User:Ivyheart/Tutorial

Welcome!
This is my charart tutorial. I use GIMP, but it will work for other programs too, like Pixlr , a free editing site. Chararts are not that hard to make once you learn a method. Then it becomes fun and easy! If you aren't a member of PCA, join!

A Common Problem
When you try to color in a warrior in gimp, does it always turn out to be either black or white? This can be easily fixed. Go to image, then mode, then press RGB. After that, the colors will work. <<<Press RGB!

Shading, eyes, earpink
This is how the shading should mostly look.



These are how the eyes should look.



This is how the earpink should be.



Getting the Blanks
To get the blanks for your image, go to this link. Make sure you click the lineart that you want, and then drag it to your desktop. (If there is another way, then go ahead.)

The Real Thing!
These are the how-tos and and stuff! Remember, I use GIMP, but this can work for Pixlr too. This also involves layers, which is hard for some people. If you don't use layers, just ignore what I said. If you want help with layers, you can ask me.

Plain colored warriors are easy to do. Just follow the steps below.


1. First, choose a blank, as I explained earlier.



2. Then, choose a color. I choose brown.



3. Then add the shading with either the spray tool (which I prefer) or the dodge/burn tool. If you use the spray tool, put the brush on one of the fuzzy brushes. I like using the smallest one. With that brush, I put the scale really high.

(Yes, I am aware of the little white dots, that will be fixed. my bad! :P)



4. Now add the highlights. You can use the spray tool or the dodge/burn tool, once again, but this time, I prefer using the dodge/burn tool. I use the same brush, the smallest fuzzy one, and put the scale really high.



5. Then add the eye color and the earpink. I did blue eyes. After that, you're done! :)

If you feel the image needs tweaking, then tweak it! No image comes out perfect, not even if you're the best charart maker in the world!

Videos
Plain brown warrior

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Thin line tabby warrior

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Tabbies
There are different kinds of tabbies, this is one of them. There are wavy, triangle, and Y tabbies. For Y striped tabbies, see Cinderheart. A good example of a wavy tabby is Lionblaze. Also see Pebbleheart. Another great tabby example is Russetfur. These tabbies are really simple to make on GIMP. Just use a tool that you want to make the stripes with. I like to use the brush shown here. >>> To me, it seems to make it easier for making the stripes. You have the option to smudge the stripes after, if you want to. If you do Y tabbies, blur, but not too much. The third tabby (the very right) is a simply thinly striped tabby. These are very easy to make. User the paintbrush tool to draw very thin lines across the whole body and blur, but not too much.



Tabby and White Cats
These cats are white colored cats with tabby patches, or reverse.This is how you make the tabby patterns on the patches.



The brown blob above the queen is how the tabby patch should look on the cat, before blurring or smudging, of course. Below is an example of what it would look like on a charart. (Yes, I forgot the nose.)

Mottled and Dappled Cats
Mottled cats are cats that have more than one color on their pelt, all blended together. An example of one is Applefur. If you look at her fur, it looks as if there are little darker dots. To make a mottled cat, just simply do little dots of a darker color with a fuzzy brush, and blur it. Below is a mottled cat before and after.

--->

(Before shading/highlights/blurring )-- (After!)

Dappled cats are very similar to mottled cats. Shellheart is an example of a dappled cat. With dappled cats, you would do the same as you would do for mottled cats, as I explained above, but not blur as much.

White and Black Cats
They may be thought to be difficult, but they really aren't.

For white cats, just do a shade of very very light gray for the fur. Then, add the shading, as I explained, and then the highlights. Try not to make the shading very dark, but make it visible. Same goes for highlights. (Example: Whitewing)

>

(Before shading/highlights) - (After!)

For black cats, do a shade of really dark gray. Then, add the shading, as explained, though it will be a little hard to see. Then do the highlights, but do not go overboard with them. (Example: Reedwhisker)

>

(Before shading/highlights)- (After!)

Tortoiseshells and Calicos
A tortoiseshell is an orange and black cat, though most of the time they are mostly black, and the orange-ish part are patches or spots. A tortoiseshell and white is basically a tortoiseshell, but with a white chest, muzzle, tail tip, or other places. A calico is different than a tortoiseshell and white, though. They are mostly white with orange and black patches. I'm still trying to work on my tortoiseshells, but my tortoiseshell and whites are fine. You just have to put blobs of orange and grayish-black on a white charart, and blur it as much as you can. You can even smudge it a bit.

Calico

Tortoiseshell and white

Tortoiseshell

For an example of a tortoiseshell cat, see Tawnypelt and Mosspelt. If you want to see a tortoiseshell and white cat, see Cherrytail and Spottedleaf. For a calico, see Sorreltail and Poppyfrost.

Extra
Sometimes, cats have scars, stumpy tails, torn ears, or more. If you're doing a cat with a torn ear, all you have to do is erase the top part (or lower) of the ear, and make a V shape going down. For a scar, do a pink line going across wherever the cat is scarred, and blur it. You can blur it more than what I did below. For a stumpy tail, just erase a lot of the tail, and then connect it together to make it tail-like. For torn ears, see Tigerstar. For scars, see Jayfeather, Brackenfur and Bluestar.

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Farewell
Once again, chararts are easy. It took me a while to figure out how, but I did, and now I love making them! If anyone is frustrated if they blur the lineart, can't figure out how to shade, or simply can't figure out how to make the eye, I can help. I must say, Insaneular's charart tutorial and videos really helped me. If you are brand new to chararts, then I recommend you check out Ivystripe's help for new users tutorial. Thanks for visiting my tutorial! Once again, if anyone needs help, or has some question, ask me!

Sincerely, 18:35, July 17, 2011 (UTC)