since i had these saved, thought you guys might like to see a step by step for this cover.
i was actually super proud with the rendering on the back, a little bummed it doesnt really show through with the tattoo on it haha. but hey, its all about the final product.
Sorry for the lack of WIPs on this pic. Here are jpg’s of all the steps (with not-so-very-clear notes).
All the work was done in GIMP.
Wait what? A grayscale shade layer??? What layer option do you use though, let alone change the color successfully?
This is a really effective way to color, actually. I do it all the time. When you make shade layer, make sure you’re ONLY shading SHADOWS and basic diffusion — NOT object/material color values (like, just because the socks should be a dark color, you’re going to completely ignore that in the shading layer.) There are two ways to mix the shading afterward. You can place the shading layer over the flats layer then set the shading to Multiply, OR put the flats over the shading and set the flats to “Color” blending. Then, you just paint some small variances in hue to whichever layer you’ve set blending mode to.
This is a great way to color because it eliminates the need to mix new colors as you pass from one flat to another. It gets less of a painterly look, but in this type of art you’re not going for that anyway. Excellent for comics.
various reference guides - A number of these are in Japanese and the sources are lost for pretty much everything here. :(
In an art slump? Try these things to break out of it:
Attempt to emulate your favorite artist’s style.
Redraw a manga or comic page.
Go to a park, mall, watch a movie or show, etc to observe and draw people. A zoo, animal sanctuary, or aquarium is a good place to go for animals, too!
Sketch with a pen or colored pencil. It eliminates the urge to go back and erase all the time.
Draw as fast as you can without any regards to how imperfect it will be.
Attempt art challenges that float around on Tumblr.
Use limited color pallets (Design Seeds is my personal favorite place to get pallets).
Seventh Sanctum - An idea generator site, great for when you feel completely stuck on what you want to draw.
