In this tutorial we will demonstrate how to use Illustrator and Photoshop to create character designs for the Boomrock Saints. Let’s get started!

Preparation

Below are the reference photos, which were given to me by the group. Josh is on the left and Brian is on the right. In the middle is Brian’s tattoo, which we will incorporate into the design later on.

Step 1

Create a new document 1600px x 1600px and set the background to a light gradient. Add a new layer to your document and begin by loosely building a foundation for your characters.

With a tablet, I typically use a standard 3px brush in a color slightly darker than the background. I make sure to have “Shape Dynamics” checked so I can control my pen’s pressure.

Step 2

Lower the opacity of your first layer to 50% and add two new layers on top of it—one for each character.

Use these new layers to go over the messy sketch lines to clean it up a bit and to add in the details. Be careful not to mix up the layers so later you can adjust the character positions if needed. It’d be a good idea to name them like in the image above. At this point, the characters are starting to take shape. It’s okay to still keep everything rough at this stage.

Step 3

Add a new layer in between the first “sketch” layer and the character layers and name it “color”.

Use this layer to experiment and roughly block in the characters with a chosen color palette. In this case, the group wanted something “guerilla” so naturally I went with earth tones.

Next, roughly add in the lighting and shading. I have chosen the main light source to be to the left of the characters so the light will hit the hardest from the left on exposed skin/clothing. The parts which are not exposed will either be left “as is” or shaded in if they are behind another element such as the right side of Brian’s torso being covering by his right arm. Similarly, most of Josh’s torso on the left side is shaded since it’s being covered by Brian who is directly in front of him.

Step 4

Once you are satisfied, it is time to take the illustration into Adobe Illustrator to clean up the outlining. Hide all layers except the outline, save it as a jpeg, and open it in Illustrator. Since I’m using a tablet, I can do the outlining with my tablet pen rather than a mouse. For those who aren’t working with tablets, this part can be done with the pen tool as well. There are many tutorials on the Internet for pen tool inking in Illustrator along with tutorials for various other methods. This is the method I like.

Create a new brush by opening up the brush palette and clicking on the ‘new brush’ icon at the bottom. In the dialog box that pops up, select ‘Calligraphic Brush’, click OK, and set the angle, roundness, diameter, and variation of this new brush to the settings shown below.

Select the contents of your layer by clicking the circle to the right of the layer in the Layers palette. Lower the opacity to 30% and lock the layer. Choose the color black for the stroke and none for the fill. (editor：admin)