Creating model sheets - the character.

To make my model sheets I've used a range of different programs for different things. I started off by scanning in a light sketch of the front, back and side views of my character complete with proportion guidelines.

Firstly I drew out the linework in FireAlpaca. I like using this program for lineart most because of its simplicity, user-friendliness and the correction feature.

Then I decided to bring the drawing into Paint Tool Sai. This is my preferred software for colouring because it's designed to lend a painterly, traditional look to your art, whether it's markers, pencil or paint. I set the eraser to the same brush settings in order to get that smooth but streaky look to the body of my character.

With the initial layer of colouring done, I chose a fuzzy setting on the watercolour brush and painted beneath the layer, darkening it up and adding more texture.

Since the hands and head are a lot more solid than the rest of this character's body, I chose to colour those in block white with the standard pen. I temporarily turned the lines white to make the cleanup of messy edges easier.

The result so far:

At this point I brought the image into Photoshop. The fully black linework makes the design look a little flat so, locking the transparency on the line layers, I've used a soft, chalky brush on white to make certain lines stand out more; also towards the bottom of the body I've done the same so that it looks more transparent/spectral.

The result:

At this stage I'm ready to design the model sheet itself!