Royal Pair (Photoshop Tablet Art tutorial)

[MashPotato]

Since I was asked about making a tutorial, I decided to show my latest painting as I work on it, and explain the steps as I go. 
However, this isn't really a "tutorial" in the usual sense, because I'm not so much showing the right way to do something as much as I am demonstrating the process I usually use.  In addition, unlike other tutorials, I would appreciate crit on my picture, as well as on my techniques, from others as I go (alternative ways to do things, shortcuts, general advice, etc.). 

Remember, what I say in the title is just what I mean--I am a painting noob.  Hopefully as I learn from my mistakes, and show the process of that, others will too ^_^.  I also have my fingers crossed that this painting will turn out okay (I normally don't show my WIPs )...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTES:

1.this is done in Adobe Photoshop CS2, but since everything I use is very basic, it should be applicable to all Photoshop versions, Painter, PSP, Photopaint, etc.  Not MS Paint, though--sorry ^_^
2. I use a wacom tablet.  Unless otherwise stated, pressure sensitivity is always set to opacity
3. If you want me to add actual screenshots, or want more detail in my descriptions, please ask ^_^


1. Drawing
I like playing cards, and have wanted to draw a picture inspired by the royal cards for a while.  There's not too much I can say at this point in terms of drawing... just practice ^_^.  It might be easier to clean up the sketch a bit more than I did before you scan, but I don't mind keeping it rough since I'm going to be taking out the pencil lines later anyway.
Here is the sketch of the Queen of Hearts and the King of Spades:



2. Colour Flatting
I then make a copy of the background layer (the sketch), and get rid of the original.  I now have a plain layer with the sketch on it.  In the layer mode, I set this layer to "Multiply".  This will make the white parts of the picture transparent, so I can keep the sketch on top while painting beneath it.

I'm not concerned with the background in this picture, so I just make the background a neutral shade (I will probably change it later).  Using the paintbrush (default setting, so max opacity and flow) I quickly block in the flat colours, each on a seperate layer.  I try to use a middle value (I should probably go dark and put in the lighting later, but I'm not accustomed to doing that yet).  It's very messy at this stage, but that's okay because I just want to get an idea of the general colour scheme.  I have eleven layers at this point.

Remember: layers are your friend.  It's annoying to keep changing layers and keep them organized, but it makes it much easier later, when you may want to adjust hues/saturation of only one part of the picture. 
Layers also make it easier to change colours: for example, if I want to change the colour of the dress, I can go to that layer and lock it... this will make it such that I can only paint in the areas I have already painted in, so I can just take a big brush with the new colours, and scribble it in, willy-nilly ^_^.

This is what it looks like so far:


That's all for now.  All crit and suggestions are appreciated! ^_^

[A�rendyll (formerly Yurina)]

Yay! Mash made the tutorial! 

[Mordalles]

wow, great sketch! i just love your stylized drawings. thanks for doing a tutorial, mashpotato!

what does "always set to opacity" mean? (sorry, another noob here  )

*noting down everything*

[MashPotato]

Thanks for the encouragement, I hope some will find it helpful ^_^

what does "always set to opacity" mean? (sorry, another noob here  )

I don't think that's a noob question, I think that's just me being unclear ^_^.  What I meant is that the pressure on the tablet adjusts the opacity, rather than the size (or other variables).

According to my pen settings, changing the pressure on the pen gives me the first stroke, rather than the second stroke.

[buloght]

I love the way you draw women, hot yet stylish . I will try and learn from your tutorial mash. I have no crits.

[MashPotato]

3. Starting to shade
At this point, I use the same paintbrush and paint in some shadows.  It's still really messy, but these aren't final, they're just there to give some shape to the characters and for me to start thinking about where the light source would be (in this case, it's coming from in front of the characters, around the upper right... I'm not terribly precise about these things )

This is another point at which having layers is handy.  Just lock the layer you want to shade, and slap on the darker colours... no need to worry about colouring "out of the lines" ^_^
This is what I have so far:

[aussie]

It is beautiful.

I'd love to see the outlining technique you use for the drawings, like in some of the other threads you've posted in the past.

[Mordalles]

lock the layer? you can do that? i always paint over the lines. that's an awesome tip! man, i'm a noob. 

how do you lock the layer?

[MashPotato]

I'd love to see the outlining technique you use for the drawings, like in some of the other threads you've posted in the past.

Luckily, that's what's coming up right now! ^_^

how do you lock the layer?

Sorry I didn't explain:
Note that my current selected layer is not locked

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


4 & 5. Outlining & shading
I smushed these two steps together, because I tend to do them pretty much simultaneously.

At this point, I am still using the round paintbrush, but I have turned down the flow to about 65%, which makes it easier for me to do non-opaque strokes and shade slowly.  I find turning down the flow helpful, but I don't think it's really necessary... just use a setting you feel gives you a comfortable amount of control.
About different brushes: Use them if you want... I sometimes use one of the default textured brushes, but for my style the default round paintbrush is usually fine.  I used to think that I couldn't achieve good results because I didn't have the right brushes, but I was just shifting the blame... custom brushes can make things easier, but I don't think not having one can stop you.  However, I'm talking about this type of painting, which is relatively clean.  If you want to see some brush strokes, then there are certainly prettier brushes to use.  You should be able to find some floating on the internet somewhere, just search ^_^

So finally, back to the painting: as an example, look at the hair (only the hair, I haven't finished the face yet) as I go through the steps:
A) B)
C) D)

A. Keeping the pencil lines on, I use a darker shade of the hair shadow to draw the outlines.  As you can see, these don't have to be perfect--I just make the outlines where I want the shapes to be, as these will be my new pencil lines (btw, I do all the outlines and shading on the same layer as the flat hair colour)

B.  From this point on, I work with the pencil line layer invisible.  After cleaning up the lines a bit, I shade using the shadow and outline colours.  A time-saving tip: if you're using Photoshop, you can get the eyedropper tool while in paintbrush mode by pressing "Alt"... I didn't find this out for the longest time ^_^;;

C.  Added highlights

D.  I thought the hair looked a bit too green, so I changed the hue (I also changed the skin a bit).  I added a few orange and yellow tones, but I'm not sure if they are visible.  Anyway, the hair is now nearly complete; I will probably continue tweaking it a bit as I work on the other areas.

I will now apply these steps to all parts of the painting, so this is a long step.
I used to get frustrated trying to outline, because I didn't know how to do it--I would look at a tutorial, and all of a sudden *BANG* the outline was there, with no explanation of when they put it in.  So this is just the method I use... hopefully you will find it helpful, and if you have any questions feel free to ask ^_^

[buloght]

The hair is superb

[A�rendyll (formerly Yurina)]

The hair is superb

I definitely agree! ^.^

[Nikolas]

Nya...

It's all rubbish.

It's not worth it

Mods? WIll you delete this thread please?

No reason for the poor people to waste theri time looking at a noob painting tutorial.

Or maybe Mash potato could change the title of the thread :CASUE SHE's NOT A Noob!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you



PS. Most interesting thread, Marina, thank you kindly

[Buckethead]

she's a noob calling herself noob...

this painting is great!

[aussie]

Luckily, that's what's coming up right now! ^_^

Just wonderful. Cheers.

Stupid question ahoy: are you still using your pen tablet at this stage?

[MashPotato]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone ^_^

are you still using your pen tablet at this stage?

Yup, everything I have done and will do is with my tablet (except for the original sketch).  Even outside of art, I use my tablet for everything... I can hardly use a mouse anymore (I even play AGS games in windowed mode so I can use my pen ^_^). 

[2ma2]

You have a very slick and decorative way of producing your pieces which I respect very much. I am more of an expressionist when it comes to painting (digital or no digital), but there is just something very nice with rich detailed pieces. Be careful though, so the detail don't compete with the attention. You have balanced this well, making the details blend together into a whole - especially in the Warcraft piece. I guess time will tell if this is true in this piece aswell.

When it comes to characters, the core element is always the eyes. Well ok, portraits, not characters, but when you work with stylization, the facial traits are even more important. Especially the eyes, because in the eyes lies the characters life. This were you're main issue with the aformentioned Warcraft piece (even though that was a "blind" eye so you couldn't really work with the eyes there). I realise you are far from finished with the faces and eyes on your work, and I really look forward to seeing the next step.

[MashPotato]

Thanks, 2ma2 ^_^.  I took a look at your site, and I really like the sense of spontaneity and energy your pieces have--it's something that mine usually lack.  It's for this reason I am often tempted to leave my messy pencil lines in--they just seem to make my paintings less static--but it often doesn't suit.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

More of steps 4 & 5



Crit appreciated, questions welcome ^_^

[Tuomas]

Looks better than I could imagine myself doing... but, what fabric is the dress of the lady. Why is it wrinkled like that? Did she not iron it after washing it?

[MashPotato]

It's supposed to be some sort of crushed satin... actually, I was wondering if I exaggerated the wrinkles too much

[monkey0506]

I want you to have my children.

:o

Uhh...it's a wonderful painting. I can't wait to see the finished project. Maybe after this you could create a "How to draw good for n00bs" tutorial...because that seems to be the first step here...

[EDIT:]

I don't think the wrinkles are overexaggerated. It looks beautiful.