Mia mawshot Demo (Patreon)

This one is a pretty special demo In the sense I kept ALL layers up without merging them ^^  I put them in groups so it doesn't look too messy. it's also a very lighting-heavy picture.

My way of conveying light sources or strong light bounces is pretty basic but I feel it has been working for me ^^   I generally set up two layers :  

-one is the glow : it's diffuse, low opacity and painted with an airbrush. You can see it well on her cheek and her visor. It's to make the light looks to be subtly spreading.  

-And then on top of it comes solid, sharp spot of lights that get reinforced by the glow. It's a very convenient tool ! Separating your lighting like that allow you to play with the glow layer opacity until you find the effect you like ^^   It's also a good way to control the color you want your luminous item to be projecting.

You have to keep in mind it's a delicate balance. A glow that is too strong is going to destroy your lineart and make your light looks too strong as a result. Unless you balance it with strong painted reflects as well it's going to look off.  In general I would go for low opacity and a muted glow which is enough to give a good ambient feel. In general lighting is a high risk, high reward affair in drawing in my opinion.

A wrong lighting can miss badly a picture, but a good lighting can make it immediately pop very strongly. Some training and practice will really help you become good at picking up how to make lighting looks natural.

I can't stress enough the importance of those  glows ^^   For example you can have a picture of a room looking just ok without any glow,  that is suddenly going to look cozy, warm, peaceful and make the scene looks memorable with some added. 

Well here it's not so much a cozy feel I was going after XD  but the lighting certainly helped made the scene looks more intense I think  ^^ 

Here are past demos if you missed them :

https://www.patreon.com/posts/navi-vore-psd-8492918

https://www.patreon.com/posts/naughty-trio-psd-7259106

https://www.patreon.com/posts/elf-nude-psd-7934617

https://www.patreon.com/posts/alluring-mouth-21587164

https://www.patreon.com/posts/neko-feast-demo-26095326

https://www.patreon.com/posts/29363562

https://www.patreon.com/posts/realization-psd-7008163

https://www.patreon.com/posts/dragons-fight-12441353

https://www.patreon.com/posts/felarya-tour-psd-14543073

https://www.patreon.com/posts/liris-maw-demo-16655991

https://www.patreon.com/posts/looming-entrance-39482042

https://www.patreon.com/posts/50711851