A lot of you out there are really wonderful artists who don't give themselves a lot of credit. It's sad really. I want to see more and more artwork done by each of you!! So, here's a little look into how I make each of my CG pieces! - MM

The first step is pretty much the most vital you have. Scan in your rough drawing, usually from 72 - 100dpi (dots per inch). I usually use 100dpi, since every 100 pixels wide makes one inch.( It's helpful if you need to do some mathematics with the drawing later on.)

I usually fix the brightness and contrast as well, making the lines really really dark. It's helpful for step two.

 

Now, step two is tracing over your pencil lines. This part can suck... I mean, REALLY suck, but only cuz it's boring.

Now this part is IMPORTANT, so you can get a good end product. Take notes, okay?

When you retrace in PHOTOSHOP (or whatever program you may use. I highly recommend Photoshop. You can get old versions for cheap these days) Make sure your BLOW UP (not explode, just resize) your original drawing REALLY BIG, to like 300dpi. You'll use the line tool a LOT. Now see the Line Options box up there, for photoshop? Make sure your lines are 2 or 3 pixels wide, and turn Anti-aliasing OFF. It will make the lines super choppy, but that's okay. You'll see why in a bit. Just trace over your sketch in a different layer (I call mine WIREFRAME), then turn theLayer your sketch is on to 50% OPACITY. You can see your lines better this way.

Now these days, I trace my drawings (and even do a little coloring) in ILLUSTRATOR 8. This is a lot easier, and far more effective for me, but the program is hella ex$pen$ive for students. Oh well. I got mine. If you have Illustrator, then listen up! :) This is pretty much the same method as the Photoshop one. Paste your sketch onto the work area, or import it however you like. Then resize it BIG, even if it looks like crap. (Why work SMALL in Illustrator when you can just resize it small when you're done??) Create a new layer and lock the first one with your sketch on it. You don't want to accidentally select your drawing every time you try to fix a line. Also, make sure your sketch is dimmed to 50%. Use the PEN TOOL to make your lines perfect, adjusting the stroke, adding brushes, etc. This is sooooo much easier than in Photoshop, cuz you can void out a lot of steps.

Now that you've finished the <sarcasm> ultra fun job or tracing </sarcasm> You can move on to the next step: Bringing out the finished outline. I traced Kouga-kun up there in Illustrator. It looks pretty much the same as Photoshop, so don't worry much.

Now if you traced in ILLUSTRATOR this is what you do. Delete the original sketch you have on that separate layer. And save the file with the extension .ai so it can be read by Adobe programs. Mainly, Photoshop. Why? You're getting back into it. That's how you'll color it.

Now this part is fun! Wheeeeee! (C'mon, say WHEEEEE! It's fun!) Now you color the picture in with Photoshop. This is not a hard task, unless you're mildly colorblind like I am. But I digress. You know how I told you to blow up your pic REALLLLLLL big before tracing? This is why. When you finish coloring it, you'll resize the pic real small, and it'll look good even if you made ugly blocky pixels. Trust me. Look at the Sango and Kohaku image in my Fan Art section for an example of this.

If you have Illustrator, and traced your pic there, do this: Open your "kouga.ai" file or whatever you named it, INSIDE of Photoshop. It SHOULD ask you how to Import it. I usually use 200dpi unless I plan on using mega detail. Also, use RGB. Tons of browsers can't read CMYK. Anti-alias can be left on if you like, I usually leave it on, since when you resize it you can't tell it was there in the first place.

Now, you'll be using your magic wand tool a lot. Also, it's a good idea to save selections once you've made them, so you don't have to do it over again later. Click on the empty area, like I did on Kouga's eye above. Use the paintbrush or the airbrush however you see fit. When you're done, deselect and move on. The main point is to work big, finish small. This crisps up the image. You can add filters and effects with Photoshop or other programs if you want. It's ALL up to you.

 

You should probably have the gist of this right now. It's really very simple, even though it's time consuming, and I hope you've enjoyed this mini lesson!

If you have ANY questions, feel free to email me!