Comic Art
Last Updated: 2007-01-25 21:29:24

STEP 1: Pencil Drawing

The first step of course is to do a pencil sketch. In this case I had a request for a picture of the She-Hulk. I came up with the idea of her having changed into the She-Hulk and how it would affect her clothing. So I sat down and did a little thumbnail sketch and when I settled on the look I wanted, I did the finished pencils.

STEP 2: Creating a Blue Line Image

Because I may want to sell the pencil sketch at some time I decided not to ink over these pencils. So I want to create a blue line copy of my pencils to ink over.

I try to work at 600 dpi when doing work that is to be printed. So I scan my pencils in at 600dpi, Grey scale. I then open up my scan in PhotoShop change the mode to CMYK (since this is going to be printed)
IMAGE>MODE>CMYK,
and then go
IMAGE>ADJUSTMENTS>HUE/SATURATION.

I make sure "Colorize" is checked and mess with the hue and saturation till I get a nice clean blue version of my pencils.

I then print this image on a piece of plate finish bristol board (I find plate is a better surface for inking than most other types of bristol board).

STEP 3: Inking or Line Art

I then "ink" the drawing. I use a 103 mapping point pen using Speed ball superblack india ink. I also use a Windsor and Newton Series 7 #2 Brush on some projects but for this drawing all I used was the 103.

I find that when I start using the 103 I have a habit of just going ahead and finishing the whole drawing with the 103. So if I work on a project that calls for something other than the 103, I tell myself to start with the brush or marker that I need, then finish up with the 103 mapping point pen.

Some artists prefer to use a 102 pen, but it feels like drawing with a nail to me, so I'd rather use a marker than resort to the 102. The 103 is more flexible than the 102 and I find it suits most if not all of my needs.

After the ink dries you should have something that looks like what is pictured.

STEP 4: Clean Up Inks

Now I want to remove those blue colored pencil lines and leave the wonderful ink work I just did.

To do this I scan in the inked over blue line drawing. This time I only scan it in at 300 dpi.

I only scan it in at 300dpi because I'm not going to print this picture. I'm making a desktop image to be placed on the web. Web graphics are only 72dpi so I don't need the huge file size accosiated with a 600dpi image, but I do want some quality, so I scan at 300dpi, RGB color (Web graphics are also RGB and not CMYK).

Open it in PhotoShop and go,
IMAGE>ADJUSTMENTS>REPLACE COLOR

I select the blue color and set the "lightness" to 100. This in effect replaces the blue color with white.

You need to be sure that you have selected all the blue so I select the darkest blue, set the lightness, then I Shift/click over any remaining blue until I have a clean black and white "inked" drawing.

Now you may notice that there may be some large areas that need to be filed with black or there may be some inked mistakes (who me?) that need to be fixed. Now is the time to do this. Use basic tools like the paint bucket (for fills) and the eraser tool (for fixing mistakes).

STEP 5: Setting Up Your Ink Layer in PhotoShop

Now that I have a nice clean "inked" image, I'll want to set it up for coloring.

First I duplicate the "inked" layer. I'll name this layer "inks" and set the blending mode to "Multiply". This is the most important step of the whole process.

You set the blending mode on the layers pallette on the upper left side of the pallette.

I then create a new layer set and call it "Colors". This is where I will place all my color layers. To do this simply click on the folder icon at the bottom of the layers pallette. Put this layer below the ink layer. Otherwise, you will be coloring over your inks!

STEP 6: Coloring in PhotoShop

I create a new layer (placed inside the colors layer set of course) and name it flesh. Since the She-Hulk is green I pick a nice mid tone green and using the Pencil tool I fill in the area where the She-Hulk's skin will be.

I use the pencil tool because it does not give you any gradients. I want a nice FLAT green here. This stage is similar to coloring in a coloring book.

Click on the thumbnail image to the right for a nice sized screen shot of this process. Look at your layers palette. Does it look exactly like the one in the image to the right? If not you need to change it to look exactly this way.

STEP 7: Continue With Each Element

Now I do the same for each element in the drawing. I'll make a new layer, call it "Hair" and color in the hair, then the same for the clothes, etc. I do this until all the elements have a nice flat color on them.

Don't forget to create a "White" layer for the eyes and what have you.

STEP 8: Adding Depth with PhotoShop

Now I add the highlights and darks to give this image some depth.

I begin by selecting the color burn tool or the color dodge tool (depending on if I want to add darks or highlights).

I select the layer (in the layers pallette) and start burning or highlighting where needed. The results look like what is pictured on the right.

STEP 9: Finishing Up

Now to finish up all I do is slap the fully colored image over the top of an image I had previously made in photo shop and walla' you have your new She-Hulk desktop wallpaper pattern.