Post #681342 by Gene S Morgan on Sun, Jun 9, 2013 7:16 PM

No I did not drop dead even though I predicted the possibility. I a little trip out of town to a Richard Thompson concert kept me away from my computer for a couple of days, so I fell behind in my post. But I'm back now .... On with more SketchClub fun ....

Next I chose a soft brush like an airbrush. Notice that at the bottom of the brush menu the word “on” is selected. This method allows a more free brush technique because it keeps your strokes from falling off the edge of your image. See those little fuzzy things on the edge of the cheeks. That was a case of me forgetting to change the method to on. I'll fix it later.

With the brush size up a bit and the darkness on the low side, I do some shading. A real artist would decide which way the light is coming from and shade only the other side. But we all know I'm not a real artist. I'm just shading to establish some form. I brush around the eyes and under the nose and around the edge. Notice I have shut off the mirror feature at this time, because we need more variation and randomness.

With a smaller brush I go over the image again and darken strong areas like the brow and under the nose. Think of where shadows would fall on a carving. You are starting to turn the cartoon into a more 3 dimensional shape.

Now for the magic smudge tool. Smudge is a little hard to explain. It is kinda like a chalk artist rubbing edges to smooth out the lines. That is our goal, to soften and shape our cartoon lines. In the case of smudge the right slider controls the strength of the effect. Too strong and too many pixels get moved. It looks like runny paint. Not a good look.

I have used the smudge on the nose. Notice how the lines are smoothed and shaped. Compare how the nose looks different from the mouth. Like I say, less cartoony.

Now I have smudged the upper mouth and teeth. This may be one of the hardest techniques to learn if you have never painted before. But if you work at it, things should get easier with practice.

The whole tiki is now smudged. You can see that what started as rough cartoon has taken on a 3D look. It almost looks carved. That is really the basis for all pictorial art. The goal is to create the feeling of shape on a flat canvas.

A closer look at the eye and bridge of the nose shows just how simple the basic process is. Shading one edge of an object and then smoothing the lines and the shading creates an impression of volume in an object. Of course real artist (unlike me) have all kinds of tricks up their sleeves to make objects look real.