Alright, now here's lesson 3 featuring my original character
Ikari. This lesson is to help you with layers and get you
better acquainted with some other tools. (Click the thumbnails
to enlarge the pictures)
 Let's
begin by making our sketch. On layer 0 I used a light
color with the watercolor tool set at 255 opacity at
1 pixel width to simulate a sharp pencil line. I just
find it easier to work this way. You might want to experiment
and find what you're comfortable with. |
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 Next,
switch to layer 1and begin laying down your outlines
over your sketch. I used a medium brown line with
the watercolor tool set at 1 pixel and 255 opacity
again. Sometimes very thin lines like these will look
jaggy unless you work very carefully. To avoid jaggy
lines, use a thicker pixel width (3+ recommended).
In this step, you may find it useful to zoom in so
your outlines over your sketch are more accurate.
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 I
found it a bit difficult to freehand the length of Ikari's
sword here, so I chose to use the bezie tool. If you're
new to this tool, it may take a couple of tries to get
your curves correct. Essentially, you draw a line from
one point to another as you would normally. Then, one
ray appears from the beginning of the line to adjust
one side of the curve. After you click that ray, another
will appear from the end of the line so you can adjust
that side of the curve as you need to. It sounds more
complex than it actually is. If you have problems, remember
that you can always hit the 'Undo' button and try again. |
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 When
you're satisfied with your outline, switch back to
Layer 0. Click the 'WhiteRect' tool (it's an option
in the 'White' toolset). CHECK that you're on Layer
0, then drag the white rect tool from one corner of
the picture to its diagonally opposing corner. This
will clear the sketch from the canvas.
After you've finished this step, make sure to switch
out of the 'WhiteRect' tool so you don't erase anything
else. If you make a mistake, remember you can hit
'Undo'.
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 Switch
back to Layer 1. Now, on the blending functions (Normal,
Mask, ReMask, etc), switch to 'Mask'. If you've used
any color than black to outline, rightclick (or ctrl+click)
on the outline color on your color palette. Then rightclick
on 'Mask" so it drops the ouline color into the
Mask tool. (Notice in the picture that on my Mask
tool, dark brown is the active color.)
After you have your outlines masked, proceed to lay
down your flat colors. Shade over your flats and then
clean the picture where applicable.
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 After
I shaded Ikari, I used the 'HiLight' tool to (duh)
add hilights to Ikari's skin. Be careful when using
the hilight tool because the effects are accumulative.
Sometimes I just chose one region of colors from the
canvas and rightclick on it. Then, with the watercolor
tool, I paint the hilighted area with the chosen color.
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 Add
your background on Layer 0. To simulate a gradient
fill, choose your base color and cover the entire
canvas with a solid rectangle. Reduce (or increase)
the chosen color on the color slider by 10-20 points
on one, two, or every color and make draw progressively
smaller and smaller rectangles. In this case, I chose
a base color of pink. Then I increased the Blue and
Green bar by 10 points on the slider for each new
rectangle.
After you've finished everything to your liking,
there's nothing left but to sign the picture and send
it. There are so many options for backgrounds. You
could use a solid color, a variety of shapes, texture-filled
bacgrounds with tones--anything! Use your imagination.
Just remember to have fun! ^_^
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