Material Palette and Inking Special Effects

Sometimes, inking requires us to answer a set of questions relating to how to render something. How can we make a textured, grungy look? How can we use the digital space to make repetitive inking tasks easier and more efficient? Becoming familiar with the other drawing tools and how to customize them is the best way to save time when drawing. When you have a core understanding of how to create and customize tools, you can make special ones that solve problems and speed up your workflow.

Digital art materials are a contentious topic, as over-relying on them is sometimes seen as cheating. The important thing to remember is that the materials used for custom brushes still need to be drawn; you still need to know how to draw the materials, it just saves the repetition of drawing hundreds of leaves or blades of grass. Making custom tools that can create a grungy effect, make lightning, or even create a crowd scene for us is no more cheating...