I generally follow [media=youtube]Cz387Vy0Ps0"[/media] tutorial for texturing. I think it’s a better idea to paint and blend the textures in by using a layer mask, instead of laying them flat. Warp transform is also a good idea.
Masamune Shirow is probably a good artist to look at for texturing.
When I use textures (rarely though), I put them all on separate layers and play with opacity and blending options. I’m that shallow wit the tools I’ve given
Painter problem…
I’ve always used photoshop but every now & then I would go back to painter & just mess around, try to get use to it. With the kind of works I do I only require a few things. blotch colours all over the place, then use the smudge tool to blend one colour to the next whilst making use of layers etc. However in Painter XI… I can’t figure out how to get the blending anywhere near what i’m aiming for.
EXAMPLES
The first 2 images are the same piece by Kim Hyung Tae, i’ve circled the parts which i’m talking about. Sure i can get roughly the same effect on photoshop with just the paintbrush and smudge tool, but I would like to be able to do the same thing in painter and from there using and training with painter.
I don’t Recall the artist of this image but it consist almost entirely of the simple blending/smudged look i’m after.
NSFW
i’ve searched for hours, youtube, 3dm3, conceptart.org etc and where as I see it in many pieces which states it’s done in painter, I assumed finding a tutorial for something so common would be easy… I’m hoping someone could help me or point me to somewhere that I can find the answers.
Current brush setup consists of a custom tinting brush for laying down colours & a custom smear brush trying to replicate PS’s smudge tool but at the same time try to get those sharp and almost natural watercolour blending…bah dunno how to explain.
thanks
Can you guys describe your workflow? For digital art, mostly.
I think I take too long to finish a pic. I want to cut my steps down. Here’s what I usually do:
Make a sketch, adding more detail until the sketch becomes the linework.
When I’m ready to color, I shrink the drawing to 50% resolution. It helps gets the basic color/painting/lighting out of the way.
I enlarge the colored art, then add an outline (like ‘inking’ to pencil). Then detail the coloring.
Everything else is finishing touches, color adjust, texturing, etc.
What can I do to cut down the time to finish a pic? I don’t mind spending extra time for creative reasons, but generally I want to finish my usual pics in a week or so.
I don’t have a direct answer because I don’t use Painter, but… if it’s a tutorial you’re looking for to help explain that effect in Painter then you may be able to find it in one of these places:
Browsing Tutorials on deviantART
TUTORIALS, TIPS & TRICKS - ConceptArt.org Forums
With your process:
There is a possibility that there’s no reason to change your method. In your case you might explore different methods of doing each of your normal procedure steps or just dropping a couple steps altogether by combining them into one step. But I remember a quote, though: “First you get good, then you get fast, then you get good and fast”. So, it’s possible you’re at a point where you just need to focus on quantity over quality, and work as quickly/messily as possible in order to “figure out how” to work fast, then come back to a balance phase.
tl;dr method rambling
[details=Spoiler] For me it depends what I’m doing. I try to use a different method for each piece I do. I feel it’s the best way (for me?) to learn, while avoiding getting “stuck” in a particular way of doing things. Especially because I am self-taught, I want to avoid the deathtrap of directly copying another artist’s style or the trap of refining only one skill-set. So I always go about doing things as differently as I can every time I do anything. Eventually when I feel things settle in I can refine my skills, and also develop a personal style. But until then I want to explore as much as I can in order to experience all that is possible.
Every artist that I know of who went in to the professional art world before going to school, then later went back to school, has said that going to school made dramatic improvements on their art despite already being “pros”, and the reason is because school forces you to do things differently than you normally would – a lot of different things – which you learn a lot from.
Plus the most important aspect (which is relevant to your question): each time I do things a different way I can evaluate how that method felt and how much time it took and weigh the overall pros/cons. Adding it to my bag-of-tricks collection, keeping the parts that work and ditching what doesn’t.
As far as cutting down time on what you’re doing, digital art shouldn’t take more time than traditional art IMO. If it does, then consider analyzing why and finding a way to do each step faster on the technical-side of things (even just learning hotkeys for things can make a huge difference). The biggest problem for me was that I treated digital as far too digital. Erasing and undoing were like OCD mashing for me. Huge mistakes of the past. But that’s why I keep exploring, I’m still in the process of learning to treat digital more as traditional while keeping the tools that make digital even MORE efficient than traditional (instead of as add-on’s/enhancements).[/details]
Interesting. Using the two panels for the same pic does help me keep an eye on everything. I tried shrinking for precise coloring (it’s faster/easier to filling all the pixels with color) but I’ll try to do without. Thanks for the advice.
That was really helpful Xeno, thanks.
I’m kinda stuck in my current method and its killing me. I’ve gotten so used to drawing on MS Paint with my tablet, that I can’t really get comfortable when it comes to Photoshop for some reason. So far I’ve been doing my main sketching in Paint with inks and shadows first which I then transfer to Photoshop where I struggle trying to get a clean coloring job. Ending it with a even more desperate attempt to use blur and gradients to make it somewhat presentable. Its hopeless I know. Another problem I have is patience, for most of my life I’ve been wanting to do great sketches fast and easy. But that can only go so far with coloring, which is something I have to work on. So alot of my stuff looks rushed cause I just want to get the shit over with. Which is a shame since the coloring just kills my overall piece. Another reason why I like working with black and white instead. Man I feel like I just confessed my whole heart out here, but it is what it is. I guess this is just my way of trying to explore in getting good fast. Though I’m far from it.
Another thing I wanted to ask is the no line technique. Not that i’m trying to bite anybody’s style or anything, but its something I’ve been wanting to try but I just feel my execution is off. That or I’am really not comfortable with the lasso tool. Do I really have to trace every part of the lineart and shades included using lasso? is there another way that someone could explain this to me?
IRL, there are no such things as “lines”… these things we call “lines” are really a separation of color.
What you do is you make colored shapes that will represent whatever it is you’re drawing. shadows and highlights will be represented the same way. And i HIGHLY recommend you learn how to use the pen tool as the lasso really sucks ass. make sure in the pen tool options you select “Path” and not “Shape”.
You guys think I should stop here? I was thinking about adding another Trish and Dante (in the same style as my Ibuki 3-tone drawing), at a scale that consumes 60% of the canvas height, but am unsure if that is too much? I chose to have the current pair fairly dark and loose for backdrop entities
That reminds me, I hate to sound like a broken record by mentioning art videos on youtube/nico, but it really is a great way to view other artist’s “workflow”, as you had inquired about.
In fact, the previous tip I gave you regarding the separate windows was from a video I saw a while ago: [media=youtube]O1KO_L9g2-A[/media]
Random, though somewhat related Art Video links
[details=Spoiler] - [media=youtube]FPz8Xyt3z-w[/media]
And tutorials are good too:
I personally found them useful as study guides for myself.
I wouldn’t know exactly how that particular artist does it, but I do know how I would do it (example): you draw a shirt in black lines, you make a new layer and move it below the lines layer, you color the shirt on that new layer, you go back to the original line art layer and “lock the layer transparency”, then you switch between eyedropper and brush to just recolor the black lines to match the shirt color.
So, rather than removing the lines you simply recolor them without having to redraw them. Of course, getting your finished piece to “look right” requires a good concept of values and edges and how light/shadow works.
I agree. Magic Wand, Quick Mask, and Pen Tool do whatever you would have done with the Laso, except faster and easier and possibly even more accurately than the Laso.
When I say lasso, that included Magic Wand…:wgrin: hate that shit too. I use the pen for paths, color fills and any selections that are not non-rectangular selections.
Not sure if this has been posted here before, but do you guys have any tips for the coloring process or effect in making a SFIV VS profile?
http://www.games.lisisoft.com/img/4/9/4988-1-super-street-fighter-4-makoto-vs-ibuki-trailer.jpg
I think I remember reading in the SF 20 book that IKENO first traced the polygon models and went from there. But I’m curious to know the rest of the process might have been (paints he used for lighting, color consistency and the way they blend). I just really want to get that style down so I can start drawing other people, its been in my head for awhile. I guess I just need to try it out for myself and see what works. Any help would be appreciated.
Calling out to Xeno, oh wise one, where are you!?
For art supplies (Copic) the BEST online site i found is oozak.com
My local shops don’t have Copic items always in stock and they’re very overpriced.
Oozak is the best I found online.
I’m thinking that Ikeno uses CG to color in those profile images, like Photoshop or whatever. That’s what he did for 3S anyway…
EDIT: Wait, are you asking what he USED, or do you already know that and are asking HOW he did it? I’m slow today. <_>
Yeah I probably should’ve been more clear on what I was talking about. I think the main thing I wanted was to have a certain process that would best emulate that style of coloring. I want to try and make the profiles blend in where they match the VS screen avatars as they would exist in an SF IV game if that makes sense.I probably just need the right balance of lighting and hues, so maybe I just need a little trial and error with some color picking from certain sf characters.
Basically, you use different types of colors and then brush them in layer by layer. It doesn’t have to literally be on different layers, but basically you go either brighter or darker with each layer, depending on how you wish to start coloring the shading. It helps a lot to mess with the opacity of the brush you’re working it, making for smoother blending. This video is pretty popular around these parts, but it’s definitely the easiest to understand coloring/shading tutorial out there so I recommend you check it out. Sorry if you’ve seen it already though.
Hey guys, without revealing too much of what I’m currently doing, I wanted to get some feedback on this shading part.
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/991/4534q.jpg
I’ve circled the shaded portion that’s illustrated by hatching. Do you think the size of the hatching is too big? Lines too thick?
I noticed on a friends laptop when I tilt the screen I can see past mistakes in the background of the artwork(digital) that can’t be seen to the naked eye. Is there a way to remove it or is this something else?
I just found a full-3D version of Posemaniacs http://charapo3d.web.fc2.com/big_index.html
You still can’t pose the figures yourself, but you can move the camera in any angle instead of just 360 degrees. Much more useful imo, combined with the 3D head/torso/hand/foot viewer on the regular Posemaniacs site.
Here’s some digital painting tutorial stuff:
I finished off a series about painting facial skin tones.
Painting Faces: 01
Painting Faces: 02
Painting Faces: 03
Painting Faces: 04
Painting Faces: 05
Painting Faces: 06
Painting Faces: 07
Painting Faces: 08
Painting Faces: 09
Painting Faces: 10
Painting Faces: 11
Painting Faces: 12
For linework – there’s simply no replacement for being confident about what you’re drawing and then committing to it. But if you still struggle with it (like I do), I read a good tip recently: Use the Adjust Levels function in PS to lighten your lineart layer. Then, use the Burn tool and the tablet to go over the lines you want.
As for patience in coloring – I think it helps to just do it more often. For myself, I try to keep going around the pic and focusing on getting the shapes and value relationships right… reworking as I go along (through a combination of painting over / using layers and blending options to fix color saturation issues that I tend to have). I let myself work on some detail after I’ve gone around a bit, but I have to tell myself to go back to the general laying in of colors so as to keep the pic moving.
Hope this helps. I’m still learning too.
