ALLAN MACDONALD
SIMPLE SKETCH SHADING

In these examples you can see how in a few short steps, introducing some colour to the sketch, you can create a more exciting and punchy image. The original sketch took only a few minutes, and the techniques to colour it should also only take five or six minutes maximum.  Once you have really learned this technique it can almost be as easy as colour by numbers...but with more impressive results! One important tip to remember however is that this technique will not save a bad original sketch...so get those correct first!

 

To start this drawing I have sketched a very quick thumbnail side view using a normal ball point pen on normal drawing paper (I prefer the rough texture of this paper). The approximate size of this sketch was 10cm, and by sketching at this size I am able to work very quickly working out different proportions and themes in a short space of time. When sketching these views I also simultaneously sketch the front, rear and many three quarter views. This ensures that I feel confident that what I have drawn here will also work in these other views. The fact that you are designing a 3 dimensional object and not just pretty 2 dimensional pictures is something that can be too easy to forget sometimes.

After scanning the picture into Photoshop I have put the sketch onto a new layer and switched this layer to MULTIPLY mode (you can find the modes at the top left of the layers tab). On another new layer underneath this I have then blocked in the dark unpainted areas of the vehicle. Its a good idea to chose a colour that is not very saturated and reasonably dark. This will ensure that when you apply a lighter and more saturated body colour there will be a strong graphical contrast. A trick you can use to test how well you have done this is to look at your finished sketch through half closed eyes. The graphic intention of your vehicle should still be very clear and fully visible.

When applying colour at this stage I always try to keep the number of tones to a minimum. Choose a light base colour and apply this to every surface on your vehicle which is not pointing up. You can then go in and apply the same, but one tone darker, to the most downward facing surfaces. Here I have also added a very light gradient of colour to the shoulder of the vehicle to encourage the feeling of the light source being at the front of the vehicle. As a rule however I try to stick to only two or three tones at this stage which helps keep the drawing simple and punchy. As you become more experienced at is surprising how complex your forms can be whilst still being able to describe them with only a few tonal values.

This stage highlights one of the benefits of Photoshop. Here I have applied filters to accentuate the direction of the light source. Simple, yet very effective. Create a new layer above every other layer in your image. Onto this put a gradient of black moving to transparent, where the black is at the rear of the vehicle. Now switch this layer to OVERLAY in the layer mode. You should see that this has the effect of deepening the tones at the rear of the vehicle. It does also however increases the saturation of colours which is not as desirable. To counteract this, duplicate the layer and switch it to HUE mode. Now by playing around with the transparency settings of these two layers you should be able to create a much more punchy and dramatic image. It is a good idea to take some time to experiment with the different effects you can get from using gradient colours other than black, as well as different layer modes.

Now for the shine! There are two methods you can use to do this. The first is to use an airbrush in Photoshop to pick out a few highlights. Remembering where your intended light source is, you simply need to spray with a soft brush where the sun catches any surfaces or shut lines. To get a slightly warmer look you can create a new layer (again on top of all others in your image). Fill this layer entirely with black. In the centre of this layer add a RENDER/LENSFLARE filter. If you now switch this layer to SCREEN mode you will find that all the black disappears and you are left with only the lenses flare effect which can be moved, duplicated and placed anywhere on your image. It must also be noted however that when adding these final highlight effects that subtlety is very important. To keep my highlights simple I usually draw a guide line through the vehicle from top to bottom and make sure that all my highlights only fall on this line, then I remove the guideline.