Illustration Tutorials and Tips for the Traditional and Digital Artist - Monster Cutie » Tutorial

Inking With Variable Line Widths

Jamie — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:27:26 +0000

This week on Monster Cutie, we take a look a number of methods for inking lines with variable widths. The video is a little rough since I held the camera with my left hand and drew with my right, but it should serve to get the idea across.

While Microns and felt-tipped brush pens like Faber-Castell’s Pitt Pens are relatively easy to find, you might have a little trouble tracking down the brush pens and the G-nib used in this video. For those, I turn to JetPens:

I find that the Pentel Pocket Brush is one of the most versatile brush pens I use. And it’s great to take on the road. It’s a little steep at $12.00, but it’s refillable.
The standard Pentel brush pens are also quite good. They come in a variety of widths and are also refillable. Less expensive than the Pocket Brush at $7.50.
The G-Pen nibs are much more flexible than the standard ones you’ll find in a pack of the generic Speedball calligraphy sets. You can get a pack of ten for $12.00 and they’ll last for a fairly long time.

Coloring Lineart – Part 3, Cel Shading

Jamie — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:55:42 +0000

Also known as anime or manga-style shading, cel shading is a lot of fun and quite straight forward once you get the hang of it..

This style of shading is one of the most basic and easiest to learn technique-wise. It can also be one of the most expressive methods to add depth to your illustration.

For more about Peelander-Z please visit their website.

Coloring Lineart – Part 2, Auto Flatting

Jamie — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:28:02 +0000

We return to flatting, but this time we’ll use a nifty plug-in workflow to speed up the process. For this tutorial, you’ll need to pick up the multifill and flatting plug-ins found at http://bpelt.com.

This can save you loads of time flatting your lineart but will only work if your lineart is bitmap. This isn’t such a great workflow if you’re coloring just pencils. But for inked work, this will make your life so much easier.

For more about Peelander-Z please visit their website. Tell them Jamie sent you!

Coloring Lineart – Part 1, Hand Flatting

Jamie — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:05:57 +0000

In this series, we’ll learn how to color black and white lineart. The first step is to flat your piece. Flatting separates the objects in your composition by color making it easier to select specific areas to color.

The flatting process can be a bit meticulous and slightly boring, but proper flatting is essential for coloring line art. In this first part, we demonstrate how to flat an illustration by hand. Next time, we’ll look at a very helpful plugin that will automate much of this process.

For more about Peelander-Z please visit their website. Tell them Jamie sent you!

Snacking Cutie – Part 9, Doing the Butt

Jamie — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:21:58 +0000

We’re getting ever so close to finishing! This time we focus on the butt section of the bigger cutie and play around with some lighting.

Snacking Cutie – Part 8, Bloody Sock

Jamie — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:24:28 +0000

We’re getting closer and closer to a finished piece! This time around we add more detail to the faces of our cuties and add in some creepy blood.