April Fool's Bride - Process

1. I started with a very rough thumbnail.

2. Following the general layout, with some changes, I go back and do a more detailed sketch, working out the the body, clothing, and props.

3. 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 characters, the lashes, the lace detail, and the veil all on separate layers.

4. 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.

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. 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.

6. 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 cheated the shadows a little on the panties because I wanted to draw extra attention to the bride's peener.

7. Backlight. A very desaturate pale pink 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.

8. 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.

9. For the lace detail, I created a white layer containing all the lace lines, then added a little outer glow using the same settings at the form shadow. I put that layer in a folder and used a mask on the folder where I airbrushed the transparency of the whole lace effect so that it was fainter or stronger depending on the angle of the surface to the viewer.

10. 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 and the blush lines.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. For the veil, I kept the outer linework pure white and added a transparent layer of white on top. Then I added a dark brown layer above that, same settings as the form shading. I alt-clicked between the layers in the layer list to link them so that the shading would only affect the veil and nothing behind it and airbrushed some shape to it.

14. For the flowery background, I went into a separate file and used some of my personal stock flower drawings which I painted in shades of pink. Then I used them in a brush (in Manga Studio) and dropped them all over the top of the backdrop. Behind that, I added some purple with some streaks for drapes. Then I collapsed the background together and added just a little bit of gaussian blur to make the characters pop forward a little.

15. Finally, I added a simple word balloon and text, each with a stroke effect.