| 29 November 2009
Forward: Hello, and welcome to my ass-old tutorial for using the linetool in photoshop. We're talking about 2006ish. I do apologize for the older interface, it was done in Photoshop 7.0, however, I currently use photoshop CS4, and I can promise that everything plays out the exact same way. Well, with that said, allow me to give a little explanation as to what we're going to teach you. For any of you who have wondered how to get such smooth lines on lineart without a tablet, or create eye-catching curves for a variety of uses, I can teach you with a few quick, simple steps. Its called the Pen Tool, and it should be in every photoshop enthusiest's little bag of tricks. Now, anyone who has ever been new to photoshop ever, can tell you how daunting the Pen Tool can be. Well, thats because you're using it wrong. I won't lie, you're probably photoshop retarded. Comforting fact: Everyone is photoshop retarded when they start, so you've nowhere to go but up. It took me forever to learn how to use it properly, because back in 2003 when I started using it for lineart, there were no easy-to-understand Pen Tool tutorials. So I set out to make one. Now, I'm teaching you under the assumption that you know the basic how-tos of photoshop, such as what layers are, how they work, where most of the tools are... If you don't... Uh, wait on this one for a while. I'll write up a how to use Photoshop tutorial...some day. (Probably never,)
Section One: Lets Get It Started In Here
Before I use the pen tool, I go through a few quick steps to make the whole process less of a hastle. This pretty much consists of changing my lineart color to something lighter so when I put the black over top of it, I can see what the hell I'm doing.
This isnt a step. This is just to show what the hell my workspace looks like. The only things I really have to use are the "tools" panel, and the "layers" panel. You might have the color picker panel, the history panel, and whatever you have managed to drag out into the open. Thats fine, but they won't be needed for this lesson. Also, I rarely use them. Very rarely. (IE: Never.)
1) This is ACTUAL SIZE!. I make sure my sketches are inhumanely large so I can see details. Then I scale them down when I'm done. This is just the way I do it. The pen tool is easier to manipulate this way. Also, it makes it easier to fill in color later. Anyone who has used the paintbucket tool has learned its very fickle.
2) Now, before you start anything, make sure you double click on the layer that says "background" until it says "layer 0." This makes it editable without being retarded. Now, right click on the words "Layer 0" and go into properties. Rename it "Sketch" as to help with organization. Make a new layer (the little folder icon in the layer panel, in case you forgot) and drag it UNDER "Sketch", and re-name "Background". (You can fill it with white if you want, or whatever other color. I dont care.)
3) Now, make one more new layer, grab the paintbucket tool, and fill the new layer with a lighter color. I used blue. Now, go up to the thing that says "normal" and find the option "lighten." There! Your lines are now lighter! After you do this, press ctrl+e to merge it into one, simple manageable layer. Your sketch layer should now be light blue (or whatever color you picked), and not...black. Now, make a new layer and name it "lineart" (Make sure it is the active layer/selected) for the next section. Make sure it isn't filled with any color, you need to be able to see your sketch layer underneath.
Section TWO: LINES! LIIIINES...Give me my Liiiiines
Anatomy of a curved line: Most drawings are not of squares or other geometric shapes. You're going to have to learn how to curve lines in order to give your drawings a sense of... You know. Not sucking. Below I've highlighted in green the line I'm going to ink with the pen tool.
1) Okay, simple enough. Make sure the layer "Lineart" is in order (active layer, not filled with anything) and grab your pen tool, and find the start of a line. Any line will do. We don't discriminate against lines. Click, but DO NOT DRAG. A small gray box should appear, like so.
2) Now, find the next "edge" ... Usually a corner of some sort, or where a line is intersected by another. Click (but dont drag) again. Dont worry about the fact that it doesnt follow your lineart. Dont worry. It will.
3)Now, all you have to do is click (but dont drag) on your pen line (the thin gray photoshop generated line) near where the line needs to curve. The pen tool should get a little + by it. Thats a good thing. When you see the +, that means you can add an "anchor point." Go ahead and click until you create a little gray box.
4) You see the gray box in the middle? That is your friend, Anchor Point. He's going to help your line. Now, press ctrl. You see how your pen tool has turned into a white arrow? That means you can now move anchor points. Keep ctrl held down, click on Mr. Anchor Point and drag him to where your line needs to curve. If you have an extreme curve, grab one of the suports (the tiny gray box on the end of the supports on the Anchor Point) and use it to manipulate your line as you need. Also, if your line curves a lot, or in more than one direction, you'll probably have to add more than one anchor point. I recommend playing around a bit with it, to see what it does. Experience is probably a better teacher than I am. Below are a few steps I did to make my pen line mimic my curve.
Congrats, if you've managed to make something that follows your line pretty well, give yourself a pat on the back. If not, you can always right click and select "delete path" to get rid of your pen line and start over. Trust me, it gets easier as you go on.
Section three: The Final (and Inky) Frontier
Quick note: If you hold down Ctrl and click anywhere off of your pen line, all your anchor points will dissapear. This helps to see how closely you followed your sketch line. To get them back, simply hold down Ctrl again, and click the pen line again.
1) Now select your brush tool, and find a hard brush that is aproximately the size of the line you want to create. Now, make sure its a hard brush (one that doesnt have a blurred edge.) The ones with the blurred edges are THE DEVIL. They make everything much more difficult in the end, and when you eventually scale your image down, it will look like shit. Anyway, as I stated: Pick a hard brush that mimics the size of the line you want to create. I picked a 9px round, hard brush. The importance of this step: It tells the pen tool what brush to ink with. If you do not do this, who knows what you'll end up with.
2) Now select your pen tool again, and right click and select Stroke Path.
3) Make sure your Tool drop-menu is set to "Brush" and your "simulate pressure" box is unchecked. Press OK
4) TADA! Now you have a stroked line. Now, delete the path and repeat the step with other lines as needed. Soon enough, it'll only take you a little while to ink the entire drawing. This drawing only took me two and a half minutes (and I even stopped to take a drink of diet pepsi!) to ink after I finished doing the tutorial part.
(this is a finished line)
6) This is the finished image. Quick, simple, and no longer a sketch. If I would have taken my time on it, it'd be inked a little better, but this is to give you the general idea of what the hell to do.
Looking pretty good, yes? Maybe you should go check out part two!
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