More Handclaps!

Howdy!

My name is Lizzy. I live in LA and like to draw things.
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(Photoshop is a pretty daunting program, so I’m going to start posting a few of the tips I’ve picked up over the years. If there’s anything you really want to see, let me know!) Have you ever resized a file in Photoshop in order to save out an image? Only to then save over the original file with the resized, itty bitty version? Or maybe you just want to make sure your image is optimized so your website/game/etc. runs as smoothly as possible (and still looks good). This is where the Save for Web & Devices tool comes in! First, open up the file you want to save out. Next, go to File > Save for Web & Devices. A window like this should pop up! . . . . It might look complicated at first, but it’s easy peasy, I promise. Let’s break it down! . . . . A) What file type do you want to save out your image as? If you’re doing a PNG-24 (my favorite), make sure you check (or uncheck) “Transparency.” You don’t get that option with JPEG. B) Quality! A JPEG option. If you are trying to reduce the file size, you can slide this down and check how it looks in the preview box. C) Image Size! You can reduce the size by typing in either a pixel measurement or percentage. I switched the width to 600 px in this example (or 55.5%). D) File Size! This lets you know how big the file is ultimately going to be. Really helpful if you are trying to keep everything user friendly. If a file is still too big, play with the quality and image size options until you’re happy. One other cool thing you can also do is compare different file types/qualities next to each other by clicking the 4-Up (or 2-Up) tab. . . . . You can’t really see the differences in this tiny thumbnail, but it is a neat feature, TRUST ME. And that’s it! When you’re done, just click that glowing Save button and presto! I only covered PNG/JPEG pictures here, but you can do GIFs this way, too, and play with the amount of colors/diffusion/dithering/etc (but that is more complicated). *Just a note: as the name implies, this is only meant for low resolution, web friendly images. If you’re saving out a ginormous, 300 dpi image intended for print, just do it the old fashioned way. 

(Photoshop is a pretty daunting program, so I’m going to start posting a few of the tips I’ve picked up over the years. If there’s anything you really want to see, let me know!)

Have you ever resized a file in Photoshop in order to save out an image? Only to then save over the original file with the resized, itty bitty version? Or maybe you just want to make sure your image is optimized so your website/game/etc. runs as smoothly as possible (and still looks good).

This is where the Save for Web & Devices tool comes in!

First, open up the file you want to save out. Next, go to File > Save for Web & Devices.

A window like this should pop up!

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It might look complicated at first, but it’s easy peasy, I promise. Let’s break it down!

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A) What file type do you want to save out your image as? If you’re doing a PNG-24 (my favorite), make sure you check (or uncheck) “Transparency.” You don’t get that option with JPEG.

B) Quality! A JPEG option. If you are trying to reduce the file size, you can slide this down and check how it looks in the preview box.

C) Image Size! You can reduce the size by typing in either a pixel measurement or percentage. I switched the width to 600 px in this example (or 55.5%).

D) File Size! This lets you know how big the file is ultimately going to be. Really helpful if you are trying to keep everything user friendly. If a file is still too big, play with the quality and image size options until you’re happy.

One other cool thing you can also do is compare different file types/qualities next to each other by clicking the 4-Up (or 2-Up) tab.

.

.

.

.

You can’t really see the differences in this tiny thumbnail, but it is a neat feature, TRUST ME.

And that’s it! When you’re done, just click that glowing Save button and presto! I only covered PNG/JPEG pictures here, but you can do GIFs this way, too, and play with the amount of colors/diffusion/dithering/etc (but that is more complicated).

*Just a note: as the name implies, this is only meant for low resolution, web friendly images. If you’re saving out a ginormous, 300 dpi image intended for print, just do it the old fashioned way. 

#photoshop  #tips and tricks  #tutorial  
March 21, 2012 at 01:33pm
85 notes & Comments

Anonymous asked: in your garchomp drawing did you use textures or a brush to make it look like that? its so good uguuuuuu


It’s a brush that I got from baysalt who got it from here! It’s the 65pt brush called “sdfg 2” and is pretty baller.

For the lines I used the “Round 3 pt” pencil from the Stumpy Pencil set. That is my go to sketch brush for EVERYTHING.

#Anonymous  #tutorial  #ask  
March 10, 2012 at 11:23pm
12 notes & Comments

Anonymous asked: JUST WHAT brush do you use!?


I switch up brushes all da time, Anon! Here are the main ones I use, though:

- The Stumpy Pencil set (this is my favorite at the moment)

- Even more pencil brushes!

- fox-orian’s brush set (I’ve only used a few of these, but look how organized it is!)

- Kakimari’s Brush (for something smoother)

Oh, and the default Oil Pastel Large brush in Photoshop is great, too. I can be more specific if you give me a particular drawing you are curious about.

#tutorial  
August 14, 2011 at 10:06am
43 notes & Comments
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I’ve gotten a few requests for more tutorials, so here ya go! This one is kinda massive. It covers my basic coloring process and showcases my love for clipping masks. Onward! (OK, I cannot get the “Read More” thing to work, but I TRIED I AM SORRY.) 1) Here’s what we’re starting out with. Let’s break it down - a layer for my (sketchy) lines, one for the flat orange color, and one for the details (the colors on the eyes and mouth). Ignore that Layer 1. It is just a sketch of a booby lady I forgot to delete. ANYWAY. 2) Time for some SHADING. Now, this is quick cel shading, but the process I’m about to go through can still apply to fancier techniques. Create a new layer. Make sure it’s above the layer you want to apply shading to and right-click. A menu should pop-up. Click “Create Clipping Mask.” Start shading with your color of choice! Everything on that layer stays within the bounds of the layer below it. Super handy! 3) Time to lay down some GRADIENTS. Create a new clipping mask above your last layer and set it to Multiply. Use the Gradient Tool (hold down the Paint Bucket tool to bring it up) with the setting on Foreground to Transparent. I used the same color as I did for the shading layer, but you can play around with it. Fiddle around with the type of gradient, opacity, etc. until you find something you like. 4) Guess what time it is? Time for MORE GRADIENTS. The last layer gave you some more complex shadows. This layer is going to add some highlights. Create a new clipping mask. Set the layer to Overlay. Pick a light color (I used a pale yellow). Go to town! For shinier objects, you might want to add another Overlay layer and actually draw where you want the light to be (like the shading layer we made earlier). I just wanted a subtle highlight/range of color, so I didn’t bother on this picture. If Overlay isn’t working for you, try Screen or Soft Light or another style. Play around! 5) The black outlines were bugging me by this point, so I created a clipping mask above the “lines” layer. Using a dark orange, I colored over the areas I didn’t want to be black (namely everything but the eyes and markings). You can also do this using the Opacity Lock (more on this later), but I make too many mistakes for that, personally. 6) You know what this cat needs? A mothereffing RAINBOW COAT. I want him to look like a goddamn Neopet. But wait - that orange shading layer we made before. How do I make that work with his new and improved fur? First, look at your Rainbow. Are the colors more warm? Or cool? There’s a lot of blue happening, so I’m gonna say cool. Now, pick a blueish gray color (if you had said warm, you would be picking a reddish gray). 7) Select that pesky orange shading layer. Lock the transparency (what I labeled Opacity Lock in the picture because I am bad with names). Using the shape tool (I like to use a square, sans paths), drag it over your entire picture. Your orange should now be that gray! But… how does that help? Set the layer to Multiply. Beautiful! You can use this technique for regular shading, too, if you don’t want to pick the color yourself. I set my rainbow layer’s Opacity down at this point, as well. Don’t want him to look too tacky now. And that’s it! A basic rundown of my coloring process. If you are hankering for a specific tutorial, just let me know!

I’ve gotten a few requests for more tutorials, so here ya go! This one is kinda massive. It covers my basic coloring process and showcases my love for clipping masks. Onward!

(OK, I cannot get the “Read More” thing to work, but I TRIED I AM SORRY.)

Read More

#tutorial  #tips and tricks  #photoshop  
July 25, 2011 at 06:58pm
68 notes & Comments

Photoshop Tip #2


OK! Now that we’ve got the basics down, let’s do some more basics!! Sketching, inking, and a nifty selection trick for laying down flats, mainly. (I keep trying to put a cut here, but Tumblr won’t let me, so I apologize to your Dash).

Alright, so you have a new document in Photoshop ready to go - now what? You can import a scanned sketch (I uh don’t do that, so I can’t really help you there), OR just start sketching straight in the program (this is what I do).

Make sure you aren’t on your background layer when you start sketching! Make a new one. Lock those other ones up if you gotta (with the little lock icon in the layer panel - I will get to the other buttons in another post). I have drawn on the wrong layer far too many times. And still do. It is infuriating. Naming your layers is also a good practice to be in and can help avoid this problem (sorta).

Anyway!

I like to use blue when I sketch - anything different than the inking color, really. Once you’re done with a rough sketch, make a new layer.

I set my sketch layer to roughly 50% opacity, make sure I’m on the inking layer, and just… go at it. I included my brush settings in this picture, but I only now realized you can’t read that for shit, so my bad. I will cover brushes later, haha. I am the best teacher ever!

OK, so you are done inking. Time to lay down some base colors!

This next tip comes courtesy of my friend Krista - who is practically Deviantart royalty, so she knows what she’s talking about, kids.

Make a new layer. Whip out the Magic Wand tool - make sure “Sample All Layers” is checked up at the top. Click the part you want to color (like the body, shirt, hair, whatever). If your lineart is solid, marching ants will appear in the correct area - you can play with the tolerance/fiddle with the lines some more if it isn’t.

OK, this is the cool part. Once you’ve selected something, go to Select > Modify > Expand Selection. A popup will… popup. Expand your selection by 2 pixels (that’s my standard anyway - use your own digression depending on how thick your lines are).

Now throw some color down with the Paint Bucket!

If you hadn’t expanded the selection, you’d have had a weird line appear when you tried to use the paint bucket (not pretty). There are still some spots I have to fill in myself/refine, but much easier than coloring in the whole thing by hand, huh? To get rid of the selection, press Ctrl + D (Cmd + D).

Alright, that’s the gist of it. You’ll want to use this same process for each color you do (you can do everything on one layer, but I am a fan of using AS MANY LAYERS AS POSSIBLE).

Let me show you one more cool trick, though.

Holy shit, dino on dino action! Let’s say you want 2 windows up of the same document. Maybe I want to see how the whole picture will look while I work up close and personal on dino nostril. Maybe I want to see how a picture looks on 2 different monitors (this is what I primarily do).

To bring up another window, go to Window > Arrange > New Window for blahblah.psd. Any changes you make to one window will immediately affect the other. Pretty neat!

OK, that’s the end of this post. I’ll probably cover clipping masks in the next one. Questions/comments go! (?)

#photoshop  #tutorial  #tips and tricks  
June 01, 2011 at 06:42pm
62 notes & Comments

Photoshop Tip #1


Before I can get to the fun stuff, I should probably go over the basics. This post will cover how I set my files up - resolution, background color… the trivial, boring stuff, if you will. 

Alright! Let’s open up a new Photoshop file. Now, what does this stuff all mean?

1) How big you want the image. You can go with a Preset (I saved my own since I work on this size a lot), or choose whatever numbers you fancy. You can always crop the image or increase the canvas size, so don’t fret about this too much.

2) Resolution - probably the most important part of this popup. If you are planning on creating something for print (or if you like to work big), choose 300 DPI. If you are creating dinky little tutorial images that will only be viewed via the web, 72 DPI is fine. If you’re not sure, just go for 300 - you can always scale it down later. Scaling up? Never works well. A huge 300 DPI canvas might make your computer chug a bit, though, so keep that in mind. I could get into the RGB vs. CMYK issue, too, but I will keep this simple for now.

3) This determines the color of the background layer. By default it’s set to white, but you can make it transparent or a custom color if you wish. Not too important since we can always change that later.

Speaking of - this is more of a personal preference, but I haaaate drawing when the background layer is pure white. I generally create a new layer and fill it with a light, desaturated brown. The white tends to hurt my eyes, and I find myself relying on the white too much when I start coloring (using another color forces you to fill in every bit and piece). When I finish coloring and decide that, hey, I want a white background when I post this after all - just delete the brown layer and you’re all set.

OK, I will start getting into the juicy stuff next time, I promise. If you have anything to add/want to elaborate on, replies are on, dawg. (?)

#photoshop  #tutorial  #tips and tricks  
May 31, 2011 at 01:09pm
51 notes & Comments