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| Click to Enlarge |
Is it the pinnacle of nerdiness or the zenith of dweebery? Whichever it may be, I was it last night. On Thursday, Septermber 9th, from 7 until 10 p.m. I sat alone in my room and drew a dragon.
LIGHTNING BOLT!
I began by sketching out my beastly friend very roughly using a Photoshop airbrush and my Wacom tablet. After my evil eyed Eragon was generally laid out, I switched to the dodge and burn tools. This allowed me to focus solely on the lights and darks of this malevolently mouthed menace. I have found that using the dodge and burn tools can sometimes create a shiny, almost slimy affect. Perfect for creeping creepers and dripping drool.
LIGHTNING BOLT!
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| Click to Enlarge and Check out that Drool |
Once I was satisfied, I set my lascivious lizard layer into multiply mode. This let the white parts of my gray-scale gargoyle become transparent, essentially making my dastardly drawing into a 21ist century coloring book page. I began digitally painting with absolute freedom, knowing that my black and white rendering was solid and would hold the picture together despite any ham-handed coloring. One thing to watch out for when working in multiply mode, is that your highlights will dull out as you fill in those glowing whites with color. To counteract this problem, I simply added another layer on top called highlights, and airbrushed those shiny moments back into existence. This was especially important in the eye, teeth, and all that glorious drool.
*Doesn't my dragon look like the long lost child of a buzzard and an alligator? That must have been quite the romance.
