Gradient shading?

[Im Windspirit]

3nodding

Hi there! You might not recognize me 'cause I haven't posted alot, but since the Thanksgiving Break is close I really wanted to dedicate at least one completed picture for myself. Thing is, I want to avoid Cell Shading and focus more on a 'traditional' like coloring.

I want to learn how to "pencil shade" or color in grey on the Digital computer, but that has been proving to be very difficult. I've attempted searches for coloring in grey on the computer, but there is none I can look onto. Shading in grey in real life is fine, but it's a different situation when attempting Digital art.

I have a Bamboo Tablet and use Photoshop. Any tips?



This is the picture I drew to practice on:

http://sheriti.deviantart.com/#/d2zn0b7




pirate  

[Quvi]

I know what you mean, shading on a digital medium is something I'm not perfect at, either. I guess the difference between a pencil and a tablet is that a pencil has more precision and you can see directly with your eye where the lines end up.

I think the problem with attempting to do tradition quality pictures on photoshop is the fact that the lines come out too clean. They just don't have the same look that you get on paper. That being said, maybe you can try to create a custom brush or look for one online that emulates a pencil texture. Don't set opacity of your brush to 100%, but enough to be pretty visible if you press down.

You could also try working on a hi-res image.  

[Im Windspirit]

I set the opacity below 40% and decided to begin with the darkest shade so when I begin to color in the lines it would imitate the pressure a person has on a pencil. Unfortunately, photoshop leaves obvious strokes when you go over the same area...

Okay, I will attempt to find a brush. My only question is how you would actually begin to paint in grey colors. I guess that is all up to the artist decision?  

[koolkat104]

I have two different methods you can try. I'm going by what I know in Photoshop, so sorry if that's not what you're used to.

Make blocks of the darker grey you want on another layer above your median color. Shade in a spot where you want it to be darker. Go to a tab close to the top called 'Filter,' and go to Blur> Gaussian Blur. change the strength to the way you want. You can change the opacity of the blur to by changing the opacity on the layer.

Another thing you can do is use the gradient tool. Although this is normally used for backgrounds, it's quite effective. If you can't see a gradient-looking tab in your brush palette, go to your paint bucket and hold in your left mouse button. This will give you a menu with the paint bucket and gradient tools.

Choose the gradient. There are different styles of gradients to use, and you can find these at the top. I generally choose the first one.

Make a new layer and choose your shading color. Select pixels of your base if it's something other than the full background. To do so, right click the thumbnail view of your base layer and click 'select pixels.' Once you have them selected, go back to your new layer and drag your mouse in the direction you want the gradient to go, light to dark. You can use two colors by changing the color of both your brush and eraser color (the two overlapping boxes).

Hope that helped!  

[Quvi]

That's a very stylistic method of shading, koolkat. Coloring with gradients and Gaussian blue CAN work, but one must apply those techniques in only certain situations. Traditional painting is not one of those moments.

I'm interested in seeing what you have so far, wind. Maybe then I can give you some more specific help (So I don't go over something you already know).

That said, your method of approach is right. Working from darkest to light sets the tone of the overall finished piece at an early stage. Also, it's a good idea to throw in every value before you actually go into detail.

Painting in gray has no large difference with painting with color. They both require knowledge of light and shading. It should actually be easier to paint in black and white as you don't have to deal with the values of color.

Once again, show me what you got! Then I can help a bit more smile  

[koolkat104]

This was using the Gradient tool for shading:



http://koolkat104.deviantart.com/art/Coca-Cola-photoshop-186640218

and this was using an airbrush and some smudging effects:



http://koolkat104.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d2pygh4  

[Im Windspirit]

I will post what I have tomorrow.

C:

heart  

[Quvi]

koolkat104

This was using the Gradient tool for shading:



http://koolkat104.deviantart.com/art/Coca-Cola-photoshop-186640218

and this was using an airbrush and some smudging effects:



http://koolkat104.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d2pygh4

As I said, there are situations where gradients actually work. A bottle of cola is definitely viable for using the gradient with. Liquid refracts light differently than skin. Using gradients to color skintone isn't a good idea, because the it has so much varying tone in it.

The second picture is lacking a strong dark or strong light. That makes for a weaker effect, and ultimately, makes the image look flatter. Smuding itself isn't a bad idea, though. The example just needs more tones.  

[koolkat104]

Good point. I completed the second in GIMP but I think I may redo it in PS  

[Im Windspirit]

This is what I have so far. For now, i'm ignoring the characters horn on his hat, but the light is somewhat towards his left cheek.

I'm using a water colored brush...but I feel that the picture is looking dull. I'm going to get rid of the lineart soon.  

[Quvi]

Looks good so far. I think the picture looks dull to you because there isn't much value in the picture. I think it'll look better when you work on it more when you add the lighter values. Definitely add more light onto the helmet to give it more shine (if it's metallic).  

[Im Windspirit]

No, I don't think its metallic. I think it's one of those priest-type hats of some thick fiber material, but thank you so much for the feed back.

C:

I've practiced more and discovered some neat tools. Thank you again the both of you. I'll upload the final result when i'm done. heart