colors that are printable so you can see right away what it looks like.

[Michael Angelo Go]

@NessIllustration I'm not seeing a CMYK mode on my Paint Tool Sai interface. Maybe I need to upgrade...

[Melissa_Bailey]

@Michael-Angelo-Go it's best, if you're working digitally, to start in the CMYK color mode. Some art apps have this feature, some don't, and some do but the color accuracy is questionable.

Photoshop, which is the go-to for most professional illustrators who work digitally, allows you to set the color profile to CMYK from the start, and you can also customize the profile to the specific CMYK profile the printer uses. Super helpful!

Procreate, which is the app I prefer (when I illustrate digitally), recently came out with a CMYK profile, but other illustrators have reported that it's not true CMYK so colors still can be wonky when converted to a printer's preferred CMYK profile. So I stick with the sRGB color profile and choose a palette that I know will print true-to-color in CMYK. Then, when the art is complete, I export it over to Photoshop and convert to the color profile the project calls for.

Affinity Photo, which is meant to compete with Photoshop and which some artists prefer to use because it is a one-time purchase instead of a subscription, offers the ability to work in various color profiles, including CMYK. I haven't used it, but I have used Affinity Publisher (which is meant to compete with InDesign), which isn't as easy to use as Adobe InDesign but does have most of the same capabilities and will export in the same file formats. Affinity is a decent, lower-budget alternative to Adobe products.

Have never heard of the program you use, so can't offer any insight there.

Hope this helps!

[Michael Angelo Go]

@Melissa-Bailey-0

Oh Paint Tool Sai is pretty old, at least in my opinion. The program was released in 2006 and it became very popular among DeviantArt artists. I watched a lot of speedpaints videos on Youtube when I was in high school, so I quickly latched onto the program.

[Melissa_Bailey]

@Michael-Angelo-Go yeah, I'd say that for an art drawing program, that's pretty old! Is there a recent update? Is the program still be supported?

If the answers to those questions are "no", then you may want to consider switching over to a different art app/program.

Especially if you are working as a professional artist, your clients are going to expect (and they deserve) high quality art from you, delivered in all the formats they need for their project. It is a legitimate business expense to ensure that you're working on a program that allows you to do that and also to work comfortably and efficiently.

[Michael Angelo Go]

@Melissa-Bailey-0 No Paint Tool Sai got an update and I am using the "Ver. 2".

But I see what you're saying. I have considered buying ProCreate since that's what everyone else is using. But I am so BROKE, because the pandemic has made it extremely hard for someone like me to find work that I cannot afford to buy a new tablet, program, etc. There's actually a lot of things I need to buy for myself to probably boost my career, but I don't have the financial means of attaining them and I am really sad about that.

I haven't had a job since Feb 28 of last year. I'm really bitter about that

[lpetiti]

@Michael-Angelo-Go I believe ProCreate is a one time purchase, so that might help. It's an investment in your business after all, and therefore could be deductible as a business expense.

[Michael Angelo Go]

@lpetiti yeah but I don't have a iPad...

[lpetiti]

You may want to consider subscribing to Adobe, just for Photoshop at least as well. While I pay $30 a month for the entire suite, I believe you can also subscribe to one program for about $10. I agree that using an outdated program that's not receiving an updates might hinder rather than help you, so it might be worthwhile to make a small investment now.

[NessIllustration]

@Michael-Angelo-Go Oh wow, really? I haven't heard that name in forever! Indeed Sai does not support CMYK which makes it a bad choice for any professional print projects. Photoshop, Procreate, and even free programs like Gimp all support CMYK.

[Melissa_Bailey]

@Michael-Angelo-Go I hear ya! The pandemic has really affected all of us.

If you have the updated version and your tools are still in working order, there's nothing wrong with using what you have and updating when funds are available. When funds are available, there are affordable programs and tablets that might be a good "in between" purchase until that time when your career or budget allows you to invest in top-of-the-line equipment. While I use an iPad Pro now, that's only because I'm leasing the equipment for business use. And my first iPad was a "regular old" iPad that I didn't get until 2018, 8 years into freelancing. There's no shame in utilizing what you have until it makes sense for your business or budget to upgrade.

And, if you're not currently working on a project, you don't really have to worry about the CMYK issue, since right now you're probably focused on updating your portfolio. So that's a bonus!

When the next job does come in, that may be an opportunity to upgrade. If you buy something specifically in order to do a job, it's a legitimate business expense and you can also work supplies into your price. Until then, keep your chin up! These tough times won't last forever.

[Melissa_Bailey]

@lpetiti I agree that it's best to use a program specifically designed to make your job easier -- I learned that the hard way! But while Adobe is probably one of the best choices out there, it's not the only choice. (This coming from someone who pays for the full Creative Cloud subscription! )

Adobe's full subscription did cost me $30 USD initially, but after that introductory price expires, it's about $55 USD per month. For me, it's a legitimate business expense as I use Adobe products every day. But for someone else, they might not be able to afford it, especially if they don't live in the US. The conversion rate might be too steep. Just something to keep in mind.

[lpetiti]

@Melissa-Bailey-0 I agree; I definitely feel fortunate to be able to claim an educator discount on it, it helps a lot.

[carlianne]

Ugh that's frustrating! But a good learning experience for sure.

Regarding the program you're using, to be honest, Adobe Photoshop is only $10 a month and is the standard in the industry. If you plan to work professionally you'll be expected to have it and to know how to use it. I think Jake even said in the last podcast that even though he uses procreate, he always uses photoshop to do the final preps on his files for print. If you don't have a tablet you can probably find a used one, I know that I have some from 2004 that still work fine.

[Michael Angelo Go]

@carlianne

Gosh, I really need to invest. I won't approach another agency until I can get a hold of these programs.

Right now I'm just scrambling for work.

[Michael Angelo Go]

@NessIllustration

Have you ever used Paint Tool Sai anytime in your life? High school? College? During your career?

To be honest it really sucks that printers cannot produce a lime green or a saturated shade of blue. I did a test on a couple of my latest works I haven't shared yet!

[NessIllustration]

@Michael-Angelo-Go I used Paint Tool Sai back when I used to do digital speed paintings, circa 2010 or so I want to say? As for the lime green and neon blue in CMYK, honestly I personally don't mind it so much. I have a tendency to go a bit overboard with very flashy colors, and it's often not very tasteful. Using CMYK helps me tamp down on my neon color tendency. In the images you showed the colors on the CMYK version are still very bright. And it's always possible to make them seem brighter than they are by using duller or darker surrounding colors. There is very rarely a good reason to use neon colors in illustration. In my experience if the color won't print, it's probably bright enough to hurt someone's eyes...

[glenfx]

I got to use Paint tool SAI until around 2014 when I came upon PaintStorm Studio, it works and feels similar but it is incredibly much better than SAI. It also features some of the tools found in photoshop and sketchbook pro as well (the rulers are and the rope (lazy mouse) are the best imho) so it is a really great program and It is also very cheap, I highly suggest you to try it out.

Another program you can use is Clip Studio Paint, really great overall program that has a huge deal of tools similar to photoshop as well as really cool brush customization features. It is worth much more than PaintStorm though.
I wouldn't go with an ipad and procreate just because everyone else and their mothers are using it, most of it is just hype.

About your original topic, yep, it is a cmyk problem, you can avoid color conversion issues if you work with less saturated colors, so try avoiding picking colors at the top right corner, this should reduce a lot of the problems when converting to cmyk.

[Michael Angelo Go]

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