Art Tutorials (and stuff)

two (2) people asked how i did the matchbook thing so take this

this is just a simple idea but if you spend some more time you can get real krazy with it:

making fake prints is so fun please do it immediately free resources under cut xoxo

Download this free brushset here!

I don’t think I use reference photos that much but for poses I use Clip Studio Paint’s 3D models that are inputed under “Materials”

and also use Pan’s 3D models as well (pixiv link / twitter link / HP)

I get a lot of asks for tutorials so here’s a little quick one for eyes. Nothing fancy really haha. Additional notes under the cut!

Removing sketch from line art in SAI

Removing sketch from line art in PS

I see this kinda advice passed around all the time here is the thing: shading with black will indeed look bad if you don’t know what you are doing. However, telling people not to do things without explaining why is terrible advice.

Shadows are the opposite of light, this includes in colour.

This means that if you have light in one colour, the shadow will be of the opposing hue, saturation, and value.

Unless the object is white, it has its own local colour -  the object’s true colour, how it would appear if the light were pure white.

The colour of the light influences the local colour of the object. so if you had yourself a brown cube and a blue light, the colours would get bluer and pinker.

now the reason shadows do not tend to be black is because pure white light is hard to find in nature.

the closest you will get to pure white light is during a really overcast day and the sun is filtering through the clouds, but even then it’ll lean towards yellow so the shadows will be slightly blue.

During a clear day, the shadows will pick up a lot of bounce light from the blue sky and have a blue tinge. You can learn more about this in this tutorial: [http://artbyriana.deviantart.com/art/Why-shadows-aren-t-gray-321656856]

But! None of this means you are never allowed to use black.

realistically shadows will have a hint of a colour to them, but stylistically you might be going for, say, a film noir look and deep black shadows are needed for impact for example.

The more you know about how light works, the more informed decisions you can make about shading and the more options you have.

If someone tells you that you can’t do something, they’re wrong! you can do what you like!

yes, black is hard to use and if you just mix a colour with black it’ll get muddy, but thats easily resolved by choosing your colours manually - which ideally you want to do regardless bc the computer doesnt have your eyes & cant choose the colours you like

basically if someone gives you some art advice and says you can’t do something, they’re wrong! you can, you just might need to study a little to figure out how to make things work.

I mean for example, people will say you must make your composition follow the rule of thirds and never align centrally, but while the rule of thirds makes it easy to create visual interest, Mad Max Fury Road is a testament to the fact that central composition can and will work if you experiment.

there are no rules in art! there are theories based on reality, this has been a post on colour theory & light theory, but they exist to inform you, not to restrict you.

Do what you like! Trust your eyes, if you think something looks good, then great! If you don’t, then research & experiment until you do.

Here it is: the fully updated reference sheet for my Photoshop Megapack! You can also get a PDF of this reference sheet here.

If you don’t have the Megapack yet, here is what you are missing: 1. The most realistic inking tools ever created for comics artists, concept artists and illustrators. The set includes over 35 different custom inking tools for every possible need - rough inks, technical pens, aliased inking tools for page art that can be quickly color flatted, and even special inking tools that emulate the line work of artists like Quentin Blake, Bill Watterson, Ralph Steadman, and Albert Uderzo.  2. Real pencil tools that perfectly emulate graphite and charcoal. And, If you have ever wanted to try digital colored pencils, and were tired of the textures and line quality feeling too ‘digital,’ then these custom tools will blow you away. 3. Real oil painting brushes with natural brush strokes and built-in canvas textures (with completely seamless tiling), with the ability to mix color directly in the document. 4. Soft and hard pastels with incredible texture and versatility. 5. Bonus brushes with special natural media effects: sponges, spatter, noise, dry brush, blenders, and more. 6. Gouache and acrylic brushes that allow you to paint quickly with large flat color, while retaining varied edges and textures. 7. 150 powerful tools in all, each one designed to enhance your digital art experience beyond anything you have imagined possible in Photoshop. These are the same brushes used daily by pros at Disney, Dreamworks, Google, Sony, and Laika. Marvel, DC, Valiant and Darkhorse comics inkers and colorists use these brushes every month on titles like Hellboy, Daredevil, Spider Gwen, and The Valiant. Much of the background and concept art created for Game of Thrones - you guessed it: it’s all done with these brushes.

Now is the time to pick them up for only $14. I am raising the price in 2016.

Let’s talk about trees - a practical how-to for populating your natural environments and landscapes with trees and plantlife in drawings

I’ve seen a lot of people who really want to do nature/landscape drawings but struggle with filling the space. I’m by no means an authority on this matter, but I thought I’d share my observations and ideas about filling nature shots with cool stuff because I really like drawing them and spend a lot of time doing it.

Some observations:

It’s hard to figure out what’s in a natural landscape unless you take time and really make a mental inventory of everything you see. Go explore and memorize

Draw from life and references

It’s too easy to fall into the habit of making ‘convenient shapes’ with trees and branches. Look for alternatives, examine how abruptly branches grow into different directions and split.

Mix and match. I never draw a scientifically exact tree species, I mix the relevant qualities from the kinds of trees I know that fit the image. Combine stuff you’ve seen and your imagination.

I try to ‘layer’ the vegetation. A forest looks empty with just trees. Think about the medium and low-height vegetation and bushes and then what’s closest to the ground and ON the ground.

Take into account what you want to convey with the vegetation; seasons, is the environment lush or harsh, is it creepy or idyllic?

The spinoff Frame by Frame Faces blog has been going for about two months now, and has 10 posts of in depth analysis of lipsync and facial animation! These gifs and images are a sampler preview of what’s going on over there, with much more to come!

Frame by Frame: Faces is a Patreon exclusive blog that you can get access to with no minimum monthly pledge. In addition to that, there are Patreon goals for the main Frame by Frame blog including more posts per week and indepth breakdown and analysis of the posts here (like what i’m doing on the Faces blog). 

If you’re interested, head on over to Patreon to check it out! Reblogs are also super appreciated to help spread the word :)

Before colors, perspective or anatomy, I always start with small thumbnails to set composition and mood. The skeleton of the illustration.

A limited gray color palette forces me to make bold decisions and allows me to make modifications faster.

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