Step Eleven: Dark Shadows

Once I was finished with the retouch on the head and body I added in the shadows. Shadows can be done in multiple ways: A separate layer with dark objects that are multiplied into the character (this makes the shadows seem flatter though), a separate layer with the shadow colors painted on to it (nicer but you might cover lines and such) and the shadows painted right into the image. One of the best ways to do this is to use the Toning (Dodge and Burn) tools. Photographers used to control the amount of exposure to get the same effects and the names have carried over. Dodge is lightening and Burn is darkening. Now that Photoshop 5.0 has unlimited undo they're not so scary to use anymore.
The original had some shadow problems. The light source was too close to the character so rather than having a spotlight effect it was more like a smaller lamp that was much closer. Although there were strong shadows and highlights in the hair and blouse there were only weak shadows on the skin There needs to be a consistency of shadows in order for an image to work correctly.

Step Twelve: Background

The original background was OK but I wanted to add an extra element of the feeling of movement into the image so I redid it. The original was made with the Difference Clouds with orange and yellow set as the colors and I did the same thing but I copied it into another layer and used the Motion Blur filter (90 degrees, 20 pixels) on it and multiplied the new layer into the old. I added in some little stars to give a more "glittery" feel to it. I didn't redo the lens flare because, considering the shadows, the light source would not be visible. Lens flare is an overused effect. Cinematographers work very hard to avoid lens flare except in rare circumstances and its overuse in animation, particularly in 3D animation, makes the animation look amateurish. Halation (the spread of light due to an anamorphic lens) is fine and an effect that many cinematographers and directors go out of their way to get.

Step Thirteen: Effects

I added some white airbrush effects to the highlights in the hair and eyes. I also copied the character, filled the visible parts of the new layer with white and used the Gaussian Blur filter to give a glow to her outline. I copied the glow layer once more to strengthen it up a bit. If I had been working on the final image I would have made some stars on a separate layer and rotated it so that all of them weren't exactly the same.
The final result is still rough but that's what I would have done as a study for this image. If I was doing a final illustration I would want to redraw the pose to get a more dynamic effect and redraw at least the hair with pencil. I would also make sure the head was the right size in comparison to the body. I'd bring the image into Painter and outline all the colored areas, like the ruffles, with colored pencil to give a better line.

	Original		Modified

In conclusion:

The new version is a bit better than the original but there is still a good way to go. There is no such thing as a perfect illustration - there is always something that can be modified. Keep going until you feel it is the best possible image that you can make.

Editor's Note: For those of you asking for critiques of fan art, Scott has agreed to critique a drawing or two every other issue or so, as his schedule permits. If you are interested in having this done, please send e-mail to phoenix@apricot.com with your request and how the drawing was done. Do not send the image until you are asked to do so.