Hi there game dev community ! I'm new here and this is my first post.

I'm here to get some help because I am soon going to have to design a game using advanced digital arts such as Photoshop etc. My current software is Corel Painter 12.

I'm fine with sketching, ok at designing, but I'm a noob when it comes to knowing which brush to use and coloring tools etc.

The style I'm looking forward to practice will look a lot like the 2D manga-style games such as Muramasa and Odin Sphere.

Here is my question for you better experienced digital artists :

Say, if the artist from the image I'm adding here (Kisuke from Muramasa game and Velvet from Odin Sphere) was using Corel Painter like I am. Would you be able to tell me which brushes, brush settings, and tools you think would be the most correct for this kind of artwork ?

Thanks a giant bunch for your thoughts :-)

-Dominic

this is my work:

I use Sai instead of Corel

Turn the opacity down to 80~90%, a 10~15% of color blending, that brush would handle most of it.

Along with a 90~95% soft end eraser would do.

lso paint in 200~300% size canvas of what is meant to be seen.

this is my work:

I use Sai instead of Corel

Turn the opacity down to 80~90%, a 10~15% of color blending, that brush would handle most of it.

Along with a 90~95% soft end eraser would do.

lso paint in 200~300% size canvas of what is meant to be seen.

Thanks ! Lovely work on your youtube. I went to see a colored drawing in one of you videos and you're doing great.
So the type of brush is personal taste only ? I sense that most digital artists don't use hairy brushes configs. I see mostly Basic round, custom smeary round, to have a clean round strike with some bleed, without bristles.
I see you always start by coloring the whole thing with a brown for the first color layer, then move on with some lighting with a beige, and then you go for the other palettes in detail. What is your reason for that ? It gives you a lighting suggestion for when you're going to add the colors ?

Thanks ! Lovely work on your youtube. I went to see a colored drawing in one of you videos and you're doing great.
So the type of brush is personal taste only ? I sense that most digital artists don't use hairy brushes configs. I see mostly Basic round, custom smeary round, to have a clean round strike with some bleed, without bristles.
I see you always start by coloring the whole thing with a brown for the first color layer, then move on with some lighting with a beige, and then you go for the other palettes in detail. What is your reason for that ? It gives you a lighting suggestion for when you're going to add the colors ?

I use pretty basic brushes, round with some soft edge but not too soft. I'm not sure how others do, i'm sure some pros develop a set of customized for universal purposes, but basic should get you through the beginner ~ mediocre stage.

Most artists I learned from start with dull and dark color and then work their way to the other end of the contrast. i find it easier that way to capture the feeling as I go. I usually have some idea what the part is going to be like before I start moving my pen, but half way though it always turns out different (since i'm not skilled enough yet), but then on the spot I capture a feeling how it would turn out in 3D (including volume and texture), then I continue to explore whatever is there. So you're right, it sorta give me a lighting suggestion.

You should look at deviant, there are plenty of free brush's. The most important ones depend on the type of work you are doing. Do you have a pen pad? are you working with a mouse? Keep in mind that if you work is done with a mouse ( like myself ) you will have 5 strokes for every 1 stroke of a draw pad, possibly more depending on the style of line you want. With that said here is a list of some of the ones I use on a regular basis

http://feohria.deviantart.com/art/Chalk-Brush-Blending-Brush-PS-brush-333411725

http://danluvisiart.deviantart.com/art/My-Brush-Pack-118954791

http://sandara.deviantart.com/art/My-brushes-351007003

http://feohria.deviantart.com/art/Winter-2012-brushes-Happy-New-Year-345316587

And for a list of them all ( for you to look through )

http://browse.deviantart.com/resources/applications/psbrushes/?order=9&offset=24

You should look at deviant, there are plenty of free brush's. The most important ones depend on the type of work you are doing. Do you have a pen pad? are you working with a mouse? Keep in mind that if you work is done with a mouse ( like myself ) you will have 5 strokes for every 1 stroke of a draw pad, possibly more depending on the style of line you want. With that said here is a list of some of the ones I use on a regular basis

http://feohria.deviantart.com/art/Chalk-Brush-Blending-Brush-PS-brush-333411725

http://danluvisiart.deviantart.com/art/My-Brush-Pack-118954791

http://sandara.deviantart.com/art/My-brushes-351007003

http://feohria.deviantart.com/art/Winter-2012-brushes-Happy-New-Year-345316587

And for a list of them all ( for you to look through )

http://browse.deviantart.com/resources/applications/psbrushes/?order=9&offset=24

This is so nice, thank you ! :)
Yes I am using a tablet. I have a hard time believing you can draw with a mouse ! hehe I've done it in the past but as I was before then a non-digital artist, I quickly found myself to be a lot more comfy with a little wacom when I entered the digital world. The difference in stability was highly noticeable. You must have a special mouse with pressure / velocity thingy ?
Anyways, I will definitely check these brushes links, I entered these forums especially to make contacts with helpful people like you guys. ^^ <3

I use a mouse, and trust me it takes me hours to do things that I could do in minutes with a tablet. I lack the funds to get the Cintiq right now so I am waiting. Once I save up the HD24touch will be mine! I have a very steady hand and have become skilled at mastering the stroke system! With all that said, I dare not attempt master works of art at this point as I know it would take me weeks to get anything near what I would desire. I simply doodle enough to get my game going and to show people how art works.

Hi,

Hungry for more? Good.

Okay, you got a good amount of information here to get you started, but I have to say that you really need to grab tools, brushes, shaders, gradients, or whatever you can find and experiment with them. I know that some artists don't like to search for new tools or experiment with a lot of them, but it really is a part of the business at least to some extent.

A major part of developing art skill is much independent exploration and experimentation. After doing this for years now, I rarely need to ask a question because I go and grab tools and learn their strengths and weaknesses. You will with this strategy find ways to make characters that looks better to you than those examples eventually if you reach some level of artistic independence. For now it is good that you ask for help.

Some tips:

1) Work quickly in most areas of the art

2) Erase and redo parts however many times that you need

3) Be bold and aggressive most of the time with technique

4) Review history file of your work periodically to learn from your progress

5) Experiment rapidly on a test layer overlaying the art on a regular basis, including the use of new brushes

A) Characters should all be each unique as practical in the game or scene yet have a common theme connecting theme if possible

B) People expect the cartoon nature of this genre, so really work it with some caricature aspects, even in the color choice being a bit exaggerated.

C) Better to have simple but clear boundaries rather than complicated or fuzzy ones, because the human mind intuitively prefers a solid distinction dividing areas

D) Keep the character free from attention grabbing parts which are below quality of the other parts, a common challenge for up and coming artists

I really like gradient brushes, which have made shading the textures much easier for me. Remember that erasing, including varying the opacity/ transparency of the erasing, is an important technique toward the end result of your brushes.

I bought issue #31 from Corel Painter Magazine. It had an article by artist ReiQ (Reinaldo Quintero) where he paints an anime style character like the one you're asking for reference.

He made a Youtube video of it: http://icandevents.blogspot.com/2012/03/youtube-goodies-corel-painter-paint.html

The kind of brush used by these artists is a very simple round "oil" brush, without texture. It's simply an easier way to place color and blend.