Drawing cartoon characters into a photo with Inkscape!

1. Introduction: remember when you were a kid and you imagined everything was alive? That little creatures are living between the floorboards or hiding between leaves Using simple illustration techniques, you can make these creatures come alive, and you can draw que characters onto riel photos. You don't need anything special. You only need escape and the photo to throw onto. During this class, we learn to pick the best picture off the base for our illustration. We learn to be colors that match our image. Why still stand out? We will learn to draw a simple to the vector correct administration, and we will apply lightning and shadows to our drawing using radiance and blurs. And finally, you make our character part off the image by using clipping and masking. Use a free tool in escape and your imagination and create this cute off reading on a mushroom with me today, or even better, by what you learn in this class and create your own character on any photo and use it as a greeting card, Instagram post or acute poster for Children Drove with me today and make those photos come alive 2. How to pick a photo to draw into?: How do you pick a photo to draw on? Or what are the credentials, what to look for when you actually take photos? If we the intention and drawing little creatures in them or anything, I think the most important thing is the photo you take or you choose have to have enough space in it, toe in heavy, a little character because there are. If there are enough objecting it already like you re a life. Real objects there are on the photo than, um what the drawing it. There is no space, and it's interesting enough a lot of things happening. But if you take photos or you choose photos with a bit of space for in between the object for your character, a bit of space for your fantasy, your imagination do you think about the story or something happening, something small or something big, Then then then that this is what you want. So here are a few photos I take while we have ah, forest walks and hikes with my wife. I love to take photos, for example, this one there is in a space. I like it, but it's not colorful enough. Maybe maybe later, I will. I will use it for something else. But now I just don't feel it's, um it's what I'm looking for now this one is nice. I really like the perspective. I didn't like the colors, but it's to horror Vertical. For me, it's better for a movie poster or something. Now this is nice, and maybe I would work on it. But the color is very, very nice. I loved this green, but I'm not sure about it. And I'm not sure about the the amount of blue in the image. This one is also amazing. I love little most on the little order, the branches going around in the rules, going around the rocks. It's very interesting this what I said. It's like order. The too many things, and putting my little creature here would be like he's going through a jungle or something . But it's maybe too much. This one is nice as well. But if I imagine where I want to draw my creatures, I'm also looking like there is the attention in the image. And if you see this one is the first, mushroom is only sharp, so that is in focus. This mushroom on the bottom left. So if I want to draw, will it a creature? He's around here and everything. Us What? I drove Ah have to be blurred. So the attention would be only on this part of the image which is not very good for my composition. I will also talk about later in another lesson when I actually start to drop. This one is very nice. Be too simple for now. Not now. That's definitely a close close one. So I maybe you could draw on this one Now I really like it that it's a very thing, R l focus and nice Homogenic Fresh summary background. Yeah, I I imagine here something like, you know, very full off life and a happy little scene. Now this one is good. But where would I fit my character? I love the image, but where would I fit my character again? What? I said it's too many things and the image order the looks nice and balance with the little mushrooms and the little leaves hanging in it. Just I don't know where would my character stand or what did he do? Okay, I like this one. This is some kind of totes to mushroom growing on the edge on a route off a big tree. And I didn't put that acre and they were falling there. So probably it's Ah, it's an oak tree, and I like it because it has death. If has colors, it has big, open space right on the mushroom, and it have enough space to yeah, to give some space to my character. So this is what I'm looking for. So this is the image. I will draw one in the coming lectures. If you want to draw on this image, I will give you this with the With the course, you can download it. It's unjust under the class, but also, I strongly suggest take your own photos or don't know their own photos, or to just take a snapshot in your kitchen, Um, and grow your character between the I don't know, a fork and a spoon on your kitchen table or on your desk or between your flowers. Your house plans at home or in front off your cat sleeping. Be creative and create your own story. I look at this image and it has in a space like an empty glass for me to pull my fantasy in it to pour my imagination and create my own story in this empty space. And this is what we will do in the coming lectures. 3. Sketching on the picture: you are not a beginner doing escape, so I will not explain everything. But there are still some things to know. So first we want an image. Toby here represented inning escape so I can drove over it. So we go fire and import or control. Plus, I control I I get in my folder. Here are all the nice images I showed you before and here's the one I picked. I just open it. And from this dialog, I select if I want to be embedded or linked. Lead means that it's ah, Escape is always looking for the photo in the next folder in the same folder, asked the SVG five year B and Embedded is just making the size off the fire bigger, but the photo will be included. The other settings are not really relevant. I always just leave them the fort and you see the quality is good. This is a photo again I just took with my camera and what I'm looking for again is that where I can put my litter character. I would draw him here because, you see, this part is blurry and this part on the right is sharp. So This is a blue report. This is a sharp part, and the background is a nice Contras because that's blurry, too. So what I do now is catch not on a paper. It's good if you draw on a paper, but this time I just sketching escape. Which means I'm using square circle, basic basic tools and, ah, the base here tool, which I call usually depend toe just to draw a very, very simple representation off my character. Sitting on the edge off this told Stool Mushroom. Yeah, so I just click, click, click to create straight lines. And that's it. I already have a little figure. It has a big head, a cartoon head and it has a little body. I can scale him up and down and sees relation to the image. Is he big enough? Is it small enough? Various. He located more or less is the posture is okay, but this is just a sketch how we'll use the No. Two now, so I just move some of the nodes around for the knees. I already have something in my mind, this carburettor character sitting here, maybe smoking a pipe or better reading a book um I drove these things because they are so peaceful and I want to let a peaceful character So I just move him or in the space, and I do not how he will look in the whole picture and I'm quite satisfied I can leave him here. But this part is now quite empty. I like the mushroom, and I like these acorns in the back. But if I put, I could put another character here even behind the mushroom. The acorns would be nice, but I don't have the space for it. And I don't want the character half ahead in the image, so I will not do that now. What else I can do? Maybe here I can add a little creature, something like a pet or acute bug or, I don't know, we will see something cute supporting the character. And it was so taking up space in the middle of the mushroom. Maybe I can make him a bit bigger. And then this character will be around here around this side. So mind you, this is just catching. You don't have to get everything perfectly in the first moment because it escape. You can always recites Always work. If the leg is different, make it different. I'm not sure about this. I will work on it more obviously. So you can modify everything later on. Now, this is just a simple sketch. So I will definitely use this character here and just for fun. I will also put a character hiding here under the bream off the mushroom. So I will also show you how to sleep something inning escape and make it appear behind an object. Okay, let's work a bit more on this character. 4. Finding primary colors: No, my fast prototype is ready and I'm quite satisfied. It looks nice in the image. It's time to add some details. Start to build up my character and decide the basic colors and the basic shapes. I start with the head and then I we were more on the body and later on I cast eerie position it It's never ending. Okay, so what do I do? First I want to make a color choice for the body, which will be blue. Why blue? Because I like the orange of the mushroom. And I want to use a complementary color, which means blue is nice and standing out also there is green, some green, most in the image and some light Blue is nice and standing also against that. I don't want to use the green. And I definitely know Don to use orange because that would blend in the mushroom. So I go to the field window and I define a color. This blue is fine. What I do know, I cut the body into half, so I draw a rectangle over it. I said, like both off them and I got it into two pieces. You see, Now it's got in the two pieces. I can move up then up and down. I can odd by double clicking. I cannot denote wkyc also here to create the bottom of the character because I want him to sit actually and you cannot sit without. But okay, and that's it. So I have the basic shape and I make the trousers a bit darker. It might remain lighted. This might not, but it's nice now because I can see the separation between upper and lower body. And also no, I can play more with the position of the head. I'm thinking to make the head something. Yeah, give him a skin color, something like light orange or brown. Ah, field toe. Feel free to use any skin color, which is representing you in this way. I'm also, um, European, So my skin is fairly light, but also I'm using this color because he's standing against nicely against the background. And no, I scaled the character with another thing in mind. You see, I don't want it to be the upper body on the edge of the mushroom, nor the head on the edge of the mushroom, So I scaled to be up and down. So my little blue shirt on the character is standing up against the background. Now it's time to add the book because I decided I will do a book. But the book also now is just a rectangle, just a placeholder. Okay, if the book is here, then he has a hand. He has to have hands toward the book and, uh, he really looked downwards. Now, this little character, if I do this just ah square we'd rounded edges. It could be a little caterpillar, but I'm thinking maybe create something like a ladybug or some other little bug with shell . So I'm creating a circle da plicating with control de for the other circle over. You see, it's too now and I make this bigger by holding shift. You can make it bigger that it's ah shaping on both sides, you see. And now I am going to view and outline to see all of the objects and I go path intersection to create a cut out. And this looks nice like a semi circle, like a cup or a bowl, a little ball put down on the surface. And this looks also like a little ladybug. I just color it whatever color for now. Okay, This purple is nice, is standing out around the orange against the orange. But it's also nice with the blue off the shirt of the little guy. And I'm positioning him there because there is the mushroom sharp you see now, in the beginning here, it's not very sharp. And also, I will position to more little guys. One or two. We will see here under the mushroom. Actually, I can duplicate him, put him here and I related and show you how to actually make these little fellows appear behind the mushroom. But that's the last lecture, not this one. I'm loss of your commit MAWR on the leg, which may be putting something here behind, but I, like, actually is blurry Details in the background. Okay, the character is almost done like proportion wise, and now let's go into details a bit. Let's create the book he's reading, because if I make the book, I can also create the hand holding the book. So I'm thinking a bit backwards. I can delete this place whether and I just create her square direct on Go make it, brown. Just pick the borrowing brown from the background and I distorted using these arrows. These are great to create, uh, items look a bit more perspective now. It controlled the Ida plicating it and pushing age I flipped it So the letter age is horizontally flipping on object And this made the other side off the book. If this is the outside, this is the inside. It has to be different. A lighter color. Ah, the paper color. So I duplicated it again and I picked something like a yellowish paper color. The applicator Also this one and the the color picker. I picked the same paper color later on. When I'm coloring and light do the lighting off the scene. Now I go towpath object to path so I can modify Later on. I will also create different colors What I did now I double click that edge also like here , and pull the nodes So they are ex actually giving some thickness to the paper and also pull this edge. So is banding nicely. This one also I 15 and I also been this edge. So it's it has a thickness. It has ah full of goodness off a thick book. We're almost done with the book. I select all of the elements with shift, click and with control G. I group them up in the next lecture. We work on more details. 5. Adding details to the character: now in this lecture reveal out so much details that we will make the character life. You can select the whole Corruptor and Contra ji, group it up and put it aside if it's bugging you that you work on the photo because you might unintentionally touch the photo and move it around. And you don't want that what ivy American now is. You see? So this is what you don't want. What I were can now is bending. The lega beat out some details to the upper body, arms and the head. So all the details now in this bit longer lecture were actually make the character nice and life I am read the mental. I am creating the arm and I am shaping it with the Noto. So I'm setting the length off the lower arm and playing around how it should look now with the panto. I'm creating the other arm, although it's not visible, and this one I really like in vector graphics and inning escape. It's not visible, but I drove it because it will be behind and with these bottom or pushing, and I'm sending it behind the book here will be the hand I picked the same color for distracting girls the head and here will be the other hand. Actually, I can draw these really little circus for the finger. So he's holding the book cover. We've controlled the Ida plicating. Make it a bit bigger controlled the adopt placated Make it a bit smaller here. I have, like three fingers holding the top of the book This hand I can actually draw as well. So if it will be here supporting the book holding the book then I had just have to quick around roughly now to create the shape holding the book. Yes, just a few fingers here and there and I'm looking at my hand now Feel free. It's not cheating or actually it's cheating. But it's good for you. So look at your hand. How is my term? How is my hand located? Just pretend you're holding an object How your time be rotated But if I zoom out, it looks nice Now I will make it even nicer later on just for no I make the sure darker So I actually see what is happening with the arm. I will decide the color later. Okay, I can bend this one the back of it, it's too much. He's like 100 back, a big band and also banded here of it. So he's looking like he is actually bending over and leading. Maybe a big belly, too much. I bend it back, so he's looking like a nice a little thin elf. Okay, let's work on the legs I control. Click this node, which is making it absolutely curvy. So control and left click. But if I take the note handers and make them shorter, it will make it closer toe looking like a corner again. But it is still around it. I do the same here. I double click here so I can create a cough. I might keep it later. Might not. It looks very sporty. Or like he's worrying. Ah, leggings. I'm not sure. Well, I just do it down now and also again. Control. Click. You see, it's a nice curve, but because I make this handler shorter, it is closer to being Ah, corner again. It's close this gap a bit. Control quick, this one as well to create the bomb. Nice. So it seems like he's actually sitting on something. I play with the trousers. I just keep them like this time. Maybe even tighter. I like them. I like the little thing legs. It makes it very cartoony and makes it like a cute off and even thinner. Maybe so. If the legs and arms are Super team and the head is big, very cartoon, this can be a bit shorter on this hand can be bigger. Why? Because the head is big. I want the hand or so to be big. If you measure your hand. Is your hand is us big us your face? So with this more hand, the character wouldn't really function. Let's work a bit more on this Tom dough with Double Creek. I'd I had one corner here as well, and I put the time the beetle over and here as well, and that just control. Click the edges to make them curvy a bit and this one, too, and create this curve corner. What we need A Dinis as well. Okay, this time is a B still veered. You see, I am also I drove a lot, but I still experimenting. It's never perfect. It's like I'm just looking at my hand like How is this weird thing functioning? I just I just want to draw a hand and more or less it. It's possible. So it looks already much more much nicer and detailed how it was on the original image and I select and applicator again with control. D. I like to duplicate all the time because if I make a mistake, I can go back to the previous one. Or if I make a decision and I'm not 100% sure, I can go back to the previous version no reveal. Make the face come alive. First, I create a nose just a simple triangle with the same color as the skin control. Click here to make it this drop shape. Play with the shape, create any shape off knows you want. And I just decided very it is located on the head because if the head is rotated, you see or its here or there is he upper or a downer variously looking at the book. If the nose is there than the eyes air here on the two sides for the eyes, I just create a very simple shape and let's say like this is the guy Yeah, more or less, they are inaccurate place. So what I do, I create a circle and I will use the stroke off the circle. So I added a stroke. Remove the field and if you move inside, you can make a semi circle with the semi circle stroke. If you move inside and then is just creating this stroke around can make how long it is nice. It's following the face of the the curve of the face. I give it a bit more thickness and I distorted a bit. Make it longer shorter here at the corner. Nice. It seems like his eyes are closed, but it's because you know he's looking downwards. And here we received a few clicks with the panto. I give the field back and take away the stroke. I am giving him an eyebrow. I thinking off taking back this orange color from from the photo so the drawing has more relation to the photo, and thus I will create a ginger elf. So if the eyebrow is ginger, then obviously the hair is ginger as well. But before that I will create the years here. I just feel up the circle with this icon. So it's a full circle again. I distorted a bit, and about here. Here will be the years. It has to be skin color, but I also use a Grady and toe to give it a grade ian from the skin color to something like pink. So the top of the year is like, you know, colder, different color. It's also helps that it will stand out against the skin a bit. So even if now, if the Carter would be bored, even visible. But I've allowed the nice, very hair like this. So just we depend. Toe. I drove very simple wave, just clicking, clicking, clicking here on the top. I could make some spikes. That's my hair in the morning. Not soaping, but I'm looking for the ginger look. With page down, I put it behind the ear and I see a mistake. That radiant is half transparent. No problem. I pick up the skin color here and I fix my mistake. So no, I have the hair and I do the same as we did with the body parts. I'm control clicking the end off. Not all of the notes, but just some notes. I want almost all but not all. So I leave the corners out and on the ends I'm quanta clicking these corners. You see, if I control Click David look weird. But this they are nice little around the spikes. Also here it's creating nice waves. This is how I usually do voter ways as well. Nice. This one I can even remove. Yes, I do. Nice. The less what I realized is the last nodes are on a line on an edge. The more dynamic is the line. So if there are random notes on the line, they will give some break to it. So now I just try to use us. Let us little amount off nodes as possible. Okay, I zoom out now and I'm quite satisfied with the hair. It's nice and baby in dynamic. I will also create a little drop shape here to support the hair. It doesn't have to attach to the hair. It looks like a little element. Bo being just above the hair, just a little piece of hair here, just shape it. So it's following the diet action off that little tail. OK, but curve it a bit more, so it seems more related to the whole mess off the hair and you see are again. It's a mess off hair. What we create. It's not hair by strings, so you don't have to dro each individual strings off hair. It looks like hair. It's a mess off here. Yeah, looks also bit like fire, but hey, so like group of the hair and I select then all the objects and group everyone up. No, if I moved ahead inside the book, it's like a little bird eating. I can zoom in and out. I can shape the head anything. It's one, it's it behaves like one object, so groups are amazing. I use them all the time. No, we are some boots and again I will make them this orange color because I want this orange to be in my drawing as well, not just in the photo. These were relate my drawing to the photo much more, much more part of the image. So I am just creaking five times to create this little boot shape and modify the shape to have an actually cartoon leg I just control create here at the toe off the shoe to make it curved. Now I duplicated and I have to modify this part. So it's following the direction of the lower leg of the further leg. See, I just move it a bit. Maybe inner outer and with a double click. I had the other note here to create the curve off the feet. Ah, I zoom out to check how it looks and it's more so. I make the big bigger. Now it looks nice. I group up the whole character with control G to keep it together. And if I sit him here in the image he looks or a day so much nicer, it's starting to be a character, not just a simple sketch. In the next lecture, we will create start to create the lighting for the hair and the whole body to make this character part off the photo. 6. Lighting the head : So let's just replicate the image. Read elements. I want to take just the bugs. Okay? I want to put this here so you can see how much you achieved from the starting point till now. I mean, this is already a nice little guy, as the other one is just a sketch. Let's modify the leg because you see the one further from me needs some work with the no tool because it's not really bending the knees, not really bending at the edge of the mushroom, it just seemed a bit unnatural. Although it's a cartoon drawing keeping a tiny amount off anatomy helps. And also I remove the cuffs I a day earlier and make the legs more cartoony because, I don't know, it seemed too muscular. And also position a bit, uh, vice and the bottom. Okay, this leg was too long, you see, So it's not following the curve off the mushroom. This one is fine, but the other languages other one was to know. This one is also too long. So let's just move the shoes and the feet up. And this one as well. Much food. Yes, I'm just grab the nodes. If I put the rotation there. It rotates around the little plus so I can rotate the selected notes so the whole feeds rotates. Why? The top of the boots stays in place. Nice. Now comes the fun part. I think the part which is making things more alive. If the light is coming from this direction you see, then everything on my drawing has to be leaked from this direction. How do I know I look at the mushroom. I look at the acorns. This is where light is coming from. So I have to do the hair and I have to do the body and everything and the book with that in mind that the light is coming on this image from the top, right? So here's a trick. I always do. I duplicate with control de now. Well, that's what we will do. The hair I duplicated, I colored the application. So again I deleted it and I go into the group because I just want to duplicate this main piece off hair. So I duplicated device. So I have this one the dark one, and I have one under it. I can even rotate a bit. I can scale over a scale it a bit and you see already which is remaining orange, we'll be remaining there and that will be delight part of the hair. I rotate it a bit. I delete later on the parts I don't need. Just see what I'm doing and you will understand later. We will do it a lot of times as well. These ones I don't even need, I can delete them. That's around it a bit. So you see, I have three objects. I have the order, general. Here I have one which is in place and duplicate, and I have one which is not in place. So I select the to duplicates and I go path difference. Now I have this little bream, this little edge which was the remaining one. And I make this one lighter then the original orange of the hair that the or ready already looking like the light is coming from this way because it's lighting up the hair so nicely . Okay, there are some little mistakes here and there with these techniques which you always have to correct by hand. But it's OK because you don't have to draw yourself all the shapes around the edge. So the streaming method I use all the time to create fast lightnings around the edges off a shape and then with no tool, I just clean up and I remove some things I don't need. But you see, they are matching the edge so nicely. How about this little blob of hair? Here I go in the group, and I just color it the same way as everything else. The yellow one because all of that is so small that it's lit from the sun, so I just make it bright yellow. I make the eyebrow bit bigger and I don't call her the eyebrow. I don't call around their eye. Make the eye which shift clicking redshift and the color picker. I'm picking up the brown off the book. It could be anything, so the black is not so dominant. That's what I did. I imagine the nose and the head together, and I actually, well duplicate know the head and do the same method. Us, we did you see? Not this one. We have three objects, one original and two duplicates. One of the duplicate will be cut in tow shape by the other duplicate. So I selected Color it. I just do this. So I see how much I will move it if the light is coming from there, the which parties will bright and which part is not. So again. Yes, I select these the two circles and path difference or control minus which I like to use our if you have a numeric keyboard and I just make this one this little question moon shape. I just make it brighter than the original. Create skin color so it looks like it is brighter than the surface. Or actually, I can make the whole face darker. It's up to you to decide, going down or going up. I think this is nicer. I don't even have to color the nose because it's nice and bright. And this is giving a nice feeling that actually I can move the nose. And with the home key, I put this to the top because the eyebrow was now covered. What do you see? What I have to fix. First off, all the hair is a thick hair, so it's having a shadow here. I duplicate the hair, I said, like this duplicate and my question moon shape and again difference. You see, this one is creating a very nice and very organized shadow boat at the forehead from the hair. This duplicating a cutting object is great for these. And their second thing I have to fix is again the color off the year. So I just fixed it and made it to the previous skin color and also know that I am here path , object to path and we don't know, toe I can give him years a bit. Morrell fish I da placated. I tried to make an inside of the year. Okay, not the whole group. Just this thing. I just colored the same way as the skinnies and give it a bit off a Grady int. This will create a bit off a weakness on the year. Let's pick a perfect color. Okay? Acceptable, I would say. And also that speaker color for the top of the year. So it's not so being Kish anymore. This has to be darker, Actually, yes. Now this is it. I was looking for, like, how to create the your shape without drawing all the things happening. They're just a small cartoony look But these little touches will make your colors pope and your cartoon look bit more alive. No, let's check if the note is okay, I concolor it. But actually I can keep it this way. If the light is coming from here, it's very nice. So we already on the head you can feel the light is coming from there. What I can also add I can make the base of the head even darker. Read a nice Grady in you see almost no color difference. But it makes the sphere look actually, yes. Very cool again. I have to match the color off the year toe the color off the head. So I'm pulling down this radiant and color pick this color here on the edge. Nice. It looks nice. It's already like the light is following the light of the photo. What else I can do? I can give also Grady into the hair. So I picked a lighter color and no, I pick a color in between on the Grady int and I'm opening this Grady int up. The bigger dig Radiant is the smoother it gets, the more color, the richer colors in between. I do the same here on the top in the front. It's a bit lighter in the back, it to be darker. I just put it up here for a second. It already is much more alive. You see the light coming from the top right direction and this is what we want and in the following lecture we will take it even further. 7. Lighting the body: So the head is done now and it's visible that the light is coming from. But this is a longer lecture now, where we will create lights and shadows for the rest off the body and the book. The office holding buried me. It seems long, but we will basically repeat what we did before. Now I want to give some thickness to the book. Well, let's remove the stroke. It's huge. Okay, so I just throw a simple object here. I will curve it a bit of us, leaving the No. Two pick the color off the book and make those pages will be dark because I think the head is shadowing over them a bit. So these edge is actually eat as the other one is not also here on the book. We give it a Grady and the lazy way and one end is the bright side is the other one is the light. The bright one is the other one is the darker one. So both off the front parts of the book Arlette and is just a very short radiant. I can play the shape a bit like how thick is the book or how it looks, and this is already enough. You see, if I zoom out, you can see it's enough to give some death to the book. It has some thickness, and I also can play. Some get some thickness and different color to this. Oh, thickness it not needed? No, I think. But I can make this part darker. So it is actually darker because you know, the light is coming from this way. So this is not valid. If you remember what we did here with the head, we can do the same with the body. So I'm clicking toe, get inside the group of the body, and I will give it a Grady and with the same direction as the head and the hair has let's speak a darker blue. And this time I use a radio. Radiant radio is different than a leaner Grady int because it is looking in a You know, it's weird up in a circle our way. So if my character's hunched like this, I'm forward. It's supporting nice to the shape I rarely use this type of Grady in, but this time I think it's nice. No, I duplicate the head and actually cope it over the body. I will duplicate the body also because I want to create an intersection there so I can create a shadow. So I just select the duplicate of the head and duplicated the body and I go path intersection or control star to create this shadow. And I picked the dog blue for it. So you see, it's nicely representing the shadow, the head disgusting on the shoulder. Now I have to work a bit on the arm because it's just coming out of nowhere. I make it curvy on the end. Okay. Still looks totally out of the image. I pulled this up a bit. A curve It a little bit like I did here with the knees. Nice. Okay, Now, this shoulder is so much out. So I want to put it a little curve there. I duplicate the arm, and I drove this little surface over it. I select the double IQ ated arm and the little surface and that goal bath and intersection . This is giving me the intersection again off the two objects I give this ingredient. So it is actually cooling a bit. Standing out can be lighter also. Yes, something like this. You see small detail, but it's giving its make the on pope, so standing out to be thrown a background. And that's work with this Grady in because it's too Homogenic. I wanted toe the arm to stand out bit more. You see, when you are not using outlines as I do like a Comey character, I'm not using outlines. You have to take care about contrast. So now the arm is too much out. But I let's give the same Grady and the exact same radiant like I did with the body. So is the same jumper. Actually, you see every Grady and has a number. I picked the exact same radiant. I just put it differently. So I do. That here is brighter in the forearm and on the shoulder. It's a bit darker. I opened it up very much, but it made a difference. It seems like it actually made from the same material us the jumper as the pull over of the character, but it works because here is nice and stays out, and I just for the background peak apart off the forearm, which is dark enough, and the extra a set it so it's actually coming from the other shoulder. Make it a bit thick, too nice. If I go further, I want to work on these fingers. I select all of them and with Path Union, I merge them together or control. Plus so you see both union or control. Plus I merge them together. So now again, I do the same trick us. We did in the previous lecture, read application three objects and original and to duplicate one of the duplicate. I move aside a bit and I cut it from the other room and I can decide how I cut it and how I cholera it after that, if I want the remaining part darker or brighter off the as the original. So no, I said, like both of them, and they go to bath and difference toe cut out one part from the other. I can make it darker, so it seems that is darker and the same color I picked from the face. So it is darker than the one on the other side. So in the view outline, I can see that I have how many objects I have. I just step back with Contra Z to show you this again. So it's up to me how much overlapping it is. How big is the part cut out? But this is why I colored it before. Or you can check the outline view or just simply color the object earlier. So you see how big John Q. R. Cutting golf and now I can shape it. I have the basic shape. It's nights and matching up with the original object on the left side, on the edge. But here it's up to me how to play with it with the Noto. So the fingers look actually, more fingers, not little eggs. Okay, that looks nice. This one a bit more. This pinky can be much darker than the others because it's small and it's kind of behind the other ones. Okay, it's nice. I have a feeling where the light is coming from. It's some well placed control clicks. I make this thumb looking like a thumb. Okay, this finger as well, not an over meeting. Double click toward the note there and toe push it. Not this much. A bit just to create the shape off a finger supporting the book, and I put these totally dark because it's under the book behind the book, so it's absolutely dark. I don't need any light elements on it. I could actually give it a grade, the end or something. But now is just enough, I think. Now let's move on to the trousers. Give them a great the end from dark blue toe, much darker blue. As you see, I like to use colors, which I used before this is keeping my image together. This is, you know, I'm using the same images, the same colors I used before. So it's not randomized now. What is my issue now? I gave a Grady into the front leg, but not to the back one. So I have to actually cut this into half. So I don't want object. Here I went again. Tow wire frame view or outline view, and I just throw a rough object here. So like that with the leg, and I just cut it into two pieces. That's it. Now this one has a Grady and very nice, and this man has a radiant the same, although not visible. But if I pull this handle a bit, Tara is the same so I can play with how dark is a trouser? How the light is coming on it. And with these Grady int, it's already becoming spherical. So it looking nice. Now I duplicate the basic shape you guessed I duplicated twice. I make one lighter part and whatever color part move the second application and just path difference. I cut it out. No, it page down key. I just put them behind them behind in behind of the objects. So it is actually on the trouser. I give it a nice Grady and is the same trick. Ha! Sided with the hair, the light part off the hair. So the light is coming from there, but not much reaching the sheen. Okay, now, if he's holding the book in his hand, that is casting a shadow as well. So I drove the whole shadow. I don't care about the parts which are not on the leg because I duplicate the leg. Select the shadow I drew and I go bath intersection again to cut it off to shape. I make it to be darker. Oh, that's not dark enough here. Okay, that's good. Even, Doctor. Nice and I can send these object behind the ends. We're pushing the page down key. So now it nice is if it is actually like a shadow coming down. But then I have to also draw this here on the forearm. So again, let's practice this once more. I make a shape. I bend it here nicely. So it's following the curve off the arm. Replicate the arm quick on the Doppler gated arm and on the shape path intersection have to calorie tha lighter blue not as dark us on the shadow is not as dark as on the dark trousers. Yeah, something like this. And also the son can be a bit lighter on the top. So the shadow of the head is still there, but not as dominant. But you see, on the dark trouser, it's nice. And these little details are helping a lot here I could put also little shadow. I said earlier that I will not. But you see, I'm I'm like changing my idea all the time in building the character all the time. So I just drew a shape duplicate the hand path intersection again. I have a darker part and I have a little lighter part, I make a darker color. But what I really love in escape is this. You can hold the mouse button, and with the eyedropper tool, you can create an average of two colors. So no, I makes the dark with a lighter and just created an average. And it's a nice color and it's, you know, matching the whole drawing. Let's play with the shape of it. I delete this note and bandit again a sided with the arm so it is following the shape of the leg. And already, if I look at this, it's nice. Let's do the same trick again and you see shading inning Scapin Vector Object is just the same trick again and again and again. So I just shape a bit the boots and then I will duplicate the boot. The obligated again. Move it a bit aside and be path diffidence or path intersection. I create an overlapping object. I think in the end of this lecture, you will know this streak off mind very, very well. So just a duplicate twice player between the shape define how much light is coming on the boots and cut it off, and actually that one. I want toe color darker the old general boots this time. So I keep the or did you know, green the original orange color off the bright one. And I add the doctor part again the applicator two times. You see three objects. I can modify the shape a bit. So, like both of them and just cut them off and make the origin of the same dark orange like I did with the other boots. This part is a bit annoying. Okay, Like that. Nice. You see? Very simple. Very. The colors are very close to each other, but it still works, and it makes the shadows on the character popping. I just want to show you what it is so far. If I put it next door, did you know how much better it looks? So we started from a simple sketch here. I did some colors and this is the one with shading and lighting. It looks so much better. And you will make much more in the coming lecture 8. Creating a believable drop shadow: my little F is sitting on the mushrooms so peacefully and the lights are amazing. But if lights are coming on him, then he has to have a drop shadow. And in this short lecture, I show you how I usually do a drop shadow. I duplicate the whole thing. You have it control D and it is one group. And if I want to merge it together with path Union, it doesn't work because groups cannot be merged. So I don placated and I put it aside with pushing shift control G foran grouping a 1,000,000 times until you can push it more. And then you just footpath union merged the whole thing together into one object, so duplicate the group on group it and the path union merger. Now I cut off the leg because I won't need it. Just throwing an object and part different and rotate this to put it over here on the edge of the mushroom. You will see in a second what? I mean, I flipped it and now I distorted. I make it a bit shorter, this tray and I make it a squeeze it So it is actually on the to the surface on the mushroom because that's a flat surface. And it's not the three the object. So I squeeze it so your mind is realizing that it's under mushroom. Now I have to cut it off on the edge of the mushroom. I just drove a circle, the chief controversy or path object to pass. I turn it into a path and I just match it here on the edge, I said, like both of them and we path intersection. It is cut now. It's not perfect everywhere, but these parts I don't even need. So I just don't delete the notes and that's it. I match it up. It's nice. I pull the same Delete this node. Yes, and this part I don't even need. So actually, I can delete this note and shaved this part inside. That's it. You see, it's already like a blue shadow bought. I will shape it a bit more. This only I don't even see because the nose will be not visible from that angle. How do I know this? It's like I'm drawing a lot. So again the scores us every other courses. No magic pill. It's a lot of practice that would be also other changes, but this will be believable. I removed these notes. I don't need them and pull this also. So it's actually like touching. Here's another. Okay, delete. So it's actually like touching the size of the mushroom and I bandit. So it's nicely reminding the viewer that there is a curve brokered dream on the side, off the stones to mushroom. Here is where that one is not even not merely that all and that just nicely could be dead. Dad Ugo. Now it's nice to following the shape what else I need. I told you earlier that you can get colors, average colors and how I make it a part of the image that I give the same colored and the same blood drop shadows as everything else. So the shadow off the elf, which he is casting on the surface of this orange mushroom will be this about this type of brown's exactly like this Acorn is doing OK. So if I just click, it would get one pixel, not the perfect color. So I click and hold like here it would make an average of the orange here. It would make an average of the blues you see. So I click and hold up there at the mushroom of the acorn to grant the average color from the photo. This is a nice brown. Nice matching the color there. Now I give it to Grady and one side is this dark one. The other side is this more orange color? Nice. Maybe a bit more bright. Great. Now, actually, I just turned the radiant into direction, and I shape it. Our cities closer to the object. So is the same, like with the acorn on the top left of the image. It's darker. The shadow is darker, the closer it is to the object. And now I blew it. Now blur is very nice, but don't overdo it. It's an effect. It's a theater effect. Don't overdo it. I also do the shadow a bit. Often. Offer an off off a color is transparency of the color. I pull it down. Why? Because I noticed that here in the top you see this little dots. You can see the actual surface, so it's not like a paper cut out. It's an actual shadow cost on the surface, so I play between the Alpha and I pay a bit. Read the Blur. How much bluer I give to the object, and it's very nice because they're on the edge. You could see that it's merging. Beautiful. If I zoom out, it's even better. It merges beautifully with the color off the edge of the mushroom. And no, I'm like, super happy. Really, because it seems like my little elf is actually sitting there. Now you might notice that my computer started to leg. Why? Because I'm recording this lesson for you and I am growing and showing the blur. It's very, very heavy on the computer, you see, because it's calculating on the fly. So what I do, I go to display like go to view and the display more what I said to no filter, which is keeping the blur in the in the file. But it's not showing it, so your computer can work fast again, sparing you re sources. Now I'm very happy with the shadow, and I hope you are the same your character. If you are done, Village shared image with me. Show me what you created so far in the next lecture, we will create these and much more vivareal practice everything we did before by doing a little buck 9. Practice: draw the bugs!: So in the short lecture we will do and practice everything we did so far by creating this little cues creature this little but here. So we were created and then other lighting colors and the drop shadow. Okay, so I am just taking the shape I previously created around some squares. Let's make it darker purple and with control De duplicated a few times I give human I I don't care how bad guys look Now I just want to create something very cute. OK, it will be around these big and here and I just duplicated now to show you it will be the other. I will be here. But now I also want to make the other legs so back has six legs. I select all three and put it behind and maybe later I will draw the other legs on the other side. But now I just duplicated divide circle made it dark purple again. The exact same dark purple I had de obligated again another white little sphere. Now I put the Grady int on it, and that's already a shine. So it was just a little white circle on the blue circle. And because the light is coming from this direction than the shine is on that side of the eye. I group up there I and duplicated and now I make it smaller and distorted a bit. So it is, you know, turning a bit with the semi sphere, which is the body off the bag. Let's make him super cute. Give him a little mouth. The chief click. I select the same purple for the great for the stroke. And I used the same method to create this little semi circle us I did with the eyes off the elf. So it's a stroke with the semi circle? No, I can position the legs and this I said it has six legs. So what if I duplicate them? Okay, only one is actually visible so I can deal a deal. Edie's I put it here. So it is like he has, You know, your mind is calculated. He has all the legs necessary. Although I just see four. I can't believe the placeholder group of the little creature and put him here sopa cute looking at the little creature and that's it. So if the light is coming from the top right like it was coming with the head. We do the exact same thing this time. I wanted to make a bit shiny. So I add the circle or an ellipse, the applicator, the original shape. And I go to Broadway go bath intersection off course to create the bright part. I make it brighter. You see, It's nice toe. Make the make a brighter blue, uh, purple color. And also here on the back, I want to purplish arch. So I duplicated twice. So I have no three shapes of the same car. Teetotal path difference. Make it the same color. And no imagine these two together. Now I have this one and I give you the grade. Ian. Okay. Not the whole group. Control Z Control Z. Come on. Just this one object I give him Grady int. So it is the same feeling. And now I give a grade ian from the purple toe, the darker purple, the darker one on the shell. A bit lighter. Okay, so with these two, Grady and I am creating an effect, an illusion that it's actually actually a little not a semi circle, but semi sphere and beat off a three D effect. If you want, you can play with the Grady ends for ages. I like to make them very open and beak. So they're creating a very subtle effect. Nice. If I zoom out, it's already standing there and it is a nice lightning coming from the right. I make him a bit smaller and I'd obligate him for guess what? Yes. Creating the shadow. So duplicate him. Push if contra gee several times toe on group the whole thing so you can go path union emerging together us I did read elf. No, I just sleep him with this or V for vertical flipping. I position the upside down legs at the legs distorted because at the legs at the end of the little feet, the back feet there will be the connection with the shadow on the ground and feet very stretching the ground, You see, like this. So we paged down, I send it behind. Now I check the number off this brownish radiant and I apply a great the end going back and I check. Yes, here is the brown one with the same exact number. So it's the exact same radiant and I give you the blur, although it's not visible now because, you know, Blur is turned off, as we did in the previous lecture. But if I turn it back, it will be visible. So this was one point something. Then This can be one point, something toe always. Not this much. It's blowing up. Yeah, it's actually looks nice. He's like standing in place, like with the other Elf is like he is part of the image Now. I deleted the two placeholders down here as well applicator my little creature. And if he were behind ing or his friends looking similar or exactly the same, Actually, I'm reusing the elements. Then he it will be darker. So what I do, I make him darker, appear much darker, and I removed the shine. I make him smaller as well. Da plicating, Megan. Even smaller, one like brother and the little brother. So this is the idea. But I think first I just want to position in here. If the eyes are like this, not the image, but I can. I selected the photo by accident. I can move the eyes a bit up, but I can move. The iris is the inside of the eyes. Ah beat the different the other direction also up. So he is looking up under from under the brim off the mushroom He's looking up. What is happening with the off? What is he doing? I like to work like this in Vector because you just modify what you already created. So no, I duplicated So both of the little creatures are looking and now I just try to hide them in the next lecture under the mushroom. Okay, Bye. First I moved the eyes of this little cuties so he's properly adoring the uff 10. Add characters to the photo with clipping and masking: So I will show you how to hide these two little cuties behind the mushroom. So first we group them up with control Geo Group. And then we create a shape toe, creep them almost them behind the mushroom. And now I show you what is the different between clipping and masking? Yes. So let's create the shape. Because we just want a shape which is re creating the curve off the mushroom. So I make a circle and I make shape over it. And I will cut it out from the circle. And what will be remaining? So I am toe. What is remaining will be my mosque. So in the mask is only reasonable. What is under this new object over them? So a group of the creatures and I create a shape covering them, which is now just a circle. And I click around. We don't know to with the Pento. Sorry. Close it here. I like both of them and I go towpath difference to cut it to shape. You see, I try to follow us clothes us to the edge of the mushroom. I can part difference to cut it off and that's it. Now I said, like both of them and apply a clip. There are they are hiding behind the mushroom. Why it is good that they are a group. If I double click, it goes into the group and I can edit, Still added. These little creatures move them up and down, scale them. And whatever I do, it's happening inside the mask. So it is steel behind the mushroom because whatever is not covered by the mask shape will be invisible. That's the point off the mask inning escape so I can play and are more lighting here. Or make the radiant even darker. I want to do this. Yes, it's even darker. It's nice. So they are hiding. Maybe it's not enough contrast here, so yeah, I can play ages with the colors, but I'm OK for now. And because this part of the mushroom is blurred, I want them to blur. So I turned back the blur to see this is too much. Mm. About. And you see, this edge is straight, Whitey. Straight because it is a clipping mask and the clipping mask. Ah does not have blue or transparency. So I make it white. I d applied the clip. I removed the clip. I make it white, not transparent. That also 100% OPEC. You and I make it blurry and you will see it in a second. Why? Because not like leaping. Applying a mask, it is applying blur, Grady and transparency and everything you see, it is blurred around the edges. So if I move my little creatures here, they are blurred around the edges. If I blew them or they are even more blood and can move the eyes a bit, we're actually made them a bit darker because they're like super white getting out these dark? Yes, something like this. So the three, the eye of the upper creature is much more bright. So that's it? I'm very happy with this because they are blurred there in the shadow. Maybe people don't notice that them at the first blink. And that's nice because you are reading a story to your drawing. I can move them a bit more. You see, I can absolutely hide them because they are under the mask. Maybe behind the beat. Yeah. You see, this is the mask. I can draw the mask shoulder must strip, So yeah, the picture looks nice. Now I can work on it more at some details. Work more on this later. Creatures, move the lights a bit. Maybe Yes. Maybe this is better because, you know, they are under the mushrooms. So the light is maximum spreading on graham from the bottom off the image. And they are different than this creature on the top. And also, I want if I move my creature there, it was very, very sharp. If I move him, move him a bit. I apply a bit off a Grady and I say a bit not like him, Dawn. Then he will be even more part of the image with a very, very small amount of Grady int Ah, blue. I mean, a very, very small amount of blur. He will be burned us much off the photo behind. And I can do the same with the elf, actually. So if I apply very, very, very tiny bird on the off itself, he will be much more part of the image. So even just a bomb pick seller less than mom picks a blur makes him more part of the image . Because the mushroom under him is not sharp or either. So this is the final image. In the next lecture, I will talk more about what we did so far.