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A number of people have asked how i do my drawings so, here is how i draw my stuff. Keep in mind what works for me might not work for you. It took me lots of pictures to get to the process i go though now and actually each new one i draw the process changes a bit. It will also be a HUGE help
if you can invest in a WACOM digital art tablet. (You can get one for a bit over US$200). Freehand drawing with a mouse sucks. Of course there are other tablets
out there that you can buy, but WACOM tablets are very good. I use an 6x8 ARTzII that i bought a couple years ago. Adobe Photoshop 3.05 is what i use to draw everything. And now, on with the show...
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Step Numero Uno: |
Preliminary Sketch
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So the first thing i always do before i start (after I already know what i'm going to draw) is start with a blank white image in Photoshop. I have a basic image of what i want in my mind so i sketch out just
the shapes, and a very very rough version of the drawing just so i can see the composition and see if i like it or not. I usually do this a few times, sketch and erase, until i come up with something i like.
At this point all i have is a few lines here and there, maybe actually a stick-figure type drawing of what i want to draw.
Once this is done I adjust the brightness/contrast until the lines turn a light gray. Then using a small black brush tool (pressure-opacity selected) I
draw in the more refined sketch of the drawing. (See Fig. 1)
If you want, you can just sketch this on a piece of paper and then scan it. But when i first started, i didn't have a scanner, so i got used to sketching on the computer. |
 Figure 1 - Preliminary Sketch |
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Step Numero Dos: |
Cleanup & Refinement |
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- - NOTE: Sometimes I skip the this step and go straight to coloring)
Now that i have a sketch, it is time to go over it with one single clean line. I usually save the image at this point under a different name so i can go back to it if i need to.
I select the whole image and then, once again, adjust the brightness/contrast until the sketch is very faint. Then I create a new layer and begin to draw over the sketch with one clean line. (Make sure you are on the top layer) (See Fig. 2a)
This is so when i color it in, it's easier to follow the lines and won't get messy.
Now, I select the Background level (level with the sketch) and erase it until its all gone. It leaves me with a clean line-only drawing (See Fig. 2b), so i flatten the image. (and save)
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  Figure 2a & 2B : Overlay of line - Clean Line Only |
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