If the scene takes place in a forest, the overall tone is more likely to be green, which will reflect on skintones and such. If the light in the scene is more orange/yellow, I'll pick shadow-colours in the blue/purple range, since they are complimentary colours. Using cooler colours (blue, green, certain shades of yellow and purple) for the shadows results in a certain look, while using warmer colours (red, orange, most yellows and some purples) in another. Photo-references are you very best friend - use them as much as you need.Īgain, practise and reference - and colour theory. If I'm going to draw, say, a really big and complicated building, I go look up photos that look similar to what I want, and then use those for reference. Lots and lots of sketching before I start inking, and lots and lots of references. When I ink on real paper, I tend to use brush-pens or even real brushes. Pen-pressure makes the lines look more organic and natural, and helps keep my inking from looking too stiff. Pen-pressure is a must, unless I intentionally want to keep the lines uniform and mechanical-looking (such as, for example, when I want to draw something mechanical). The rule of thumb is to draw bigger than you intend to post. Grassblades is drawn at 3307x4677, at 300 dpi or higher, and is then downsized to 800 pixels wide when I post it online (though Tapastic's limit is 940). I work at 300 dpi as a minimum, and rarely work smaller than 1000 pixels wide/tall. I ink mostly with the G-pen in Manga Studio, with these settings:Īnd yes, resolution and canvas-size will make a difference to how your lines look in the final product.
![manga brush set paint storm studio manga brush set paint storm studio](https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/marketplace/presentation_assets/000/271/213/large/file.jpg)
Sai is the most limited of them, AFAIK, so you might not want to make Sai your main tool. I recommend trying all the programs, and then deciding which one you're most comfortable with.
![manga brush set paint storm studio manga brush set paint storm studio](https://cartographyassets.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/leafening-5.jpg)
I use both Manga Studio and Sai, because I feel more comfortable sketching in Sai, but everything else - panels, speechbubbles, inking, colours, etc., - are all done in Manga Studio (which is basically the same as Clip Studio it's just the names that are different).