1. INTRODUCTION

In the world of illustration, effects in general play an important role, therefore, if we develop them properly, they will enhance our final result. This is especially the case with magic effects.

 

In this tutorial we will work on how to enhance our illustration by providing it with magical effects, a mysterious atmosphere and / or spells. So, I will give you tips to achieve a professional finish by following a simple step-by-step methodology. Our illustrations are impressive!

 

2. THE METHOD: LAYER BY LAYER

The main role of our illustration will focus on highlighting the effects of light, in the spells or enchantments shine and achieve that credibility and strength that we are looking for, the process will be developed in several layers and will consist of the following:

 

First we will sketch the form of magic, in this case we will focus on the invocations. Next, we will clean those lines. Then we will paint a base for the "body" of the animal, which we will fade later and, immediately afterwards, we will apply the blurs to achieve the effect of the glow of the light. Finally, we will treat the lights to integrate well all the elements of the illustration and form a whole with meaning. OMG!

 

But, easy draftsman! We will explain all these tips step by step in points 4 and 5. If you have your Clip Studio Paint handy and your desire to learn, you just have to start! Let's go there!

 

3. SKETCH / IMPORT

We will start by opening a new file. In this case, we are going to create a 1920x1080 file. You can find this format in "Pre-settings": FHD (1920x1080 px)

 

File> New document> horizontal illustration> OK

 

We can start in two ways:

 

1. Start your illustration from scratch and then add magical effects to it.

2. Importing an illustration that you have already done and you just have to add these great effects that we will see next.

 

3.1. Import

As in this tutorial we will focus only on magic effects, we will choose the second option:

 

1. File> import> image ...

 

For this magical occasion, we have chosen an indigenous theme, where a powerful shaman will invoke and connect with spirits from the past. So to spice up her too ...

 

2. We will import our illustration in two pieces, which we previously saved separately. In one there is only the background and in another the character.

 

3.2. character integration

In our case, the entities that appear and the spells that they make will have blue tones, like the lights that emerge from the ground around them, therefore, the next step we will work on will be to integrate the character well into that cold chromatic environment. For it:

 

• By right-clicking on the character's layer, we duplicate it (1) and press the “pixel lock” button (2) so as not to paint outside the figure.

 

• Now with a medium blue color and with an opaque tool we paint the entire figure (3 and 4).

 

• Next, we put the layer in blending mode "Dodge (color)" and lower its opacity to 70-75%.

 

Note: We will also rename the layers to be better organized.

 

Once we have made these last adjustments, the illustration should take shape.

4. MAGICAL EFFECTS

This is the key point in which we will develop most of the techniques for our Shaman to do her magic. We will start, as always, with the sketches.

4.1. Sketch!

At this point we must bear in mind that, for each of the different elements that we create, we will have to create a new layer. The first will be to place the magic and the direction of the lights. It is time to try various ways until you are happy with the result.

Next, we will make 3 more layers, one for each animal spirit, which we have represented taking the form of a rhinoceros with (2), a raptor (3) and some small rodents mixed with mustelids (4).

4.2. Clean Art

Remember that organization is essential, therefore, to differentiate the layers and be able to organize ourselves better, in the layers panel we will give a color to the sketch layers. Now, we will go to the sketch layer of the first beast, lower its opacity to around 10% and create a new layer (1), to which we will give a different color (2)

 

 

and we started going over our sketch, this time with a thicker white line.

Next, we will repeat this same process with the other two remaining layers of the other beasts and the result will be this: First beast (1), Bird (2), Mustélidos (3). Each of them with two layers: sketch and clean art; marked in different blues in the layers panel. Take a look at the following image:

4.3. Blurs

We place ourselves in the blue layer of the first beast, specifically, in the clean art, and by pressing the right mouse click, we duplicate it (1). We rename the layers so that there is no room for doubt (2) and place it below the original. Let's now proceed to blur.

We are going to apply a Gaussian blur to it to make a glow effect. To do this, we are going to:

 

Filter> Blur…> Gaussian Blur

 

We will give you an amount of 10 points.

Next, we duplicate the “Hard white line B1” layer again and place it below the others with the following name: “Color line blur. B1 "

Now, it is time to give the line a different color and for this we activate the "layer color" button in the "Layer Properties" panel. As a sub-color we will give it a light blue color. Look at the following image:

Next, we repeat the Gaussian blur action, only this time we will give it an amount of between 50 and 55 points.

The third layer to which we will apply the blur will be the “Blur Sketch Line” layer. B1 ”, but first we will recolor it in the same way as the previous layer, but with a more light blue. We will also return to 100% opacity.

Once this is done, now yes, Gaussian blur. 6 points will be enough.

Next step: Create a new layer, rename it "Base B1" and place it behind all the others.

Now with a white color and the “G-pen” tool we put body to our beast (1). With the rubber, we eliminate the excess (2) and we will have a perfect silhouette (3).

It is time to change your Blending Mode to "Add Glow", and your Layer Opacity to 25%.

We will continue selecting, in the layers panel, the 5 layers that we have for now of this B1 beast, holding down the cmd key (or control in Windows) while we click on each layer (1). We press the right mouse button and "duplicate layers" (2). We drag them under the layer "Base B1" (3 and 4).

By pressing the right mouse button again, we click on "Combine selected layers" (5). Now, it only remains to change its blending mode to “Dodge (brightness)” (6) and change its opacity to 90%.

Finally, to finish with this magical effect, we will carry out the last three quick effects: a color change, a Gaussian blur and a retouch with layer masks to give a fading effect.

 

1. Color change: In the "layer properties" panel, we put a light blue as a sub-color:

 

2. Gaussian blur: amount, 30 points.

3. Layer masks: In the layers panel, we select the “Layer mask” button and with the “soft-rubber” tool at 500px, we carefully erase from right to left to eliminate the hard edges that were left on the silhouette.

Next, we repeat this masking action with the "Base B1" layer that we had prepared in white at 25% opacity and the "Add shine" blending mode.

And, keeping all the layers active, the end result of our first beast is the following:

As a review and organization, we will summarize the order of layers:

 

1. HARD WHITE LINE B1 (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal)

2. WHITE LINE DESENF. B1 (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal)

3. COLOR LINE OFF. B1 (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal + color)

4. SKETCH LINE DESENF. B1 (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal + color)

5. BASE B1 (opacity 25%. Blending mode: Add shine + layer mask)

6. BASE B1 copy (opacity 90%. Blending mode: Dodge (brightness) + color + layer mask).

 

For the next two beasts, the bird B2, the mustelids B3 and some butterflies that I added, we will repeat the previous steps. The finish will be this although it will always have your personal touch !:

4.4. Magical environment and origin of magic

In this step we will focus on creating an atmosphere conducive to a magical environment, for which, we will take as a reference, the first sketches that we made:

4.4.1. Herb

We will start this point on the grass under your legs. To do this, we will create a new layer (1), located above the character's layer, and with the “decoration-vegetable-meadow” tool (2) and the help of the “G-pen” we draw a small grass of a whitish blue color (3)

Then we duplicate the layer and add a Gaussian blur of approximately 35-40 points:

We will also add a color to it in the "Layer Properties" panel:

Next, in another new layer located on top of these last two, at 60% opacity and in "Dodge (brightness)" blending mode, we will add a stroke of blue light with the "Airbrush-soft" tool:

 

Note: Add some small particles with the spray of the "Airbrush" tool, in the initial layer of the grass to give it more magical appearance:

 

We will continue creating the blue light bounces on another new layer (blending mode “Dodge (brightness)”, 100% opacity) with the “G-pen” tool and smoothing them with “Brush-watercolor blend”:

Layers Summary:

 

1. BOUNCES OF LIGHT (100% opacity. Blending mode: Dodge (brightness) ”)

2. LIGHT (opacity 60%. Blending mode: Dodge (brightness) ”)

3. WHITE GRASS (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal)

4. GRASS COLOR DESENF. (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal + color)

4.4.2. Petals and particles

In another new layer, with the "Decoration-flower-cherry petal" tool at 800px, we spread some petals across the front of the scene:

In "Edit> Tonal correction> Hue, saturation, lighting ..." or with the cmd + u keys we give it a 100-point illumination:

We duplicate the layer, apply a 20 point Gaussian blur. We duplicate the layer to give more intensity to the glow and to the latter, we give it a fuchsia color with the "Layer Properties" panel:

Note: You can create more petals, magic particles, sparks, or similar magic items by repeating these steps. You can even add small rocks floating in the air with a motion blur to give more dynamism to the scene.

 

Layers Summary:

 

1. WHITE PETALS (100% opacity. Blending mode: normal ”)

2. GLOW COLOR (100% opacity. Blending mode: normal)

3. GLOW (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal)

 

4.4.3. Hands

To create the effect of the hands, the first thing we will do is go to the character's layer and select their hands with the “lasso-selection” tool.

Once selected, we copy and paste to duplicate only that part of the layer.

Now, in: Edit> Level correction ...

We adjust the levels by moving those little arrows, surrounded in the image, to give an exaggerated contrast to the hands, greatly enhancing the whites of the layer.

Next, pressing the cmd + u keys we open the tone / saturation / lighting panel, which we will need to vary the tone and achieve a cold range, like all the lighting we are doing:

The following is to refine and fix the flaws in this process:

 

1. Activate the pixel lock button.

 

2. With the “G-pen” we will retouch the color of the edges that have been altered (1 and 2).

 

3. With the “Soft-Rubber” we will carefully erase the hard edge that remains of the bow cut (3 and 4), thus blurring those blue tones on the arms:

 

4. Duplicate the hands layer, deactivate the pixel lock button and place it underneath. To this, we apply a motion blur in both directions at an angle of 90 ° and at a distance of 30 points.

Layers Summary:

 

1. HANDS (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal)

2. HAND BLUR (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal)

3. CHARACTER (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal)

 

4.4.4. Magical origin

As the origin of magic, I imagined that spirals of energy would come out of his hands, radiating the power of summoning. We will therefore simulate this effect with the “Decoration-landscape-flame” tool:

We will draw near his hands, in a new layer, some spirals with this brush in a white color:

We will duplicate this layer twice: in the first one, we will add a 10 point Gaussian blur to it, keeping the color white. In the second, located below, a Gaussian blur of 35. We will also add a light blue color to this last layer in the "layer properties" panel.

Once this is done, we select the three layers and combine them:

 

In turn, we duplicate this combined layer again. To the layer that is on top we will put an opacity of 50% and a blending mode "Dodge (brightness)".

As the last effect of this magic, we will add some warm shapes to give the illustration more color richness. To do this, in a new layer and with an irregular brush we draw white lines coming out of the magic energy balls. You can use the same one that you made those magic spirals with.

With these shapes, we will repeat the same effect that we have been doing throughout the tutorial. Duplicate the layer, give it a color, this time warm and apply some blurs from behind. In this way the result is the following:

Layers Summary:

 

1. WARM LIGHT (opacity 43%. Blending mode: Dodge Bright)

2. ORANGE LINE (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal + color)

3. WHITE LINE (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal)

4. LINE BLUR 1 (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal + color)

5. LINE BLUR 2 (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal + color)

6. ENERGY SPIRAL 2 (50% opacity. Blending mode: Dodge Bright)

7. ENERGY SPIRAL 1 (100% opacity. Blending mode: Normal)

 

5. LAST TOUCHES

Once the goal of providing magical effects and atmosphere to our illustration has been reached, we would only have to add the last details to make the concept of your illustration gain strength. Let's add, for example, a couple of fictitious animal skulls, some candles and some floating rocks.

6. PRESENTATION

Last lighting settings and you're done!

Here's our illustration with magical effects!

 

In short, this tutorial presents a simple methodology to make an illustration with magic effects, which, a priori, tend to be complicated. As you have seen, we only have to find a method that works and repeat it in several elements so that there is agreement between them and the purpose of the illustration. For all this, I like the opportunity of having been able to make my methodology available to all of you: duplicating layers and applying blur with color and blending modes. As always, I encourage you to investigate and try new methodologies, to enrich your illustration. Until then, I hope my advice is very helpful!

 

We come to the end of this tutorial. I encourage you to share with me on Instagram (@Danipuente_conceptart) the notes and illustrations that you have made through this tutorial. I would love to see it!

 

If you have any questions, I am at your disposal at my email danielpuentemorales@gmail.com.

 

And… As always, a pleasure to draw for all of you!

 

PS: I leave you the speed painting of the whole process. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.