3 réponses à ce sujet

[Cerulione]

Just some question on each of you who do portrait drawings on digital: what are your approaches?

• What brushes are you using?
• Do you use opaque brushes or mostly by transparent layers? Do you use hard edges or soft edges brushes?
• How many layers do you have?
• Do you draw the "bald" round head without hair first before adding hair, or do you already block the place for hair? (Shantia drew the bald head first before adding hair IIRC)
• Do you use bucket tool?
• How do you manage with the outlines if it's a value drawing?

 

I only ever did this once so I'm not sure how actually it's supposed to be done (I only watch Proko's video but he's doing it on pencil & paper. No step-by-step tutorial on digital portrait yet). For me personally when I drew Del I used this approach:

 

Spoiler

1. Start with putting greyscale flats on each major area (skin, hair, shirt, lips, etc) using bucket tool. Each flat is around what I consider as the average, and put on different layers
2. Using very low transparency (mostly 1-5% transparency, nothing beyond 20%) I adjust the value of each area by painting over and over. I finish one area before going to another (the other area are still flats) ---> NOT A GOOD IDEA, DON't DO THIS. The value becomes all wrong afterward.
3. All layers are fusioned as one big master layer
4. Then I worked on eliminating the outlines with smudge tools
5. Readjusting the whole value once again on master layer trying to make everything go together
6. blurr all edges that I didn't manage to do adjust. Smudge & blur and scream a lot

I only used soft & hard edges round brushes for the whole portrait (except for the tree branch at the background).

 

Honestly I think that I approach the whole thing on a very wrong way... For all drawings that I ever did on digital, I never managed to use anything more opaque than 20% nor using any brushes other than round-ended one.

 

I really would like to know how you guys approach things?

 

I know that Proko recommend first rough shading of all area before starting details (at least put the darkest & lightest shading, & halftones (the 4 values thing) on all part to get the min & max value charted on the drawing).

 

I also see that some artists do put either the darkest value on flats and then add the lighter shades, or vice versa (depend on which part is bigger). But they don't do value drawings, it's more like cartoon 2D drawings with thick outlines.

 

Is there a set rule?

 

 

Sorry for the questions

[Teshayel]

I start my digital portraits the same way I'd start a pencil portrait

 

1. Draw an outline of the entire face first.

 

2. Mark vertical axis, and important guidelines (brows, eyes, nose, mouth).

 

3. Construct features (eyes, nose, lips).

 

4. Tighten lines (refine jawline, cheeks, brow, hair).

 

5. Start shading with a hard edged brush (it can be grayscale to begin with, but I sometimes start with colour as well). I generally set opacity to 50-80% at this stage. I keep flow at 100% all the time.

 

6. Flip canvas often, and make adjustments if anything is out of place.

 

7. Once I am happy with the greyscale (it does not have to have a finished look to it), I block in the colours. I set my brush to color mode for this. Another method I often employ is to add a multiply layer on top of the greyscale drawing, and fill it with a darker green. Then I add a soft light layer, and paint around the eyes and mouth with a saturated red. I merge the layers down, and continue from there. This gives a nice base to start from.

 

8. Once I am ready to blend, I reduce the opacity on my brush to ~20%, and do a lot of colour picking from the drawing. I am still using the hard edged round brush. I like to work on a single layer.

 

9. The hair I draw in as I work on the features. I use the hard edged brush here as well, but once I am ready for some details, I use splatter brushes. I just turn off the splatter effect.

 

10. Once I am happy with the features, I switch to some custom brushes to add texture to the skin (some splatter, and some that look like lightning, to create little veins).

 

11. Sometimes I add a noise layer that I reduce the opacity for, just to create a grainy effect. But that is not necessary.

 

Edit: better examples of WIP (though a little old, my approach has not changed significantly)

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The point is to develop a method for yourself that you are comfortable with. Do not follow what other artists do, unless it feels natural to you

 

Hope this helps

[Cerulione]

Thanks, that's interesting. I'll try to try your method too at least once

[Teshayel]

Let me know if you'll find the approach comfortable. And change whatever doesn't feel right to you. After all, you are finding your own style right now