OMG The piece I did just for this freaking thing took me FOREVER. D8 Of course, I could have just been simple and drawn one figure, but noooo~ I had to go all out and do a freaking 5-figure portrait with a table lined with intricate desserts and blah-blah-blah~~ WHY? Why do I do this to myself? D: This is (of course) more Kuroshitsuji fan art. >_> I called it 'Be My Butler', since it features all the butlers (at least from the anime D:) It was my first time drawing both Butler!Grell and Ash. (Goddamn do I hate Ash. D<)
OKAY SO. Enough ranting. On with it~
Step 1: The first sketch.
Generally, the first sketch isn't anything but getting a basic idea of where I want everything to go. I don't really try at all. In fact, a lot of the time things don't even end up staying where they are (this is not the case here. I did good this time :D). Everything is just sort of a place holder for where I want the basic focus. I'm also really careful of which way things are pointing, like Ciel's (or what's going to be Ciel's) hat and both Sebastian and Agni's arms, so it doesn't feel too cluttered or off-balance.
Lol, it looks so retarded as a JPG. XD Oh well.
The next step is just filling out the skeletons with more precise sketches. This still isn't the final sketch, but I think it's pretty important since I often have a lot of trouble with anatomy and it's good to make sure everything looks okay at least twice over (and by the end, things still look off, but I did the best I could D:) Another thing is that I don't put the faces in. I never sketch faces. To me, putting a face on something is giving it a concrete identity and my sketches are pretty much just intended to be malleable husks that are interchangable. I don't know. Maybe I'm weird. O_o
Still not done sketching...D: Takes forever...Why am I still doing this... >_<;;
Next is the final sketch (FINALLY 8D). I have to be a little more careful about where everything is and how it looks since I can't really pay attention to deformities when I do the final lines. This sketch is just to make sure the basic structure looks good before I add any details (sometimes I end up adding some detail just my brain screams at me to do it >_<).
Finally, that's done. Now, step 2.
Step 2: Lines
For crisp, clean lines, Photoshop sucks. Even the 1px brush has a feathery look that can be sharpened, but looks pixel-y afterward X_x. So I just bring my sketch PSD into Paint Tool SAI, which has an ink pen that is fantastic for clean lines. I have a really shaky hand, though, so straight, precise lines that are also thin are really, really hard for me. Not to mention they take forever and a week. So, I just do the best I can in adding all the detail. Notice how I'm okay with adding the faces now. :) The lines say that the object is complete and can now be given an identity. Yay, weirdness! 8D
Only one step for the lines, thank God lol.
Step 3: Flat Color
Once the lines are done (after about 2 hours of struggle X_x), I can bring the PSD back into Photoshop for flat colors. This normally doesn't take too long since the lines are crisp enough to just do the whole select-with-the-Magic-Wand-tool and fill. Along with basic colors, I add patterns too, since am I total pattern whore. D:
After the colors are all filled in, I like to darken them so the light and shadows looks more dramatic. (Bad idea? :/ You tell me.)
Flat colors are cool and all, but there's a big, bright fireplace behind everything which creates light that wraps around either sides of the figures. I like to create the illusion that the sides are lighter by putting a shadow straight down the middle. Gradients, to the rescue~ (and the abuse of the Multiply layer style D:)
Hey, it's starting to look kinda cool already. :3
Step 4: Shadows
Shadows take by far the longest. I basically have to do three layers of shadows and then smudge the hell out of them in all the right places. And then go back in and add darker shadows where they need be. It's very meticulous and time-consuming, but it looks a lot better than cell-shading (at least in my case. I suck at it. >_>)
Damn you, shadows, for taking so damn long. D:
Step 5: Light
Light is my favorite toy in the world. 8D I love playing with it. The light sources here are the fireplace in the background and the small candle stick on the table. (I put in there purposely to make Ciel's face look a little more sinister and to light Ash up since angel=light, evidently.) I had to pay really close attention here since the angles have to be just right. (Sometimes I forgot and it kinda shows D:) Damn, those desserts were a pain in my ass. >_>
Light~! Glorious light~!
Step 6: Adjusting
This is the final step! Since I toned the colors way down early on, everything looks a little drab and desaturated. Flattening the image and screwing around with levels, hue, saturation, and contrast will fix that. 8D Add in a nice gold border...
...And voila! Done. Finally. X_x My hand hurts.
And, of course my favorite part of this whole piece...
8D
Look at that beautiful, freaking orange...uh...thing. O_o Pastry. I don't even know. But it has ice cream and orange and drizzle and all things that are good in the world. I made myself hungry drawing this. :/
I hope that was at least a little informative. Until next time (when I have my new tablet! 8D)~
Hey. If this were an episode of Heroes, I would be Sylar. And you would be....someone whose head I cut open to steal your power. Just saying.
ReplyDelete~B-W
PS--I'm pretty sure I spelled Sylar wrong.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had your patience. To draw that many people in one scene, and a whole background, and everything. And... that I could use Photoshop like everyone else can. XD;
ReplyDeleteOne thing I always love about your pictures are the lighting effects~ I always try to add those but they're never so dramatic, and when I make them dramatic, then it looks like I hit the picture with a glowstick. >:
SO NICE WORK. so gorgeous~ <3 It was interesting looking over it step by step. 8D
OH MAN YOU ARE SO COOL.
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