[1] Rough sketch

■1. Choosing the composition

 

Setting the [Brush] tool →[Opaque watercolor]’s brush size to about 10px, I rough out the composition.

This time I made two versions, and chose the more girly one on the right.

 

 

 

■2. Draft

 

Based on the composition, I move to drafting. For this image, I solidified the idea of ‘the princess of the jewel kingdom’.

 

[2]Color planning

Details are fleshed out while coloring.

As you can get a clear idea of the image’s final look by choosing the color scheme now, you can save time when painting and brushing up.

For this drawing, the plan is to pull the image together with my favorite purple hues, and limit the number and saturation of the colors on the character to bring out the colors of the jewels.

 

[3]Line art

■1. Main line art (characters etc.)

 

①The line art is drawn with the [Pencil] tool→[Darker Pencil] set to a brush size of 6px.

 

②The rough sketch is then selected in the [Layer] palette, and its opacity is lowered to 25%.

I also made a layer folder named “Line art” above the sketch. This folder will contain vector layers. With vector layers, lines can be easily erased and edited, making them perfect for drawing line art.

 

[POINT]

Vector layers can be created by clicking the [New vector layer] icon at the bottom of the [Layer] palette, or by selecting [Vector layer] from the[Layer] menu →[New Layer].

 

③Based the rough sketch, line art is drawn onto vector layers. As it's easier to select the lines you want to correct if there are as few lines as possible, other than the face, I try to finish with a small number of strokes.

 

④To make later corrections easier, each part of the drawing is inked on an individual layer.

Additionally, each part is assigned a different [Layer color].

 

[POINT]

[Layer color] is a function that changes the displayed color of the drawn parts of a layer. It can be set from the [Layer Property] palette while selecting the target layer. The original colors will be displayed when the [Layer color] settings are cleared.

• If the [Layer Property] palette is not displayed on the screen, display it via the [Window] menu →[Layer Property].

 

⑤After the line art for the character was done and the line colors were changed, the image looked like this:

 

 

 

■2.Detailed patterns

 

After the main line art is done, details such as the patterns on the clothes are added.

A “Pattern” folder is made above the [Line art] folder in the [Layer] palette, and the patterns are drawn on a vector layer.

For the patterns, I used the [Dotted line] and [Dashed line] in the [Decoration] tool →[Ruled line], and adjusted the size and gap of the parts while drawing.

 

Next, using the [Pen] tool →[Marker]→[Felt pen], the stripes of the ribbon and other parts are drawn.

 

Additionally, the parts around the waist are also made with the [Decoration] tool.

On a new vector layer, the ornament is made with the [Decoration] tool →[Ruled line]→[Dotted line].

 

The [Layer Property] palette’s [Edge] effect is applied to the layer with dotted lines.

The thickness of edges and color are adjusted.

 

The stars are made in the same way, and the patterns are finished.

 

Artist profile:Wasabi

Illustrator/manga artist born and raised in Japan. Works are Moe-kei or for children. Likes cute girls and glittery accessories.