The imbedded video on this site, and the download, both have serious distortions, pixilating, delays, and artifacting that's really distracting. It actively makes it difficult to follow along in the lesson because the video will stick while Jon is talking and the viewer can't see what settings or controls are used. By the end of the video it's a severely jumbled mess. I'm hoping this was an rendering issue with the output file after editing, and hopefully a new pass can provide a better file for the viewers. If someone could look into this, it would be greatly appreciated.

This was the best description of Photoshop, and brush engines in general, that I've seen. It's really helped me understand the more subtle choices/setting with much better control than I had before.

Dissolve can be really useful to make quick 5 o'clock shadow. Use a textured brush in a blue to lay down the pattern of hair and then blur the layer to make it blend into the skin.

Where were the results posted?

Well, I think the ones in the Proko store are good. If you don't like these, there's Grafit Studios, Satine Zillah, many on Cubebrush and Art Station...

Your work is beautiful. I think, especially in this case, that the detail in the background detracts from the focus. I like the brighter surface, but less detail like the first draft. I'd suggest a medium between them with suggested texture and leave it at that unless there's a particular need. Always enjoy your work.

New work to post of my boy Chef, who passed in 2018. Would appreciate the opinion of other animal artists, like @Harmony Steel! First time doing fur in digital, and that was a learning experience...

This is my submission. Most beloved book of Isaak Asimov "Foundation and empire". Graphite + gold ink.

Most of you currently or have offered paid mentorships to students. This is clearly an appealing option to art school for many reasons. I'm curious to know what are the minimum level of pre-developed skill is best to bring before starting one of these mentorships? This is something that I don't really see listed by potential mentors. Will you take anyone and work with where they are, or recommend a certain amount of self-education first? I'm very curious about what is best to maximize the experience for both you and the student.

Hi everyone. This is my book cover, based on the first Sherlock Holmes book I read. It was really fun to do. In the photos I also include the drawing process. I started with the traditional drawing and then I painted it digitally.

I happily present "Theseus Slays the Minotaur, a study in Orange" for consideration. This entire piece is a single color, all values of Orange from a light beige to deep browns, no black or white. I'm inexperienced as a digital artist, but immediately wanted to make this piece look like an oil painting. So I used mixer brushes for the first time and had to learn a lot fast. I kept it kind of blocky and as traditional as possible, so I resisted the urge to overwork the edges that digital can create. I purposely left it a little rough looking. Bullfinch's Mythology is not an exciting read, but it inspired a lot of wonder and realizations for me as a kid. The stories of epic myths, very flawed gods, and of course of the creatures was fascinating to me. It was a big part of leading me to embrace my full nerdiness with a love of fantasy, sci-fi, geek culture, and of course the art. I hope some of you are able to enjoy this piece, I worked very hard on it, and it was a great learning experience. Thanks for a great challenge!

Hey everybody, Here is my submission for the April Proko Challenge. I've been relistening to Lovecrafts work recently and thought he'd make a good subject. I based my design on the woodcut novels of Lynd Ward. Hope you like the result.

Hi @Matthew Kuester. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. You will now see the videos for download in those lessons.

Hello Marco, I really enjoy your content here and wherever I can access it. I've been a traditional artist and teaching myself PS in the past year. In Lesson 5a you comment how Multiply mode is like working in watercolor. This was a huge epiphany for me in how to relate to when to consider switching to that mode. Modes are still clunky for me to know which to use, when to go up/down in value/color to make it work best, etc. Do you have any other suggestions of layer modes or digital tricks/settings in PS that you feel correlate to traditional techniques/mediums? Relating my traditional mindset to digital could always use pointers. Thank you! Excellent material as always.

Is the color wheel he is using available in Photoshop or is a plug-in or just a photo of a color wheel he is sampling from? I can't seem to find it, but I am a PS novice. The wheel that is available in my version of PS is a triangle inside of a the color circle, not a full wheel.

My first oil teacher taught me to put my palette on wax paper. Between sessions you cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the freezer. It thaws in like five or less minutes and ready to keep using. I've done this for months at a time.

Hello and Congrats on making this happen! I'm excited by the possibilities of what Proko 2.0 will bring. I'm a long-time traditional artist (oil, watercolor, pencil/charcoal, etc.) and started teaching myself digital last year. A huge part of the transition to digital is knowing how to use, create, and control brushes. Another is learning how to use the layer options besides "normal." Understanding these two areas seem to me to be critical to taking full advantage of what digital can offer an artist. Have you considered courses that will give some intermediate suggestions on tips and tricks to use these digital areas effectively? Thank you. (And in the small chance this is read, the "u" in my last name is silent... :) )

Hello! I'm Mattias, 45 years old, from Sweden. I went obsessed with art as a kid, went to artschool in the early 90's. Got a job as a portrait painter in the late 90's - but it was not creative and took piece and piece away from my passion. When I quit that job I moved and got into a studio in Stockholm with my wife, but we lost the second hand contract on the place. Slowly I painted less and less. I also have an education and experience as a webdeveloper, and it was an easier way to make money. I still did small, occasional jobs with painting/drawing/illustration and such in my local area, but not very often. In 2017/18 I suddenly got a strong urge to draw and paint again, I'm not sure why (you may call it a midlife crisis ;) ) So I started drawing again, and just recently we got a studio with room for the whole family, and I'm getting back to painting. I've also found the local art school (one block away from where I live) have life drawing sessions. Life is good. Some images of inkwork attached.

Hello there :) my name is Zach and I'm from Australia. So cool to see so many skilled artists in here, really looking forward to getting to know everyone and their work. I think it's invaluable to be able to connect to other artists, to learn from and inspire each other. I love to draw all sorts of subject matter, usually of a more macabre nature. I mostly work traditionally and enjoy working in graphite or ink. I always find myself getting lost in doing little details and gritty textures. In the last few months I've started colouring my work digitally. So I'd love to learn all that I can from some digital artists :) Even though I've been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil, sharing my work has been a recent development (especially to an online audience). It really has been an eye opener for me, how kind and supportive other artists are. I guess we are all in the same boat Here are a few of my pieces :)