(click for DA version)

My RAP image for this week, breaking it out here in case someone wants to give critique. The character is known (or rather not known, I guess) as the "Unknown Girl" from my comic Where Red Apples Lie. I like drawing her.

Mini-tutorial / step-by-step



This was hand-painted in pure black&white in MyPaint using the modelling2 brush, the block brush and a paintbrush from Deevad's v4 brushset (it's the very last brush in the preview image on deevad's site). It is all saved in the .ORA format which retains layer information and is read and exported to by both GIMP and Krita.



After finishing a first version of her with outstretched hand I inked about a dozen different roses freehand on a separate layer (using references from google on how the heck a rose looks - I've never drawn roses before).



Then I used Krita to move them around and resize them into a field. There are a few duplicates in there but no copies are exactly identical but always resized, flipped or stretched some way.



After this I used MyPaint's block brush to fill in solid black between the roses and also white to clarify all the leaves and make sure overlaps are not transparent. I could have avoided some confusion by drawing the roses opaque in the first place.



Now the drawing's lines are almost done, in stark black and white. I can now use either a Color or Multiply Layer to color the roses Red. These color modes will not affect black, so it is easy to fill in the roses and also do darker shading where needed.



I use a separate layer with Multiply Mode to apply the greyscale shading to her clothes and body.



In Krita (or GIMP) I now applied a radial gradient white-black across the entire image. This brings focus to her finger and the rose she is reaching out towards.



The radial gradient tends to darken the entire image and lower contrast, so back in MyPaint I subtly erase in this layer to bring forth bright highlights like the top of the roses, strategic leaves and her face. This produces the effect of light hitting surfaces in an otherwise gloomy world.



And then it's done! I use GIMP to do the watermark and crop things a little before exporting from the .ORA format I've been working in to a JPG for web publication.
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Griatch

Beautifully done

Hi guys

So pleased that I have found this forum - I have only recently downloaded GIMP, so will be coming here to have a few questions answered!!

@sallyanne

Thankyou.

@PaulOClassic

Welcome to the forum! You should probably post your introduction post here instead though: viewforum.php?f=5
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Griatch

Thank you Griatch. I enjoy seeing each step given in your fulfilment.

thanks for the tut, Griatch!
unfortunately I'm not a digital painter, so I can't try to follow your traces, I just see and appreciate the final outcome! excellent

You might not self-identify as a digital painter now but it's never too late to start!
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Griatch

Very nice little tutorial Griatch.
How do you get the greyscale shading? Another question, when you are erasing your hi-lites, do you use a large soft brush, I notice how evenly you did yours where you can't see where you left off. How did you manage to do that without leaiving edges?

BTW, would you like us to move this little tute to the tutorial section?

@molly

Which grayscale shading do you refer to, the shading on her clothes or the background gradient?

I do erasure with a large soft round brush at low opacity. The low opacity is the important part there, to avoid sharp edges (although one could also post-blur/smudge if one wanted to instead).

I was not sure where to put this since it both allows for feedback on the image as well as working as a tutorial. I'd be fine to have it moved to the tutorial section though by all means.
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Griatch

I understand that part now that you explained how you did it by lowering the opacity to blend out the edges. thanks Griatch..

I will move this into tutorials. That way people will know where to look for it.

@molly

Actually, the painting of the clothes don't need any soft brushes or low opacity. Since I'm painting on a multiply layer the black outlines will not be affected. So I just blocked those in with a mixing brush. You can see that the edges between the shades of gray inside the lines are quite stark in places. Only some more subtle shading is done on her face (but most is brought forward later, when erasing in the gradient).
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Griatch

ok thanks.