- \n
- Selecting Lineart<\/a><\/li>\n
- The Layers Pallet and PSD
\nfile Format<\/a><\/li>\n- Removing the white (Blending
\nmodes)<\/a><\/li>\n- Zoom Tool<\/a><\/li>\n
- Coloring the Body First
\n(Brush Tool Basics)<\/a><\/li>\n- Making Selections for Masks<\/a><\/li>\n
- Hue and Saturation<\/a><\/li>\n
- Post Shade Look<\/a><\/li>\n
- Decals<\/a><\/li>\n
- Done!<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/a>Selecting Lineart First you want to find some line art. Black and white with no grays works best if you can find it. With colored and grayscale lineart you have to remove the color and that can just be messy. The best place to find line art is inside your instruction book. There are also websites out there that contain lineart. Try doing a search and see what you can find.<\/p>\n
For this tutorial, we’ll be using the lineart I scanned from the manual of the Master Grade GM Type C. This was originally scanned in at 300 dpi and colored at the same resolution. I have shrunk it down for this demonstration.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/tips\/lineart\/01plainlineart.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>The Layers Pallet and PSD file Format<\/p>\n
One of the most useful aspects of Photoshop is the Layers Pallet. When I learned Photoshop was on ver 3.0 and there were no layers. That made things rather tricky. Now however we don’t have to worry about that.<\/p>\n
First open up the above jpeg in PS7. To save your layers, your file must be saved as a photoshop document. So go to FILE \u00c2\u00bb SAVE AS<\/strong> and then select Photoshop (*.PSD, *.PPD)<\/strong> from the dropdown. Click SAVE<\/strong> to save your file. Now you’re ready for layers.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/tips\/lineart\/02SaveAs.gif\")
<\/p>\nThe layers pallet will allow you to change colors easily without having to select each part of the picture. We’ll be making a separate layer for each color and we’ll be making a few folders in our layers pallet to hold them.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/tips\/lineart\/03LayersPallet.gif\")
First lets look at what we’ll be using on the layers pallet:<\/p>\n- \n
- Blending Modes<\/strong>
\nThese will blend the selected layer into all layers below them<\/li>\n- Lock Transparent Pixels<\/strong>
\nThese will make only the filled pixels on the layer changeable.
\nWhen locked you will not be able to add anything to the transparent
\narea of the layer.<\/li>\n- Opacity<\/strong>
\nThis will adjust the transparent look of your layer.<\/li>\n- Folder (Set)<\/strong>
\nThis “Layer” will enable you to group layers into
\na folder to make organizing your layers easier. It can be moved
\nup and down to put the contents above or below any other layer
\nset. Double click the name to rename the layer.<\/li>\n- Layer<\/strong>
\nThis layer will contain whatever you put on it. It can be moved
\nup and down to put the contents above or below any other layer.
\nDouble click the name to rename the layer.<\/li>\n- Show\/Hide Layer<\/strong>
\nYou can show or hide a layer or layer set (folder).<\/li>\n- Link Layers<\/strong>
\nBy selecting a layer, then clicking this box on other layers,
\nyou can move all these layers at once.<\/li>\n- Create Layer Set<\/strong>
\nClicking this will make a new layer set (folder)<\/li>\n- Create Adjustment Layer<\/strong>
\nThese make changeable layers to add colorization and adjustment
\nfilters to.<\/li>\n- Add New Layer (Copy Layer)<\/strong>
\nClick to make a new blank layer. Drag an existing layer on top
\nof it to copy that layer.<\/li>\n- Delete Layer<\/strong>
\nDrag a layer to this icon to delete the layer or select a layer
\nand click the icon.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nI’ll explain more about these as we go through the tutorial. First though, lets make a few layer sets to organize our many layers. Click the CREATE LAYER SET<\/strong> (8<\/span>) button on the LAYERS PALLET<\/strong>. Notice it made a folder. Now double click on the name of the folder and rename it “Lineart”. Always name your folders and layers.<\/strong> When you get a lot of them, it’ll make sorting them out much easier. Make another layer and call it “Tutorials” and drag it below the LINEART<\/strong> set. Now let’s move on…<\/p>\n
<\/a>Zoom Tool<\/p>\n
To make painting easier, you’ll want to zoom in and out. To do a general zoom, use CTRL +<\/strong> and CTRL –<\/strong>. To zoom in on a specific area, hold CTRL + SPACE <\/strong>to get the zoom tool and CTRL + ALT + SPACE<\/strong> to get the Zoom-out tool. If you draw a selection with the zoom tool, you will zoom in to that spot. Use this when painting below.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Removing the white (Blending modes)<\/p>\n
Okay, now the fun begins. I’ll show you the easiest way to make only the black and transparent edges of the black show.<\/p>\n
First, lets make a copy of the BACKGROUND <\/strong>layer. Drag the layer with the lineart called BACKGROUND<\/strong> to the ADD NEW LAYER<\/strong> (10<\/span>) button on your layers pallet. Notice this makes a copy of your layer. Rename that layer “lineart” and drag it into the LINEART SET<\/strong>. You should see it indented under the LINEART<\/strong> set like above.<\/p>\n
Now we have a copy of the BACKGROUND layer and the white is still there. To remove the white, we’ll use the “Multiply” BLENDING<\/strong> MODE<\/strong> (1<\/span>). Select MULTIPLY from the dropdown (1<\/span>).<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/tips\/lineart\/03So-far.gif\")
Now lets check to see if this worked. Select a blue from your SWATCHES pallet. Click on the background layer and then hit ALT + BACKSPACE<\/strong> on your keyboard. That is the command to fill with the foreground color. The entire background layer should now be blue and you should be able to see the blue through the “lineart” layer. (See right \u00c2\u00bb)<\/p>\nNow that your lineart has the white removed, lets start coloring.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Coloring the Body First (Brush Tool Basics)<\/p>\n
The first thing I do is to color the whole body. There’s several ways to do this, but I want you to get familiar with the brush tool.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/tips\/lineart\/04BrushPallet.gif\")
When you select the brush tool, you get this pallet:<\/p>\n- \n
- Tool Presets <\/strong><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Brush Diameter<\/strong>
\nThis allows you to change the brush size. You can easily change the brush size using the [ and ] keys. That’s a very quick and easy alternative to using the dropdown.<\/li>\n- Solid Brush<\/strong>
\nThis is a hard edged brush and the one we’ll be using most.<\/li>\n- Feathered Brush<\/strong>
\nThis has an “airbrush” type faded edge. Great for blending.<\/li>\n- Brush Selector<\/strong>
\nThis is where to click to get the brush pallet. You can select a hard or soft brush from here.<\/li>\n- Blending Modes<\/strong>
\nSame as the layers pallet, but applied to the brush.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nTo make this brush process easier, we’ll go into our preferences (EDIT \u00c2\u00bb PREFERENCES \u00c2\u00bb DISPLAYS and CURSORS<\/strong>) and select “Brush Size” for the Painting Cursor and “Precise” for Other Cursors as seen below. This will give you a circle the exact size of your brush to make it easier to know where you’re painting.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/tips\/lineart\/05Prefs.gif\")
<\/p>\nNow we’ll make a NEW LAYER<\/strong> (10<\/span>)\u00c2\u00a0 and rename it “Body”. Drag this layer into the “Tutorials” Layer set. On this layer, we will be filling in the entire GM.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/tips\/lineart\/06outlinebody.jpg\")
We’ll start by outlining (tracing) the entire inside body of the GM on the “Body” layer with a light gray. Use a solid brush. This can be a pain, but as you’ll see later, it’s totally worth it.<\/p>\nYou can either use a brush and trace freehand or you can do the “Shift click” method. Notice the green line? To make that straight line, you first click once with your brush. This will make a circle. Then hold down SHIFT and click somewhere else. This draws a straight line between the click points. This works great for tracing straight parts.<\/p>\n
Now on the “Body” layer, paint in the rest of the GM using various sized brushes. Remember to use [ and ] to change your brush sizes.<\/p>\n
When done, you should have a solid colored GM. Notice that since your “Body” layer is behind the “Lineart” layer that you can see the color though the lines.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Making Selections for Masks and Coloring<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/tips\/lineart\/07selection.gif\")
Now that you have your body filled in, we’ll move on to coloring the rest of the GM. Make a new layer and call it “Orange”. This will be the layer for the Orange GM parts. Drag this layer
\nright above the “Body” layer. Use one layer for each color. You’ll see why in a bit.<\/p>\nNow hold down your CTRL<\/strong> key and click on the body layer. Notice that there is a selection around the entire body. This selection will allow you to only paint inside of the selected area. You can CTRL + Click on any layer to select the pixels of that layer. You can use any selection on any layer.<\/p>\n
Now click on the “Orange” layer. Choose a foreground color of orange and close a solid brush. Now paint the parts that you want orange. The selection will keep you from painting outside of the lineart, but not outside of the undetermined area that you want to be orange.<\/p>\n
Hit CTRL + D<\/strong> to deselect the selection. You can hide (but not deselect) the selection at any time by hitting CTRL + H<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
You can also use the lasso tool to make a selection and then use ALT + BACKSPACE<\/strong> to fill that selection. Use whatever you find easier or whatever the situation calls for.<\/p>\n
Now go and color the rest of the GM. Make sure you use a separate layer for each color. Also make sure you name your layers.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Hue and Saturation<\/p>\n
Lets say you decide that you want to tweak the orange (or any color) a bit. One of my favorite and most used features for this is Hue and Saturation or CTRL + U<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/tips\/lineart\/08hueSat.gif\")
<\/p>\nBy dragging the slider for Hue, you can adjust the color. By dragging the slider for Saturation, you can make it brighter or duller. The slider for Lightness makes things darker and lighter. You can see the changes in real-time right on your screen<\/p>\n
This is why I say to keep each color on it’s own layer. Select the “Orange” layer. Now hit CTRL + U to bring up the pop-up box. Play with the sliders until you get exactly the color you need. When you hit OK, it will apply those changes to only the layer you have selected OR whatever area of the layer you have selected.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Post Shade Look<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/tips\/lineart\/09blur.gif\")
I like to give my lineart a slight “Max” or post shaded look. This is really easy to do. Go to your “Lineart” layer and drag it onto the ADD NEW LAYER<\/strong> (10<\/span>)
\nbutton on your layers pallet. This will copy the “Lineart” layer. Rename this layer “Max” and drag it right below the lineart layer.<\/p>\nNow we’ll blur that layer to make it look like an airbrush fade. Go to FILTERS \u00c2\u00bb BLUR \u00c2\u00bb GAUSSIAN BLUR<\/strong> and drag the slider to your desired blur. Click OK.<\/p>\n
Now you’ll notice the blurred look around the lineart edges. On your layers pallet, adjust the opacity of the “Max” layer so that it’s not so dark.<\/p>\n
Now we’ve got to get rid of the blue that’s outside of the lineart. Since we made that body layer, it’ll be easy CTRL + CLICK<\/strong> on the “Body” layer. Select the “Max” layer. Now we’ll want to INVERT the selection so that we have the opposite of the body selected. Go to SELECT \u00c2\u00bb INVERSE to do this. Now hit delete. Bam! Now you’ve no blur outside of your lineart.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Decals<\/p>\n
Sometimes you’ll want to add your decals to your lineart. To do this, just add them to another layer via copy\/paste and using CTRL + T<\/strong> (free transform) you can resize and skew them into any position you want. When done, you can use the eraser tool delete decals that disappear around corners or behind objects.<\/p>\n
- Brush Diameter<\/strong>
- Lock Transparent Pixels<\/strong>
- The Layers Pallet and PSD