I. Introduction

Clip Studio has two functions that are more powerful than other drawing programs.

It is a blurring tool and a soft airbrush.

In this tutorial, I will show you how to easily draw realistic shadows using these two features.

II.Preparations

-Filling pen: I gave a little pressure.

-Blur tool: The blur tool (shortcut key j) has a perfect default setting. Just set the brush size that suits you. Other settings are not touched.

-Soft airbrush: The soft airbrush (shortcut key b) also has a perfect default setting. No need to change.

III. Example

III-1. Preparations

-To put shadows, it is important to know the shape of the inside of the outline, not just the outline. Draw a wireframe-like line in 3D and feel the shape.

Left: 3D / Right: Direct picture.

According to the book, it is sometimes referred to as topology, mesh, or contour.

-Next, set the direction of the light. In this case, it is necessary to consider the non-planar, that is, three-dimensional direction.

I imagined the direction from the top of the monitor to the bottom of the monitor.

III-2. Paint

-First, apply a shape to the layer that is separate from the background. Then, lock and lock the transparent pixels.

-If you shine a light on a round object, there is a part where the light hits and a part that does not. With reference to the red wireframe that we drew earlier, paint the areas that touch.

Remember this boundary. (Let's say [border A].)

-Some parts are shadowed by objects in front. I also paint this part dark.

I remember this boundary too. (Let's say [border B].)

III-3. Blud

-First, it blurs the [Border A] previously displayed. The smoother the surface, the more blurry it is.

-There is no need to blur too much. Blur only to the thickness shown in the figure.

With Clip Studio's blur tool, you can easily adjust the intensity to blur. Of course, other programs have blurring tools, but for some reason, Clip Studio is overwhelmingly precise and powerful.

-Then, using a soft airbrush, express the change in brightness spreading from boundary A.

Airbrush is also a tool that can be seen everywhere, but it is not as convenient as Clip Studio's soft airbrush. With only the basic settings, you can paint from very light brush strokes to strong brush strokes.

-If you use a blur tool and a soft airbrush together, anyone can easily paint.

-This time, [Border B] is also blurred.

The boundary B depends on the size of the light source. It doesn't have to be cloudy at all, but the light source usually has a certain size, so it is natural to blur more as the distance increases.

III-3b. Trim

Trim the bumpy part of the border. Again, [Airbrush], [Blur], and [Fill Pen] are sufficient.

III-4. Darkening

The change in brightness in the dark areas is theoretically complex, but if you remember a few rules, it can be described simply.

a. Darken the corners.

b. Darken the object behind.

c. The steep surface is darkened.

III-5.

Let's express the highlights this time.

A layer's glow dodge is easy to see in other programs, but when used with the Clip Studio's blur tool, it's a very useful mod. If you use it, it will look good even if you paint it moderately. (However, a smooth metal material is not possible.) Let's paint while enjoying.

III-6. complete.

Now it's time to go into action.

IV. Practice

I drew it with the feeling of an exotic destination with sunny weather. To show you how to draw, the speed was kept as low as 2x possible.

The first 3 minutes is a simple background drawing, and the shadows and shades are drawn after that.

IV-1. Preparations

Here is the list of layers I am using. Painted by separating the clothes, skin, and hair you want to paint into layers. It's cumbersome at first, but easy to fix.

Let's draw the same wireframe as before.

● Tip. To express realistic shadows, it is not enough to simply think of the human body as a curved cylinder. Here, anatomical knowledge of the human body is required.

But it's difficult, and I don't have anatomical knowledge either. If it is difficult to describe accurately, just concentrate on drawing to make sure that it is clearly separated by parts of the human body.

For example, if you draw a hand, you draw it in a cylindrical shape, but draw it separately for each finger. Just like this, the three-dimensional effect is much more alive.

IV-2. Paint

● Tip. When I first painted, I remember it was very difficult to choose the skin color. Separating the bright and dark parts into layers is convenient because you can choose the color while looking directly.

After drawing the shape, create a new layer and clip it to the shape layer. When you paint a light spot on a newly created layer, the dark spot and the bright spot are separated. In each layer, adjust the color using [Hue / Saturation / Lightness] (shortcut Ctrl + U).

● Tip. The cartoon face is [flat] than the realistic face.

Therefore, except for the nose, the shadow-free expression is rather accurate. It is helpful to refer to figures and 3D animations.

IV-3,4,5. Blur, Darken, Lighten

There is an important fact that has not been explained before. It's about brightness, hue, and saturation changes.

 

-First, you need to be aware of when expressing changes in brightness. It is to avoid the feeling of [linear gradation] that can be created with a program.

Left: Linear gradation / Right: Gradation with rapid change.

 

The basis for this lies in the way our eyes receive light, but we don't think deeply, just think that there is no linear gradient in nature. Rapid changes bring life to the picture.

 

-Second, it's about changing hue. This is very important when painting the skin. That is, there should be a difference in color between light and dark surfaces.

Usually, the darker the surface, the more blue it becomes. As a result, the color wheel moves in the counterclockwise direction as it gets darker.

-Third, it's about changing saturation. This is in the same context as the [Avoid Linear Gradient] rule mentioned earlier.

When using a linear gradient, only the linear change occurs as shown on the left. However, it actually moves in a curve like the right. In other words, saturation should be higher than other colors at medium brightness.

As I recall these three things, I'll paint them.

IV-6. Other tips

● Tip. If necessary, create a new layer and clip it. It is convenient because you can modify only a part of the original while preserving it.

If the modification is done, it is recommended to boldly combine the layers. If the number of layers is too large, you will not be able to control them later.

IV-7. Fresnel reflection

Lastly, I will tell you an easy way to make use of the three-dimensional effect. For most objects, the steeper the slope from our eyes, the higher the reflectivity. (This is the Fresnel formula.)

Accordingly, it is an accurate and three-dimensional method of drawing brightly colored outlines that lie outside.

Clips the glow dodge layer. (I love Dodge Luminous.)

Paint a lighter color on the outside of the outline; it is not visible because it is clipped, but there is a line painted outside the outline.

Blurs along the outline.

Finally, you can erase the parts you don't need.

IV-8. complete.

It is complete.

 

This concludes the tutorial. Thank you.