HOME | DD
kitsune-nilde — My Soft Shading Process
Published: 2008-11-24 06:43:20 +0000 UTC; Views: 8485; Favourites: 48; Downloads: 147
Redirect to original
Description
Final Drawing: HEREI'm not going to call this a tutorial, because its not.
I did one semi-tutorial before for Cel Shading , but now I hesitate to do that anymore because you just CANT show someone how to draw and them magically get better from a little tutorial. Its all trial and error and practice and studying. And there are so many little things that I do that I don't even hardly think about and would be impossible to explain to someone else without writing a freaking essay. Im afraid it would become so much of a TL;DR that nobody would even try to read it.
See!? Even in the description of the NON-tutorial Im long winded!!!
I really wanted to show you guys the step-by-step process of my previous drawing... but seeing as how that one got the banhammer, I doubt DA would feel much better about multiple postings of the same picture lol. Too bad though, it was a really interesting process.
I realized that I never really showed my steps for creating a soft shaded picture... sort of my own odd amalgam, or combination if you will, of anime and realism. Personally, I love the style. Unfortunately, it just takes way too damn long or it just doesnt fit the mood of the picture or character and I cant use it. But, I am getting better and more efficient at it. So, yay.
Don't get me wrong though. If you have anything specific you want me to explain in the process I might be able to do that.
Related content
Comments: 39
This not being a tutorial, it still gives one a good idea of how to break down the process (and how long each step takes). ^^
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
: ) you make it feel easy , i m glad you told us the time for each step it helps a lot to understand it takes time to finish it. Thanks for sharing it.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
aww thanks and you're totally welcome... I think the time is very important too because I am reeeeally slow with my art
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Wow, that's pretty similar to how I do it! 
Except it takes me WAAAY longer to do lineart....>.>
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
well that was just a general estimate... sometimes for certain pictures it takes a lot longer... like in the realm of days lol
also thanks for the +watch
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I usually take about two days....that is if I actually WORK on it
Welcome
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
hmmm its a bit hard to explain, but the basically after laying down some darker shades, I would lower the opacity of the brush and with the eyedropper tool (hold down the ALT key while in brush mode) pick up an in-between color on the boundary and add another layer of that color to blend... and just do that over and over
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
i have to disagree about the tutorial thing.
when i first started drawing, i had no idea how to make things look the way i wanted. finally, i looked through someone else's process and i was like, "... OH!!!!!"
though i wasn't perfect, it gave me something concrete to work with. it definetely helped a lot.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
meh I was just making a generalization... they can help you on occasion it just depends on what exactly you were needing help with, your previous knowledge on the subject, and the way the particular process is formatted
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
It's a good not-tutorial! 
It's true that there are tons of other little things you would add if it were a real tutorial, and also true that it'd become rather TL;DR pretty quick that way!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Oh thank you
Yah, I feel like such a loser usually when I see other artists saying that so-and-so picture took like a few hours and it looks completely gorgeous. TT_TT I am such a slowpoke. It takes me days of work off and on to get mine the way I want it and make it presentable. I can never figure out why it takes me so much longer than other artists to do things.
I know. I have seen some tutorials before that were like paragraph upon paragraph of instructions and details and opinions and I know it must have taken them so much time and thought to write all of that out but... I just can't make myself read it. I might try but half way through I start to go cross-eyed and everything starts blurring together into one big long sentence, and even if I continue reading I will have stopped comprehending what I'm reading. Like even right now... I'm losing it even reading over what I just wrote lol.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm slooooowww(er) and arguably much worse, so don't feel bad about that!
Haha, I don't mind chunks of text, but sometimes if I'm in an art-ing mood, I'm just not going to be able reading ALL that to figure out how to do whatever awesome thing they did. I'd just wanna draw, pookit! XDD
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
lol I'm exactly the same. If I am in a drawing mood I pretty much refuse to read or do anything else.
Do you still have the link to the clip? I would love to see it too.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
The link's on the official Prince of Persia game website... Go here: [link] and then look at PoP Speed Art 1 and PoP Speed Art 2 (it's the last two or something like that, I think.)
If you're anything like me, you're going to feel like crying at your n00bness in comparison to that dude. TT___TT
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Hm.
This just reminded me of how much I totally suck.
THANKS, WENDY.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
...you're...welcome? TT_TT
Thats okay, whenever you post poems you get to remind me how much I suck at writing.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
never say never my good sir... have you seen my old sketches from just 5 years ago -> [link]
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I know... it happens every time but some how by the time it is redrawn it always looks completely different and doesnt even like I was the one to draw it anymore TT_TT
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
its okay ...i have always liked your sketches best anyways
you need to teach me how to do the overlay thing with the "glow" too *wink*
(not trying to be creepy)
<3
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
yah I dont mind teaching small stuff like that... theres really nothing to it... of course I would have to be in person with none of this trying to type up and then interpret what Im trying to say
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yes...the small stuff is what i need to know
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Gosh, I could do about up to... the pencil sketch.
And wow, this seriously worked BUNCHES to help me understand the steps better. And that guy is the coolest thing I've seen all day. AMAZING. Geez. The patience you put into the pattern on that loincloth makes my head spin. O.O
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Aww thank you... Im glad it could help someone even though it wasnt a tutorial anyway. I just enjoy looking at other artists in-between stages instead of the just the final piece because it helps get a better feel of what their thought process is even if its not meant to teach anything.
Also, I wouldnt want you to think that Im that awesome, when Im so not. The pattern on the cloth was created as a separate square of pattern and then repeated. Im way too lazy and totally not skilled enough to draw a complicated pattern like that over the entire piece lol.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
But the shading's awesome anyways. And the way you did the hair and the tail makes it look so easy... but then I tried and it's REALLY not. Even with Adobe.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
^__^ Artists always make it look easy to duplicate when they show the steps, but I know from experience too that it is so not. Ive never been able to satisfactorily complete or replicate someone elses tutorial.
Also, I find a lot of people seem to think that Photoshop is some sort of magical program that will make your art 10x better by using it, when really all it is, is another tool like a paint brush or marker that you have to learn, and you already have to have a good previous foundation in art and the ability to see things from different perspectives. Other than that, it takes lots of general practice and just a basic knowledge of human anatomy and shading of geometric figures.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I got Photoshop and immediately opened it and tried it out. Then I just stared at the screen for a while. I agree that people give it too much credit, even though it's a great program. It's not like there's a button on it that says, "put this here and make it look real." No, that'd be too easy.
I started out with MS Paint and don't think I'll ever stop using it. I use it to do my lineart and text when Adobe's not working for me. The simplest programs are sometimes the best, huh?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I started out with MSPaint too before I was able to jack PS7 from an acquaintance in my neighborhood. There was no way I could pay for it myself. But once I started (and especially once I got my tablet 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I agree that PS in confusing as all heck, but it's not as bad as Adobe Illustrator. I use Adobe After Effects because it's so much easier and is very high-quality. But I'd never use Appleworks again. I hated that program like no other, simply because it was so simple and confusing at the same time. I know that makes no sense, but it's TRUE.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Meh I know what you mean. Although, I started using PS and havnt really changed it up since (although I did experiment with a free trial of OpenCanvas before and used ImageReady for animation bits but that doesnt count). Im a bit too lazy at this point to try to figure out other programs and Im sort of have a mindset of "why fix what aint broke" lol.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
...which is the exact reason why I can't stand the new Microsoft Office programs. I'm fine with the old Word, and Paint, and iTunes. And Movie Maker. The new ones are just too complex. Also why PS is so hard for me. In fact, right now I'm just using Crayola crayons. Old school is simple.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0