me: yay I got it where I want it! Time to upload (or reupload) everywhere!
me, 27 seconds after uploading: fuck. god damn it. shit it all to h
I used to create my color palettes by picking everything by hand. I'd lay down a flat background color and put my brushes on low flow and do a couple passes with the 'flat' color to get the exact hue I wanted, where everything's brought together cohesively by that background color. Tbh, I think it's worth trying to do that anyway cause it teaches you a good lesson about how to handle colors under different lighting. but layer effects do that but way easier
kinda late getting back to this but like. can't stress enough how layer effects are your friend. Layer effects are the difference between this piece lookin like it crawled out of a clown car, and what it ended up looking like when finished
And then I realized I could just go on the flats layer, trace the edge of the shape in the color, and then fill the rest.
You'd think that'd be obvious, but, uh, i'm a prime dumbass.
Anyways -
*Much like reflective light making everything bitchin, shadows having a gradient where the farther in they go, the (slightly) lighter they become. /kisses fingertips
*Light is SOLID, shadows are TRANSPARENT
*you wanna get dangerous? layer effects *on your flats layer*, yolo
*I couldn't understand how to efficiently fill in flats for years. I would read tutorials about how to effectively use the selection tool and feather the edge of the selection and blah blah and i'd still have problems with pixels on the edge/my lineart style lending itself to big gaps in my lines. Even learning about how to set something as a reference layer (pro tip: learn about reference layers) didn't fix my issue. -c-
things i've learned about how to effectively color, a thread
*y'know that video maisie williams put up about how everything else can be janky and so long as you slap on some red lipstick nobody will notice and you'll still look classy? same goes for utilizing gradients effectively
*reflective light makes everything look bitchin, full stop
*holy shit don't overthink it and meticulously render everything out it can get super uncanny valley
*layer effects are your best fucking friend
Hey everybody, it's your pal, Gog-Agog! Gog-Agog! Gog-Agog! Gog-Agog! -Agog! -Agog! -Ag--
I'm Abby. 26. Queer. Professional graphic designer, freelance digital illustrator. I like drawin pretty ladies.