First off, an important thing to mention is I did this in Photoshop CS4. So if you're using Sai...well, it still could be interesting. This is gonna be sort of broad as I was experimenting for the most part. I would like to go more detailed as to how I do paintings and digital pieces as I get more comfortable with the process. But for now...this is basically how I did my most recent digital:
1. I have a very basic tablet so it's easier for me to sketch it out on paper. Sometimes I ink the characters out it if it gets really complex like this did. Just to make it clearer when have to ink it digitally.
2. After re-inking Ali (right) and Kit (left) I put in the flat colors. At first I used the colors they were, then used color balance to get the colors to match the background. (I got familiar with the lasso tool when I got to the grass.)
3. This. Was. Tedious. Particularly the grass. Again, got familiar with the lasso tool for that. I made 2 other layers for both the blue and golden grass. Both with slightly different shades than the first layer. Then for the blue grass I sort of cheated (^^') and copied and pasted different shades into different layers. To show more variety.
After adding in all the shading I put in golden highlights in everything. For the fireflies that will come in later. Masking layers..becomes your best friend for that. Trust me.
4. Then I put in highlights in the eyes, stars, the fireflies and some glow effects to finish it off. And...ta-da!! It is finished! You can see a full view of it here:
