To all photoshop drawing people out there

[Doomsday]

...what method do you use for lining your drawings? I use the pen tool + stroke path method or the 'select the lines with pen tool and then fill the paths' method, but my drawings don't always come out right. Here's a good example of that:

That's done with the ''select the lines then fill the paths'' method, and it looks really edgy. I have been told it looks like a monster out of Zelda Wind Waker but I myself don't like this style much. If you still don't get what I mean, look at the vines.

As for the stroke path method, if I use it, the pic looks really bland. One thing I don't do (but should) is using different brush sizes when lining. Also what settings do you use on your brushes? I normally use the default ones but it will look dumb. I know you can customize your brushes to look more dynamic but i'm just godawful, lol.

So yeah, it'd be cool to have some tips from everyone.

 

[Bioshock]

Well I cant really help you but I know someone who can... Have you tried contacting M0nkfish? He is semi good alright and respectable with respect to photoshop.

 

[monkfish]

thanks,bioshock.

doomsday i do the same as you, if i am line drawing just stroke a brush over pen and then make selection on a layer beneath to fill in. if i dont want an outline i just make selection and smooth, although you could just stroke the same colour as your background with a small soft-edged brush.

really the pen is the quickest and easiest way to get lines exactly how you want them. just make sure you delete any unnecessary nodes since they will just complicate the line

 

[MythTrainerInfinity]

What version do you have? Also, do you have a tablet?

Based on the version you have you could look it up on Deviant Art and you'll be able to find a tutorial on it. There are plenty of tutorials on every version there to my knowledge.

http://browse.deviantart.com/resources/tutorials/appreference/photoshop/

 

[Doomsday]

I'm using photoshop CS (the first one), but I can get the latest version if i want, I'm just incredibly lazy. Unless it has some really inovative and/or must-have features, I'll keep using this one. I use my mouse!

One of my biggest problems is that I have no idea how to make brushes like this:

So if I use the stroke method together with 'Stimulate Pressure' my lines won't come out very good, since I use the default brushes.

 

[Backfall Genius]

Well you could always use the Lasso Tool. When I'm coloring and lighting, I color em in with the Lasso/Magnetic Lasso Tools. Then select it, inverse, create a channel, Gaussian Blur (9-6-3-1), Filter > Render > Lighting Effects and do the Blue Omni at the far left and far right. Its that easy! :D

 

[Lexay]

There should be overloads of brushes designed for drawing available for download on the net.

 

[monkfish]

its pretty easy to make your own brushes too, just make a grayscale psd file of the brush you want then edit->define brush preset and voila. here is a bubble brush i made for underwater scenes:

 

[Soy-Monk]

Ah, so that's how you make your own brushes. Always wondered about that. Thanks for that tidbit of knowledge.

 

[darkie]

Doomsday, how did you line the bulbasaur posted above? I've always tried to mimic that Wind-Waker style, but I've never been so successful with that.

 

[Doomsday]

well I scanned the sketch, used the pen tool to select the lines (not going over them, actually select them. be sure to have a gigantic sized pic) and then i filled with black. I dont like the 'wind waker' style much, though. that bulbasaur looked much better in sketch :(

 

[The.Lost.Hylian]

How do you make your outline vary like it does, going from thick to thin?

 

[darkie]

when you say 'actually selecting them', do you mean as if each line was a shape and not a line?

 

[Doomsday]

yeah, you go around them with the pen tool