Airea
27 April 2008, 03:51 PM
DO NOT QUOTE!
DO NOT QUOTE!
* * *
Welcome to Airea's Guide,
Drawing Penguins in Photoshop:
Tablet Version.
* * *
Table of Contents
1. Getting started
2. How to Draw
- Step one: rough sketch
- Step two: positioning
- Step three: linework
- Step four: basic coloring
- Step five: filling in leftover patches
- Step six: gradient shading
- Step seven: 'cell' shading
- Step eight: drawing the eyes
3. Do's
4. Do not's
5. Special add-ons
6. Looking Back
* * *
* * *
1. Getting started
When you are going to draw a penguin, whether it be in the style of Club Penguin, my style, Blingstr's style (or any other style you can think of =P), you always need to make sure your drawing space is large enough for you to work with, but not too large that you have huge wide spaces around the penguin. This is unless you're doing a panoramic drawing, which is a drawing that has a few penguins with scenery behind it, usually mountains or a nice-looking location.
First, before opening Photoshop, open Microsoft Paint instead. Your working space is the white box that is already on the page. Move your mouse to the bottom right-hand corner and expand it or contract it to whatever size you want. The way to check how big your drawing space is: go to Image > Attributes at the top of the screen.
A good size for your drawing can be 950x715, (950 is the width, 715 is the height) or a little smaller.
Now, remember those dimensions you chose.
Open up a Photoshop program (I will be using Photoshop 3.0 for this guide), and select File > New > Blank File. Now, enter your width and height that you chose earlier, and make sure the 'Color Mode' option says 'RGB Color'. You don't want to draw a penguin in grayscale. If you do, we can always change that later with the help of a single layer, so don't worry. Finally, change the background from 'transparent' to 'white'.
* You don't have to name the picture yet.
* After you're done filling in the info (width #, height #, RGB option, white background), click Ok.
* * *
2. How to Draw
STEP ONE: Rough Sketch
You must have your blank image up to begin drawing, which was discussed in 1. Getting Started.
On the left side of your Photoshop window, you will see a vertically placed bar with 22 different symbols (The number may vary with your version or personlization of Photoshop). First, select the Brush Tool icon. It is the one that, amazingly, looks just like a paintbrush! =D
Change the brush's size to 1. (If you do in fact have a tablet, this will be easy in a few tries, once you get the hang of it. Many people hate working with 1-pixel brushes, but it gets easy.)
Click on Layer > New > Layer... at the top of the window.
You should now have two layers. The layers are displayed on, usually, the right-hand size of the screen. Layers can be selected by simply clicking on them.
What are layers?
Layers are almost like seperate drawings that are stacked on top of eachother. This means that if you have a small mistake on the picture, all you have to do is select that one layer with the mistake and change it... Instead of changing the whole picture.
Now, you're ready to start sketching.
Use the tablet to draw a very sketchy outline of the penguin. Use it exactly as a pen or pencil- do short, quick motions with it to generate a rough sketch.
Here's a quick way to draw a properly-shaped penguin...
1. Start with a 'flow line'. Draw a line about the same length as your hand. Make it curve a bit for a bending penguin, make it sideways for a sleeping penguin, or anything else you can think of. Remember that penguins aren't superelasticalflexibe, so don't overdo the curve...
2. The bottom of the penguin is slightly larger than the top of the penguin.
3. Use the reference picture below as a guide, if you want.
http://i32.tinypic.com/eaqz2g.png
Your penguins can be short and stubby, or long and lanky (somewhat like mine), depending on your drawing preferences.
There is no right or wrong way to draw.
STEP TWO: Positioning
This step is simply about positioning your rough sketch on the page.
If you have a background: move your penguin so you can see the most background on the picture. I suggest putting it a little over to the left or the right.
If you don't have a background: put the penguin directly in the center of the picture.
You don't have to show the whole penguin on the page. For example, you can show the top 3/4ths of the penguin and the other 1/4 can be cut off. Just remember that you should show the face of the penguin, unless you're doing the drawing a certain way.
STEP THREE: Linework
Here's the hardest part of the drawing.
First, before you begin the linework, make a new layer!
In my artwork, I always change to a 3-px round brush, like the one below...
http://i31.tinypic.com/2jbulnc.jpg
I also draw with a zoom of 300%, over the rough lines.
Lines do not have to be drawn only once, and then left to move onto something else! I thicken the lines by stroking my tablet a few times over the line, to make them 'fatter'. This gives it a more cartoony appearance.
You may notice that some drawingss' lines have rounded edges. This is great. If you want a more manga-style look, you can always erase down the ends of the lines to make them pointed, like I do. Doing this can add more depth to the picture if you do it correctly.
Step back from the computer screen a little to see if the lines are smooth or not. You can also do this by zooming out to 100% and just eyeballing the picture. Once you have overlined all the lines you need, you can delete or 'hide' the rough sketch (click the eye button to the far left of that layer in the layers box).
STEP FOUR: Basic Coloring
This may be one of the easiest steps.
First, you need to make a new layer. Make sure to move this new layer underneath the linework layer, so the coloring isn't all above the lines.
Your layer order should look something like this:
http://i32.tinypic.com/dyaots.jpg
Use the same brush as the lineart, but change the size to 5px.
This is a good-sized brush for coloring in larger areas. When you need to go into smaller, tighter locations to color, make it a 2px or a 3px. If your tablet is pressure-sensitive and the 'Size' checkbox is filled, you may not have to change the brush size that often.
http://i26.tinypic.com/befsjl.jpg
Tips on Good Coloring:
1. I use one layer for each seperate color. For example, all the same brown color goes on one layer, then a pink color can go on another layer. This is so you can change the hue (color) of that one color without changing the whole coloring. Make sure the coloring is all underneath the 'Linework' layer on the layers list, though.
2. GO SLOW. If your coloring is sloppy, it won't turn out attractive at all. For example, if you are coloring with a hot pink, and you go over a line that seperates the pink from the dark green, there will be a small smudge of pink in the green area. Eew. =O
http://i30.tinypic.com/osz5l5.png
Unlike the above, there can also be as small as 2 pixels of the wrong color there. After you're done coloring each layer, go over them to make sure there is nothing that is out of place.
* * *
I'll finish this later..
I have no time right now. =P
DO NOT QUOTE!
* * *
Welcome to Airea's Guide,
Drawing Penguins in Photoshop:
Tablet Version.
* * *
Table of Contents
1. Getting started
2. How to Draw
- Step one: rough sketch
- Step two: positioning
- Step three: linework
- Step four: basic coloring
- Step five: filling in leftover patches
- Step six: gradient shading
- Step seven: 'cell' shading
- Step eight: drawing the eyes
3. Do's
4. Do not's
5. Special add-ons
6. Looking Back
* * *
* * *
1. Getting started
When you are going to draw a penguin, whether it be in the style of Club Penguin, my style, Blingstr's style (or any other style you can think of =P), you always need to make sure your drawing space is large enough for you to work with, but not too large that you have huge wide spaces around the penguin. This is unless you're doing a panoramic drawing, which is a drawing that has a few penguins with scenery behind it, usually mountains or a nice-looking location.
First, before opening Photoshop, open Microsoft Paint instead. Your working space is the white box that is already on the page. Move your mouse to the bottom right-hand corner and expand it or contract it to whatever size you want. The way to check how big your drawing space is: go to Image > Attributes at the top of the screen.
A good size for your drawing can be 950x715, (950 is the width, 715 is the height) or a little smaller.
Now, remember those dimensions you chose.
Open up a Photoshop program (I will be using Photoshop 3.0 for this guide), and select File > New > Blank File. Now, enter your width and height that you chose earlier, and make sure the 'Color Mode' option says 'RGB Color'. You don't want to draw a penguin in grayscale. If you do, we can always change that later with the help of a single layer, so don't worry. Finally, change the background from 'transparent' to 'white'.
* You don't have to name the picture yet.
* After you're done filling in the info (width #, height #, RGB option, white background), click Ok.
* * *
2. How to Draw
STEP ONE: Rough Sketch
You must have your blank image up to begin drawing, which was discussed in 1. Getting Started.
On the left side of your Photoshop window, you will see a vertically placed bar with 22 different symbols (The number may vary with your version or personlization of Photoshop). First, select the Brush Tool icon. It is the one that, amazingly, looks just like a paintbrush! =D
Change the brush's size to 1. (If you do in fact have a tablet, this will be easy in a few tries, once you get the hang of it. Many people hate working with 1-pixel brushes, but it gets easy.)
Click on Layer > New > Layer... at the top of the window.
You should now have two layers. The layers are displayed on, usually, the right-hand size of the screen. Layers can be selected by simply clicking on them.
What are layers?
Layers are almost like seperate drawings that are stacked on top of eachother. This means that if you have a small mistake on the picture, all you have to do is select that one layer with the mistake and change it... Instead of changing the whole picture.
Now, you're ready to start sketching.
Use the tablet to draw a very sketchy outline of the penguin. Use it exactly as a pen or pencil- do short, quick motions with it to generate a rough sketch.
Here's a quick way to draw a properly-shaped penguin...
1. Start with a 'flow line'. Draw a line about the same length as your hand. Make it curve a bit for a bending penguin, make it sideways for a sleeping penguin, or anything else you can think of. Remember that penguins aren't superelasticalflexibe, so don't overdo the curve...
2. The bottom of the penguin is slightly larger than the top of the penguin.
3. Use the reference picture below as a guide, if you want.
http://i32.tinypic.com/eaqz2g.png
Your penguins can be short and stubby, or long and lanky (somewhat like mine), depending on your drawing preferences.
There is no right or wrong way to draw.
STEP TWO: Positioning
This step is simply about positioning your rough sketch on the page.
If you have a background: move your penguin so you can see the most background on the picture. I suggest putting it a little over to the left or the right.
If you don't have a background: put the penguin directly in the center of the picture.
You don't have to show the whole penguin on the page. For example, you can show the top 3/4ths of the penguin and the other 1/4 can be cut off. Just remember that you should show the face of the penguin, unless you're doing the drawing a certain way.
STEP THREE: Linework
Here's the hardest part of the drawing.
First, before you begin the linework, make a new layer!
In my artwork, I always change to a 3-px round brush, like the one below...
http://i31.tinypic.com/2jbulnc.jpg
I also draw with a zoom of 300%, over the rough lines.
Lines do not have to be drawn only once, and then left to move onto something else! I thicken the lines by stroking my tablet a few times over the line, to make them 'fatter'. This gives it a more cartoony appearance.
You may notice that some drawingss' lines have rounded edges. This is great. If you want a more manga-style look, you can always erase down the ends of the lines to make them pointed, like I do. Doing this can add more depth to the picture if you do it correctly.
Step back from the computer screen a little to see if the lines are smooth or not. You can also do this by zooming out to 100% and just eyeballing the picture. Once you have overlined all the lines you need, you can delete or 'hide' the rough sketch (click the eye button to the far left of that layer in the layers box).
STEP FOUR: Basic Coloring
This may be one of the easiest steps.
First, you need to make a new layer. Make sure to move this new layer underneath the linework layer, so the coloring isn't all above the lines.
Your layer order should look something like this:
http://i32.tinypic.com/dyaots.jpg
Use the same brush as the lineart, but change the size to 5px.
This is a good-sized brush for coloring in larger areas. When you need to go into smaller, tighter locations to color, make it a 2px or a 3px. If your tablet is pressure-sensitive and the 'Size' checkbox is filled, you may not have to change the brush size that often.
http://i26.tinypic.com/befsjl.jpg
Tips on Good Coloring:
1. I use one layer for each seperate color. For example, all the same brown color goes on one layer, then a pink color can go on another layer. This is so you can change the hue (color) of that one color without changing the whole coloring. Make sure the coloring is all underneath the 'Linework' layer on the layers list, though.
2. GO SLOW. If your coloring is sloppy, it won't turn out attractive at all. For example, if you are coloring with a hot pink, and you go over a line that seperates the pink from the dark green, there will be a small smudge of pink in the green area. Eew. =O
http://i30.tinypic.com/osz5l5.png
Unlike the above, there can also be as small as 2 pixels of the wrong color there. After you're done coloring each layer, go over them to make sure there is nothing that is out of place.
* * *
I'll finish this later..
I have no time right now. =P