[Tutorial, sort of] A Dwarf
Sept 21, 2014 22:35:03 GMT -9
squirmydad, Sirrob01, and 7 more like this
Post by Nemo on Sept 21, 2014 22:35:03 GMT -9
(or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Parduz)
Hi there everybody, kind of a very busy time here, but I may be able to share something anyway, if you are interested
I found out some jpgs in my HD "taken" from when I was working on my Fantasy Heroes miniatures and I thought it would be fun to share them, hoping that they could prove useful to someone or be criticized and torn to shreds in the positive way that you use to
So let's start!
I created an image in Photoshop (I guess Gimp may work just fine, but it's not the same at all, to me) with a 300 ppi resolution and I created a new transparent layer (that I called Lines) on top of the white background one.
Then I started drawing on level Lines a rough sketch using a thin hard brush with an opacity of 40-50%. This way the result is similar to a pencil drawing made on paper.
I could add shadings and what not at this early stage, but I decided that I wanted to work mostly on colors, so that the final result would look somehow more "pictorial".
Hi there everybody, kind of a very busy time here, but I may be able to share something anyway, if you are interested
I found out some jpgs in my HD "taken" from when I was working on my Fantasy Heroes miniatures and I thought it would be fun to share them, hoping that they could prove useful to someone or be criticized and torn to shreds in the positive way that you use to
So let's start!
I created an image in Photoshop (I guess Gimp may work just fine, but it's not the same at all, to me) with a 300 ppi resolution and I created a new transparent layer (that I called Lines) on top of the white background one.
Then I started drawing on level Lines a rough sketch using a thin hard brush with an opacity of 40-50%. This way the result is similar to a pencil drawing made on paper.
I could add shadings and what not at this early stage, but I decided that I wanted to work mostly on colors, so that the final result would look somehow more "pictorial".
At this point I had a transparent Lines layer and a background white layer.
Then I started coloring my dwarf: after deciding which colors to use, I add a different layer for each and every one of them UNDER the Lines layer. Looking at the image below, you can imagine I created a layer called Skin (with all the flesh colored parts of the image), another one called Light Grey (for shoulders and upper legs amor and details on the axe and gloves), Dark Grey for the blade and knees armor, etc.
It may sound kind of overly complicated (basically yes, it tends to be), but later I will be able to work and modify single colors without touching the rest. It is very useful, particularly when you have finished your work and find out that the shade of gray you chose for the beard is not that cool as it seemed at the beginning
Anyway: then with a hard brush at 100% opacity I colored him and if I went outside the lines, I used the eraser to correct that.
Keep in mind that you will have to create a layer for the beer foam and the eyes, too, and color them white.
Otherwise they will seem white since the background is white, but in the end the background will be gone and you will find yourself with unwanted transparencies.
Next, I began to add depth to my base colors and I did that by working on lights. Usually I try to imagine from where the light source comes and I start working from that. It is awfully good having photo references, too, just to have an idea on how light may work on skin and the overcomplicated thing we call "faces"
But first of all I created a new layer on top of the one called Skin, I called it Skin Lights and Shadows and I made a clip mask of it. This is a fantastic option: I can draw whatever i wish on this level, but it won't ever go outside what I have drawn on the Skin level.
So imagined that the light came from the upper right corner and I began coloring with a dark brown and a hard brush set with a 9%
It is a work of patience: at the beginning I never get the right shade or "deepness", so that is why a photo reference is useful.
On that same level I used a very light shade of flesh color (it seems almost white) and with the same brush and a bit more opacity (around 20ish %) I began to make come forward the parts of his face that are more close to the light and the viewer, trying to follow the lines of his face and expression.
Once I think it is over, I erase some of the lines from the Lines level. For example, here I wanted the shadings on the forehead and the nose to be "smooth".
Then I started coloring my dwarf: after deciding which colors to use, I add a different layer for each and every one of them UNDER the Lines layer. Looking at the image below, you can imagine I created a layer called Skin (with all the flesh colored parts of the image), another one called Light Grey (for shoulders and upper legs amor and details on the axe and gloves), Dark Grey for the blade and knees armor, etc.
It may sound kind of overly complicated (basically yes, it tends to be), but later I will be able to work and modify single colors without touching the rest. It is very useful, particularly when you have finished your work and find out that the shade of gray you chose for the beard is not that cool as it seemed at the beginning
Anyway: then with a hard brush at 100% opacity I colored him and if I went outside the lines, I used the eraser to correct that.
Keep in mind that you will have to create a layer for the beer foam and the eyes, too, and color them white.
Otherwise they will seem white since the background is white, but in the end the background will be gone and you will find yourself with unwanted transparencies.
Next, I began to add depth to my base colors and I did that by working on lights. Usually I try to imagine from where the light source comes and I start working from that. It is awfully good having photo references, too, just to have an idea on how light may work on skin and the overcomplicated thing we call "faces"
But first of all I created a new layer on top of the one called Skin, I called it Skin Lights and Shadows and I made a clip mask of it. This is a fantastic option: I can draw whatever i wish on this level, but it won't ever go outside what I have drawn on the Skin level.
So imagined that the light came from the upper right corner and I began coloring with a dark brown and a hard brush set with a 9%
It is a work of patience: at the beginning I never get the right shade or "deepness", so that is why a photo reference is useful.
On that same level I used a very light shade of flesh color (it seems almost white) and with the same brush and a bit more opacity (around 20ish %) I began to make come forward the parts of his face that are more close to the light and the viewer, trying to follow the lines of his face and expression.
Once I think it is over, I erase some of the lines from the Lines level. For example, here I wanted the shadings on the forehead and the nose to be "smooth".
Things that I should have avoid: this is going to be a miniature, so there is no point in overdetail things, since when I will be rescale the image, nobody will EVER be able to notice some things. Actually, some of them aren't noticeable at the current dimensions, either.
Like this:
There is really no need to add reflections and shadings to the eyes.
Anyway, back to the main topic: I went on working like this on all the exposed skin, trying to bear in mind the direction of the light and the pose of the dwarf.
Then I selected the Dark Grey level, I created a clip mask on it and went on drawing clusters of hair of different shades (lighter and darker, always following the light) with various opacities. This is kind of time and patience consuming, too. But I guess it is just a matter of getting the hang of it.
And don't forget the eyebrows
Then i proceeded to use Smudge Tool (around 60%) to gently draw reflections on the hair.
Just to have a better understanding of the light on my Dwarf, I added a new layer on top of everything else and I traced an orange round gradient from the top right. I set the blending mode of this layer to Overlay.
This is the result.
Remember when I added an orange gradient from the top right of the image?
Just to underline this effect, I created a similar gradient on the bottom left, but using the color black.
Like this:
There is really no need to add reflections and shadings to the eyes.
Anyway, back to the main topic: I went on working like this on all the exposed skin, trying to bear in mind the direction of the light and the pose of the dwarf.
Then I selected the Dark Grey level, I created a clip mask on it and went on drawing clusters of hair of different shades (lighter and darker, always following the light) with various opacities. This is kind of time and patience consuming, too. But I guess it is just a matter of getting the hang of it.
And don't forget the eyebrows
Then i proceeded to use Smudge Tool (around 60%) to gently draw reflections on the hair.
Just to have a better understanding of the light on my Dwarf, I added a new layer on top of everything else and I traced an orange round gradient from the top right. I set the blending mode of this layer to Overlay.
This is the result.
The way I explained I colored the skin, is basically how I colored the rest of the image.
Bear in mind one important thing, though: the less transparent and hard the brush is, the more solid and translucent the surface will appear.
And viceversa: the more transparent and soft the brush, the more soft and opaque will be the surface.
Even the kind of light has to do on the choosing of the right brush settings.
Once understood this, it shouldn't be hard to achieve a satisfactory result for surfaces from latex to metal, from leather to silk.
Sometimes I help myself with a grunge brush that I created (there's plenty of them out there in internet), just to add a texturized and worn look to metal and leather surfaces.
This is a Work in Progress that I hope explains what i mean.
Bear in mind one important thing, though: the less transparent and hard the brush is, the more solid and translucent the surface will appear.
And viceversa: the more transparent and soft the brush, the more soft and opaque will be the surface.
Even the kind of light has to do on the choosing of the right brush settings.
Once understood this, it shouldn't be hard to achieve a satisfactory result for surfaces from latex to metal, from leather to silk.
Sometimes I help myself with a grunge brush that I created (there's plenty of them out there in internet), just to add a texturized and worn look to metal and leather surfaces.
This is a Work in Progress that I hope explains what i mean.
Remember when I added an orange gradient from the top right of the image?
Just to underline this effect, I created a similar gradient on the bottom left, but using the color black.
Once I finished, I added a new, colder and softer light source from the top left.
This serves two purposes:
- Adding even more 3Dness to the image.
- Creating a sort of separation between dark areas and the black border around the miniature. Otherwise it is easy to lose the perception of some parts of the character once it is printed.
To do that I created another layer, I set it to Intense Light and with a soft and translucent brush, I colored some of the "edges" of my dwarf with a blue/white shade.
In my mind, his right half of the body is under the moon light, pale and soft.
And here he is, ready to be resized and adapted to become a miniature.
This serves two purposes:
- Adding even more 3Dness to the image.
- Creating a sort of separation between dark areas and the black border around the miniature. Otherwise it is easy to lose the perception of some parts of the character once it is printed.
To do that I created another layer, I set it to Intense Light and with a soft and translucent brush, I colored some of the "edges" of my dwarf with a blue/white shade.
In my mind, his right half of the body is under the moon light, pale and soft.
And here he is, ready to be resized and adapted to become a miniature.
Luckily and thanks to some of the precautions I explained above, he didn't need reworkings once he was resized to his 30mm scale proportions, so I just drawn the rear, added the black contour and he was good to go.
And that's it, more or less.
I hope you enjoyed following the process and if you have questions, remarks or menaces, I would be pleased to hear them
I hope you enjoyed following the process and if you have questions, remarks or menaces, I would be pleased to hear them