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BurningArtist — BA Lineart to Digital Tutorial
Published: 2011-07-29 16:58:38 +0000 UTC; Views: 7834; Favourites: 247; Downloads: 102
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People have been asking me for years to make a line art tutorial on how I get hand-drawn pics (all done in ballpoint pen) to look like digitally drawn art. Well, here it is finally. The secret to my "success" so to speak. Here I'll show you everything from my inking style to how I clean up the images in photoshop. I hope this is useful to those that, like me, are still a bit nervous to make fully drawn line art on the computer.
Note: Shortcuts also work with Photoshop Elements.
Lines from tutorial used here:
People who have used this technique: With a camera:
Art I've used this technique on:
P.S: If any of you spot any spelling mistakes, please be sure to tell me here so I can correct them.
Thanks and enjoy!
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Comments: 91
Tell me how it went if you use it!
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will do...when i get my scanner working XD
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Woah! Thank you so much for creating this tutorial!
It showed great techniques, and was easy to understand! You even included pictures, which in my opinion, is an absolute must-have when it comes to tutorials.
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Yay! It's my first tutorial so I'm glad you liked it.
If you use it, please be sure to tell me if it went well and if the tut was easy to follow.
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No problem at all.
And I plan on using it soon, so I'll make sure I tell you how it went. ^-^
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W-WOW. A LOT OF THIS CONTRADICTED WITH WHAT I THOUGHT WAS NECESSARY IN DIGITAL ART.
Seriously, I WISH I'd found this tutorial, like, AGES ago, this is ULTIMATELY THE MOST USEFUL THING I HAVE EVER FOUND.
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Contradicted? Can you elaborate on that? *curious*
I only made this tut at the end of July though. lol So, you found it in the right time. XD (even if I've been using this technique for a while)
Well, this tut works best with a thicker line art style. Thinner lines aren't the best when using this.
I'm glad you find it useful. And if you use it, please be sure to tell me if it went well and if the tut was easy to follow.
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Well, you contradicted everything I thought was necessary to make a prim & proper digital piece.
I always thought you needed to sketch things on some kind of special Bristol board paper (or whatever you call it)with, like, a zillion kinds of pencils, then ink the sketch with some nice felt tip Prismacolor pens or Pigma Microns with only a professional hand, and that the paper ALWAYS needed to be clean and clear of ANY folds or stains, etc. otherwise the whole piece would be ruined, since that's what I always saw, like, EVERYWHERE.
Basically, I thought I needed stuff I couldn't afford.
Seeing that you only used a mechanical pencil, some ballpoint pen (the same one I just happened to have lying around, too) and the fact that your paper had a bunch of folds and wrinkles, and then seeing how great the finished piece looked, well that just blew my mind into ittybitty little chunks.
Then I realized that I have no excuse to not be doing digital art, according to this tutorial. except for the fact that i'm too poor to afford a tablet
Anyways, that was just the longer and more verbose way of explaining how I felt once I ran into this tutorial. You changed my view on digital art, so thanks for that~
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Well, it's technically traditional art you're describing. lol
But digitized via scanner. ^^ (I think that was what I was mostly confused about)
So, in a way, this isn't "real" digital art. It's mixed media. Both digital & traditional.
By the way, this is the end result with my traditional lines & my digital coloring: [link]
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Oh yeah, that's what I meant. I thought all of that was necessary just to have proper looking inked lines to scan, but you helped me realize that all of that was just overrated, I guess I left that out~
(Why yes, I did see that amazing finished piece, it was part of my realization~)
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EeeeEEEEE!! Yay! 
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Tell me if this tut was useful. No one's given me feedback on it yet and I'd like to know if it's easy to understand.
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I think it's useful. I sort of went, "Aah, so that's how she does it!" After I read through it, so now I can't wait to try this out too with a drawing!
This is actually very detailed. You explained what you did, and had pictures to show it. :3 I could use this with gimp though too right? Even though you used Photoshop? I've never known what the dodge tool did until I read your tutorial. xD It always was a pain to clean drawings up simply by increasing contrast too much.
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I've never used Gimp so I don't know. But if it has the same tools, I should think so.
A lot of people have hate for the dodge and burn tool but I think they have their uses. Remember to set it on "Highlight" otherwise, it won't work too well.
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Okie dokie! ^^ I'd like to try using all my tools aside from te eraser all the time, so thi is' definitely something to try. OwO Hope to try this soon!
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Thank you! I can now of digital line art. Cause I fail at using my tablet for line art... just can't get it.
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Come back and tell me if this technique works well for you and if it's easy to follow. This is my first tutorial so I'd like the feedback.
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Tell me if you get good results. ^^
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Ahahaha. This is so cool! It's like a gift. :]
Not only do I get to see the magic of your linework, my Reaper is a working as a model for such an amazing thing. I was so surprised! xD
I love your lineart and have been trying to study it, but alas, I couldn't do it with the same boldness and sharpness just on my own. This is /such/ a helpful tutorial. I like the extra stuff in it: like a fingerless glove, or slide a piece of paper under your hand. I'm guilty of having 'stamps' across linework,haha! <3
Thank you very much! I'll definitely be trying to play around and mess with my lines. <3
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lol. I was trying to get your reaper done in case you saw this but at least I'll have the final result as a surprise. =3
Tell me if it works well for you. I'm interested to know if it's easy to understand.
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This is awesome! And that hair is awesome! Wow! That's kinda like my hair now! Can you do something like that for me?
Also, I wish I could try this all myself. I'm urging too, but if I would, I'd end up being disappointed in myself too much, LOL. I really wish I could even have half of what you can do!
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Wait... So what exactly do you want then? Because I started sketching your Jelle headshot to look like the half-body... so, should I start over? I'd need a reference too because I can't copy that hair since it's the haircut belongs to another person's character.
I'm inking Charles right now (which I hope is okay) and it's taking me a long time to edit the first headshot... so, can you please review your order with new changes and I'd be really grateful. (the whole order, if you don't mind)
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I'll send you an email, ok?
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i have never heard of using the dodge tool to clean up lines! i'll have to try it out sometime.
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Make sure you desaturate and put the dodge tool on Highlight... otherwise, you'll kind of get a mess. lol
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Whoa... I had no idea the dodge and burn tools could be useful for something... That's amazing~! I never would have thought of that. Bella, you are brilliant!! *A*
This is a very nice tutorial~ It will definitely be helpful for all the traditional artists out there.
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thanks and yeah... it was just me fiddling around with way to clean up my lines. So I ha to try everything. lol This just happened to work the best and was the quickest. ^^
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You definitely found a very nice technique. And it's awesome of you to share it with everyone.
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I was sooo excited to see a tutorial from you. This is really neat and I think Ill try it sometime.
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Feel free to show me the results too!
I'd like to see how other people handle their art and if the tutorial is easy to follow. This is the first one I ever make.
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Will do. 
I haven't done it yet but I make sure to rally read through a tutorial before I start just so if something doesn't make sense I'm not stuck halfway through and frustrated, so I read yours through and everything seems really clear and straightforward.
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Tell me if it's useful to you! ^^
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OMFG. Thank you dear. (We have the same scanner I believe lols)
Its good to have a method to scan my lines as they all come out looking like SHIOT. -sad face-
And I luffs your art enough to totally fave this and spread it around like mayo.
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lol. Glad to be of service. =3
And thank you so much. ^^
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Tell me how it goes and if there are any steps you don't understand!
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