Digital Painting in Clip Studio Paint - Character Design

In this lesson you will learn how to use the Mesh Transformation tool to adjust your line work. You will also learn the benefits of making incremental changes to the work and slowly allowing the ideas to take shape versus settling on the first thing that you draw.  ( Note - You will find the art files and Custom Brushes attached to this lesson. )

In this lesson you will learn how to create a single piece of chain mail and create an entire Texture from it. You will then learn how to use the Distort and Mesh Transformation tools to add realism to the effect.

In this lesson you will learn about the Layer Mask feature. You will also learn how to draw out a selection using the G-Pen, which will give us our first flood fill of the character. We will then use the Lock Transparent Pixel feature to help paint and segment the work.

In this lesson we will finish creating our perimeter selection of the character. You will learn how to save a selection with the Convert to Selection Layer feature. You will also learn how to organize these effects with Layers and Groups.

In this lesson you will learn how to draw through the main silhouette of the character and define additional segments to aid in the painting process. You will also learn how the Layers can help you to save out your Selections and itemize your work.

In this lesson you will learn how to create some more Selections in the character design. You will also learn how to use the Convert to Selection Layer feature to safe guard your work.

In this lesson you will learn how to use the Mesh Transformation through multiple layers to edit your work. You will also learn how to select the leg of our character and move it while keeping all the layers intact.

In this lesson you will learn how to paint with the Smooth Watercolor brush. You will learn how to apply the base shadows and highlights to the armor while Blending with this unique style of brush.

In this lesson you will learn how to create a selection from the existing armor and apply paint effects. We will apply texture while using the Combine Modes to enhance the effects. You will also learn how to use the Color Balance to control the shifting of colors in the work.

In this lesson you will learn how to apply another Texture on a floating layer to enhance the effects. Then we will start to detail the work a bit by painting in the finer highlights and shadows.

In this lesson you will learn how to paint the cape by adding in some larger shapes of shadows. You will also learn to add in a brighter light source by using the Combine Mode called Glow Dodge. Then we will soften up the line work by erasing back the Layer Mask.

In this lesson you will learn how to use the Marquee tool to select the mountains in the background and add the base paint. Then we will continue to use the Marquee tool to cut out shapes and apply some hard edge effects to create the look of ice. We will also paint in a light source in the sky to help direct where the highlights will go.

In this lesson you will learn how to apply some additional color and contrast to the mountains using Combine Modes. You will then learn how to paint the sky effect with the soft brush, going back and forth from dark to light.

In this lesson you will learn how to paint the chain mail area of the suit and give it some realistic effects. You will learn about controlling the highlights and making the material look real by adding random shadows.

In this lesson you will learn how to paint the hair. By working from large to small we can get the hair to look more natural than trying to illustrate every strand. We will also add in some atmospheric lighting to the hair.

In this lesson you will learn how to apply texture effects to the shield. You will learn how to create small imperfections in the metal and add shadows for contrast.

In this lesson you will learn how to paint and detail the hilt of the sword. First we will block in the major shadows and highlights to add form, then  we will draw in some smaller texture details. 

In this lesson you will learn how to paint the handle of the sword. We will first create a small segment of the handle that we will repeat to create that entire section. Then we will apply shadows and highlights over the top of it to finish the look. Then you will learn how to check and fix any alignment issues by using Layers.

In this lesson you will learn how to paint the blade of the sword. You will also learn how to cut the blade portion from the painting and adjust the alignment by using the Distort feature. You will also see how we can change the taper of the sword very easily with this tool.

In this lesson you will learn how to paint the skin tone using the Smooth Watercolor brush and the Airbrush. I will also show you how to create a light source with the Highlight brush.

In this lesson you will learn how to paint the face and sculpt the features. I will cover how to add subtle shifts from dark to light to create a feminine look. You will also learn how to set up multiple windows in reverse from one another to spot flaws in the design.

In this lesson you will learn how to select from the existing paint work and blend the transitions. As well as make mental notes of what needs to be fixed and slowly adjust the work.

In this lesson we discuss how the small changes at the end can really start to fix the problems areas left in the painting. You will also learn how angles can help you to see and adjust flaws in the work.

In this lesson you will learn how to create and utilize the Quick Mask feature to edit your work. This combined with the Mesh Transformation tool is highly effectively for adjusting parts of the artwork.

In this lesson you will learn some other useful ways to touch up the artwork. First we will change the cape from a blue to a deep red simply by using the Hue / Saturation / Luminosity slider under the Tonal Correction tab. Then I will show you how to grab an area that is already painted and use it for the knee guard to save time painting it from scratch.

In this lesson you will learn how to add in some smaller details to the work. You will then learn how to combine all the character layers together while still preserving the Layers and Selection Layers for any last minute edits.

In this lesson you will learn how to tighten up the edges by working on a new layer over top of the merged copy. We will then select from the existing painting by using the ALT key to access the Eye Dropper tool. You will also learn how to create hard edge shadows and blend them into the work.

In this lesson you will learn how to load your selections from the saved layers. You will also learn how to combine them to select more of the character at one time. With those in place we will add in some more lighting effects by sampling from the scene itself and using Combine Modes with a new layer.

In this lesson you will learn how to apply contrast to the background to help push the character forward on the canvas. We will also be blurring parts of the background as well as adjusting the Saturation. This will also help to push the character off the canvas and direct the viewer.

In this lesson you will learn how to apply some final highlights to the character to add depth to the scene. White is very powerful and can push the eyes through the scene. Just make sure to use it sparingly or you can hurt the artwork.

In this lesson you will learn how to apply some post processing effects to the work. These are the final touches before giving the work to the client or adding it to our portfolio. Will will continue to adjust the Saturation and Blur of various areas in the work.