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Description

Cleaning up my stash and found this tutorial I made in 2016 xD

Disclaimer: I'm not exactly a pro at light sourcing, especially because I almost exclusivly NEVER use it! xD This is the worst thing possible and is not advised as it can make your work confusing, especially if you have a background. I only shade without a light source because I colour to my personal aesthetic. However I always try to maintain a specific light source if I’m going to have an inclusive background or a platform background that has a sky/ requires a certain mood.
Light sources can dramatically change the mood of your work and should not be taken lightly.

How to Light source:


1.   It is highly recommended that you draw a circle to represent the sun/moon/any light where you want the light source to be coming from. You can have multiple light sources but since I’m not experienced I’ll focus on 1 light source for now~

2.   Basically, the shading should be opposite to the light source like in my examples.
EG: If the light is behind your than your front will be cast in shadow with only your outline being illuminated.
EG: If the light is to your left than your right will be cast in shadow with your left side illuminated.

  3.   Once You’ve added your shadow you will have to add some highlights. Highlights will be any raised areas where the light would touch in your shadowed area.
EG: The light is coming from your right. Strands of your hair, ears, cheek, etc that are raised and exposed may be highlighted.

  4.   If most of the area is cast in shadow you may be a bit confused how to colour, the answer is the simply add a new layer of shadows.
EG: sta.sh/02ej5n3nkpxq You can add a layer of detail to your shadowed area that you normally would if the area was exposed to “random” lighting, of course remember to stay true to your light source!

  5.   To add an even deeper layer of shadow you can darken the furthest areas more either with another layer of block colouring or with a layer of airbrushing like here. You should also add an additional layer of highlights, either by adding block coloured highlights or by using the airbrush tool.
EG. Here is a sample where I darkened the shadows and added more highlights with airbrush -> sta.sh/0ppv605iqp2   I’ll also note that I darkened the base colour of the original shadow layer to give it a bit more depth/ make the shadows more dramatic.

*You can add any number of shadow and highlight layers but it’s best for simple colouring styles to keep it to 3-4 layers (base shadow – deeper shadow – highlight – more hightlight) this is how I usually do my colouring for my simple style, if I’m doing something more complex/detailed that I will add additional layers if necessary.
** The darker the Shadows the more dramatic/intense/mysterious something usually is, if the shadows are lighter than it isn’t as intense, etc.

About Colouring:

Light sourcing may seem like something completely irrelevant to how to colour but it is in fact the most important aspect! If you do not understand how to light source than it will be difficult to understand where to add shadows and highlights.

I like to shade based on my feelings, essentially I just draw some lines based on how I’d like them to be and what I think would look awesome, however, even though I hardly ever use an actual light source I always make sure I know which general direction the light is coming from.
I don’t strictly enforce the light source I’ve chosen on my whole piece, just on most of it.

It might seem confusing at first, but the only way to really understand is to practice. I’d suggest drawing some sketches and experimenting with different light sources (can be a person/environment/cube/sphere/etc).
Colouring is also about finding your own style as there are many ways to colour and people generally do not colour the same way and even if the style is similar, no two people will make the same choices when it comes to where they place shadows. It’s mostly to your own aesthetic.

Description

Cleaning up my stash and found this tutorial I made in 2016 xD

Disclaimer: I'm not exactly a pro at light sourcing, especially because I almost exclusivly NEVER use it! xD This is the worst thing possible and is not advised as it can make your work confusing, especially if you have a background. I only shade without a light source because I colour to my personal aesthetic. However I always try to maintain a specific light source if I’m going to have an inclusive background or a platform background that has a sky/ requires a certain mood.
Light sources can dramatically change the mood of your work and should not be taken lightly.

How to Light source:


1.   It is highly recommended that you draw a circle to represent the sun/moon/any light where you want the light source to be coming from. You can have multiple light sources but since I’m not experienced I’ll focus on 1 light source for now~

2.   Basically, the shading should be opposite to the light source like in my examples.
EG: If the light is behind your than your front will be cast in shadow with only your outline being illuminated.
EG: If the light is to your left than your right will be cast in shadow with your left side illuminated.

  3.   Once You’ve added your shadow you will have to add some highlights. Highlights will be any raised areas where the light would touch in your shadowed area.
EG: The light is coming from your right. Strands of your hair, ears, cheek, etc that are raised and exposed may be highlighted.

  4.   If most of the area is cast in shadow you may be a bit confused how to colour, the answer is the simply add a new layer of shadows.
EG: sta.sh/02ej5n3nkpxq You can add a layer of detail to your shadowed area that you normally would if the area was exposed to “random” lighting, of course remember to stay true to your light source!

  5.   To add an even deeper layer of shadow you can darken the furthest areas more either with another layer of block colouring or with a layer of airbrushing like here. You should also add an additional layer of highlights, either by adding block coloured highlights or by using the airbrush tool.
EG. Here is a sample where I darkened the shadows and added more highlights with airbrush -> sta.sh/0ppv605iqp2   I’ll also note that I darkened the base colour of the original shadow layer to give it a bit more depth/ make the shadows more dramatic.

*You can add any number of shadow and highlight layers but it’s best for simple colouring styles to keep it to 3-4 layers (base shadow – deeper shadow – highlight – more hightlight) this is how I usually do my colouring for my simple style, if I’m doing something more complex/detailed that I will add additional layers if necessary.
** The darker the Shadows the more dramatic/intense/mysterious something usually is, if the shadows are lighter than it isn’t as intense, etc.

About Colouring:

Light sourcing may seem like something completely irrelevant to how to colour but it is in fact the most important aspect! If you do not understand how to light source than it will be difficult to understand where to add shadows and highlights.

I like to shade based on my feelings, essentially I just draw some lines based on how I’d like them to be and what I think would look awesome, however, even though I hardly ever use an actual light source I always make sure I know which general direction the light is coming from.
I don’t strictly enforce the light source I’ve chosen on my whole piece, just on most of it.

It might seem confusing at first, but the only way to really understand is to practice. I’d suggest drawing some sketches and experimenting with different light sources (can be a person/environment/cube/sphere/etc).
Colouring is also about finding your own style as there are many ways to colour and people generally do not colour the same way and even if the style is similar, no two people will make the same choices when it comes to where they place shadows. It’s mostly to your own aesthetic.