My other tutorial, which is still quite relevant and should be helpful no matter what version of Photoshop you are using, was done with Photoshop 6.0. i got 7.0 (FINALLY) this past week and decided to a new VERY in depth tutorial because people keep telling me it is hard to use. pfffffft... it is not, it is very easy as soon as you know a few basics, which is what i will show you now.
this IS for colouring, so we start with a raw scan of your image.
clean it up if needed usig the eraser, bandaid, clone, dodge tools.... whatever you like.
after you have cleaned up your scan to your satisfaction, drag the background layer to the 'new layer' icon in the layers palette. the icon is circled in the diagram.
you will get a new layer called 'Background copy' KEEP the old background just incase you accidentally screw up the line art somehow....
keep your new lineart layer on TOP of all the other layers you create unless i say otherwise.
now with the new layer selected, in the layer contol option pulldown menu on the layers palette, choose 'multiply'
as you can see it has darkened the previous layers line art. what 'multiply' does is makes it so that it, well, muliplies the coloured areas of an image so they show up over any coloured background. you'll see how this works in a minute. if you learn one thing about Photiooshop, this little trick is THE single most useful feature i have EVER discovered about the program. after you have done that , it is probably in your best interest to LOCK the layer so you don't accidentally colour on it, as you will never have to touch this layer again for the rest of the picture.
now, click the new layer button, the one you dragged the layer over to create the duplicate of the line art, to get a new BLANK layer. this is one of your 'flats' layers.
choose a hard edged brush, one that does not have any brush dynamics side from size (if you use a tablet) and paint on the new blank layer in flat colours, eough to fill the line art with a base colour. DO NOT shade on this layer, it will give you more workability and ability to tweak things if you do not, leave it flat. if different pats are very seperate colours and will not ever blend together, such as this mermaids hair compared to the rest of her body, put each one on a seperate layer. that way you can erase and modify one section without worrying about wrecking another part. once the flats are filled in to your satisfaction LOCK the layers to avoid colouring on them with the wrong colour accidentally.
as you colour, turn the top line art layer on and off, notice how the lines remain visible as you colour.
now the fins. the fins are translucent, so i pained in a base colour on their own layer as outlined above, i made sure to colour OVER areas of the picture that they overlapped. but then broke one of the rules, i used the dodge tool to rogh in some basic shading, so that the shading would have the same transperencey as the fins themselves. no highlights, just some rudimentary shadows.
then, in the layer palette, i slid the 'opacity' over to 40%
anything that the fins layer is OVER TOP of, they will only be visible 40%, so i can put any background i want behind the mermaid, and the fins still look transluent.
NOW the real work begins.
create a new layer on which your shading and highlights will go. place this layer above all the flats layers, but below the line art.
now, you begin adding highlights and shading to flesh out your drawing, but before you do, you need some good shading brushes. i created my own by modifying some of the ones Photoshop came with (none of the default brushes were just right)
first one select the 'Airbrush Hard Round13' from kinda near the top of the list.
then go to the 'brushes' palette. the default setting for the brush you chose are good, and that brush makes a pretty decent shader, actually. but we are going to change one thing... the brush tip. slect 'brush tip shape' and scroll through the list till you see the brush shape that is selected and choose it.
voila! you created your very own shading brush here is what it looks like in use:
you can create your own brushes either from scratch or by modifying existing ones to suit your needs, but if you want to save them, just hit the circled icon in the following picture, and enter whatever name you wish for your new brush. it's just that easy!
anyway, just shade to your hearts content until you are satisfied, afterwards the layer should look like so if viewed on its own:
and that's that, you're done though sometimes i like top make another highlight layer that goes ontop of ALL the layers, event he line art, to really make it 'pop'
