Feb 6
Step 1: Brainstorm the poses and sketch out the draft – I love using a thick, semi-transparent pixel brush for this.
Step 2: Line art time. I pay close attention to line weight here: thinner lines for lit areas, thicker ones for shaded sides and outlines, with finer lines for internal decorative details.
Step 3: Base coloring.
Step 4: Add the background, then lay down ambient tones to match it and block out the shadow dichotomy. I do most of the block detail separation on a multiply layer.
Step 5: Turn on the lights! Polish up the details and make tweaks, and I’ll finish by brightening the character as a whole or adjusting the curves.
