"Just Let It Happen" Timelapse Vid, Planning Sketch, My Process Pointers. (Patreon)

It's been a little bit since i uploaded anything regarding my process, so maybe this post will help clarify things a tiny little bit. Honestly though, the methodology i've been using is really not that complicated, just a bit time consuming, and does rely on a bit of basic understanding of digital artistry (layers, layer masking, opacity and layer effects/modes). If you'd all be interested in how the basics work, then let me know and maybe i'll organise a stream of sorts to clear up the daunting task of art a bit.

Also, it should be said that this is by no means the "correct" way to do any of this - anyone who says they have the "right" way is being dishonest. There is no correct way to do art.
This is just what I happen to do currently. Don't take it as gospel, and definitely don't use it as best practise. Do use it as a springboard to explore your own methods though!

Anyways, the steps basically (and briefly) are as follows:

Sketch your bad boy down. This is debatably the most important step, as it'll form the bedrock for what will be your picture (assuming all goes well.) I often split characters and the background onto separate layers. If the picture has a tricky perspective, i'll sometimes split the offending body part(s) up into their own layers as well.
If you're able to think about your pose in a 3D space then that'll help you out a bunch during this phase, and i cannot stress the importance of sourcing some references if you have any. (I used several kangaroo refs for this picture, and a couple of log cabin references.)

Once you're satisfied with your sketch (it doesn't need to be pretty, just helpful for you alone) drop the opacity of your sketch layer to 30% or less and start marking out your character boundaries with a base layer. I usually use a mid-toned grey and you need to use a solid brush with a hard edge (otherwise the background will appear through your character and that's often times not what you want). All i'm doing here is solidifying the characters silhouette. (It means I can use layers and mask them onto this base layer without having to worry about going out of the lines (stuff like colour and shading layers). 

I usually start by masking my shadows and highlights layer. I use the "soft light" and "overlay" layer effects the most, but you can use whatever you feel comfy with. Then i start marking in where the shadows are likely to be. When i've created a rough abomination, i add roughly where the highlights will go, and then i smooth it all out. during this process, i'll usually go back and start to sandwich a colour layer in between the shading layer and the base layer (as the image goes on, I use the sketch layer less and rely on the shadow layer more as my guide for placing colours).

Once you've got your colour and basic shading layer down, you'll notice it still looks a bit flat and/or crap. Yeah... On top of those layers you can play around with additional layer effects and additional lighting (you can never go wrong with some rim lighting :P). Add secondary shading layers if the character isn't looking dark enough in certain spots (deep creases, the eyelashes and pupil of the eye, pec and armpit folds etc). As you add more of these secondary layers you'll see your character start to come to life. 

Be mindful of the background lighting when it comes to your character. Light cannot pass through solid objects* so remember that when you're imagining where you're placing your cast light. Adding appropriate background lighting effects to the character can help integrate the character and the background together, as can adding background shadow layers. I add all these additional layers on top of the main shading layers. Finally you might consider adding larger glows and setting them to the  "add" layer effect. Do these on top of everything else, and don't mask them to the character. These are for ambient glow.


*Bodies can have some see through elements when it comes to lighting. The ones that come to mind are through the soft tissue of the ear, through the membrane of wings, etc. With regards to this picture, the hand of the goo creature has some warm pink lighting to imply his translucent nature.

Lastly i add a noise layer (between 5 and 10%) to bring everything together. It gets rid of some of the more plastic looking aspects of digital painting. Some artists will use paper texture overlays instead of noise - you just need to find what works. You can also forego this step. Not all artists bother with it.

Some final nuggets.

Don't go overboard with textures, as they can make everything look a bit crap, especially if the perspectives are a bit off or your samples are a bit crap. If you texture one thing, you're probably going to have to texture everything else to stop certain things from standing out too much. (Picture a Disney bookshelf. It's all matte painting.. except the one the character is going to interact with. It stands out like a sore thumb.)

Making mistakes is par for the course when it comes to art, but don't entirely rely on transform tools or things like liquify, especially later in the process - it'll only get you so far, plus if you're working with line art, it'll blur all your nice crisp edges to hell. Still, these are invaluable tools for the planning sketch though!

Learn the importance of a good crop. Rule of thirds, while it predominantly applies to photography, can be used in art to plan a pleasing picture, as can golden ratios. Basically, give the focus of the picture enough room to breathe, but not too much room that it loses its presence. (for muscle furs this is a problem. A good pose and great crop will make a muscular character look beastly huge, with a bad crop doing the opposite.)

This is by no means exhaustive. There's plenty i've skipped right over in favour of making my chaotic juggling into something vaguely coherent XD

Still, if you have any questions about any of this, then by all means let me know, and i'll try to my best to demystify what I do. ALSO, see attached for the time lapse! You'll get to see things as they go.

In the meantime, have a lovely weekend!
W.