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CGCookie — Exercise 26 Results: Shading Gems Step by Step

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Published: 2014-06-20 17:12:20 +0000 UTC; Views: 344897; Favourites: 16940; Downloads: 6738
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Description Check out the Exercise and Download the Practice Sheet HERE Artist: Tim Von Rueden (vonn)

EXERCISE:  To define and interpret features that distinguish a recognizable face. 

This exercise was a true gem! Below is a step by step on how I created each of the gemstones from the exercise practice sheet. I broke it down into each significant step on what was included or added:

  • Outline - Begin with the shape of each gem, do research if you're looking for a specific cut! Try to do this on a separate layer to hide in step 4.
  • Solid Base - Choose a color and try working in a darker value shade of that hue.
  • Color Variants - This is when we start to create the illusion of faceting, when each "plane" of a gem will catch the light and reflect it at a slightly different value of that same hue. Think about where the light source is coming from as well.
  • Remove Outlines and Add Gradients - This will give the gem a solid foundation from here to detail further! Subtle gradients will add that extra touch of realism.
  • Sharp Angles Brush  - The intense sharp angles that are seen in gems can be recreated with an angles brush set to overlay or multiply. You can download our brush HERE .
  • Highlights - Work along the edges of the different facets and this will give the gem a sense of realism along with separating the planes from one another.
  • Detailing and Polishing - Add any final detail and "polishing" to give your gem an extra something to make it stand out. I also like working in the shadows and pop in some color.
  • Related content
    Comments: 201

    Keldeopony167 [2016-09-05 23:46:43 +0000 UTC]

    Ooh~ So pretty!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    KseniaKinaru [2016-09-01 02:04:40 +0000 UTC]

    Great exercise! Here is my result (even though it's not full) kseniyakinaru.deviantart.com/a… Thank you so much for your tutorials! 

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    BelgianGirl1150 In reply to ??? [2016-07-29 18:42:10 +0000 UTC]

    Exactly the tutorial I was looking for!!! so many thanks!!!!! <3

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    YelZamor [2016-07-19 19:13:07 +0000 UTC]

    Thank you so much for these fantastic tutorials!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Nephirium [2016-07-07 05:37:03 +0000 UTC]

    Can you use the brushes on paint tool sai?

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Riverswebb7 [2016-06-24 02:16:40 +0000 UTC]

    Oh my Gosh, finally a gem tutorial that makes sense!!!  Thank you thank you thank you!  

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Philota In reply to ??? [2016-04-08 17:12:22 +0000 UTC]

    My favorite one is the heart one

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    BreathingIce [2016-03-19 20:53:29 +0000 UTC]

    I used this tutorial here -breathingice.deviantart.com/ar… Thanks so much!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    StopAtTheEdge [2016-03-18 23:01:15 +0000 UTC]

    Wow, I had always problems with this! This is super helpful! Thanks! 

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    evil0verlady In reply to ??? [2016-01-01 23:37:42 +0000 UTC]

    Wow! That's something! How do you figure out which plane should be which color?

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    CGCookie In reply to evil0verlady [2016-01-18 18:25:03 +0000 UTC]

    It could be broken down into an intense mathematical equation but I would rather rely on intuition and let contrast take control of placements for what color should each plane be. So next to a dark plane, I'll place a lighter one, and so fourth. 

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    EtherialIce [2015-12-27 22:46:15 +0000 UTC]

    This is pretty awesome, thanks for such a great and straight to the point tutorial!
    Now, can you just make a button labeled "Download to Brain" so I can perfect this skill instantly?

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    CGCookie In reply to EtherialIce [2016-01-18 18:25:52 +0000 UTC]

    haha yes, this is new tech we've been developing and should be launching soon after the testing phase completes

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    cheetahfurry [2015-12-24 12:49:47 +0000 UTC]

    This is freaking amazing! Thank you so much!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    JCWrights [2015-11-15 01:42:37 +0000 UTC]

    I'm jeweler and gem cutter, so I just love this

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    StarfleTheGreat [2015-11-06 23:35:59 +0000 UTC]

    Oh my goodness gracious I finally found it! I can't tell you enough how much your gem tutorials have helped me~! Thank you my friend!   

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Plueschopossum [2015-10-05 14:00:37 +0000 UTC]

    Nice tutorial. Used here: fav.me/d8pjm7d . Thanks a lot

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Spottedclawlovescats [2015-09-03 23:52:58 +0000 UTC]

    How do you remove the  outlines?

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    CGCookie In reply to Spottedclawlovescats [2015-09-08 18:15:24 +0000 UTC]

    You need to click on the eye for the outline work layer, that should hide the layer.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    TheAngeldove [2015-09-01 16:18:11 +0000 UTC]

    ¸¸♥´¯) Thank you so much!
    (¸☆´ (¸.♥´´¯`•.¸¸.ღ •.♥ .•´¯`•.¸¸.••Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ



    Your Friend Always,
    dove

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Crabuggy [2015-08-12 01:40:35 +0000 UTC]

    Used this exercize/tutorial in 
    Thank you!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    Epixelle In reply to Crabuggy [2015-08-16 23:11:52 +0000 UTC]

    Those look great!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    Crabuggy In reply to Epixelle [2015-08-17 00:05:15 +0000 UTC]

    Thank you so much!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Yohadoptee In reply to ??? [2015-07-15 16:18:13 +0000 UTC]

    thanks for sharing this!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    OwlComet In reply to ??? [2015-07-10 10:36:09 +0000 UTC]

    This is really helpful!! =O Really awesome work!! <3

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Su3-C In reply to ??? [2015-06-01 04:56:40 +0000 UTC]

    thank you for making this! It helped me a lot!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Aphilien [2015-04-27 11:42:07 +0000 UTC]

    All of these are absolutely fantastic :3 thank you so much

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    TapodJointer [2015-04-18 22:32:17 +0000 UTC]

    Thanks!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Koiyaki [2015-04-17 03:56:11 +0000 UTC]

    Thank you very much for making this! This has to be the best gem tutorial I've seen in a bit o.o

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    psycho23 [2015-04-06 21:45:47 +0000 UTC]

    I am terrible at making anything look realistic and these are just gorgeous! Thank you so much!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    SkylarYozora [2015-03-05 06:17:18 +0000 UTC]

    Very helpful, thank you!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    MichiIsAlone [2015-02-22 18:12:44 +0000 UTC]

    i ain't good at the simetry

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    milaink [2015-02-18 08:45:27 +0000 UTC]

    thank you very much for the tutorial! it looks amazing!   

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    ArinceWang [2015-02-15 06:42:39 +0000 UTC]

    Oh my! I should've seen this earlier! Thank you for the turorial

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    magoleth [2015-02-02 17:12:23 +0000 UTC]

    Thank you for this great tutorial ^^

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    limmiar [2015-01-21 20:51:20 +0000 UTC]

    *_______*
    Perfect! ^^

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    IgorLevchuk [2015-01-15 05:36:02 +0000 UTC]

    Thank you very much for tutorials. Very useful. Going to spend my free time for study it.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    GinsengLag [2015-01-08 18:58:27 +0000 UTC]

    Thank you so much for this! I dove into trying to draw a gem so fast that I didn't even think to look up a specific cut. This is so helpful.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    monion [2015-01-07 00:07:28 +0000 UTC]

    This is great! Thank you so much!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    EMPERADO-RFELOZO [2014-12-27 02:35:02 +0000 UTC]

    Magnific.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Honeebunny [2014-12-18 20:38:45 +0000 UTC]

    thanks for this, it helped me figure out why some gems i were coloring didn't look right! :3

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    tunngart [2014-11-30 12:13:46 +0000 UTC]

    Thanks for the helpful knowledge!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Rune-Sorceress [2014-11-23 06:41:09 +0000 UTC]

    Very cool tutorial. Some of the more advanced ones look so professional in outline already. Envious of the skill!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    ruamsa144 [2014-11-09 23:44:26 +0000 UTC]

    It looks so realistic! O.O

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Neruvous In reply to ??? [2014-11-06 23:10:19 +0000 UTC]

    I need surpass to 6 and 7 level   
    Thank you very much for post 
     

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    ChesshiireCat In reply to ??? [2014-11-04 18:49:43 +0000 UTC]

    Wow is great!!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Ryfaku In reply to ??? [2014-10-19 11:13:02 +0000 UTC]

    can i download it?

    👍: 0 ⏩: 2

    CGCookie In reply to Ryfaku [2014-11-25 18:20:56 +0000 UTC]

    You sure can! Visit cgcookie.com/concept/2014/06/0… ! the .psd file is on the page!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    MasterVule In reply to Ryfaku [2014-10-22 11:42:22 +0000 UTC]

    You have download button at right. Click it and you will get the full resolution picture. After that just right click at it and select save as and save it

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    infinityfractals [2014-10-13 04:02:04 +0000 UTC]

    thx

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0


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