Cake Is Yummy - Process

1. I started with a very rough thumbnail.

2. Following the general layout, with some changes, I go back and work out the proportions and perspective more accurately but without worrying about the detail yet. I hand-wrote the lettering, the used distortion to match the perspective.

3. Now I do a more detailed sketch, working out the the body, clothing, and props.

4. Inking. I use a variable-width inking brush for the characters 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. I also went ahead of inked the shape for the eyelashes because the brush stablization in Manga Studio makes it a lot easier than doing it in Photoshop later. I exported the inking for the character/scene and  the lashes on two layers and the sketch for the cream on a separate layer for reference.

5. In Photoshop, I convert the imported lines to a folder with a mask and put a solid black layer in the folder. (CTRL-click RGB in the Channels tab, invert the selection, create a mask from the selection.) This will come in handy later when I color the linework. Then I create another folder and start creating the basic color blocking. I like to do all my color blocking by making a folder and then filling it with different solid color layers for each section of color, whch makes it easy to change a color later. This is a very fussy way to do it and it's probably much simpler to just fill a single raster layer with flat colors.

6. Form shading. I create a dark brown solid color layer (linear burn) and start painting in the basic form shading with a soft airbrush. For the hair, I used color burn for richer shading and I used a variable-width soft airbrush to smudge detail into the shadows, picking up the shape of the hairs.

7. Because it's easier to shade the character without the chaos of the cream filling, I'm handling the cream on its own layers above the character layers.  Using the sketch of the cream filling as a reference, I drew blobby pink cream filling on a new solid pink layer. I put that layer in a folder with a mask which I used to clip the cream where it would be obscured by other objects. Then I added another folder with a mask to face out the edges of the cream where I wanted it to seem thinner from dripping. That's better than just clipping/fading the original pink layer because then I can add a stroke layer effect and shading to the pink layer which is independant of the clipping/fading.

8. Using the same color/blend as the general form shading, I added form shading to the cream, using alt-click between the layers so that the shading will only affect the cream layer and nothing else.

9. Cast shadows. I make a new dark brown 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. I repeated this with the cream layer.

10. Backlight. A very desaturate pale blue solid color layer (screen) painted with a soft airbrush. When I combine it with the form shading, backlighting really makes the characters pop. I don't use any backlight on non-reflective objects. For extra glossiness, I also added a white forelight to just the extra shiniest parts. I also added a little blue backlight to the cream layer.

11. Shiny. I used a solid white layer for the primary shine, which is on the underside since the light is coming from below, and painted spots and streaks using a hard variable-width brush. After painting all the shine, I use the cast shadow layer to make a selection and delete the shine from anywhere covered by shadow.

12. For the blush, I add in a light red layer, airbrushing just on the same area as the skin for the cheeks and other cheeks. I use the same method to add color for the eyeshadow.

13. I added a little grungy texture to the cake by adding a new layer, masked to the color of the cake, filling it with a grungy pattern (which I sampled from photos of yellow cake), and adding it above the shading, using color burn blend mode.

14. Colored linework. Going back to the linework folder, I started adding new solid color layers, using the mask to paint the color of the linework. Since the new layers are inside a folder with a mask defining the linework, I don't have to be very precise when coloring the lines. I always add new color layers below the ones I already did so that I can be sloppy in the areas that are already covered by colored linework.

15. Eyelashes are done with a folder containing a solid grey layer and a solid black layer. Using the lashes I made earlier with a variable width brush, I add a few thin streaks on the grey layer mask to add depth to the lashes and soften the look with a few strokes of a soft airbrush. I drew this above all the other linework and then masked the lashes folder to clip out the part of the lashes that would be obscured by the loose lock of hair.

16. For the saliva, I used a white layer with the fill turned down just a little and add a layer effect with white inner glow set to 100%. Then I use the mask to soften the edge where it touches the tongue. After, I add a new white layer to paint in the shiny highlights.

17. Finally, I added a little gradient and grungy texture to the backdrop for interest.