[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/ecoticon_forth_15.gif]
Well, seriously though, in many cases, it isn't that I don't want to draw for people but... Well, let's get on with the program!
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/ecoticon_first_01.gif]
Base sketches
Had no idea what to draw... Meh, let's just get sketching!
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/ecchi.png]
After much planning of what clothes she should be wearing...[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/ecoticon_forth_04.gif]
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/Alpha1-2.png]
Well, a school uniform it be, then!
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/Cirno-3.png]
WHEEEEEEEEEE CIRNO[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/ecoticon_forth_10.gif]
I find a sketchy frame easier to work with because it allows me to use my imagination to go for the maximum limits of whatever I want to draw. Having thick lines would allow you to use your imagination in such a way that you can choose and see the final location of the lines if you had to. While drawing clothing and folds may require practice, I'm not really good at it either so I can't give you much information about this. However, it helps if you try different layers and different fold lines all the time.
Pretty much about being observant rather than forcing yourself to draw all day. Sometimes, you just can't learn much from just drawing by yourself. It tends to help when you have someone to comment on your drawings, or even draw with others (Like on iScribble, people would either draw with you or comment on your drawings). I'm sure it's fine though, some people just work better with more practice than others.
Line Art
I had no idea on how to do line art, seriously. So I went for help from a good iScribble friend of mine and she introduced me to a tutorial. I did find it useful, however, I tend to do stuffs my way after awhile.
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/Kotori1.png]
Oho, seems like the image is larger now! And yeah, I gave her a twin angel winged hairpin because I kinda feel that she would be pretty generic if I didn't give her any head accessories (CURSE YOU ZUN.)
Wow, how original...[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/ecoticon_first_01.gif]
[SIZE="1"]Kinda a little upset with myself.[/SIZE]
Dependant on your art style, different people have different applications and styles to finish up their line arts. I'm pretty much stuck with Photoshop, so I had to make do with what I have. First, I blew the image up by 500%. This allows me to work on fine lines for the final work as thin lines look neat and much more suited to my style. However, it should be noted that even lines require gradient and width, so fret not if you have to get a line real thick. In fact, thick lines could amplify the appeal of your image! It could have been a style by itself too.
So, with a basic Photoshop brush, I begin the tiring work of slowly drawing the lines out one by one, in fact, I've decided to add in even more lines to make the drawing look more refined and detailed in certain ways. Sometimes it helps if you would add in some small details into the folds, or perhaps even a different design here or there to make it complex!
Finally, I shrank the line art back to 25% of the blown up 500% image size and uploaded it on photobucket to archive it.
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/ecoticon_forth_01.gif]
Coloring
I dispise coloring, seriously. I'm not really good at the shading, and sometimes colors irks me. Ah well, might as well be done with the job!
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/ecoticon_forth_05.gif]
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/Kotori3.png]
I tend to start with the skin because it's more... Natural that way, in my opinion... So meh.
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/Kotori6.png]
First layer of clothing shade, it lacks the blur and gradients. I've placed them over the major areas that I would like the shades to be on.
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/Kotori11.png]
Notice that there's a second layer of clothing shade? That is the secondary shading to increase the contrast between the white portion of the clothing and the dark purple shade. Against white, I tend to choose purple as a shadow. The line at the bottom is to show where I would cut the image off, sometimes I wouldn't bother with that.
And of course, leaving her hair for the last is pretty much because hair is difficult (Of course, opinions again...) to do up.
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/Kotori13.png]
Bam! Hair done. I had pretty much troubles trying to choose a hair color for her. I would have went with my usual brown, but meh... Too much brown hair ain't good for me! In the end, I've came up with Sky Blue, Baby Pink, Butter Yellow and of course, white. Blue hair is pretty common and to think of it, pink hair usually comes along with blue eyes in most renders... Blonde is meh with blue eyes, so I went with white.
Well, at least s..- I shaded the white with purple (Because it's my habit. I can ASSURE you that her hair is WHITE) so that it's more contrasting... Besides, grey hair would make people look old, wouldn't it?
Notice that the lines are still black. And of course, the piece of paper she's holding has cloud patterns on it (Because I made it that way :l).
Coloring is a difficult choice for most artists like me. I mostly do pencil and pen sketches, so colors ain't much of a choice for me. Usually, gradient would be the only thing I do in most situations. However, having a black and white picture on a colored screen just... Isn't really great at times.
Choosing colors in special ways could make your art interesting. On iScribble, a particular user, Mashiro, colors pink hair and shades it with a slight tinge of blue. As for orange, she colors it with a slight tinge of either yellow or blue. There are many other users like her, because sometimes, a single color could make your image look really boring at times.
There is a way of doing though. Sometimes, depending on your color theme. As for the drawing I'm showcasing here, I tend to stick with her blue and white school uniform theme. Let's just stick with that all the way.
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/ecoticon_forth_06.gif]
Out of my habits, I decided to shade white with purple. Firstly, because it's a transition color, it's nither warm or cool, which makes it good for a shade on white. I've seen green (Greenish grey) being used as a shade for white too. In many cases, white has many different contrasts. Fret not to use other colors rather than just grey to shade white.
Choosing colors is as important as having a good line art. In the end, it's a battle won quick if you've gotten both right!
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/ecoticon_forth_09.gif]
Final Touches
In an attempt to make the line look thinner than what it seems and of course, black is just too contrasting. So I've colored the lines to the nearest darkest shade available on the location.
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/Kotori14.png]
Do remember, when you're using this style, the color of the lines come from the closest non-covered object by perspective. ie. the hands are placed above her uniform rather than being stuck with it, so I colored the lines in the darker shades of her skin
It doesn't hurts to touch up your drawing so that it meets your standards by the end of the day. It's your pride and joy and so you should do your best to make it acceptable in many ways. Sometimes, it would help if you could just take a break or two before coming back to the image. When that happens, your mind tends to "Refresh" itself and you may be able to see faults in your drawings.
In other cases, touching up could mean fixing any errors or even just throwing a dab of paint or two. In my case, I've colored the line art so that it isn't that contrasting with the colors I've placed earlier. In a further attempt to make the image look official, I've decided to throw in some additional features you could find on visual novel webpages and decided on a card design.
All in all, it took awhile.
Nevertheless, I felt good because I took such a long break from art. (CURSES! I passed all my semestral exams though...)
Sometimes, you should just relax and... Take it easy!
Finished Product
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/KotoriPage-edit.png]
Changed and submitted another different copy for the Design Contest that's presumely CANCELLED.
GFD, I needed that 10K NX for RB...
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/ecoticon_forth_03.gif]
... Somewhere in another board on iScribble... Another WIP pops up and awaits my call to deal the finishing blow...
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/Reisen5.png]
Man, drawing on iScribble is such a challenge
[Image: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff309/Nyaruato/ecoticon_forth_03.gif]