Agony an Art Lesson #1
How to Make a C7 Logo Really Fast - Page 3 of 3
I select our Background Layer(the layer with the ironwork ring on it) and then Layer-->New-->Layer. This will create a layer just above the background, but beneath the layer(s) of the hands and face.
Step 21
Using the
Pencil Tool, I begin tracing the the image of the hands and the shapes of and on the face. To simplify things, I can vary the opacity levels on the different layers. Just as a note, I use a lightpen. Specifically, I use an Aiptek HyperPen. Using a pressure sensitive lightpen not only allows me a more natural control but it allows me to vary the width/intensity of the line, depending upon which tool I'm using. At this stage, I'm not too concerned with line quality, as I intend to go back and clean it up later. I don't even need to zoom in, like in the image below, since I'm just trying to put the photo and Poser images into linework quickly.
Is this cheating? Well, kind of. I mean, you still have to *draw* the thing. Ah, screw it- yes, it's cheating- who cares?
In the above shot, the tracing is all done. I keep the iron ring visible so I can really see how the fingers meet the object, and change the finger positions slightly, if needed.
Step 22
As soon as the line work is done, I no longer need the top layer- which is the one with the poser hands and the model's face on it. I save my work as is(you never know if you'll need to go back) and then delete the top layer.
Step 23
On the Layers tableau, make sure that both layers' opacity is 100% and change the mode of the top layer to Multiply. This superimposes both layers together, showing all the black line work we've done so far.
Okay, now I have the image shown below, which is my tracing over the iron ring, but it's all meshed together- the ring and the woman are superimposed over eachother, so I need to go in with the
Pencil Tool to do some clean up. Using white, I go to the bottom(ring) layer and elliminate the areas I don't want. If I make a mistake I can either use the Edit-->Undo function or immediatly correct it by switching the Pencil to black.
Since we kept the two layers seperate, 'erasing' the black lines on the ring while keeping the top layer items, such as the hands, intact is simple.
When I want to erase elements of the woman(such as, in the areas where the ring covers part of her hand, as in the lower left hand side of the image above), I switch to the top layer and apply the same method of line ellimination. Again, since the layers are seperate, I can draw over with white without changing the linework of the ring.
Step 25
Okay, now I have a picture of a bald woman behind a ring, but it's still pretty rough, and she needs clothing, hair, and a little work on the face.
To make matters simpler, I save what I have(it's nice if you save your work in various stages under seperate filenames, in case you need to go back) and flatten the image. Now, I go in with the
Pencil Tool and begin filling in the details. When working on the hair, I wanted nice, flowing curved lines which, as any of you who have worked with computer art program knows, are very hard to do with the mouse or even the light pen. To accomplish this, I use the 
Magic Wand Tool to select areas I wish to work in. Once I have an area selected(sometimes, I select multiple areas). As you work, selecting areas becomes more difficult, as the areas become more complex/filled with work. One thing you could do is create a duplicate layer of layers 1 & 2 combined and use that to select areas from, as it won't be touched. you could also import an earlier version of the ring and use that to select areas(it won't have the shape of the woman's fingers intersecting it, but that is pretty easy to work around). I use the 
Paint Bucket Tool to fill in the entire area. I then select a white foreground color and call forth the 
Pen Tool, to create some nice flowing curves. I plot out the curves, and then stroke them in white. I use the Paint Bucket Tool, filled with white, to color in broader areas, to indicate separations between locks of hair.
We're almost done, but I hate her face:
Step 26
I now go in begin the final cleanup, starting with her face. I lighten the features up a bit, and give her a fresher look. I also zoom in and sharpen some of the linework. I accomplish this by pencilling in with the opposite color to 'shave off' some of the line, like so:
Yay, fun. I do this throughout the entire image- just to polish it up.
I hated her face. Especially her eyes and lips. I pretty much changed everything about them. I tweaked her eyes up for a more interesting look and gave her fuller lips, w/out those horrible corner creases(what was I thinking?). I was never crazy about her outfit- it looks rather hashed out- but, I had a deadline, so I left it. Here's the finished piece:
Epilogue:
Well, the logo got sent off. C7 came and went(I never even attended any of the festivities). I got paid. I still have no idea what they did with this thing. I think that T-Shirts were made or something. Ah, the life of a barely productive freelance artist!
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