Lineless Tutorial V.2

Here is what I usually start with. I draw my sketches traditionally, then have them scanned and crop them on FireAlpaca. I use FireAlpaca to draw digitally. On the right you can see two layers- the sketch layer, and a new layer above it. This is where I start drawing over the sketch.

I line what would be the "base" of the drawing, and that would be Hershi's fur since it takes up a considerable amount of space and helps me position everything else.

Then I fill it in. It's kind of like a "color by number" activity. I make a new layer for each "block" of color I line and fill in, and even share some layers if the two colors (shapes/ objects) aren't too close to each other or would be in the same layer.

Here, you can see the layers I have made to the right. There are 5 layers by now (not 6- 1 and 2 got merged. 1 was a white layer I put below the sketch layer) and you can sort of see what goes where. Here on the layer with his hair, I have added little lined details to create a distinction between his bangs and his cowlick.

(You can see there is a tab called "slyshi.png". This is just a drawing of Hershi I've made in the past that I am using for color reference.)

Now here I am showing how to add details to a layer without having to continuously clean it because the details keep being drawn outside the layer. I use "Protect Alpha", which makes it so you cannot draw outside the layer. I drew a blue arrow pointing to it to the right.

(There is another new tab here called "uglysweater.png". This is a drawing I made for ugly sweater week maybe 2 years ago for the beauty contest. I like to reference the outfit in this image a lot and here I will be drawing it again.)

I draw the details on his cream ends all on one layer. Doesn't mean you can't have them on multiple layers, but more layers can get a bit confusing. My latest Easter drawings reached 20+ layers each, which is more than I usually do/ am comfortable with. It all comes down to preference.

I start on his sweater. To the right you will see there is a highlighted layer. This is the arm of the sweater. The body is in Layer 5, and it is sharing the layer with one of his antennae stalks and the shaded part of his hair. Below the arm, on Layer 5, I make a line around it so they do not "merge" with each other, being the same color.

The details. I use Protect Alpha on Layer 8 (the arm) to contain the design and keep it from being drawn outside the layer. Same with Layer 5, although most of the design is contained.

You will notice, or have noticed, that I have a "lock" icon on my layers. When I am done with a layer, I "lock" it so that I do not accidentally draw on, erase, or mess with the layer at all. I will of course unlock it if I need to make adjustments or use the layer for another part of the drawing.

Finally I do the face. I don't always do the face last- it depends on what I want to focus on in the drawing first. Layer 10 are the lines for his eyes and mouth. Below that, Layer 11, are the cream markings on his face. Below that, Layer 3, I color in his eye whites. I made them in separate layers so that they do not disturb each other (I have had issues in the past where the markings would destroy the lines for his eyes, lol)

You can also see I added some sparkles in his hair. This is just an aesthetic choice. It is done on the same layer as the hair. Doesn't it make him look cute?

Here is the final product. You can see I added some light to his cheeks and shadow above where his nose should be. It makes his face look less flat and even cuter, hehe ^_^