Comprehensive Digital Art Tutorial

[Neverward]

Hey there! Welcome to my tutorial. I've never made a tutorial before however I'v been asked to so I thought I'd take a crack at it! I want to let you know now, this tutorial is not 'how to draw exactly this exact girl' but more just a collection of advice and tips for the steps you take while you draw something like this. It's in my own style, so it may not fit everyone's, but I hope that you will learn something from it anyway!

I used Easy Paint Tool SAI for the majority of this piece, however when I was finished with the coloring I moved it to Photoshop by saving it as a PSD. I didn't mention it in the tutorial so keep that in mind!

Are you too lazy for all of this?

CHAPTERS:

Section 1: SKETCHING AND LINING Step 1 - 9

Section 2: COLORING THE FIGURE/HAIR Step 10 - 14

Section 3: CLOTHING AND COLORING Step 15 - 21

Section 4: BACKGROUND AND EFFECTS Step 22 - 26



SKETCHING AND LINING

This section has extra tips. The other sections might not until later.​

Spoiler

Sketching tips: 
 
* It doesn't matter what color you sketch with, as long as it contrasts with the color you line with, and the color of the background.
 
* When your sketching the face, first draw a vertical line down the middle, from the center of the crown to where the nose will be, down to the chin in a curve. Draw a horizontal line halfway down in the head for the line that the eyes will sit on, and if you half it again that is the line around the bottom of the nose. Don't rely too hard on the lines when it comes down to lining the face, use them as a guide. Just try to make the face-shape as natural as possible.
 
* When you are thinking of limbs, think of them like 3D shapes if you can, everything is made of cylinders and circles and shapes, like pieces of playdough you shaped and cut apart to stick together. Strive to get a realistic 3D look by thinking about the shape of things while you sketch.
 
* Looking at posing references is awesome. Any picture will do, if your not tracing it and just looking at an image to help you sketch then it's all good. I know allot of people think not using references shows your skilled or something, but I promise that people use references at every skill level

 

Lining tips:
 
* Use the lines below as an opportunity to spot mistakes. Take for example the left breast on this girl, it was way too small and weird looking in the sketch but that was ok, I knew I'd fix it later. This is when you really want to think about the 3D effect. And try not to use too many lines, this is just an outline. More details can be added later if needed.

Eye drawing tips:
 
* The size of a characters eyes can show many things about them. Cat-shaped eyes make you look more mischievous, narrow eyes make you look older, or more sad, it all depends on the shape. There is no 'set shape of the eye' Of course the more realistic the art, the more set the shape of an eye, but there's still a lot of individuality. At that point you start focusing on fine details, which I'm not covering on such a small piece!
 
* Eyebrows show a whole lot of emotion. Don't underestimate how you place them, and don't forget them! (I catch myself forgetting eyebrows sometimes )
 
* Be free with your colors when you start getting comfortable with color mixing, eyes are fun because the more intense you make them the better they look, they are the most expressive part of any character in my personal opinion.

 

COLORING THE FIGURE/HAIR​

Spoiler

 

CLOTHING AND COLORING​

Spoiler

 ​

 

BACKGROUND AND EFFECTS​

Spoiler

 

FIN!​

 

[Hahn Deathspark]

*clap* *clap* *clap*

Now to watch and learn!

 

[seita]

Very informative, I'm sure a lot of to-be-artists will find this very useful.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

wow... just wow... you're good at doing those highlights... *goes to practice*

 

[Neverward]

Thanks everyone! I'm glad this got you excited to learn and practice

 

[Dalph]

I needed a good tutorial about digital art (there aren't many around), and this is for sure one of the most detailed and useful. I see a lot of good hints everywhere, and everything is well explained step by step, this makes me want to practice more and improve my mediocre art skills.

Good job Neverward, and I like your artstyle, it's so delicious.

Thanks for adding this, it's very useful.

 

[marimo]

Ohh * w * wow, it's always fun to see other artist's processes. Somehow, the things we do are similar and yet quite different! I usually sketch everything out first and then...everything is chaos afterwards. Also your finished piece is so NICE and lovely. <3 

 

[MiracleMare]

Thank you for this wonderful tutorial!

I'm inspired to go practice now <3

 

[Cozzer]

I'm more of a traditional drawing guy, but this is very good!

 

[Neverward]

IMPORTANT EDIT:

Somehow I missed step 15 DERPPP so it's there now, in case you were wondering how clothes suddenly just APPEARED

-----------------------------

Wow I'm glad everyone found it to be so informative  

@Dalph  "(there aren't many around), and this is for sure one of the most detailed and useful."

I noticed that myself which is why I chose to feature all the steps, instead of focusing really hard on any individual one! Awesome that this inspired you to practice and thank you I'm glad you like my style~

@Marimo : That works too haha and actually I am the same sometimes. I draw differently depending on the style or what I see for it! I'm glad you liked it

@Cozzer : I love traditional as well <3 I may even in the future give a tutorial for one, but unlikely I'll post it here. The only reason I posed this one is because digital art now has a huge part in RPGmaker what with cutscenes, portraits, etc. Do you have any of your traditional work online?

 

[Cozzer]

@Cozzer : I love traditional as well <3 I may even in the future give a tutorial for one, but unlikely I'll post it here. The only reason I posed this one is because digital art now has a huge part in RPGmaker what with cutscenes, portraits, etc. Do you have any of your traditional work online?

Nah, I'm in the eternally-unsatisfied-by-everything-I-draw phase.

But I do have plans for scanning my own portraits for my maybe-one-day-I-will-actually-make-it RM game!

EDIT:

(You know, now I'm actually thinking about posting some of my sketches for feedback...)

 

[Tsukitsune]

Oh lovely, I'll keep this bookmarked ^^

thanks!

 

[Neverward]

Awesome glad you liked it! I'm thinking of posting some simple Photoshop tutorials to help with pixel art and tile making.

Here's just a little one I made!

Ever wonder how people make perfectly looping tiles? Well now you can too.

 

[Dalph]

Awesome glad you liked it! I'm thinking of posting some simple Photoshop tutorials to help with pixel art and tile making.

Here's just a little one I made!

Ever wonder how people make perfectly looping tiles? Well now you can too.

Stop making it look so easy! Now I have to try it, I can't resist the urge! XD

Seriously now, nice addition.

 

[EternalShadow]

As said before, there really aren't many tutorials on digital art! I'm still looking for REALLY detailed ones regarding clothing/hair, as in - how are they made to look so perfect etc? XD


Thanks

 

[Neverward]

Alright I'm a bit busy at the moment but I promise that in the next month I will upload some specific tutorials, especially about hair and the different ways you can paint hair.

Today I thought I'd contribute the process I went through for the piece I submitted into this weeks art contest. It has no instructions, and it's a much different style then the one I already posted, but I hope it will give some insight

FINISHED PRODUCT:

Spoiler

PROCESS: (Click on each row to enlarge if you must!)

Spoiler

 

[Neverward]

Heres some tips on hands they are supposed to be useful for many poses, just understanding the fundamentals of hands and how you go about planning to draw them.