Hey guys - this is a tutorial I made pretty recently for a few friends, so I thought I'd share it with you. Basically what it does is give you an overview of how I color/shade an image, as well as a few tips along the way.
All you need to get started is a drawing program and a sketch you're ready to work from, so let's hop to it!
Hopefully this helps you guys out a bit, but you're free to ask me anything you'd like here as well. I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have. :)
I hope I get to see some of your results!
All you need to get started is a drawing program and a sketch you're ready to work from, so let's hop to it!
Alright, so first thing's first - go ahead and find a sketch, and open it up in your drawing program. Don't worry if the sketch is messy - we'll be fixing that later ^^
Once you do that, go ahead and scale it up to at least twice its original size.
Dino Tip #1: Work large! It's helpful to work on a large canvas with drawings like this, so you can shrink them down later and eliminate most small errors.
For my example, I'll be using an old pen sketch of Vaati from The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap:
Once you do that, go ahead and scale it up to at least twice its original size.
For my example, I'll be using an old pen sketch of Vaati from The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap:
Once you get your sketch resized, up next is making an outline of it. The easiest way to do this, in my opinion, is by making a new layer, lowering the opacity of the sketch layer, then drawing right over it.
If you're not happy with anything about your design, now's the time to change it up!
Dino Tip #2: Be prepared! If you have a character or color scheme you’re trying to match, now would be a great time to put some reference images in a new layer.
As for my sketch, I went ahead and put some extra space between the characters, and gave them a much thinner outline overall.
If you're not happy with anything about your design, now's the time to change it up!
As for my sketch, I went ahead and put some extra space between the characters, and gave them a much thinner outline overall.
Now that you have an outline, it's time to fill it in with color!
There are a lot of ways to go about this, but as long as you end up with the colors and outline in separate layers, you'll be fine. Here's what I recommend:
Once you figure out what works for you, go ahead and fill in the rest of your outline.
Dino Tip #3: Watch your layers! It's easy to get mixed up when you start to have several layers of color - be careful not to merge your outline and coloring layers together!
There are a lot of ways to go about this, but as long as you end up with the colors and outline in separate layers, you'll be fine. Here's what I recommend:
Method #1: Magic Wand Tool + Cleanup:
First, select and area on the outline layer with the magic wand tool. Next, fill in that area in a layer below, using the bucket tool. Finally, go back and fill in the edges with a drawing tool.
Method #2: Pen Tool + Cleanup:
Using a drawing tool, fill in an area of the outline. Then, use an eraser to to remove any marks outside of the line.
First, select and area on the outline layer with the magic wand tool. Next, fill in that area in a layer below, using the bucket tool. Finally, go back and fill in the edges with a drawing tool.
Method #2: Pen Tool + Cleanup:
Using a drawing tool, fill in an area of the outline. Then, use an eraser to to remove any marks outside of the line.
Once you figure out what works for you, go ahead and fill in the rest of your outline.
Once you have your main colors figured out, now you can decide which direction you’d like the light to come from in your drawing. What this ends up doing is determining where your highlights and shadows will end up later on.
It's not a must, but what I typically do is pick a direction for the light to come from, then map out where the highlights should be:
Dino Tip #4: Beware of pillow shading! Try to avoid putting all of the shadows on the edges of your drawing, or having all of the highlights in the middle. Doing so can lead to a ring, or “pillow” effect in your shading later on:
It's not a must, but what I typically do is pick a direction for the light to come from, then map out where the highlights should be:
Once you figure out the angle light will be coming from in your image, you can start filling in areas where shadows will be cast.
To do this, it helps to think of your image as it would be in a 3-dimensional space. What would cast the largest shadows? What would reflect the most light? If you get stuck, try picking out the edges that you think need a shadow.
Another thing to consider is the texture of what you’re shading. When you’re shading hair, for example, you’ll want to be sure and include some lines to indicate strands of hair. If you’re shading something that flows, like a dress or cape, you’ll want to have shadows that are flowing as well.
Dino Tip #5: Choose your colors wisely! When you’re starting to shade an image, it’s important to choose the colors you’ll be using carefully. A few of the different ways to add shadows are:
Dino Tip #6: Add depth! Sometimes you’ll come across areas where one shadow isn’t quite enough. When you have objects or materials that are farther back in space, like hair or clothing that hangs behind the subject, try adding another layer of shadow on top!
By adding that extra bit of shadow, the image from looks much less flat, as though the object (hair, in my case) is going further back into space.
To do this, it helps to think of your image as it would be in a 3-dimensional space. What would cast the largest shadows? What would reflect the most light? If you get stuck, try picking out the edges that you think need a shadow.
Another thing to consider is the texture of what you’re shading. When you’re shading hair, for example, you’ll want to be sure and include some lines to indicate strands of hair. If you’re shading something that flows, like a dress or cape, you’ll want to have shadows that are flowing as well.
Method #1: Using a complimentary color as a shadow, ex. yellow object, purple shadows.
Method #2: Using a darker shade of the color as a shadow, ex. yellow object, dark yellow shadows.
Method #3: Using black as a shadow, then lowering its opacity, ex. yellow object, black shadows at 40% opacity.
I almost always recommend using complimentary colors as shades, because it adds more color and interest to the whole drawing, whereas the other options tend to dull it down.
Method #2: Using a darker shade of the color as a shadow, ex. yellow object, dark yellow shadows.
Method #3: Using black as a shadow, then lowering its opacity, ex. yellow object, black shadows at 40% opacity.
I almost always recommend using complimentary colors as shades, because it adds more color and interest to the whole drawing, whereas the other options tend to dull it down.
By adding that extra bit of shadow, the image from looks much less flat, as though the object (hair, in my case) is going further back into space.
Now that you’ve added some shadows to your drawing, let's add some highlights!
Keeping your light source in mind, now you can go back and add some flecks of light to the areas that should have a lot of light bouncing off. Hair, metal, glass, and certain fabrics are the most common places you’d find a bright highlight.
Dino Tip #5: Different materials = different shading!
Like I mentioned in Step 5, keeping the material you’re shading in mind is very important to making a successful drawing. Let's go back and take a look at some special cases:
Once you’ve gone back and finished your highlights, you should be just about done!
Keeping your light source in mind, now you can go back and add some flecks of light to the areas that should have a lot of light bouncing off. Hair, metal, glass, and certain fabrics are the most common places you’d find a bright highlight.
Like I mentioned in Step 5, keeping the material you’re shading in mind is very important to making a successful drawing. Let's go back and take a look at some special cases:
Scenario #1: Gemstones:
See the gemstone on this hat? If I shade it the same way I’ve shaded everything else, it’ll look more like an orb or a toy ball - not a stone. To get the right look for a transparent material like a gemstone, you have to:
1) Give the illusion of depth. In this case, I did so by adding a very slight shadow to the middle of the stone.
2) Exaggerate the highlights. Gemstones are highly reflective, so adding a few flecks of light can make it more convincing.
Scenario #2: Eyes:
Since viewers are naturally drawn to looking at eyes in an image, it’s important to give them something that pops a bit! The easiest way to do this is to add a shadow to the top of the eye (from the eyelid), then a spot or two of highlight to make it shine.
See the gemstone on this hat? If I shade it the same way I’ve shaded everything else, it’ll look more like an orb or a toy ball - not a stone. To get the right look for a transparent material like a gemstone, you have to:
1) Give the illusion of depth. In this case, I did so by adding a very slight shadow to the middle of the stone.
2) Exaggerate the highlights. Gemstones are highly reflective, so adding a few flecks of light can make it more convincing.
Scenario #2: Eyes:
Since viewers are naturally drawn to looking at eyes in an image, it’s important to give them something that pops a bit! The easiest way to do this is to add a shadow to the top of the eye (from the eyelid), then a spot or two of highlight to make it shine.
Once you’ve gone back and finished your highlights, you should be just about done!
Once you finish the shading/highlighting, now you can go back and make any last-minute changes or fixes you’d like. In my case, I filled in the tornado, and added some dots from my color palette to give a bit of a background ^^
Hopefully this helps you guys out a bit, but you're free to ask me anything you'd like here as well. I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have. :)
I hope I get to see some of your results!
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