Bike Craft
Bike Craft Autodesk SketchBook Pro Tutorial by Patipat Asavasena (Asuka 111)
Introduction to SketchBook Pro My interest in mobile digital painting lead me to SketchBook Pro for iPad. I didn’t hesitate for a second to grab a copy. When SketchBook Pro for Mac it hit the Mac App Store, I got it and have started using it more. Although, SketchBook Pro seems designed for sketching, I decided to challenge myself and create artwork and tutorials to share.
Concept and inspiration My recent interest in bicycles, both road and mountain, and their components, inspired this tutorial. High-end bike design is a beautiful and worth studying.
I use SketchBook on my iPad to sketch rough composition ideas. Since I’m unsure of the direction of the final sketch, I keep developing my idea. In this step, my drawing looks really messy because I focus only on the flow, character’s pose, composition, etc.
Clean up and inking After import the sketch to my Mac, I load it into SketchBook Pro and start the inking process on a new layer. The character is easy; however, the bike is quiet difficult to draw from this angle. So, I decide to use a photo reference. Luckily, I have my own bike. I can set up a scene that match the sketch, and then take a picture. Next, I trace overtop of the photo reference.
While I do this, I don’t perfectly match everything with the reference photo, but keep changing things. Improvise! As for the background, I refine it from a rough sketch. I keep adding detail here and there, but I’m aware of any perspective errors. I frequently zoom out to check the overall image. If I find a mistake, I fix it at once.
(top) A reference photo of my bicycle.
(right) Inking finished.
Priming canvas I divide the painting into these layers: character, bike, supporting mech, and background. Next, I use a solid color to fill each layer’s area and to keep them organized. I turn on “lock layer transparency” before starting to paint. It helps to keep the paint in the transparent area on current working layer. This method can boost the productivity, especially, with complex artwork like this. Furthermore, it’s great for adjustment and editing in a later step.
Colorscript Creating some small color thumbnail is useful for exploring various color choices. I always do this before I start to paint in the actual canvas.
Jersey design Start with the main character. I try to create a shirt design similar to cyclist’s jersey. I use an ink brush to layout solid blocks of color, then I create a multiply layer as a shadow layer. I choose 20% cool gray for shading color.
Face and makeup I often spend a lot of time painting a character’s face because it is the most important part of the character, especially the eyes. I know a little bit about makeup, so I apply that knowledge to the painting. I put some shade and highlights around eyelids, in order to give them a sense of depth. Then, I add a slight bit of soft eyeshadow. Finally, I create the multiply layer to add a dark red color around top eyelid. Don’t forget to add blush to the cheeks, then soften the effect with blur tool.
Bike and supporting mech
(top) A high-end derailleur. Photo from the Shimano website.
I check out some high-end bicycle images from the internet, and then carefully study the looks of the bike’s material. To give sleek metallic look, I use a soft airbrush to paint some gradient shadow, then follow with a hard-edge brush for highlights. Next, I use a small diameter pen to refine the highlight area. Moreover, I create an “add layer” and paint a reflection effect with a soft brush.
Background The background should be dulled and softened compare to the character and bike; otherwise, you lose the focal point of the image. I start to paint in a large area with a flat-soft brush, constantly reducing the brush size for small detail. Although I want the background to look desaturated, it’s nice to add slight color variations. I create a new “multiply layer” and use a broad Copic brush to add color to various area. I ensure opacity is low.
Minor touch-up
I used “add layer” and a soft airbrush to create a glowing light. Besides this, I use a small brush to add more details until I was satisfied with the overall picture. I exported the final artwork to adjust color balance and brightness/contrast in Photoshop. Finally done!
After tweaking
Final thoughts SketchBook Pro’s user interface is very intuitive and fast. I can even work without pressing any keyboard shortcut. The tools are loaded with good presets and are customizable. The latest version (5.2.2) is also compatible with iCloud, so I can easily transfer my artwork between devices. SketchBook Pro is getting better and better. I can’t wait to see what it can do in the future! Cheers, Asuka111
Bike Craft
Autodesk SketchBook Pro Tutorial
Links Artist personal website www.asuka111.net Latest SketchBook Pro news www.sketchbooknews.com
Introduction to SketchBook Pro My interest in mobile digital painting lead me to SketchBook Pro for iPad. I didn’t hesitate for a second to grab a copy. When SketchBook Pro for Mac it hit the Mac App Store, I got it and have started using it more. Although, SketchBook Pro seems designed for sketching, I decided to challenge myself and create artwork and tutorials to share.
Concept and inspiration My recent interest in bicycles, both road and mountain, and their components, inspired this tutorial. High-end bike design is a beautiful and worth studying.
I use SketchBook on my iPad to sketch rough composition ideas. Since I’m unsure of the direction of the final sketch, I keep developing my idea. In this step, my drawing looks really messy because I focus only on the flow, character’s pose, composition, etc.
Clean up and inking After import the sketch to my Mac, I load it into SketchBook Pro and start the inking process on a new layer. The character is easy; however, the bike is quiet difficult to draw from this angle. So, I decide to use a photo reference. Luckily, I have my own bike. I can set up a scene that match the sketch, and then take a picture. Next, I trace overtop of the photo reference.
While I do this, I don’t perfectly match everything with the reference photo, but keep changing things. Improvise! As for the background, I refine it from a rough sketch. I keep adding detail here and there, but I’m aware of any perspective errors. I frequently zoom out to check the overall image. If I find a mistake, I fix it at once.
(top) A reference photo of my bicycle.
(right) Inking finished.
Priming canvas I divide the painting into these layers: character, bike, supporting mech, and background. Next, I use a solid color to fill each layer’s area and to keep them organized. I turn on “lock layer transparency” before starting to paint. It helps to keep the paint in the transparent area on current working layer. This method can boost the productivity, especially, with complex artwork like this. Furthermore, it’s great for adjustment and editing in a later step.
Colorscript Creating some small color thumbnail is useful for exploring various color choices. I always do this before I start to paint in the actual canvas.
Jersey design Start with the main character. I try to create a shirt design similar to cyclist’s jersey. I use an ink brush to layout solid blocks of color, then I create a multiply layer as a shadow layer. I choose 20% cool gray for shading color.
Face and makeup I often spend a lot of time painting a character’s face because it is the most important part of the character, especially the eyes. I know a little bit about makeup, so I apply that knowledge to the painting. I put some shade and highlights around eyelids, in order to give them a sense of depth. Then, I add a slight bit of soft eyeshadow. Finally, I create the multiply layer to add a dark red color around top eyelid. Don’t forget to add blush to the cheeks, then soften the effect with blur tool.
Bike and supporting mech
(top) A high-end derailleur. Photo from the Shimano website.
I check out some high-end bicycle images from the internet, and then carefully study the looks of the bike’s material. To give sleek metallic look, I use a soft airbrush to paint some gradient shadow, then follow with a hard-edge brush for highlights. Next, I use a small diameter pen to refine the highlight area. Moreover, I create an “add layer” and paint a reflection effect with a soft brush.
Background The background should be dulled and softened compare to the character and bike; otherwise, you lose the focal point of the image. I start to paint in a large area with a flat-soft brush, constantly reducing the brush size for small detail. Although I want the background to look desaturated, it’s nice to add slight color variations. I create a new “multiply layer” and use a broad Copic brush to add color to various area. I ensure opacity is low.
Minor touch-up
I used “add layer” and a soft airbrush to create a glowing light. Besides this, I use a small brush to add more details until I was satisfied with the overall picture. I exported the final artwork to adjust color balance and brightness/contrast in Photoshop. Finally done!
After tweaking
Final thoughts SketchBook Pro’s user interface is very intuitive and fast. I can even work without pressing any keyboard shortcut. The tools are loaded with good presets and are customizable. The latest version (5.2.2) is also compatible with iCloud, so I can easily transfer my artwork between devices. SketchBook Pro is getting better and better. I can’t wait to see what it can do in the future! Cheers, Asuka111
Bike Craft
Autodesk SketchBook Pro Tutorial
Links Artist personal website www.asuka111.net Latest SketchBook Pro news www.sketchbooknews.com
