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raxgond — CI Tutorial

Published: 2011-09-01 00:01:51 +0000 UTC; Views: 1639; Favourites: 26; Downloads: 14
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Description EDIT: Fixed typos, added an F.A.Q. /EDIT

Please be on the lookout for typos! Thank you!

I want to dedicate this tutorial to everyone who helped me along the way. Thank you all so much for everything you've done! I wouldn't be here without any of you! Especially you, Mels. You were the reason I started cell-shading at all. Thank you for inspiring me, helping me on a personal basis, and being a hero to me in the journey of art. You're amazing!

Miscellaneous Tutorials:

Pen Tool Tutorial by =Popo-Licious
Masking Tutorial by ~odduckoasis
Multiply / Overlay Layer Shading Video by =KeshiMeg

CI Tutorials:

By Mels (~Mutationification )
[link] - [link] - [link] - [link]

Other CI Tutorials
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]

(Also thanks to Mels for these tutorial links.)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

So wait, the Pen / Marquee tool does all the work for you? Isn't that cheating?
First off, no. It doesn't do all the work for me. I rarely use the Pen / Marquee tools, and pretty much only for shapes such as balls or books or whatnot. In fact, the only time I used it in this entire tutorial was on that one section of the mask seen in the tutorial. I just wanted to point out in my tutorial that it is an option if you are struggling with the lineart.

What is your username on Subeta, and are your CI commissions open?
My username is Ryxe. That really depends. Join my ping group for pings when art slots are open. c:

Why do I need to make a new layer above the Background layer? Why can't I just sketch on the Background layer itself?

Making a new layer for the Sketch layer ultimately just makes things easier for you, should you need to edit them. While you can sketch out your image on the Background layer, I seriously wouldn't recommend it. By making a new layer, you can erase / edit / delete / rotate it a lot easier than working on the Background layer, because that's just an unnecessary hassle, seriously.

Why do we need to draw at a 200 x 200 sized-canvas (or larger), if we're drawing a CI that's ultimately going to be 90 x 90 or 64 x 64?

If you were to draw on, say, a 64 x 64 canvas, you wouldn't be able to get nearly as many details onto your image. You see, working with a larger size allows you to draw more onto it. Besides that, little tiny mistakes usually vanish in the resize.

So I need to manually erase what is outside my lineart?

Actually, Mels showed me something that nullified the need to do that. Make sure you have the Magic Wand Tool selected, have all the checkboxes (Anti-alias, Contiguous, Sample All Layers) checked and the Tolerance set at 32 and it should be able to select the bleeding as well. C:

Other links of interest -

Related content
Comments: 32

alaskuh [2011-09-02 03:49:09 +0000 UTC]

Hmm... I will be using this as a reference next time I try to tackle CIs. 8)

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raxgond In reply to alaskuh [2011-09-02 11:14:28 +0000 UTC]

8'D Hurrah!
Bwuahahaha I love CIs so much~ n_n

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MollyEricson [2011-09-01 20:03:04 +0000 UTC]

ah, those are some handy tips.. thanks <3

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raxgond In reply to MollyEricson [2011-09-02 11:14:01 +0000 UTC]

C: I'm glad they're helpful!

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evillion21 [2011-09-01 04:19:02 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much! :3 ~Gryffindor

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raxgond In reply to evillion21 [2011-09-01 12:13:11 +0000 UTC]

Of course. C8

Oh hey, Gryffindor.
I have tried to contact you several times. xD Are you not getting my artshop pings?

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evillion21 In reply to raxgond [2011-09-01 13:31:57 +0000 UTC]

I just went to that thread. I'm so sorry I haven't responded! I finally just posted now, sorry again. Thank you for telling me here.

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evillion21 In reply to raxgond [2011-09-01 13:22:00 +0000 UTC]

No, I haven't been, why whats up?

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DreamCrystalArt [2011-09-01 01:01:59 +0000 UTC]

Nice work. Not much help to me for the pen tool part XD

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raxgond In reply to DreamCrystalArt [2011-09-01 12:14:28 +0000 UTC]

:C?

It's not helpful? ;^;

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DreamCrystalArt In reply to raxgond [2011-09-01 13:09:13 +0000 UTC]

oh it is XD I just don't have a program with the pen tool XD

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raxgond In reply to DreamCrystalArt [2011-09-01 13:13:06 +0000 UTC]

Awwww, I see. xD
Truth be told I never really use the Pen tool all that much. n_n

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DreamCrystalArt In reply to raxgond [2011-09-01 13:14:56 +0000 UTC]

lol XD

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Kiri-Seraden [2011-09-01 00:27:17 +0000 UTC]

This Is quite helpful Ryxe! Thanks a ton!

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raxgond In reply to Kiri-Seraden [2011-09-01 12:14:16 +0000 UTC]

C8 I'm glad you think so.

Also, can I call you Steph, or what do you want to be called online? xD
Do you still go by ZĂŠ or what...?

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Kiri-Seraden In reply to raxgond [2011-09-01 12:34:27 +0000 UTC]

Ze is fine but mostly it's Kiri now.

And yes it was quite helpful! You pointed out some ways of doing things that I was uncertain about. ^^

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raxgond In reply to Kiri-Seraden [2011-09-01 13:12:43 +0000 UTC]

That makes me wanna say "Kirin." xD

C8 Oh goody; that pleases me, haha. n____n
>8U MAKE SOME CIs, YEAH?

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Kiri-Seraden In reply to raxgond [2011-09-01 13:40:20 +0000 UTC]

I will be making some CIs, yes. ^^

haha Well one of the alternates to that is Kiriden. It's an easy way to say my character's first AND last name at the same time. It's kind of a superior identification system. It's as though you're saying 'Which Kiri? OH! THAT Kiri!' hahaha In other words: Kiri Seraden= Kiriden.

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raxgond In reply to Kiri-Seraden [2011-09-01 14:41:55 +0000 UTC]

What does Kiri Seraden mean?

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Kiri-Seraden In reply to raxgond [2011-09-01 15:05:38 +0000 UTC]

Nothing in particular really. She is just a furry little lioness character that has been in the back of my mind for quite some years now. She was formerly known as Kitikirou then it shortened to Kiri and I made a last name up because on most sites you have to have a username that is over 6 characters long. xD

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raxgond In reply to Kiri-Seraden [2011-09-01 15:16:05 +0000 UTC]

Furry? As in the anatomy / lifestyle, or did you mean it as just an adjective?

Ah yeah.
Luckily on Subeta you don't have to~
Mine is always four letters long. 8'D

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Kiri-Seraden In reply to raxgond [2011-09-01 15:21:50 +0000 UTC]

I was using it as an adjective. I mean I have drawn her as a furry so to say... but I like her in the more realistic sense. I need to upload some arts of her... >.> I'll draw one up tonight and post is so you can see. I am still working on her background story a bit so likely there will be a story posting to go along with her which is why I have been waiting...

You are very right about that! and I will be changing my UN on Subeta when I get my hands on the Identity Star Shuriken

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raxgond In reply to Kiri-Seraden [2011-09-01 16:54:08 +0000 UTC]

Oh, I would love to see some art of her, because now I am quite curious, haha. c:

Ah really? Good luck getting one; they're quite expensive, in my opinion. xD

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Kiri-Seraden In reply to raxgond [2011-09-01 18:27:57 +0000 UTC]

I knooow they are waaay expensive!! Dx

Okies then, I'll post some of her when I get home.

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raxgond In reply to Kiri-Seraden [2011-09-01 19:05:06 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, they're about 28 mil.
You should do some art commissions~ you'll get stuff faster that way. c:

Yay!

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Kiri-Seraden In reply to raxgond [2011-09-01 23:48:21 +0000 UTC]

Yeah I think i'll do that cause they are WAY expensive! Dx
I could use the practice anyway.

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raxgond In reply to Kiri-Seraden [2011-09-02 11:14:57 +0000 UTC]

C: Yeah!
How far away are you from your goal, if I might ask? 8U

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Kiri-Seraden In reply to raxgond [2011-09-03 04:50:56 +0000 UTC]

pah! about 20mil off xD

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raxgond In reply to Kiri-Seraden [2011-09-03 12:54:39 +0000 UTC]

xD So at least you have 7 mil, right?

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Kiri-Seraden In reply to raxgond [2011-09-03 21:23:52 +0000 UTC]

Just a little over, but ya. :3

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Mutationification [2011-09-01 00:19:50 +0000 UTC]

This is really detailed Ryxe! I really love it. It's very helpful, seriously.
C': And you thought it'd be not worth it.
PFFT.

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raxgond In reply to Mutationification [2011-09-01 12:12:42 +0000 UTC]

B-B-BUT YOU'RE THE CI MASTAAAHH.
;^; xD

Awww, I'm so glad you think so. ;^;
Squee. n____n

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