As I finished up drawing Catwoman, I got the idea in my head to kinda go through my process of drawing with you guys. It will be very similar to the walk through of how I maintain my blog. Overall it’s a very interesting concept and I’ve learned A LOT in my journey as an amateur artist. Let me remind everyone: I am not an art major. Almost the exact actually, an engineer. So I have no real knowledge of how this is supposed to be done. The method I use is a rudimentary method of drawing some very amateur sketches. As I get more ambitious, I learn new things and methods that certainly make things easier as I apply them to whatever I draw. My most recent and ambitious project as of late is this Catwoman sketch which is still a work in progress. But I decided to take a break and kinda take you step by step with what I do.
List of Materials:
- Graphics tablet and pen
- Adobe Photoshop
- Internet
- Imagination
Read below for my step by step process. The main idea of this blog is simple: create a layer for everything. You’ll see why below. Please comment if you have any questions or critiques to make things easier! I don’t intend this post to be a guide. There are much better guides out there, it’s more of a documentation of my experiences. I’ll try and explain my steps with helpful screen caps to keep things clear. If you however want more details on this, I can certainly answer any questions you might have for me in the comment section below. I check this blog often so I’ll likely respond to your comments fairly quickly!
Choosing an Idea, Collect the Inspiration, and Find a Character Model
When you want to draw something, it’s usually from something you’ve recently been obsessing over. As of late, I’ve been heavily obsessing over Batman: Arkham City, so on my free time, I’ve been drawing Batman related drawings, like my Batman characters as kids pictures [sandbox and pool time] and my intense Joker vs. Batman picture. And this Catwoman picture isn’t any different. You’ll find that drawing things you’re passionate is much easier because it’s a grind to focus 6 hours of your life into one thing.
When you’ve got your idea, unless you have a photographic memory or are extremely creative, you need a reference. In my opinion, I use multiple. So for Catwoman, I had a number of inspirations, ranging from Carrey Mulligans hair cut to Arkham City concept art to other artist’s interpretations of Catwoman. It’s good to have multiple angles of your inspiration, so that you can draw your character at any angle. Combining your favorites from a large collection of sources will ultimately get you to the vision you want. I’ve never traced picture before, I try to create a generally new picture, as I feel as though the feeling of accomplishment is far more gratifying.
Once you’ve got your sources of inspiration, I find it much easier to find a base model for your character. So I usually go to Deviant art and search [male/female poses]. These will get you those basic empty human body figurines with the cross for the faces [If I were an art student, I’m sure I’d know the legitimate name than that 10+ word description]. Once you find a position you want your character in, you can draw [don’t trace, it’s not legitimate] the empty model.
Draw the Outline [Digitally or Scanning it in]
Now it’s time to actually draw the outline of the character. As stated above, this can be done digitally or by scanning a pencil sketch. Some people feel more natural with a pencil sketch, so they do what they’re comfortable in, and then they draw outline it picture editing software. Now my particular process is fairly methodical. I open up a new Photoshop document, usually 4×4 inches at 100 pixel resolution [these numbers are arbitrary]. If I find my drawing to exceed those dimensions, I very simply expand the canvas size when needed.
The outline is essentially your picture in black and white. So whether or not you scan it in or draw it digitally, there doesn’t need to be much explanation in how you draw. Regardless, when you open up your document, make sure it’s a separate layer than the default ‘background’. I can’t tell you how many times I drew on the background layer and then had to go through painstaking erasing sprees because I couldn’t layer color underneath it [more on that later].
Depending on your style, you can range anywhere from the 1 pixel brush to the 5 pixel brush. When I do detailed drawings, I use the 1 pixel brush, and with my comics, I dabble around the 5 pixel brush. If you have a nice graphics tablet, you can use a 3 pixel brush and use the sensitivity to draw in the 1 pixel and the 3 pixels for detailing.
The next step is fairly simple. Start anywhere you want and draw whatever you set out to draw. Add eyes, basic clothing, hair, nails, etc. I’ve found as an amateur artist that hands are the absolute HARDEST thing to draw. I don’t understand why, but they’re just so absolutely fickle to draw. They’re too big, then they’re too small, then the fingers are weird, etc. etc. etc. Anywho, off the ranting box. Spend time drawing the very basics of the character. Don’t focus on detail yet. That’s the next step.
Detail the Figure
So you’ve got your outline. Double checking that it’s a separate layer than the background right? This is fairly crucial for the entire process. Now it’s time to add details. This is probably the most painstaking part of the project simply because you don’t know how much time will be required. Sketching an outline is fairly simple mainly because it’s the framework that’s an absolute requirement. I’ve found that detailing is so open ended simply because I find myself saying, ‘oOo, I could add some buckles here’ or ‘I want this pattern on 50% of the drawing’. It’s endless and if you lose sight of things, you can end up ‘overdetailing’ making your drawing look cluttered.
What’s important here is that you create your detailing in a separate layer. This layer will be underneath your outline layer. I do this primarily because sometimes I want my details to change or I find out something wrong with the original frame and I can’t change too much without screwing up the detail. Having the detail a separate layer allows freedom to change the detail without messing with the frame. And don’t just stop with one. Create multiple layers for details. I know I created a separate layer for the cross pattern on Catwoman, a separate layer for the pendent on her neck, etc. Doing this allows you to move some details around without moving the others around. Once you have all your details added, your product can essentially be done at this point with your signature and uploaded for the world to see. But if you’re like me, I loved coloring as a kid, and coloring as an adult is just as fun. Color includes a couple of separate process, so read onto page 2 if you’re still interested.
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