Xmas Magic Mannequin Swap - Process (Patreon)

1. In Clip Studio, I draw rough thumbnail to get the basic concept down.

2. Rough sketch. Since this is based on a previous work, I went back and grabbed some of the sketch work from the original (for environment, the witch, and the guy's face) and started working from there on the final the layout and poses. I used Clip Studio's 3D models as references and a perspective ruler to lay out the environment.

3. Final sketch. I use separate layers in multiple folders for the various props and the character which makes it easier to plan, especially when so many of the parts overlap. If you look closely, you can see that I draw some parts that I know will be completely hidden behind others, particularly the basic body shape, to make sure it will all make sense together. Keeping them on separate layers also makes it easier to shift the positions of individual features when final details on foreground features might change the layout needs.

4. Inking. I scale the canvas up to four times the size and use a variable-width inking brush for the character and a constant-width brush for hard things on vector layers. I use lots of different layers for different parts, which makes it easier to overdraw and erase as needed. Planning for the line coloring later, I try to use a different vector layer for each part that would be differently colored as linework such as one for the character's skin, one for everything that will have black linework, etc.

5. Color blocking. I set the folder containing all the different inked vector layers as the reference layer. Then I made new raster layers underneath and started filling in the flat colors. Sometimes I used a round pen, sometimes the color fill bucket, usually with the fill set to follow only the reference layer, stopping at the middle of a vector. I was also able to re-use the backdrops from the previous Magic Mannequin Swap.

6. Form shading. I create a desaturate solid color layer (linear burn, brown for inside the window, blue for outside) and start painting in the basic form shading. In general, I start shading each section by color block, starting with the shading layered filled at 50%, then I use hard brushes at 75% to added some basic shade and highlight, then deepen it with 100% shade and highlight, adding detail with watercolor brushes and using blur and blending to soften the shading where needed. For the hair, I used color burn for richer shading and start with an airbrush to establish the overall form, then use watercolor brushes to add some extra detail, first with a basic watercolor brush to define the form and then with a textured brush to get the hint of individual hairs.

7. Cast shadows. I make another brown solid color layer (linear burn, brown for inside the window, blue for outside) and start painting in the cast shadows with soft brush, using a smaller brush in places where the object casting the shadow is closer to the thing the shadow is on or a softer-edged brush when the thing casting a shadow is more diffuse, like hair or fur.

8. Backlight. For the secondary lights, I used a pale desaturate color layer away from the light source and a white layer toward the light source, with the back light set to vivid light for a more intense reflection. Then I paint with a soft airbrush or a watercolor brush (when I want it to be more textured) on opposite sides of shiny objects. The forelight is used only on the shiniest parts. When I combine it with the form shading, backlighting really makes the characters pop. I don't use any backlight on non-reflective objects. On the hair, I used the watercolor brush to streak in the shape of the hairs and then used an airbrush, selection-masked to the shading, to add softer backlight.

9. Shiny. For the glossiest parts, I used light watercolor brushes to paint reflections for both primary and reflected light sources, then I used a strong watercolor brush for the specular highlights (or a variable round hard brush when I want the highlight extra strong), using a thumb tool to smudge for detail. For the shine on the hair, I started with thin strokes with a soft watercolor brush, then use an airbrush to add a soft glow to groups of streaks, and finally use a soft round brush to erase a few streaks in the middle of each group. After painting all the shine, I use the cast shadow layer to make a selection and delete the shine from anywhere covered by shadow.

10. I added glitter texture patterns to the star-shaped bow and the lettering on the ornaments, set to overlay and placed above the shading layers for greater contrast.

11. For the natural blush, I add in a raster layer and airbrush red just on the skin for the cheeks and places where bone is near the surface of the skin. I used the same method for the make-up. I also added a noise pattern to the glittery eyeshadow, placed above the shading layers and set to overlay for greater contrast.

12. Colored linework. Since the linework is still all vectors in Clip Studio, I simply selected the vectors and changed their color to whatever colored linework I needed, sampling from the darkest shade in each section and then shifting the color to be more saturate and dark, more or less depending on how hard or soft I want each thing to feel. The hardest things I keep black. Then I collapsed all of the linework into raster layers, locked the pixel transparency, and used an eraser to fix up any places where different color linework crossed over each other.

13. Eyelashes are done with a simple raster layer painted with a black variable-width pen. Then I lock the pixel transparency for that layer and use a soft pen to paint in lighter streaks for texture and then soften the look with a few strokes of a black soft airbrush. I also airbrushed some color to the tips of the lashes to make them fancier.

14. I used my Christmas tree lights ribbon brush to add lights, then added add/glow layers to stamp in a soft round colored glow and bright sparkle in alternating colors.

15. For the glass, I added a simple solid white layer, set to very low opacity, and added a few stronger streaks of white for shine.

16. For the magic effects, I started with simple solid shapes, then used a soft round brush to add form to the clouds and a variable solid brush to add brightness to the inside of the zaps. I used simple font layers to add some sound effects.

17. For the fallen snow, I used a combination of a solid pressure-size pen for piled up snow and a watercolor brush for icy streaks on the ground, then I used a combination of pencil and airbrush to add simple shading. I used a simple scatter brush to add snow in the air. For the frosted window, I used my own frost pattern scatter brush and then used distortion to match it to the perspective of the window, then added some airbrush to thicken the frost close to the frame.

18. Finally, I added word balloons to add context. I prefer drawing my own curve balloon so it has fewer points and is easier to edit.