[1] Inking the character

For the line art, I’ll use the [Pencil] tool > [Darker pencil] sub tool. I use a brush size of around 0.5 mm.

 

I draw each of the parts on a separate layer, such as the skin, hair, innerwear, outer clothing, and accessories.

Note: For details on my method of using masked layers, please refer to part 1 of this series.

 

Using completely different colors for each part makes it easier to distinguish each part and makes it straightforward to see.

I’ll change the color of the lines to match the base colors later, so having each part on a separate layer will help with that.

 

I draw while being aware of which parts won’t be visible at the end, so some parts are overhanging or overlapping. I’ll hide unnecessary parts later with a mask.

Note: Drawing areas that won’t be seen helps when making adjustments later, and also means that you can make smooth strokes without losing momentum.

I draw the line art on layers set to [Multiply], so I can hide unnecessary parts without affecting other layers by painting white over them. I’ll explain about erasing with white later.

 

I divide the hair into two to four sections depending on how complex it is, and create a sense of volume.

I’ll thin the lines out or erase some of them later, so I don’t work on the details at this point. However, I make sure that the external lines are well drawn to help me when I make the layer mask.

 

[2] Inking the foreground and background

I take a lot of care when drawing man-made objects such as buildings, but for natural objects I draw a rough sketch or don’t draw a line art. I think having some distortion makes them look more realistic and natural.

Here’s my background line art.

 

The canvas looks like this with the line art for the character and the background.

 

In the next part, I’ll explain how I block out and choose the base colors.