★ Heartless' Digital Art Classroom || DA Q&A ★

[Heartless]

Why Hallo Thar!

Welcome to my classroom. As some of you know my profession is working as a college lecturer teaching Digital Art so I thought I would apply my knowledge to the good residents of MF also.

This thread is for anyone who wants to know something or ask a question or advice about CG painting and Digital Art or just art in general.

It could be anything from how to use the brushes in Photoshop properly to the best way to draw hands! Ask me absolutely anything and I will try my best to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge.

I am also planning on creating some video tutorials/answers for those who want to visually see how to do something. For now the best I can offer is screenshots but I will make them into tutorials so they are easy to read and follow.

Later on in time, I will be posting updates to this thread with perhaps small challenges for anyone who wishes to participate or even just to use as a bit of practice. Often at my workplace I set small tasks for my students to do to help them progress with their drawing and colouring skills. I think this might be good here but we shall see how it goes first!

SO, who's up first?




Answers to questions can be found below for easier access.

Anime Screenshot - How to get that 'screenshot' look using the pentool and gradients

Lineart Extraction - How to separate black lines from a white background

Ink Lines - How to create your own lineart using the Pen Tool

Accurate Human Proportion Tutorial

Texture Spheres

[~Cinji Hito~]

This is the kind of direction that should be happening in MF. It is a very noble gesture to actively help others in this manner. It is unfortunate there has been very little to no PR about Mange Forge. It was groups like you and Team-Dimension that carried the success of our once fine section.

I found only one link(Which is in your sig) that I think leads to your portfolio. It would be wise to display a few broad art styles to show your onlooking could-be students that you are at such a level to be of help to them.

It all comes down to getting your voice heard and this is precisely that. I wish you the best of luck with the students who find you.

[Moonlit Memories]

Ah! Finally!!!! I actually do have a question! Do have any tips to get real anime quality digital coloring (Cell shading)? Like your image here:

Most of my stuff I try to make to mimic cell shading either come out looking too flat or too painted. I mean, seriously, how do you get your paintings to look like a straight up screen shot from an anime series? ^_^ Hope that's not too complicated a first question! -huggles and runs-

[Heartless]

Hmmm well this is a question that I can answer but first I need to ask a question of my own. Do you know how to use the pentool?

If not, I can go through a small tutorial with you on how to use it because that is what I used to create these images. If you do know how to then below is the best way to get that 'anime screenshot' look. Now I did add some of my own added extra's like textures and gradients but they can come after the initial creation.

First off you need to create your image. As you know, keeping a steady hand using a pen tablet is rather hard so I used the pentool to create my outlines. First I draw the base sketch and I go over it using the pentool and using 'stroke' to fill the black lines.

  Spoiler:  

So now you should have the defined lines. Underneath this layer I block in the images with solid colour. I named all the layers and did separate layers for all of the different colours eg 'skin, hair, black cloth, white cloth' etc.

Now I am backtracking my layers so it does look a tad odd. However, below is the rough base of colour that I just slapped on. To keep in line with the black outline I used the pentool again for this. I don't use it for everything, like the eyes and some smaller details in which I just paint on. You have to remember that it is the lighting and the details that make the image so if it looks a bit rubbish right now, stick with it until you are able to add the details.

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Now you can start adding the shadows. Look closely at anime to see where they have their generic shadows and where they fall. Most of the time it is just to hint that the image isnt completely flat. Also a long the way so it doesn't get boring you add some details onto the smaller areas of the image. For the shadows, again the pentool. This keeps that straight and sharp look without it looking painted or wobbly.

  Spoiler:  

Now this is where it starts to get fun! Now because I have kept all of the layers separate I can start adding effects. To be honest, some gradients and cleverly placed colours is all these kinds of images are. I took the skin layer and added a slight gradient to it using 'gradient overlay'. I chose the same pink as the original skin shade and a slightly darker one. When I applied it I made sure that the darker colour is at the bottom and that I applied it to the layer in which I had the original shadow shading.

For the hair I did a few things. Same principle, I took the original brown and then took a darker brown and applied a gradient overlay to the 'shadow'. The darker colour on her arm I chose a lighter colour at the bottom, to the mask a darker colour however I did the main part of the hair differently. Instead of just adding a lighter or darker brown to the bulk of the hair I added a slight hint of green. I got this idea after playing storyline mode on BlazBlue. Their drawings had a lot of different colours in their gradients which made the character look more interesting and added more colour rather than just having them there looking a bit plain. If any of that didn't make sense the image of what I have done is below and you can of course, ask me more questions XD

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Simple little details like adding a different colour in gradients make the world of difference! Of course you can just leave it like this but adding a few bits of lighting on a 'colour dodge' layer and having some background colours bring the whole image together.

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Then with some tasty lighting,

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And there we have the final image. Use of the pentool and clever gradients is all it takes. I do hope that helped!

[Taz605]

Let's see if i can word this right :/


I've got two line arts I wanna CG one of them has a transparent background and the other has not. And both on a single layer

For the one with out the transparent background would I need to spilt the image into layers and them when i've split the image would i need to make each bit transparent and work off form that?

I would assume is also alos the same of the other one?

Also how "deep" into the line to i cut with the pen too?

[Moonlit Memories]

Well I don't have a pentool persay, but something similar to get my lines. So this should actually help a lot! Thanks Heartless, I'll try to apply it to the next CG I do.

[Heartless]

What software do you use @Moonlit Memories ? Just out of curiosity =)

@Taz605 just doing a quick check before I rush off to work but I'll answer your questions later on tonight when I get back. ^^

[Moonlit Memories]

Well, a combo PaintTool Sai now, sometimes I'll still use Photoshop and illustrator, but mostly PaintTool -fell in love with it- It's "pentool" is more of a stabilizer. You still get really, really clean lines with it.

[KimShibbyBob]

I have a quick question, though I think this is more down to personal opinion, what is better, to draw traditionally with a pencil and paper, or using a graphics tablet?

I'm seriously thinking of getting a graphics tablet, nothing too expensive for now, probably just the Wacom Bamboo, as it's really annoying me having to scan things in on my printer all of the time (space is at a premium where I live so I don't have easy access to my all-in-one scanner printer).

Thanks!

[Heartless]

Ah PaintoolSAI, been having a play with that but I don't use it too much. Really like the smudging tools. If you are interested in an artist that uses SAI then I suggest you look an artist on dA called Apofiss. She can be found http://apofiss.deviantart.com
Her stuff is rather 'samey' but she has some nice tutorials and video tutorials on youtube that can be found from her profile.

@Taz605

If you mean extracting lines from a white background then these screenshots should help. If I'm wrong lemme know =)

Right, well first off here is an example of a lineart. It's a bit complicated and really this technique will only work using Photoshop.

So, the first step is to paste or open your image making sure you have a transparent layer on top of your lineart and a white layer underneath. Make sure that the background layer isnt actually a 'background' layer. If it is then double click on it to make it into a layer0. Just realised the screenshot below doesnt have the layer0, my bad! XD

IMPORTANT:Make sure that the image is set to RGB mode. To check go to the top menu and select Image > Mode > RGB.

  Spoiler:  

So now that you have that set up make sure that you have selected the middle layer with the original lineart on it. Go to Select in the top menu > Select All, then Edit > Copy. This will copy the lineart image ready for you to use in a bit. Now it gets a bit more complicated.

Go to Channels. This can be found right next to the Layers panel. If it is not there then go to the top menu and select Window > Channels. Four little layer thingies will come up.
At the bottom there should be a little icon. If you hover over it, it should say 'Create New Channel'. Click it.

This is what you should have now.

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Remember you copied your lineart image onto the clipboard? Well now you can use it. Press ctrl + V and this will paste it into the black Alpha Channel. Now it should look like this.

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Invert it. You need to invert it because it's just the way these channels work. Best way to invert is by pressing ctrl + I.

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Now you have to hold ctrl and right click on the alpha layer. You will see that the selection changes. If you are not sure you have done it correctly then have a look at the image below. When you hover over the alpha channel pressing 'ctrl' you should see a little box on the hand. That's to let you know you are about to make a selection change.

  Spoiler:  

This selection isn't just for the alpha layer. This selection applies to ALL of the layers. Just make sure you don't accidentally deselect otherwise you will have to backtrack and it might get a little confusing.

Right, now in channels click on the top RGB layer. This will deselect the alpha channel and reselect the rest. Look below to see what I mean. Also, hide your original lineart layer and select the top transparent layer as you are about to work the magic.

  Spoiler:  

Now all you have to do is fill the selection. You can use the paint bucket tool or you can go to Edit > Fill. Make sure your foreground colour is black, if that's the colour you want. It should then pretty much re-recreate exactly the original lineart. To deselect press ctrl + D.

Below I have hidden the white background layer so you can see that I have fully extracted the lines from the white background.

  Spoiler:  

And there we go! I hope that was the kind of answer you was looking for. If not then I'm so sorry XD but I hope it will help anyone else that is looking!

As for the second question. There really is no answer as to how deep one should cut to render an image. It mostly depends on what type of image it is and what your settings are. If the image has a stroke around it, then try to cut about two thirds into it. For any other image, really it doesnt matter as long as the original shape and detail is still there. When cutting an image, it is best that you 'feather' your pen tool settings. This means that even if you perhaps cut a bit deep, it will have a bit of give in regards to pixels. Sometimes it is also best to cut just below the edge of the image. It is also best to reeeeaaaallllly zoom in on an image.

Here is kinda what I mean.



To cut it, join your last point with the first point, go to Paths > right click + Make Selection and a box will pop up with all sorts of jaff. Now it should come up with an option of 'feathering'. As standard it is set to 0 but I change mine to either 0.1 or 0.2. In this case I will choose both 0.2. Make sure 'anti-aliased' is checked too. Press ok and now your path should become selected. Click ctrl + X to cut away the selection leaving you with just the image. The feathering softens the edges ever so slightly so they dont look so jagged and it also corrects area's just a tiny bit if you feel you have cut a tad too deep. Plus if you are zoomed in really far then it is easier to correct mistakes or bits that have been left out.



Really hoped all of that helped. Took me ages!

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@KimShibbyBob

In my personal opinion and from a professional point of view as a qualified teacher, drawing traditionally is always preferable but not always necessary. Neither is better than the other because they are both so different from one another.

When people end up getting a Wacom, they tend to forget what paper and pencil are and going back to it is actually quite hard because it's like you have to learn how to use them all over again. Wacoms are good, handy and quick and if I'm honest, I don't really bother with paper anymore but it's more a matter of convenience rather than anything else.

I say, if you get a Wacom, don't forget about doing some doodles or sketches on paper so you don't lose the traditional feel. Also, good start with the Bamboo. Some people tend to think bigger is better and for the price, granted it should bloody draw for you lol

Hope that helped too!

[Taz605]

Thank there both what i was looking for. One other thing so now the white is gone is there a quick way to separate lets say the hair empty form and the skin, closes, pizza(yes the image I'm trying to do has a pizza)al into different layers. Or is the pen tool the best way to do this

[Heartless]

Pen tool would be the best way to separate the lines now, or the 'lasso' tool. Although if you are going to colour them them there isnt really much need to separate the actual lines, just the coloured layers.

[RemnantOfDreams]

I've been thinking about trying out digital art, however, the only program i currently have is paint. What is a good art program to use?

[Heartless]

@RemnantOfDreams

If I am completely honest, it all depends on what program you feel is best for you. When I first started out digital painting I HATED Photoshop. I hated it so much and I swore that I would never use it because to me at the time, I thought it was a bit shit. In that time I started using Painter. I think Painter must be on it's tenth version now. This package pretty much does what it says on the tin. It has a variety of different 'real life' tools that can be edited and messed around with to your own specifications so you can make digital images look like real paintings. I used this for a long time but then the novelty wore off. I suggest trying out Painter. You can either illegally torrent it OR you can find a 30day trial to see how well you get on with it. It is however, rather useless if you don't have a graphics tablet because it all works off pen pressure and things like that.

If you don't get on with Painter but still want to try something that is a little more 'traditionally' based, then try ArtRage. This is a much cheaper version but it's less complicated and is actually now celebrated by some well known artists and is used widely. It is a lot more simpler to get the look you want although the layout is a bit iffy and I must say that looking at tutorials about how to use it properly is recommended.

There is also another program that was mentioned above called PaintToolSAI. This program is like a simplified version of both ArtRage and Photoshop. Personally I don't get on well with it because I'm so used to Photoshop and it just doesn't do what I want it to. I don't think it is suited for painting large images as the brush sizes don't really go up that high (unless I'm doing something wrong). It is good however to have as a go-between as there are some aspects in it that Photoshop cannot do and it's good to use different packages on one piece of artwork as it makes it more your own.

Finally there is Photoshop. Now I'm not going to big it up too much because although it is a good package, it is incredibly hard to use. For drawing standard lineart and having a bit of a colour in then it is really good. Blending however is another matter. It takes a lot of time and patience and knowledge of brushes to get artowork that looks professional and not the mention it is the most expensive package out of them all. I do suggest that you have a play with it though because it might be the package for you.

I say just try out a few of these and keep them on your hardrive for future reference and just see what your art style is more accustomed to.

[RemnantOfDreams]

thanks