Chapter#40

Hi guys! Been busy, busy! Not really? Yeah kinda. Anyway. For Lesson 4 we learned a

new really cool technique! It's like painting but…Painting digitally! xD

When it comes to rendering in Photoshop, I or a lot of people usually use a soft brush

to color in pictures for a soft gradient look~ I, once upon a time~ used to do this too~

That look can look good, but can make the image look pretty flat in a way~

So this technique is used to back-up that as well as giving it a better form as well.

So basically, imagine we're painting in real life, and all we have are two different

colors - red and yellow. By using the color pick tool (using the alt key is ultra handy!)

we can quickly select any color on the canvas (so like switching from red paint to

yellow paint) and paint over color over color! Like paint!~

Quick demonstration; we have red and blue, color pick the blue and paint on top of

the red. You'll have a slightly altered shade of blue on the red: color pick the new

shade on the red and apply to the blue side! From there do the same from the blue

to the red! Easy as that! Getting used to color picking can take awhile but.

When I saw and tried it for the first time, I was so slow! But after an hour, you'll

get the hang of it easy! It's all about rhythm! Here was my first time doing it! :D

The red blue combination doesn't actually look as good, but my teacher used the

same example! xD And his didn't look as good either! (No offence sir!)

And see that nose like thing there? That was made from 3-4 colors~

Pink, yellow, and black and white~ Pretty ok for a start I rekon. Anyway,

since the technique is pretty like painting applying paint over paint, there's not

that much to say about it~

So, pretty much do everything from the start of the last lesson up to the overlay

part. I actually didn't expect this image to look any good since I rushed those first

few steps pretty (PRETTY) badly. But as soon as I the rhythm of applying paint

started, I got movin' and the next thing I know was pretty much done…

Doesn't take that long at all! And there's nothing to is as well. Here's the first

three steps, to the final:

  First three steps...

Final. (Click here for Full Resolution)

On the alternative, because I didn't think it'd end up looking good, I was working

on another piece at the same time! Although it didn't really help cause at the start

it looked pretty horrible as well! Got better towards the end I think. Here!

So yeah, that's it for now. Till next time! Bye!~

Chapter#39

Holy crap, Blogtown's upped its game! This new post page looks so different O,="

Anyways! I'm aloive!~ Been awhile? Afew days? Weeks? Month? Yeeah~

Been caught up in the assignments cause they got abit more difficult with each

assignment so yeah. Let's get back to where we left off~ Mm, chyeah~

I'm just gonna go straight into the coloring, since the
basic lineart of the drawing was covered in Lesson 1~
But before that, make sure every layer for the lineart is
set to Multiply so that everything and anything under or
over blends with the lineart. Important!

Once done with that, on a new layer below the lineart
(for most layers used for coloring/shading) using the
lasso tool you pick out the darker areas of shade, and
fill it with a shade of grey with the layer blend mode
changed to Multiply~

After that, again with the lasso tool on a new layer below
pic out areas one at a time to color in~ Lasso Hair,paint
bucket red for example~ Here is what you should've
produced so far~

Extra steps from here; you can add other little minor details like patterns and such on the character, so that this way you didn't have to draw all the little details during the lineart stage~ This also looks cleaner too! And speaking of clean, you can do an extra step; make a new layer and refine abit of the lines that may've been lost during the process.

Continuing along, make another layer and set the blend mode to Overlay, and with a big (BIG) soft edge brush, with a bright color slap on some colors that'll brighten the image:

 So this is what we have so far (notice I've added text to the skirt and bright color overlay to image). Tip to make the last couple steps more noticeable; add a background layer and just fill it with a darker color :) 

Last two steps! Add a new layer, and add highlights to the image~ So make the hair as shiny as you please, try not to make clothes and skin too shiny cause they don't reflect light as much as hair~ And finally, FINALLY, add a rim of light on the edges of the character~ 

An awesome secret technique used by the pros!

It really makes the character PoP out!

Highlights: light reflecting on hair and back.

Rim Light: that bright white/yellow stroke along her shoulder and breast~

By the end of all that, plop in a shadow underneath to character to 

create a sense of space and you should have something like this! ^^

 Now, an extra tip! If you're not happy and wanna add extra stuff to it, all you gotta do is group all the layers into 1 Group so your workspace isn't all too messy. 

Create new layers on top and repeat the process! Draw the object you wanna add and color using the method taught in this lesson :D 

If it's an object placed on top of the character, always remember to create a shadow so it blends with the already placed character.

The character seemed incomplete and

I didn't really like the hands in the first run cause it looks burnt and blistered, so I decided to add more to the picture~

< image + ...

A tail, and some fingers and glove.

=

Click + HERE + for the full size resolution and details on the concept! Thanks!

Hope this helps you guys in coloring! It may be abit to read, but trust me,

it's peasy easy! See you again soon hopefullies!~ ^^