Shade an Anime Face – This tutorial provides a detailed guide on shading an anime or manga-style face to depict various lighting conditions. Anime and manga often use “Cel” shading, a technique that creates distinct areas of light and shadow without gradients. Cel shading is efficient for quickly shading multiple animation frames or manga panels, offering clarity and style.

Understanding Cel Shading in Anime

Cel shading simplifies the shading process by using clear, defined shadows, making it ideal for dynamic and expressive artwork. By understanding where to place shadows based on different lighting conditions, you can enhance your character’s depth and realism. This tutorial explores several common lighting scenarios and how to apply Cel shading effectively.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. General Lighting Anime Face Shading

In general lighting, there is no single strong directional light source, resulting in balanced shadows.

• Forehead: Shadows are cast by hair, creating a subtle shade on the forehead.
• Eyelids: Small shadows appear due to the eyelids’ recessed position.
• Nose: A slight shadow is cast on one side of the nose.
• Neck: A large shadow is placed beneath the chin, cast by the head.

2. Side/Top Lit Anime Face Shading

When light shines from above and to one side, shadows are cast at an angle.

• Face: One side is illuminated, while the other is in shadow, with a highlight on the cheekbone.
• Eyelid: A slight shadow is present on the illuminated side.
• Neck: The shadow is angled according to the light source.

3. Side Lit Anime Face Shading

With light coming directly from one side, the face is evenly split between light and shadow.

• Face: Half of the face is bright, while the other half is dark.

4. Low Light Anime Face Shading

In low light, the face is illuminated from below, creating unique shadow patterns.

• Chin: A small shaded area is present at the top of the chin.
• Upper Lip: Casts a slight shadow due to its protrusion.
• Nose: Shadows form on the underside of the nose.
• Cheeks: Shadows appear due to the slight prominence of the cheekbones.
• Forehead: The upper area is darker as it turns away from the light source.

5. Top Lit Anime Face Shading

With light from above, most of the face is shaded, except for areas facing the light.

• Forehead: Fully illuminated as it faces the light.
• Nose and Cheeks: Upper areas are lit.
• Upper Lip and Chin: Light touches the protruding areas.

6. Back Lit Anime Face Shading

Backlighting creates a “frame” of light around the edges of the face.

• Cheeks and Neck: Light highlights the sides.
• Nose: A small light spot appears at the tip.

Conclusion

Cel shading offers a straightforward approach to depicting shadows and highlights in anime and manga. By understanding different lighting scenarios and their impact on facial features, you can create dynamic and expressive characters. This tutorial provides foundational techniques for shading anime faces, enhancing their visual appeal and depth.

Shade Anime Hair – This tutorial teaches the basics of shading anime and manga hair with step-by-step examples of twelve different hairstyles. Understanding how to shade anime hair adds depth and dimension to your characters, enhancing their overall appearance.

Understanding Anime Hair

Before diving into the examples, it’s essential to grasp the fundamentals of anime hair and why it’s shaded in a particular way.

How Anime Hair is Drawn

• Large Clumps: Anime hair is drawn in large, stylized sections, often based on real hair.
• Sections: Divide the hair into front, sides, and back/top sections for structured drawing and shading.

How Anime Hair is Shaded

• Hard Transitions: Anime hair is shaded with hard transitions between light and dark areas, without gradients.
• Lighting: Shading is influenced by lighting conditions, usually simulating well-lit environments with the light source above.
• Simplified Shading: The aim is for shading that looks credible without being overly realistic.

Quick Tips Before Starting

• Shading Depth: Ensure shadows stand out from the base hair color without appearing unnatural.
• Highlight Techniques: Use a white pen or paint for highlights on paper or leave areas white. Digitally, add highlights at the end.

Step-by-Step Shading Examples

General Steps for Shading Hair

Prepare the Hair Design

• Start with a clean line drawing of the hairstyle.

Color the Hair

• Fill the hair area with a solid base color. Leave highlights white or add them later digitally.

Add Shading

• Apply shading to the lower parts of hair clumps and around areas shielded from light.

Add Highlights

• Draw highlights as lines or zigzags to give the hair a shiny appearance.

Example Hairstyles

Long Hair

• Shading: Focus on lower clumps and inner back hair.
• Highlights: Add along the forehead and sides.

Short Hair

• Shading: Similar to long hair with added focus on the back/neck area.
• Highlights: Across the forehead and sides.

Hime Cut

• Shading: Side clumps and back neck area.
• Highlights: Forehead and side sections.

Messy Hair

• Shading: Along sides and lower hair.
• Highlights: Forehead and sections protruding from sides.

Ponytail

• Shading: Lower ponytail and sides.
• Highlights: Forehead and ponytail.

Pigtails

• Shading: Lower and side areas.
• Highlights: Forehead and pigtails.

Curly Hair

• Shading: Inner curls and lower sections.
• Highlights: Across forehead and curl edges.

Buns

• Shading: Lower buns and sides.
• Highlights: Forehead and bun curves.

Braids

• Shading: Lower braid sections.
• Highlights: Across forehead and braid tops.

Spiky Hair

• Shading: Along lower spikes.
• Highlights: Across forehead and spike tips.

Conclusion

Shading anime hair is straightforward but requires understanding where shadows and highlights should be placed. This tutorial provides insights into shading in well-lit conditions across various hairstyles. With practice, you’ll be able to add depth and style to your anime characters effectively.

Thanks for Visiting Our Website – Easy Anime Drawings