Christmas Tree for Two - Process

1. In Clip Studio, I start with a rough sketch to work out the layout, pose, and proportions. While the tree won't be symmetrical from this angle, using a symmetry ruler helps me plan the shape and proportions in relation to the room. I start getting some of the details roughed out. I haven't used perspective rulers here but I sketched out the room to help me get a sense of where the perspective will be.

2. Final sketch. I set up perspective rulers based on the first sketch. I use separate layers in multiple folders for the various props and the character which makes it easier to plan, especially when so many of the parts overlap. If you look closely, you can see that I draw some parts that I know will be completely hidden behind others, particularly the basic body shape, to make sure it will all make sense together. Keeping them on separate layers also makes it easier to shift the positions of individual features when final details on foreground features might change the layout needs.

3. Inking. I scale the canvas up to four times the size and use a variable-width inking brush for the character and a constant-width brush for hard things on vector layers. I use lots of different layers for different parts, which makes it easier to overdraw and erase as needed. Planning for the line coloring later, I try to use a different vector layer for each part that would be differently colored as linework such as one each for the character's skin, one for everything that will have black linework, etc.

4. Color blocking. I set the folder containing all the different inked vector layers as the reference layer. Then I made new raster layers underneath and started filling in the flat colors. Sometimes I used a round pen, sometimes the collor fill bucket, usually with the fill set to follow only the reference layer, stopping at the middle of a vector.

5. Form shading. I create a dark brown solid color layer (linear burn) and start painting in the basic form shading with a soft airbrush. I always start with shading at full and then use the airbush set to clear to paint away the shading, painting with light. For the hair, I used color burn for richer shading and start with a general, soft airbrush for the overall shape, then used a variable-width soft airbrush to smudge detail into the shadows, picking up the shape of the hairs.

6. Cast shadows. I make a new blue layer set to multiply and start painting in the cast shadows with soft brush, using a smaller brush in places where the object casting the shadow is closer to the thing the shadow is on.

7. Backlight. For the secondary lights, I used medium saturate yellow layer and a pale blue layer, set to screen. Then I paint with a soft airbrush on opposite sides of shiny objects, sourcing the yellow light on the fireplace and the blue light on the window. The yellow layer is on just the shiniest parts, mainly the leather and lipstick. When I combine it with the form shading, backlighting really makes the characters pop. I don't use any backlight on non-reflective objects. On the hair, I used the fingertip tool to streak in the shape of the hairs.

8. Shiny. I used a solid white layer for the primary shine and painted spots and streaks using a hard variable-width brush. For the latex, I also added a white layer, set to overlay, to add colorful glistening highlights and a softer highlight to one side of the specular highlight, using a smudge tool to streak the highlights along creases. For the shine on the hair, I started with thin strokes with a variable-width brush, then use a smude tool to add detail and softness to the tips, then use an airbrush to add a soft glow to groups of streaks, then use an airbrush to fade the tops and bottoms of streak groups, and finally use a soft round brush to erase a few streaks in the middle of each group. After painting all the shine, I use the cast shadow layer to make a selection and delete the shine from anywhere covered by shadow.

9. Firelight glow. To give everything a warm glow from the firelight, I added a round gradient of medium yellow fading to transparent, centered on the fireplace, set to Add Glow. Then I copied the form shading mask, inverted it, and applied it as a mask on the gradient so that the glow only applies to the unshaded areas.

10. Night sky. I used a simple round speckle brush to paint in a few stars. I added a round circle and used a rough ink brush to paint in moon craters. Then I used the same rough ink brush to paint in the trees using three shades of blue. Everything out side the window uses a narrow range of hues of blue.

11. Texture. I added a carpet texture (set to overlay, above the shading) to the floor and grungy texture (set to multiply) to the walls, using distortion to match the perspective.

12. Decoration. I added some simple text which I rasterized and applied mesh distortion to. Then I added a simple glitter texture.

13. For the natural blush, I add in a raster layer and airbrush red just on the skin for the cheeks and places where bone is near the surface of the skin. I used the same approach for make-up.

14. Colored linework. Since the linework is still all vectors in Clip Studio, I simply selected the vectors and changed their color to whatever colored linework I needed, sampling from each section and then shifting the color to be more saturate and dark, more or less depending on how hard or soft I want each thing to feel. The hardest things I keep black. Then I collapsed all of the linework into raster layers, locked the pixel transparency, and used an eraser to fix up any places where different color linework crossed over each other or a multiply brush where the shadows were deep enough to require darker linework.

15. For the Christmas tree lights, I used the precolored lights brush I made a way back on the "Trimming the Tree" picture. I uses the same strip of twist wires and eight random versions of lights pointing in different directions. Once I fitted the twisting lights to the tree, I rasterized them and erased the places where they go behind the tree.

16. For the light colors, I added layers of red and green, set to Color blend mode, and brush in soft circles on each light in alternating colors. Then added more layers of red and green, set to Add glow, and stamped in matching lens flares in random sizes.

17. The drinks were painted as solid color layers, set to semi-transparent, then airbrushed with a second color for variation. Then I used a simple circle scatter brush to paint out bubbles onto the drinks.

18. Eyelashes are done with a simple raster layer painted with a black variable-width pen. Then I lock the pixel transparency for that layer and use a soft pen to paint in grey streaks for texture and then soften the look with a few strokes of a black soft airbrush.