TUTORIALS SUBMENU

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Step 1 - Getting Started
Right-o, for scanning purposes, I normally scan at about 400 - 600 DPI, with my scanner set up at 32 Brightness, 12 Contrast. This normally gets rid of most of the crappy smudges and guidelines (if you use them). Also, scan in GREYSCALE. Again, this gets rid of all your unwanted smudges and stuff. Once the image has been scanned, open it in Photoshop, and resize it to around 1000px - 1200px tall. This is based on personal preference, but it's a fair size to get a fair amount of detail.

You should have your canvas loking like this, though admittedly, this was a crap scan:

Step 2 - Inking your drawing
OK, fine, it's CK in a stolen pose. Leave me alone. I drew this at 2am. I have no imagination after 8pm. :P That and because this is as much an experimentation on my part as it is yours. ^^;

Right, next up, create a new layer on top of your lineart. This will be the layer you ink on. For the record, I don't usually ink digitally. I'm a pen and ink freak. It's just with the Sonic Battle style, digi-ink is the best way of getting the lineart down. It would also be a good idea to have a reference pic handy. Since this pose is copied, and because I've got the original, I'll use that. Plenty of websites on the net have Sonic Battle art references.

Note for the faint of heart - this takes a while. If you're expecting this to be a quick 20 minute long job, leave now. Most people make the assumption that the Sonic Team/Sonic Battle styles are fairly simple. They are quite the opposite. It takes a fair amount of time and effort.

Anyhoo, with references in tow, you can begin to ink the drawing. Using the Polygon Lasso Tool, and taking it one step at a time, begin to trace over your lines.

What you need to take into account is the sheer jagged-ness of the style, and the varying thickness of the lines. Curves are near nonexistant, and only occur in the eyes. Also, the thickest lines look best on the outline, and the thinner lines on the inside, so ink accordingly.

*Two hours, a dinner break, a nose bleed and one sore wrist later...*

Continue with that method, occasionally switching on/off your sketch layer to see how you're getting on, and to make adjustments. Once you're done, delete your original sketch layer, and you'll end up with something that looks a little like this: