decided it was time for a change to my Desktop screenie, since the other one was...what, 3 years old or something? lol

this is a progress shot of the CG I'm working on now. It isn't anywhere near done....XD;;

here's the sketch: [link]

weird, huh? lol yeah, I do like this style though. it's fun, and quite different, I feel. XDD


I feel like it's been ages since I've done a 'serious' CG, but I've learned a lot about the whole thing, and I thought, since this shows my methods a bit, I should give some CG tips I found helpful.

- Apple+Alt is your best friend. makes blending easier.

- I always shade with an 'odd' brush, it gives the overall pic more character and looks more original, even though with this CG I am going for a more processed feel. here I am using a sort of clear, square brush. *leventep's brush set is amazing, I highly recommend it.

- you may notice her skin is flatted in green. why? this actually gives blending and picking out colors a much better effect in the end, and will make what colors you choose stand out more. it's rare that nowadays I'd choose a 'normal' base color to CG. complementary colors are your friend.

- color theory in 3 simple steps: light and dark, warm and cool, and complementaries. that's all there is to it, it's just in how you use it.

- I never really rely completely on my sketch. I block out the major parts, and then improve it as I go, looking back every now and again to make sure the idea is similar.

- WORK WITH TWO WINDOWS OPEN AT ONCE. an amazing tip I learned from something *Maidith said once. it makes it easier to tie in the image if you're doing a lot of small detail work and making sure everything goes together nicely. OH to do this in PS CS3, you need to go to Window>>Arrange>>New Window for file.psd haha, it's hard to find by yourself...well, it took me a while to figure it out, anyway. XD;;

- umm...what I'm doing on here is not something I normally do...I like to usually work on the entire pic at once so that it's more cohesive, but I decided to do it differently this time and work in parts...not a good idea, but I wanted to make sure I don't get lazy later on and cut corners like I normally do.

- okay, group masks. masking is wonderful if you understand it. It confused me for the longest time, but it's actually much better than locking layers. here, the main silhouette is masked as a group, so I can safely work on the inside parts without going outside the lines and worrying about if I locked the layer or not, which I always forget to do. also, so you can add more layers to a single mask. helpful stuff. later on for things like the hair and other accessories I'll just make a group over it, etc, etc.

umm...I dunno, I'm forgetting a lot but that's okay. just felt the random urge to pass on some tips I found useful....er...yeah, take 'em or leave 'em, but they're there.

haha...maybe I should do a tutorial at some point...XD;;

Finished Piece: [link]

....TOUCH THE FLYING PIG!!!!!!!!!

+.03 H Mech Pencil+Photoshop CS3+

Art © me.