Here is a video that walks through the process of using Path tool in GIMP to have a similar approach as you would do with a Polygon select tool in Adobe Photoshop.

• Software: GIMP (or Adobe Photoshop)
• Level: Intermediate
• Subject: Homer Simpson

Few days back, Billie had asked, how would one paint Homer Simpson. He is a cartoon character of the Simpsons animated series, and the subject is more apt for a cut-edge shading.

The Simpsons is an animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for Fox Broadcasting Company. Homer Simpson is the man of the Simpsons family. He is fat, clumsy and a little dim on wit.

The video is showing the process. I have given narration, explaining things as I am doing. I found that it is actually a bit hard to speak and draw/paint at the same time - so you have to pardon me when I drag some words.

Here is the final image:

Disclaimer: This is a study in digital art, and I do not claim the copyright over the ‘Homer Simpson’ character. The rights over the character are held by Matt Groening and Fox Broadcasting Company.

If you would like me to do tutorials, studies or walkthroughs on other subject, do not hesitate to use the comment area or my contact form. Be updated by subscribing to KalaaLog.com feeds or use the email subscription form.

• Software: Inkscape (or Adobe Illustrator or Corel DRAW)
• Level: Advanced
• Subject: Lady Justitia

I got inspired to do this work when Rizky asked how would one do vector art of Lady Justitia.

Lady Justice is a personification of the legal system. She is often depicted as a blindfolded goddess holding a sword and a scale.

Here is a walk-through of my attempt using Inkscape - consisting of a set of images and the screen capture video. You should be able reproduce similar results using other vector editors too.

Concepts

Doing thumbnails and sketches has almost become a regular in my work-flow.

After a pretty rough doodling in GIMP, I do a clean sketch in GIMP itself.

Flats

Having a solid base color for each of the parts becomes quite easy later on while adding details. Thus, I take time to create shapes and order them properly in Inkscape. (I import the sketch as a guide for shape construction).

The video is quite long - it is actually a play list of a few of them. You will see how I keep shuffling the order of the sketch, using it as a guide, to create the different shapes.

Details

After the flats are done, the details are added as smaller shapes with either solid colors or gradients.

Detailing the reflective scales is not that different from the study done for Painting A Golden Amulet.

A similar approach is followed for the sword too.

The fine details of the hair, and the strong highlights completes the detailing of the subject.

Final Artwork

Here is the final artwork.

Check out the deviantART entry for a larger version.

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If you would like to see me do a vector illustration or a digital painting, you can use the comment form below, or drop me a line.

For the past few days, my day job has been eating a lot of my time. But that does not mean I need to stop doing what I like - and any time is a good time for some practice.

This was a digital painting study I did, which took only about six or seven minutes. The painting was done using GIMP and Wacom Intuos3 graphics tablet.

Speed painting done in Photoshop. It took around 10-12 minutes.

For a larger version, check the deviantART entry: Polar Bear

This video gives the work process I go through while creating a digital painting. A similar process was followed for the tutorials I posted recently.

The painting is not quite polished - but I tried keeping it short and quick.

You can see a larger image at the deviantART entry.

Once a concept sketch and line art is done, the next step is to choose colors. I use the earlier sketch, clean up a little bit of the line art, and then apply the flat colors.

Color Choice

Here you can see the color palette I chose for this particular character.

The choice of skin tone is usually given in the initial description you come up with - if not, go with your imagination. For the attire, choose the colors based on the type and mood of the character. Gnomes are associated with earthly greens and browns. Also, I took the base colors to be on the pastel tones as that too provided the mood I wanted.

I will post the artworks and other stuff related to project as and when I spend some effort on this - keep yourself updated by subscribing to KalaaLog.com feeds (or using the email subscription).

This is the final part of the Cel Style Shading video tutorials.

See Part 1 for application of flat colors and Part 2 for shadows.

In this video, we see how we can apply the shadow tones over the flat colors.