Brewin' up a Storm
Mar. 1st, 2006 10:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jkcarrier
Over at the Freedom Reborn message board, they've been having regular "Drawing Challenges" -- Someone picks a character (from comics, video games, etc.) and everyone takes a crack at drawing them. The most recent challenge was Storm of the X-Men, and I thought it would be a good chance to try out some of the computer toys I've been experimenting with the past few months.
This is something new for me -- a drawing that's totally digital from start to finish. I'm still feeling my way around, but for anyone who's interested, here's the basic process I went through:
ONE
This stage was done in DAZ STUDIO, a free program that lets you pose figures in 3D. I take the generic "Victoria" figure and adjust the face and figure to more closely resemble Storm. Then I put her in a flying pose (this is the real time-consuming part, moving the various body parts around and adjuting them so the pose looks natural). Finally, I set up a couple of lights to give her that dramatic backlit look.
(Daz Studio also allows you add clothing, hair, props, etc. to the figure. But since I'm just using this for perspective and lighting reference, I don't bother with any bells and whistles.)
TWO
Once I have my 3D render, I take the image into PHOTOSHOP, a 2D drawing/painting progam. I create a blank "layer" on top of the original image to draw on, sort of like drawing on a sheet of tracing paper. That way, I can draw, erase, etc. without affecting my reference image underneath.
Using the pencil, brush, and eraser tools (lots of erasing!), I outline the figure, fill in shadows, etc. I follow the picture pretty closely, but simplify and stylize it a bit as I go. I draw in red because it's easier to see what I'm doing; I'll change the lines to black later.
THREE
Here you see the figure completely outlined. I've "hidden" the layer with the reference picture on it, and turned the red lines black. Now it's starting to look like a drawing, instead of a creepy computer mannequin. Still doesn't look much like Storm, though...
FOUR
Once again, I create a new layer (so I don't mess up what I've got so far), and work in red so I can see what's what. Using Photoshop's "path" tool (which lets you draw smooth curves), I outline the areas for Storm's cape and tiara.
FIVE
Once I have the pieces looking the way I want, I erase the stray lines, turn the whole thing black, and merge it with the main figure. At this point I also go in with my brush and eraser and add the lines of her costume -- bodysuit, boots, wristbands. The black and white drawing is essentially done. Time to go to color!
SIX
I do my coloring on a new layer -- this time, it's placed underneath the black outlines. That way, I can be sloppy and go over the edges without it showing. Using a fat pencil, I lay in my basic colors. On another layer, I draw a solid white shape for her hair. And yet another layer gets filled with dark blue as a backdrop.
SEVEN
Selecting one color at a time (brown skin, purple suit, gold trim) I use the airbrush tool to add highlights, referring back to my reference picture to see where the bright spots should go.
Once the figure is done, I airbrush in some simple clouds and a cheesy-looking lightning bolt (again, each element goes on a separate layer, so it can be tweaked and adjusted without messing up any of the other pieces). And there you have it.
This is something new for me -- a drawing that's totally digital from start to finish. I'm still feeling my way around, but for anyone who's interested, here's the basic process I went through:
ONE
This stage was done in DAZ STUDIO, a free program that lets you pose figures in 3D. I take the generic "Victoria" figure and adjust the face and figure to more closely resemble Storm. Then I put her in a flying pose (this is the real time-consuming part, moving the various body parts around and adjuting them so the pose looks natural). Finally, I set up a couple of lights to give her that dramatic backlit look.
(Daz Studio also allows you add clothing, hair, props, etc. to the figure. But since I'm just using this for perspective and lighting reference, I don't bother with any bells and whistles.)
TWO
Once I have my 3D render, I take the image into PHOTOSHOP, a 2D drawing/painting progam. I create a blank "layer" on top of the original image to draw on, sort of like drawing on a sheet of tracing paper. That way, I can draw, erase, etc. without affecting my reference image underneath.
Using the pencil, brush, and eraser tools (lots of erasing!), I outline the figure, fill in shadows, etc. I follow the picture pretty closely, but simplify and stylize it a bit as I go. I draw in red because it's easier to see what I'm doing; I'll change the lines to black later.
THREE
Here you see the figure completely outlined. I've "hidden" the layer with the reference picture on it, and turned the red lines black. Now it's starting to look like a drawing, instead of a creepy computer mannequin. Still doesn't look much like Storm, though...
FOUR
Once again, I create a new layer (so I don't mess up what I've got so far), and work in red so I can see what's what. Using Photoshop's "path" tool (which lets you draw smooth curves), I outline the areas for Storm's cape and tiara.
FIVE
Once I have the pieces looking the way I want, I erase the stray lines, turn the whole thing black, and merge it with the main figure. At this point I also go in with my brush and eraser and add the lines of her costume -- bodysuit, boots, wristbands. The black and white drawing is essentially done. Time to go to color!
SIX
I do my coloring on a new layer -- this time, it's placed underneath the black outlines. That way, I can be sloppy and go over the edges without it showing. Using a fat pencil, I lay in my basic colors. On another layer, I draw a solid white shape for her hair. And yet another layer gets filled with dark blue as a backdrop.
SEVEN
Selecting one color at a time (brown skin, purple suit, gold trim) I use the airbrush tool to add highlights, referring back to my reference picture to see where the bright spots should go.
Once the figure is done, I airbrush in some simple clouds and a cheesy-looking lightning bolt (again, each element goes on a separate layer, so it can be tweaked and adjusted without messing up any of the other pieces). And there you have it.
