AzPainter Linux 2.x painting tutorial

Feb 12, 201811 min read

Deviation Actions

Published: Feb 12, 2018

7.9K Views

HELLO!

This tutorial explain basic usages and some techniques with character painting together! It assuming that you decided picture image and completed sketch.
I am Japanese people so you might find some misses in sentences, sorry! I made it with many screenshots to easy to learn. Making tutorial in English brought me the good time for study.

(Background will be deleted. sorry)

INDEX

please skip if you understand the content

01: Make line art
02: Make color layers
03: Shading
04: Lighting
05: Something(?)

Extra: Brush customize & Finger/Blur

01: Make line art as you like

Drawing brush used as line art can be any. let's draw with your favorite brush(es)!
This section tells you my drawing style with use basic pencil brush. (see Extra section to make pencil brush)

Create a new layer to separate sketch and line art
:thumb:
Enter any name, check the type it is Alpha value only and change color (it's just to distinguish layers)

:thumb:

Before go to coloring, merge two line art layers by checking

Erase overlapped lines in merged layer
:thumb:
Change different color to black

DONE!!

02: Make color layers

There are some patterns of making color layer.

One character in single layer <--> Separate layers as parts
If layers are separated as parts, it's easy to change part color(ex: red hair -> blue hair) so if you want to make many coloring patterns or still cannot decide character coloring, you should separate them. This times is made with single layer.

Fill outline of parts first, click the space with fill tool to fast painting.
We might have to take some processes with own hands to paint finely because fill program of AzPainter isn't so smart than other painting software.

To change color by painting from above, use Keep Alpha value option by layer window.

At the end, use Adjustment of RGB, Level, HSV to fix coloring.

03: Shading

Make a grayscale layer for shading.
Similar to section 01, check two color layers (uncheck from other layers!) and merge them to a new Grayscale layer. then change color to white since most shading layers are used in Multiplication blend mode.

Paint shades with keep alpha value option, and make stereoscopic effect of dragon scales and items

When you make a picture that has depth, back side doesn't need fine stereoscopic effect much because all of screen would have confusion if shaded in back side finely. Make finely only front side such as dragon's head and the kid.
Paint shades while checking by switching layer mode Normal to Multiplication.

After shading was completed, change layer type Grayscale to Full color and adjust coloring with use Level/RGB adjustment!

Port05 Port00another-shading by 0xconfig

04: Lighting

Lighting is processed like a shading. This layer filled by black, and set in Screen mode. then add some highlights.

This layer doesn't make me know well completed image if set Normal mode so I progress it with keep Screen mode. Addition is also okay but it is stronger than Screen. Choose modes as you like.

While blend with shading layer and check, basic painting was completed!!

05: Something(?)

This basic painting image makes me feel too vivid. I decrease saturation by put an Alpha value only layer between shading and coloring. (If you feel this good at now, this process doesn't be needed)
And this section will introduce skills that I often use to make it looks well!

Copy by a Shading or Lighting layer and change layer type to Alpha value only, and change color as you like(blue is cold, orange is warm. green is natural)

Draw forgotten shoelaces on Line art layer and change line color to brown (I had planned to draw this with different style...)

Make such layer and set on above of Line art layer with Softlight 50%

Paint shadow of ground to Shadow layer in lowest place (optionally)

COMPLETED!!

Do Save and Save as PNG to export because merging layers may make bad effect to visual.

Extra: Brush customize

It's an introduction of brushes used in this tutorial:

Splash and Blot can be used in painting water, starry sky, blood, traditional style art, and many effects:

Since I received request about way of use Finger and Blur mode, I write here what I think how to use them.
Basic smoke(or fire) tutorial with Finger mode and a way of Blur mode:

Finger and Blur doesn't have basic setting (pressure/random/water/brush shape) excluding size and density but texture and ruler can be enabled with option window so setting them will bring you many ways of expression!
(In fact, I don't use them often in illustrating basically. Those function may be able to help you at abstract art or realistic painting)

My recommendation of shortcut keys: