| \r\n\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t |
This image series shows each of the frames at full size, along with some of the better sketches, and explains how I planned and approached their creation.
_______________________________________________________
Now for the juicy details.
The rendering was done in Photoshop using the following process:
1 - I set the sketch layer to use “Multiply” blending.
2 - I made a layer called “colors” underneath it and used a hard brush to
gave the characters and objects flat colors.
3 - Then I made a layer called “BG” above this,
used the magic wand to select the areas outside the objects and characters,
turned the selection into a layer mask,
and threw together a cheap background on that layer.
4 - (optional) I’d make a layer above the background layer and name it “mood”,
then I’d fill it with a radial gradient, set its blend to “hard light” and reduce its opacity.
This is a cheap way to add atmosphere.
5 - I made a layer called “shading” above the “colors” layer,
set its blending mode to “hard light”, and filled it with 50% gray.
6 - I used a large soft brush, with its flow set to 1%, and its spacing set to 2%.
I set my palette to 25% gray and 75% gray.
Then I shaded the picture.
( SHORTCUTS: [ and ] adjust brush size. X swaps palette colors. )
7 - I added iridescence to the shaded colors by duplicating the “shading” layer, inverting it,
using levels to make the shadow areas white and everything else black,
I copied this inverted image, hit “Q” to go into quick-mask mode, pasted it, and hit “Q” to exit quick-mask.
Then with this selection active, I created an adjustment layer above the “colors” layer
and shifted the hues down by -20.
I then deleted the inverted layer. (I only used it to select the shadows)
Iridescence makes the shading look better.
Many artists achieve this by shading with complementary colors.
But I’m lazy and just shade in grayscale and later shift the colors this way.
8 - The image is done. Now to add a couple cheap enhancements. The first is Bloom.
I selected the whole image, then hit CTRL+Shift+C (copy merged),
then pasted this above everything.
I set its opacity to 50% and gave it a gaussian blur of about 5.
9 - Then I added another cheap enhancement: Texture.
I created a layer called “texture” above everything, filled it with 50% gray, set its blend to “overlay”,
added noise (10% gaussian monochromatic noise),
gave it a gaussian blur of 2,
gave it a motion blur of 20 at any angle that looks good,
and sometimes set its opacity to 50%.
A finished frame has these layers:
- texture
- bloom
- lines
- mood
- BG
- shading
- iridescence
- colors
Then I just flattened it, resized it to 50% (bicubic sharper), and pasted it into a Garfield strip.
_______________________________________________________
For the sketches, I used this approach:
I start off by lightly drawing these generic figures.
I consider age and gender to get the proportions right.
I think about the personality and mood of each character and try to figure out the best pose to communicates these things.
To figure out the facial expressions, I sometimes draw simple faces off to the side. They're usually facing forward, but sometimes I do angles.
They only consist of:
- a circle
- a vertical line showing direction the face is pointing
- a horizontal curved line showing the tilt of the head, up or down
- eyelids
- eyes (dots)
- a mouth
The horizontal curved line going across shows whether the character's head is tilted up or down (which is part of the expression)
Once I have the poses I want, I refer to some reference material and draw the details that make the characters look like who they are.
The details are drawn on top of the sketch.
As I become more certain of the details, I draw them darker.
With a little erasing, the underlying sketch pretty much vanishes.
_______________________________________________________
My Approach for frame 7:
I started at the bottom-left. I tried to make Bunnie look dominant, I decided the pose looked too angry. Besides, Bunnie was supposed to be inviting Tails in, not blocking his way.
Then there was Amy. I was worried that her pose was too similar to Tails' pose, so I tried a few alternatives. I ultimately realized that it didn't matter since her facial expression completely changes the meaning of her pose.
I tried to make Tails look innocent and helpless. So I tilted his head down to help make him look innocent. I have him stand with his hips forward to contrast, and therefore exaggerate, the angle of his head.
But with Amy, I tilted her head down to make her look mischievous. And the forward thrust of her hips is supposed to convey arousal.
The overall expression of a character is mostly in their facial expression. Their body language only exaggerates it.
_______________________________________________________
My Approach for frame 8:
I tilted Bunnie's head down to look mischievous.
In contrast, I had Tails' head tilted up to help him look innocent and oblivious.
If you wonder why this works this way, think of the horizontal line going across the generic sketch head as the eyebrows. A downward tilt is a glare, and an upward tilt is innocent.
All the facial features, including the eyebrows, will follow this curve. That's why the tilt of the head affects the character's facial expression.
To show that Bunnie is inviting Tails, I have Bunnie pulling back the covers, with her front leg lowered.
To help make Tails seem oblivious to all that, I have him facing away, supposedly looking for a bed.
The first sketch I did was pretty good, but the angle was too high.
As for the fabric folds of the blanket.
That's hard to explain. I just sort of wing it.
I try to put the lines under the limbs that are under the covers.
They sort of outline the shapes underneath.
But mostly only where they bend the fabric a lot.
_______________________________________________________
My Approach for frame 9:
In this sketch you can see how I prototype facial expressions with the simple faces on the left.
I wanted it to look like Bunnie and Amy were crowding Tails. As if there were trying to all squeeze into a bed that was too small.
After a few tries, I discovered that it looked more crowded when the girls were facing away. Mainly the uncomfortable collision of arms.
I had them leaning into Tails because they're trying to get close to him.
Believe it or not, the strange lump in the covers in front of Tails is supposed to be his hands. But I accidentally placed it too far down.
As a result, it looks like it's caused by something else.
In retrospect, I think this is actually better, because this is when Tails starts to realize what's happening.
_______________________________________________________
My Approach for frame 10:
The sketch on the left was the first one. It was done on another piece of paper. I liked it so much, that I decided to add this to the comic. I really liked the idea of Tails being sandwiched like this.
This is one case where the original pose turned out to be the best one.
In fact, the final drawing would've been better if it had imitated the original sketch more closely.
I experimented a little, but decided that didn't want Amy's arm obstructing what was happening.
One advantage with the final sketch is that I could show Tails' member going into Amy. But I didn't realize that until after I had scanned and cleaned the sketch, so I just added it with Photoshop when I colored the shaded the picture.
To help show Amy's arousal, I have her fingering herself as she does this.
I tried to have Bunnie sort of reaching down at Tails as well, but there was no room with Amy there, and I didn't want to clutter the picture or make the pose confusing.
Again, I used a downward tilt to the girls' heads to convey mischief and dominance. And I had Tails' head tilt up innocently. That also helped convey his arousal.