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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: 344873; 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.
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    Comments: 201

    noxfoxArts [2014-10-07 17:35:33 +0000 UTC]

    Neat, I rarely ever painted such gems and hadn't thought of segmenting the shapes first.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    dudgus2429 [2014-10-04 11:15:56 +0000 UTC]

    awesome!!!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    MasterVule In reply to ??? [2014-09-25 18:33:20 +0000 UTC]

    Thanks for tutorial

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    p-l-u-m-b-u-m [2014-08-18 01:18:57 +0000 UTC]

    The last gem is too real :0 Awesome! 

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    hana623 In reply to p-l-u-m-b-u-m [2014-10-29 20:49:35 +0000 UTC]

    I know My purity ring has a heart ruby as the main gem and it looks just like that!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    RealTimeBrush [2014-08-16 08:58:27 +0000 UTC]

    Another excellent piece, love the step by step and gridded break down

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    luchojimenez In reply to ??? [2014-08-06 00:14:26 +0000 UTC]

    muy bonitas  , me gustan  ,tratare de  emularlas  con acuarelas

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    TheBlueDreamMaker [2014-07-29 21:58:27 +0000 UTC]

    this is so amazing!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    centauries [2014-07-28 11:24:22 +0000 UTC]

    I just wanted to thank CK for their tutorials and especially this one, keep it up guys!
    With your help I managed to pull this off centauries.deviantart.com/art/…

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    DaJiF In reply to ??? [2014-07-24 04:37:25 +0000 UTC]

    Awesome! Thank you for sharing this!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Katc0m In reply to ??? [2014-07-19 23:26:24 +0000 UTC]

    I'm really loving these exercises!! They're really teaching me how to handle gem lighting! 

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Cockerbear [2014-07-13 05:04:47 +0000 UTC]

    Thank for showing this, and all the other examples.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    CombotheBeehen In reply to ??? [2014-07-11 11:21:13 +0000 UTC]

    Oh my, I absolutely love them! that's hard to do but with pratice can resolve all or parzial, ahaha ;w;

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Doodlz18 [2014-07-06 19:01:18 +0000 UTC]

    these are so beautiful *o*
    wonderful tutorial c:

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    ashitachan [2014-07-06 12:17:52 +0000 UTC]

    *gasps*
    The heart one though... O____O

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    LMRX-Arsenthall [2014-07-06 11:25:03 +0000 UTC]

    Looks Pretty awsome. Congrats. 

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Leshie-Leshie [2014-07-06 09:40:48 +0000 UTC]

    Are there the names of the 6 gems here? 

    "Gems, gems are outrageous. They are truly, truly, truly, outrageous." - Taric (League of Legends)

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    CGCookie In reply to Leshie-Leshie [2014-11-25 18:19:41 +0000 UTC]

    Amber, Emerald, Amethyst, Yellow Garnet, Diamond, and Ruby!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    Leshie-Leshie In reply to CGCookie [2015-01-14 13:33:18 +0000 UTC]

     

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Early-Art [2014-07-05 18:00:08 +0000 UTC]

    This was pretty helpful. I'm painting the cover for my book and I'd never painted crystals before. Thank you. 

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    RainbowMarimo [2014-07-04 14:48:15 +0000 UTC]

    I think the main issue with drawing gems is choosing the correct color tone for each different "surface". I mever get it right and it always looks a little strange XD

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Scylla225 In reply to ??? [2014-07-02 03:32:22 +0000 UTC]

    This is a great reference not only for drawing, but simply breaking down the shapes in a gem. Thanks!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Junkienen In reply to ??? [2014-06-27 08:57:05 +0000 UTC]

    This sure is really helpful. Thank you!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    WhiteflameTheAlicorn In reply to ??? [2014-06-26 21:59:15 +0000 UTC]

    I'm sorry but...

    YA BETTER KEEP THE SYMMETRY!!!!!!!!!!!!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    CGCookie In reply to WhiteflameTheAlicorn [2014-06-27 18:00:56 +0000 UTC]

    "I'm going to keep fighting until this world is the way it should be. Until the world is balanced."

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    CaptainAma In reply to ??? [2014-06-25 23:11:12 +0000 UTC]

    the heart one looks real o uo

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    HusseinGaber [2014-06-25 10:47:14 +0000 UTC]

    It's outstanding,
     Thank you.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    SapphireMiuJewel [2014-06-25 04:54:38 +0000 UTC]

    Wow!~ This is AWESOME!!~ X3

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    ohbeautifuldelilah [2014-06-24 18:54:22 +0000 UTC]

    WHOA Your attention to detail is amazing!!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    ematlanis [2014-06-23 09:26:10 +0000 UTC]

    cool, good for learn.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    iftikhar110 [2014-06-23 06:04:32 +0000 UTC]

    nice

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    oragamirabbit [2014-06-22 21:31:10 +0000 UTC]

    This will help me out a lot. Thanks.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Eirenare [2014-06-22 18:25:40 +0000 UTC]

    Cool exercise! ^^ It´ll be helpful :3

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    LunaLuv18 [2014-06-22 17:27:22 +0000 UTC]

    they almost looks real in the last step

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Griffonmender [2014-06-22 17:11:25 +0000 UTC]

    This looks good, but you really should put the instructions and the images together.
    There are few things more frustrating than flipping back and forth between the two.
    Other than that, you've created an effective tutorial that, as the comments section indicates, has made many of your fellow deviants happy. ^^

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    CGCookie In reply to Griffonmender [2014-06-24 15:46:14 +0000 UTC]

    I agree, I was trying to think of a way to combine them without it looking like I'm re-posting the same image twice. Will keep this in mind for the future.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    Griffonmender In reply to CGCookie [2014-06-24 17:49:05 +0000 UTC]

    Happy to help. ^^

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Lani-Khanh [2014-06-22 16:53:32 +0000 UTC]

    What software do you use for digital art?

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    CGCookie In reply to Lani-Khanh [2014-06-24 15:42:47 +0000 UTC]

    I use Photoshop CS6 only for the most part.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    Lani-Khanh In reply to CGCookie [2014-06-24 16:50:47 +0000 UTC]

    Oh, okay.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Cute-Heart [2014-06-22 10:31:43 +0000 UTC]

    amazing !

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    KhyberFanGirl101 [2014-06-22 07:37:18 +0000 UTC]

    This is an amazing tutorial, and I'll use it for future references

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Wing3 [2014-06-22 03:39:16 +0000 UTC]

    Wow. You REALLY know how to draw. You are a real artist. Awesome.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 1

    CGCookie In reply to Wing3 [2014-06-24 15:44:18 +0000 UTC]

    Thank you, this means a lot =]

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    mezzalune In reply to ??? [2014-06-22 02:50:43 +0000 UTC]

    Thank you! Super handy!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Scorppio500 In reply to ??? [2014-06-22 02:07:16 +0000 UTC]

    These are DRAWN? HOW? I need to seriously get with it here.

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    Milliemewz In reply to ??? [2014-06-22 00:53:20 +0000 UTC]

    That's so awesome! Very helpful!!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    HeartIsIce In reply to ??? [2014-06-21 21:59:34 +0000 UTC]

    the heart is awesome looking! good job

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    leticiamaria In reply to ??? [2014-06-21 21:49:32 +0000 UTC]

    niice

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0

    MadrePappagallo [2014-06-21 20:12:05 +0000 UTC]

    very useful, thanks!

    👍: 0 ⏩: 0


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