Still Not Over How Well Characterized And Balanced Every Character Is Portrayed In The Teen Titans 2003

A simple way to recreate the Nevermore 'look' in procreate

this could (ofc) be achieved in other digital art programs as well, but since I use procreate i'll stick to what i know) I'm no expert, and i might update this as i learn, so please take all of these 'rules' with a grain of salt, these are just principles/steps that i have found work for me. i wanted to share my insight in case this could be helpful to a handful of people out there <3

All credit for this wonderful style goes to Kate Flynn and Kit Trace. i'm not claiming to know how to replicate their work, but simply offering my interpretation of it as a humble admirer :)

Brushes

Step-by-step

*this tutorial assumes you have basic knowledge of how to use procreate.

sketch/lineart - make your sketch in any way comfortable for you. use brush #1 (gesinski) in black or a grey slightly lighter than black. make sure to vary your line weight (thick -> thin). completely color in the very darkest shadows (*typically* the top lip, under the chin, pupils and ear canal). *optional: set the lineart layer to 'linear burn'.

flat colors - add background color / flat colors with brush #2 (monoline). don't add any shadows or blush at this stage, just pick the default™ color for each detail. even if you don't plan on drawing a background, i recommend filling in a color, as this helps to set the scene and to make everything look more cohesive. (note: do not color the lips at this stage)

3. blush / gradients: use brush #3 (salamanca) to color in areas of saturation (blush) + the lips. for this particular step there are a lot of brushes you could use, the key is to get one that looks 'cloudy' and has some texture to it. it can be helpful to set the blush layers to 'clipping mask' on top of the flat colors, so that everything stays within the lines. ***once added, turn the blush layers OFF as you do the shading so that they don't mess with your perception of shadows.

4. shading: (NOTE: shading layers should go above blush layers). nevermore uses a lot of sharp, clean shapes for their shadows, so avoid smudging them out! use brush #2 (monoline) and (the key) - a very saturated color. paint all of your shadows in one color, on one layer, and then set that layer to 'linear burn'. lower the opacity to 30-50%. for extra dark shadows, do the same thing on a new layer, above the previous one. you can even use the same color, 'linear burn' will automatically adjust to the flat colors beneath it so that you don't have to manually pick shadows. to clean up the shadows i like to erase with the same monoline brush, and smudge the edges just a bit with brush #5 (streaks).

at this point, depending on your colors, you could also add a highlight layer with the same technique. i'll show this a little later.

5. highlights: turn your blush layers ON again. (NOTE: highlight layers at this stage go above the lineart layer). use brush #4 (round brush) to paint in a few soft highlights with white (typically on the bottom lip, tip of the nose, the corner of the eye and on the iris). you can play around with the mode on this layer, but i find 'normal' works just fine.

finally, use brush #5 (streaks) in a slightly yellowish white to paint the sharp highlights. these are *usually* made in large, bold strokes along the edges of your figure. they are used to indicate the light source, to show wisps of hair or to create contrast with the background (see reference above). set your layer to 'add' and adjust the opacity accordingly. don't be afraid to go outside of your lineart to really bedazzle your work.

if there's anything else you'd like to add at this point (i.e. makeup or other details), i suggest using streaks or any other textured/grainy brush.

one final secret ingredient i use to really sell the lighting (especially in dark settings) is to fill in a layer on top of everything in the color of your background. set this layer to 'color' and adjust the opacity (imo 10-30% should be good, but you can really push this). this will slightly mix all of your flat colors with the background color, making them all into one unified color palette.

slap on a watermark and you're done!

here is a final look at my layers:

Applying this to different colors/lighting

here i used the same steps above on simple spheres to make them easier to understand.

row 1: an example from my original piece (annabel's hair, to be exact)

row 2: the same lighting but in a darker color, which requires an extra highlight layer in step 4

row 3: an example of shading in a dark, nighttime environment

the colors on the right are the exact ones i used to render the spheres, shown at full opacity. i am often able to use the same color for multiple shadows, but you can also make them analogous (meaning next to each other on the color wheel), such as purple and blue in row 3.

for the particular highlight in row 2 i set the layer to 'screen' and 30% opacity, but you can always play around with different layer modes. this layer goes below the lineart.

i'm sure everyone's heard the phrase "don't shade with black" by now, but i thought i would show you regardless (without the blush layer):

As you can see, even though 'linear burn' does adjust to your flat colors, it can't make up for the dullness of plain ol' grey. highlights are a little more versatile (as in pure white is easier to work with), but still, choosing a bright color close to white often makes for a richer overall effect.

Conclusion

using all of the principles above, i drew my neversona (left) in the nevermore style, and adjusted the colors in my original piece to place annabel in a dark environment. these use pretty much the exact same colors as my sphere examples, and use all the same steps i showed above.

i hope this tutorial made sense for you guys)) feel free to ask questions, i will happily clarify/expand on anything in this post. you can also repost this tutorial to other platforms, please just credit my tumblr @.

happy drawing!

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