[1] Painting and adjusting small details on the character

By adding in small details after I finish painting everything, I can add a sense of realism in certain places and draw the eye where I want.

 

 

 

1. Lines

 

To change the color of the lines for the character in places, I create a new layer immediately above the character line art layer, and set it to [Clip at Layer Below].

On this layer, I use the [Pen] > [Mapping pen] or the [Brush] > [Watercolor] > [Dense watercolor] brush to draw warmer colors on the bottom line of the eye and the lines on the skin to blend the lines into the face.

Because the layer is clipped to the line art layer, the color won’t go outside of the lines.

Note: The left image above shows the layer before clipping to the lines layer to make it easier to see where I painted.

 

 

 

2. Hair

 

I make a new layer above the line art of the character, and use the [Pencil] > [Lighter pencil] brush tool with a size of about 7 pixels to add some flyaway strands of hair.

These strands of hair add to the feeling of movement.

I use the [Eyedropper] tool to choose the colors from light and dark sections of the hair so that they easily blend in.

 

 

 

3. Nails

 

I select the layers inside the “Skin” folder and adjust the painting slightly to hint at nails.

 

 

 

4. Eyes

 

I create a new layer above the layer with the whites of the eyes and draw faint lines in a color slightly warmer than the skin to suggest the points where the eye meets the upper and lower lids.

I also select the layer with the character line art and set it to [Lock Transparent Pixel], then use the [Airbrush] tool → [Soft] to add a warm gradation to the lines for the eyes.

This helps the lines blend with the skin color, but overdoing it can make the lines indistinct.

 

 

 

5. Adjusting the overall character

 

Looking at the overall balance of the piece, I adjust the colors of the hair, skirt, scarf, and eyes. To finish it off, I make a new layer at the very top of the character folder, and set the blending mode to [Overlay].

Using the [Airbrush] tool > [Soft], I lightly add some color where the light hits to make the picture brighter in places.

Note: The left image above shows only the parts painted in this step. The right image shows all layers, with the top layer set to [Overlay].

 

[2] Finishing the background

I make a new layer above all the other layers to paint in some fall leaves in the foreground to add depth and a sense of playfulness.

 

(1) I paint the autumn leaves in the foreground.

I used the "筆（完成版？）" brush that I downloaded from CLIP STUDIO.

 

▼ Tool used: [筆（完成版？）]

 

(2) I duplicate the layer with the fall leaves by going to the [Layer] menu > [Duplicate Layer]. Then I go to the [Filter] menu > [Blur] > [Motion blur] to blur the leaves.

 

(3) I make a new layer on top of the fall leaves layer and turn on [Clip at Layer Below], then change the color of the leaves using [Airbrush] > [Soft].

 

(4) I move the unblurred layer with autumn leaves to the very top and set the blending mode to [Screen].

 

[3] Adjusting the overall color

Finally, I add some finishing touches and adjust the overall color.

 

I make a new layer at the very top and set the blending mode to [Linear burn].

Using the [Airbrush] tool → [Soft] in a white color, I lightly paint over the right side of the window and make the reflection of the fall leaves a bit brighter.

 

Then I make another layer folder titled “Spray” above that, and make a layer titled “Spray” inside the folder. I use the [Airbrush] tool → [Droplet] to spray droplets.

 

▼ Tool Used: [Droplet]

This sub tool draws spray or droplets in a random pattern as if sprayed onto the picture.

If the particle density is too high under the initial settings, you can change it by going to [Tool Property] > [Particle density].

 

I duplicate the “Spray” layer and go to the [Filter] menu > [Blur] > [Gaussian blur], then [Edit] menu > [Tonal Correction] > [Hue/Saturation/Luminosity] to make it a deep orange color. Then, I move the original non-blurred layer to the top.

I set the blending mode of the “Spray” folder to [Glow dodge] and reduce the opacity to 51%.

 

Then, I go back to the layer that I set to [Overlay] and add some color to make the outside of the window look warmer than the classroom inside.

 

Finally, I make the tone of the overall piece consistent.

I make a new layer above all the other layers and set the blending mode to [Overlay]. On this layer, I use the [Edit] > [Fill] tool to fill the entire layer with a warm red color.

 

As with the “Spray” folder, I reduce the opacity to about 20%, and my illustration is now complete.