Warriors Wiki:Charart/Apprentice Tutorials

Charart Tutorial

First and Foremost
Everyone always asks how to become a warrior; well, here it is:
 * Users join as an apprentice.
 * Apprentices ask questions if need be from experienced users. Before an apprentice puts art up, they should get basic guidelines from one of the tutorials listed below; i.e: art program, shading style, basic instructions etc.
 * Apprentices may request a mentor.
 * Journey from apprentice to warrior.
 * Have to have more than one image approved and be nominated.
 * Know how to use shading, highlights, blur, etc.
 * Be able to put in good critiquable comments to others' images.

Tools
Tools for Gimp:



Tools for Pixlr:



Ears & Eyes
For a good looking ear pink choose the colours like this~



And for pupil placement and shading in the eye~



Example Image
We all know that sometime you just can't describe a colour. You want somebody to darken the image, but when they do, the colour looks weird. You want somebody to lighten the earpink, but when they do, the colour is just off. If you really just want to show the artist the colour the earpink or eyes or pelt really should be, you can just use the. Just save the image to your computer and bucket fill it with the proper colour you want the artist to use, and then reupload the image over the previously mentioned file with what the colour is for, the artist, and the image the colour is for. For example, you could say, if you were uploading an earpink colour for my TB image of Rain. Then you would go to (again, just an example) my section on the Tweak Page and put this code:  under the section. You'd then say "" or whatever you were going to comment on. Remember, guys, the image shouldn't be used every time you want the artist to darken the stripes or lighten the earpink - just when they really don't get it. Hopefully that was helpful.

=Shading Placement=

=Plain Cats=

Black
- Fill it in with the paint bucket (GIMP) with a dark gray color.

- Make a new layer. Name it "Shading" and with a size 9 black brush, add the various shading areas in.

- Blur by going to "Gaussian Blur" and blur it at any rate between 15.0 and 40.0.

- This is optional. Create a new layer and with white, dot areas that you'd have highlights on.

- Now, blur it with the same rate you blurred your shading at. Change the layer mode to multiply.

- Make a new layer. This is for the ear pink. With the path tool, make a triangle. Press enter on your keyboard, then fill it in. Then, press Ctrl + Shift + A. Blur your ear pink.

- Eyes now. Go on the background layer and put in four pixels. I used blue. For the eye color, I usually put one lighter pixel at the top on the left side, underneath it with a tad darker color, then a really darker color. Then I put two pixels for the pupil and white.

- On the background layer fill it in with a color you haven't used in your charart before. Then color select it and press delete on your keyboard on every layer. You now have a clean picture, ready to be put for approval. 03:12, September 11, 2011 (UTC)

Dual Coloured
''I use GIMP and Paint, but you're free to skip where I use Paint and use GIMP instead. I just find Paint to be a simpler program to use.''

Step 1: Insert image into Paint.

Step 2: Fill in base fur colour. Now, we're going to making this little guy grey-and-black, because he's just awesome like that.

Step 3: Add markings. Woah, woah, WOAH. It's green. Don't worry kiddies, I did that on purpose :3 It's a lot easier to separate the markings into layers if the black is a neon colour. Like green.

''Add image into GIMP. On Paint, go to Select, then Select All. Copy the image (or press CTRL + c). Go to GIMP, click File, then underneath New, it should say Create, with a little arrow beside it. Hover over that, and then click on From Clipboard. Your image should show up, in its own layer. Be sure to right click on the layer and select Add Alpha Channel, or it won't be transparent. On the subject of transparency, see here for information how to make an image transparent on GIMP. If your cat has markings (tabby stripes, patches, ect.) use the Select by Colour Tool to select all of the marking colour in an image. Then I cut the selection (CTRL + z), and re-paste it (CTRL + v), effectively starting a new layer. Create a new layer (don't ask why, it just works) and there you go. Now, select all the colour in the marking layer and go back down to the layer you started on. Use the dropper tool to select the base fur colour, then use the bucket tool to fill in the now-transparent markings.''

Step 4: Okay, now you should have an image that's transparent and on two separate layers, but the markings are still green! This is simple to fix. Simply using the Select by Colour Tool, select the green (durr) and use the bucket tool to fill it in with black. I advise not to use pure black; it's very hard to shade. Use a really dark grey.

Step 5: Blur those markings. Now, if you can't tell, I really love my Smudge Tool - maybe a little too much - so if you just want to have him solidly black (like Barley), simply use the Blur Tool, not too aggressively.

Step 6: Because of the smudging, it looks more like dark grey instead of black right now, so I just used my Burn Tool to make the markings a little darker. Moving on.

Step 7: Add some shading. Be sure to start a new layer. I tend to use three shading layers - one for the tail, head, and main body, one for the two legs closest to us, and one for the legs and ear farthest from us - but it's really not necessary. It just makes it easier to blur the way I do it.

Step 7: Blur, using Gaussian Blur. I usually set it to 7 and repeat it a couple times, but that's also not necessary. You can set it anywhere from 5 to 20 and it'll look fine.

Step 8: Now set the layer mode to Multiply. This makes any shading outside the blank invisible, but doesn't delete it, in case you want to blur it more later on. Then, drag the layer opacity to wherever you see fit.

''If you don't use highlights, you can skip this part and go straight to step 11. However, I recommend you use them for an image like this.''

Step 9: Start a new layer, and do this <--- with your Paintbrush. We're making highlights!

Step 10: You already know how to blur, so I'm skipping that step. However, for highlights, you should probably set the layer mode to Overlay, then reduce the opacity. You don't have to, but...

Step 11: Add earpink, and you're done! You can use this method for any type of dual-coloured cats, even for tortoiseshells.

''And here's what he'd look like in black-and-white! Fascinating, no?'' 01:54, December 6, 2011 (UTC)

=Tabbies=

Wavy
There are many ways to do tabby cats. I'm going to start of using my favorite style, wavy, and then I'll post more.

I didn't explain this in my other tutorial, but I guess I'll do it now. I open my blank and then change the mode to RBG. (Image > Mode >RBG). Then, I use color select and select the white. I press delete on my keyboard and create a new layer, and name it base. I fill in the base layer with my chosen color - for this, I have chosen ginger.

- Right. So with the pencil tool, I add in stripes. As you notice, there's some circles outside the lineart. That's because I connect the stripes - I find it easier to do that than color it in with the pencil tool. And look at the stripe on the paw. You'll see that there isn't a circle. Why? Because it collides with other stripes. So I just color in the end and fill it in with the paint bucket. Then, I went to Gaussian Blur and blurred it with a rate of 2.0. As you can see, most stripes are wavy. That's how the pattern got its name.

- For the heck of it, I added a white muzzle and belly, this teaches some basic lessons with the smudge tool. It's your best friend with bi colored cats.

- Shading time. Right, so a heads up - this cat will have scars and a nicked ear. For the shading (ginger cats) I do a dark red. For brown cats, I usually do a darker brown and for tabby cats with gray and brown I usually do black. For white cats I do grey and for black I do black. As you can see, the shading's not one color. For the white parts I used a pale gray. Make sure it doesn't blur into the ginger.

- Blur! I didn't like the way the stripes showed up at first when I blurred, so I went on the stripes layer and with the burn/dodge tool (set on dodge, midtones, 100%), I lightened the stripes and lightened the paw part of the shading and the midriff part (a strip of shading that is connected to the haunch and the back). You can see the paws look a bit red - because that's pretty much his name. Flamefoot. xD I didn't change that because that's what made him unique.

- Highlights. Added them and blurred. For this, I set the layer mode on overlay and lowered the opacity of the layer.

- Added ear-pink, eye color, and cleared the waste. Hurrah! This is your final product. Say hi to Flamefoot, a ginger tom with a white belly and paws the color of flame. 23:52, September 14, 2011 (UTC)

Thin Tabbies
Welcome to my tutorial on how to make my favorite kind of tabby, the thin tabby! Before you do anything, open your blank and color select and delete the white. Make a new layer named "base", put it behind you background, and do the following.

I'm going to do a brown tabby, do I filled in the blank with brown. Make sure the whole cat is covered, then make a new layer- "stripes."

Put your brush on the smallest (make sure the scale is on 1.00) and just make some lines. Connect them, and stretch them across the blank. Go wild if you want to! Don't leave huge, obvious gaps in between the lines though.

Go to filters>blur>gaussian blur. Don't leave the blur on rate 50 if you don't want them too blurry. Here, it's shone at rate 17 I believe. Add a new layer, "shading." Go back to your base layer and get the color you used using the color picker tool. Go back to your shading layer, and make your color darker then the base. Pick any pencil brush and fill in the appropriate shading areas.

Raise the blur rate a little higher, then gaussian blur a few times. Change the layer mode to "multiply" instead of "normal". Lower the opacity to your liking. If you are doing highlights, which I will only do for this tutorial (since I can't stand highlights), make a new layer saying "highlights."

Make the color white and color where ever you want highlights. I would advise them on the haunch, chest, tail and face. When you gaussian blur, blur it a couple times to get it nice and spread out.

Change the mode just like you did for your shading to "overlay" and lower the opacity to your liking. Make a new layer labeled "earpink."

Find your color of earpink and draw a neat triangle, parallel to all sides of the ears. Blur it with the tool that looks like a little drop, not gaussian blur. Swipe over it a few times. Return to your original lineart layer and do your eye. Here's how I do mine: Pick your color and do three pixels in the back. Change your color to black and do the front pixel. Place the white pixel in the place that wasn't colored. Go back and color select your base eye color, and make it darker and place that color in the corner.

Fill in your charart with a neon or color you have not used like shown. Color select it and go on every layer (including earpink, you never know) and delete. This gets rid of your outer colors and waste.

And there's your thin warrior! It would be much better in my opinion, without the highlights. But hey, in the tutorial, you gotta use 'em. So, thanks for your time! 20:13, October 28, 2011 (UTC)

Y Tabbies
Welcome! Splashpelt here, teaching how to create a Y tabby!

Insert your blank and color select the white as I explained before. Make a new layer and create it "base" and insert it under the lineart layer.

Color in your blank, and make a new layer above this one. Name it "stripes".

The Y tabby is specifically named for it's "Y's". So now, make some Y markings across your charart. Be sure to connect them mostly and have them go most of the way across the charart. I added a pale belly, but it's completely optional.

Lower the blur rate if needed, but guassian blur your markings. This was blurred at a rate of 4.4. Make a new layer for shading.

Shade your charart in areas of your choice, but remember the natrual areas while your shading. Now raise the blur rate back up and guassian blur your shading to your choice. Go to the layer mode, and click on "multiply" in the drop down box.

Make a new layer for earpink, and do what you need to do. Draw your triangle and blur it. Go back to your lineart layer and do your eye.

Remember the neon color select delete process I discussed in my thin tabby tutorial? Do that here, and you're done. Thanks for reading, and happy charart making! 00:07, December 6, 2011 (UTC)

Marbled Tabbies
By: Blue Orca

Dappled Tabbies
04:15, December 2, 2011 (UTC)

Spotted Tabbies
07:47, February 18, 2012 (UTC)

=Tortoiseshells= Here is how I make my torties:

First colour pick the line art and put it on a new layer and colour in the background with the dark base colour, usually black or dark brown

Then add another layer and add splashes of a lighter colour, usually a shade of ginger, and smudge with circle brush 3 at a rate of 60, and then blur at a rate of 25-30

You can repeat step 2 for every colour you want, but adding more than 3 usually looks too busy, so try to stick with 2-3 different colours.

Then add another layer for shading. I use solid black, but any dark colour would work. Just paint it where the shading would go, erase where the highlights would be, and blur really well.

Then lower the layer’s transparency until you have a nice balance between shading and coat colour. I set it to 39

Then add one more layer for the ear pink and eye colour

Now the most important step, go to the line art layer and select outside the line art (using fuzzy select). Then go through all the layers hitting Crtl+X and that will get rid of all the waste on the outside.

And there's your finished tortoishell. I would probably be told to lighten the shading, but I'm partial to dark shading so it looked fine to me. There's lots of different kinds of tortieshells, like a dark one like Redtail, tortieshell and white like Cherrytail and calico like Poppyfrost.

=Brindled Tortoiseshell= This is a traditional tortoiseshell with brindle patterns.

=Calicoes= This is a tutorial on Calico cats. 06:36, January 22, 2012 (UTC)

=Mottled & Flecked=

Mottled/Dappled
01:35, December 2, 2011 (UTC)

Flecked
01:35, December 2, 2011 (UTC) =Abnormal Lineart= Here is some ways to change up the lineart to match the character decription better. A few things to make sure of:
 * Make the new lineart thick
 * Check the box that says "Hard Edge" when erasing to make sure you get it all
 * Double check to make sure there's no waste

Chances are this is the only type of lineart change you will need to make. Its simple. Just erase the ears tip and draw in the new gap using true black. Some good examples are Lionheart, Yellowfang and Bluestar. Another likely lineart change is patchy fur. You can see some examples on Dappletail and Stoneteller, or for really patchy fur, Running Horse Pretty much the same steps as the torn ear. All lineart changes are basically the same. Erase, redraw, fiddle with it, put it for approval. Easy peasy. Heres some more abnormalities: Stumpy tails like Halftail and my favorite, Berrynose Ragged fur like Silverhawk and Raggedstar Twisted feet like Oddfoot and Cinderpelt Tuffed ears like Redtail and Tawnyspots A crooked jaw like Crookedstar

=Layers= ''These are how I use layers. Feel free to add in other methods.''
 * Layers are such an invaluable tool for me. You don't have to worry about blurring the lineart, and it makes charart creation so much easier. I typically use three layers in GIMP.


 * Eye: Pretty self-explanatory. Make all pixilations of the eye in this top layer.
 * 1) Lineart: The lineart. Unless the character has a physical flaw that you need to work into the lineart, this layer should remain untouched.
 * 2) Color: Add all color other than eye color here. Add all your shading and highlights here.


 * To add in layers, click the button I've circled in purple. A box will pop up with information in it. For our purposes, just change the name if you want and ignore everything else.


 * To change a layer's name, double click its name in the layer box you see above.


 * There's undoubtedly more to layers than this, but this is really all you need to know to use layers in charart making. 14:01, October 31, 2011 (UTC)

=Shading Styles=

Basic Shading


 01:11, November 4, 2011 (UTC)

A Closer Look
This is a closeup view on how I do my shading.



In the first picture, (The top left one) you see that in a new layer, I put black in pencil where I want my shading to be. There are many different spots to put shading, remember, not only one way.

In the second picture, (The top right one), you see that I am going to guassian blur it. To guassian blur, go to Filter, then blur, and then guassian blur. Put it at a rate from around 15 to 23. Mine is at 20. Once you have set the rate you wish to blur it at, click OK.

Lastly, lower the opacity of the shading layer. It depends on how dark you want your shading. In the bottom picture, you see that I put my opacity at 38.7.

When you are done, you can always tweak the shading, such as using the blur tool to blur some parts, or changing the opacity number. If you blur some parts, make sure to put it at a higher rate. Remember that you can get very creative with shading, there isn't just one way to do it.

-

Shading Without Layers
This is probably the most confusing way to shade I've ever done, but it's how I did my first... at least 9 chararts. It's super confusing, Wildheart was at my house and I showed her how to do and she didn't really get it, so I wish you the best of luck. This is a good way to do highlights because they're already 90% blurred before you even touch the blur tool. Enjoy!&nbsp 00:05, December 10, 2011 (UTC)

=Tweaking=

This section is mostly for warriors, though some apprentices may need to use one or two of these for a normal image every once and a while.

Changing Pelt Lengths
Here is how you change the pelt length of cats without having to do a completely new charart pixil (invaluable if you like the original picture a lot, you did the wrong pelt length and don't want to start anew, or for consistency purposes)



Blurred Lineart
Blurred lineart is something you'll probably run into a lot when you're tweaking. It's actually a lot easier to fix than you'd think. Just follow these steps and you'll be fine. Sorry if it doesn't make sense at some parts, I'm horrible at explaining things.



♔ⓅⓐⓁⓔⒸⓛⒶⓦ♕  ☆StarClan be with you★  04:42, November 6, 2011 (UTC)

Tweaking Shading


-

Changing Color


22:24, December 6, 2011 (UTC)

Adding Stripes
05:13 Thu Dec 8

Floating a Section
This section explains how to seperate the coat colour(s) from the lineart. I used to use this method before I started using layers.

=Videos= Here are some videos where you can see how its done

OA for these were (in order) Insaneular, Nightshine, Ivystripe, Oblivion, and Shelly

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460pxpx|left|Ivystripe's video tutorial

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