Painting Lineart in Photoshop.

[zealex]

I've tried some different ways to paint my line-art battlers in Photoshop.
It never comes out quite "right" tho. I want a style with very smooth colors, something similar to the MOTW battlers maybe.

I hope someone can give me some tips or C&C of how I can improve it.
At the moment, I feel it's really empty.

Spoiler

http://xs315.xs.to/xs315/07192/LancerPainted.png[/img]

What do you think of the battler over-all?
It's hand-drawn by me, and I'm not a really good artist so I made it in a sorta Chibi style, so it would be easier to make more.
Comments are welcome.

 

[WeissRaben]

It is no bad at all, maybe try to draw better the hand. Moreover, in chibi style, these usually are bigger than usual, so try drawing them in that way :thumb:

 

[Cypher]

I suggest you check out deviant art, I recently picked up a few good tutorials on drawing and coulouring with photoshop, and a good amount of them doesn't require a tablet. Just search for "phoroshop colouring tutorials".

 

[kintaruo]

You need to try shading things more realistically. If the outline you have is the style you are going for, that's fine. But it looks like you've employed a lot of pillow shading in the pic -- you need to try and color things with a bit more life. A good way to color anime style is pick the color you want the object to be. then, create a new layer, and set the mode to multiply. Then, paint in shading. It will give a cell shaded look. You can set the multiply layer to whatever opacity you want, and then use control + e to merge it with the bottom layer.

I realize that this is no good without pictures, etc, but it's late (early) and I'm tired. Search google or deviantart for cell shading techniques, which is the easiest way to shade imo if you have no tablet.

 

[ccoa]

http://www.seraph-inn.com/tutorial.html

This is a fairly decent tutorial that I found helpful.

 

[zealex]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

And also thanks for that guide ccoa, I'll try it out right now. It looks like it's easy to follow, unlike some other similar guides I've found.

 

[djzalzer]

I'd suggest using the pen tool and (after making the path) right clicking, selecting stroke path, use the brush tool (about 5, 6 px) and press OK, making sure to check the checkbox named 'Simulate Pressure'.

 

[Mush]

If you don't know this site
here ya go
http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/Photoshop/Drawing/1

The battler is good but I think in flash it would be easier

 

[BlueScope]

There's a great lineart tutorial in my Artwork Gallery thread (first link in the notes spoiler), along with a few examples of what you can do with it in the thread itself, of course ^_^

 

[zealex]

- BlueScope
I don't want to be rude or anything but when you look at the picture, the lines are fine, btw I made them by following one of your tutorials xD (or atleast I think it was yours... can't remember lol o_o)
Quite same as the tut in your link tho. I need a good technique to color it now.

- Mush
Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. And actually I did know that site

- djzalzer
I don't really understand what you mean... Is that for coloring? Because it looks like it's a technique to draw lineart :/

 

[BlueScope]

My bad, I thought you were searching for both lineart and coloring tuts... ^_^" Pretend I've never been here! *ninja-vanishes*

 

[Wrangler]

It's a cute design, but you shouldn't fill it in using gradients.

 

[zealex]

Thanks ^_^
I didn't, I used blending (Bevel and Emboss) on it for the shading.

 

[WeissRaben]

Thanks ^_^
I didn't, I used blending (Bevel and Emboss) on it for the shading.

O.O BLASPHEMY!
Seriously, you should use brushes with a slight deeper colour and the similar...
The result is better.

 

[zealex]

I hate brushes, I just don't know how to use them.
I handle everything with Blending and filters. Besides, I kinda like this style.

 

[Shadow_Strike]

If you don't know how to use them, how can you hate them?
Brushes are your best friends, everything else looks quick, cheap, and generated. Which it all is.

Want the ultimate tip of knowing how to draw lineart? Know how to draw.
No amount of lineweight will make a drawing better. Given you have a drawing that is ready to go anyways, use lineweight. The difference of width in your lines. Check out Black Market's work.

 

[TheBlackMarket]

Yes, if you try to force brushes and all sorts of other flourishes onto flawed lines, it sticks out like a sore thumb. Before applying brushes and such, your lines should be able to stand on their own and communicate what you want them to efficiently. If your lines are effective in the first place, fancy brushes can enhance your work if used in the right places; for instance, there are brushes that simulate line variation, which is something that looks quite nice when appropriate.

Be careful with filters, too... nothing screams "I have almost no experience at this" like filters piled on top of one another haphasardly.