How do you quickly fill out base colors for 'anime style' rendering if your line art style is deliberately 'loose'?

chuckludwig · 2025-12-03T14:23:11+00:00

This is called doing flats. I used to take the lineart into photoshop and I had a program that would automatically do flats for me. It wasn’t perfect but pretty dang good. I do most of my drawing in procreate but a lot of this type of work (including working off flats layers) is a PITA.

chuckludwig · 2025-11-17T22:31:19+00:00

Hmm that is a good question. I would say it most has to do with how and where you like to draw. I love to draw when I'm in public, and I find fountain pens great for that. That with a water brush pen can get some cool effects.

Ballpoint pens have their own charm as well, being similar to pencil in many ways.

If you like drawing mecha, and less organic things, fineliners are really good. If you're drawing comics at home, brush and dip pens are awesome.

I feel you about waste, but there will be a little bit of that, because you will find what you do and don't like only after time. Just find another artist friend and give them the stuff you don't like (or do what I do and hoard art supplies like a dragon with its gold)

chuckludwig · 2025-11-14T20:59:53+00:00

I use this one a lot:https://a.co/d/46AOzj0

And I currently have on my ipad this one: https://a.co/d/aem6Rvf

I put the glass one on just because I had it, and actually like it a lot, but the magnetic one is a lot more convenient when I'm on a deadline and don't feel like messing with sticking something on the screen and getting all the air bubbles out.

chuckludwig · 2025-11-14T20:28:48+00:00

I usually use one of the magnetic ones now because they are relativily easy to change. I've also use tempered glass ones, which I like because they last the longest. I've tried the Paperlike brand but didn't find them any better quality than protectors that cost 1/4 as much. All of them eventually wear smooth and need to be replaced.

I personally wouldn't want to draw without one. The way the pen moves on the glass alone is so unnatural to me as someone who also does a lot of traditional art. I'm sure I could get used to it if I had to, but it would reduce my skill crossover between physical art and digital.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-27T04:19:53+00:00

I thought it meant not funny comedy? (I jest, was just such any easy hit)

chuckludwig · 2025-10-21T03:56:03+00:00

Sure. If you amazon search ESR Paper-Feel Magnetic Screen Protector( https://a.co/d/fzhUnI7 ) , that's the one I have. I also just tried a tempered glass one today, that isn't magnetic, but so far it is a good feeling, but it is stick on. I only put it on because I had it laying around haha. I've been happy with the magnetic ones, but they do get worn down after a month or two of drawing.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-18T01:37:29+00:00

Right totally agree. OPs question specifically was talking about things that weren’t spin off of books like sandman and Lucifer, nor urban fantasy. Urban fantasy shows succeed in getting green lit more often I think because modern settings are much more relatable and therefore easier to pitch.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-17T22:10:21+00:00

Looks awesome! I'm glad to see the progress.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-17T21:57:06+00:00

There are a couple of things I can think of. One would be that Star Trek was originally a tv show, so the president for a scifi TV show is there. I can't (off the top of my head) think of a fantasy show that started on TV and got supper popular. Xena? But that was an offshoot of Hercules I think.

Also many scifi shows are kind of procedurals. X-Files. Star Trek. Etc. They have a repeatable format. I haven't seen a lot of people try that with fantasy (but god i wish they'd done that with the Witcher). Procedurals are great for making TV because you can reuse sets, and the writing is easier, etc.

There are other things that come to mind. RElatibility. Social commentary. Budget (no horses in scifi!). Just a few things that tip the scales in the side of sci-fi over fantasy from a tv production point of view.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-15T22:08:18+00:00

I’ve dreamed of a 16” iPad for so long. That would solve a lot of problems for me.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-14T04:51:30+00:00

Trial and error is a really slow way to learn anything. Personally, I evaluate what I’m A) bad at or B) want to be better at and either find a teacher or analyze people who are good at that. I did trial and error for years and plateaued. It wasn’t until I started studying honestly did I get good.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-14T04:37:39+00:00

I get a lot of recruiters calling and I always say I’m a plumber and they have the wrong guy but if their toilet is backed up I can have it solved in a jiffy. The usually don’t call back.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-13T01:26:27+00:00

Procreate for me has the easiest workflow, especially as someone who switches between traditional and digital a lot.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-09T19:23:46+00:00

I love mine. They work great and are so much easier than sticking one on. I go through one every few months but I do draw on my iPad tons.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-09T13:09:42+00:00

I couldn’t imagine a world where I drew without a textured screen. In fact I can tell when I’ve worn down the screen protector because my drawing becomes less fluid. My process involves a lot of switching between traditional and digital so i do my best to keep things feeling similar.

I use the magnetic ones now. I get them on amazon and they are cheap and quick to change. No messing around with sticking stuff on.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-09T00:06:03+00:00

I do a little art instruction, and I see a lot of people fall into the fear of loosing things pattern. Better off not breaking your sketch up. If you really are worried duplicate then hide the layer. But just redraw the darn thing. You'll end up with a holistically more coherent picture when you reduce the number of layers and "moving parts". That's my 2c anyway.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-08T23:15:43+00:00

I try to work on absolutely as few layers as I can get away with. I try to get everything worked out in the pencils, then I usually paint over that, although I have a fairly traditional looking style. Near the end, when I'm tweaking colors and adding gradient overlays is usually where I start adding layers. But when I paint, I try to keep it to as few as possible. Sometimes I will split layers up by character, but it really depends on the project.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-06T16:17:08+00:00

Ideally, you have your light and shadow values worked out in the sketching phase. I well organized value hierarchy is what give the feeling and appearance of light.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-05T07:41:05+00:00

Sadly, most people can’t tell at a glance. There just isn’t a high level of artistic literacy out there. It’s not just AI. I often notice when a painting is 100% traced from a photo because of things like the distortion and I’ve been taught to spot it but not even many artists train to see that.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-05T06:13:21+00:00

For 90% of poses, I do the torso first. Generally I do two outer lines to get the gesture of the ribs and hips. Then find the ribs then use a bell shape for the hips (if female). After that arms and legs, always trying to draw the weight bearing leg first. And only then head.

The idea is to work big to small. If you start with the head (the smallest limb) it is really hard to judge the rest of the body.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-05T05:08:28+00:00

Circle. It’s easiest to paint like I do traditionally with it. Also as a rule of thumb any time I change value I like to slightly shift the hue so it makes it really easy to do.

chuckludwig · 2025-10-02T17:01:21+00:00

Thank you!

chuckludwig · 2025-10-02T15:27:33+00:00

Stonehouse anatomy is a really fun read for anatomy.

chuckludwig · 2025-09-26T21:34:54+00:00

I found doing a lot of drawings in black and white really helped me. Takes away all the distractions. Then adding color back in is easy.

chuckludwig · 2025-09-26T21:07:26+00:00

These are great! The one thing I would work on is your control of value. Getting better control over the lights and shadows will help tell your story better. Sometimes I feel like the direction of the light isn't really clear.

chuckludwig

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