I started making anime vectors a little while ago and they seem to have turned out really well. So I want to walk you through the process I use to make a vector using Photoshop 7.0. There's other ways to do it and I listed them in the Tutorials thread, but this is the one that works for me.
First off, what is a vector? Why make one? Vectors are simplified colorizations of pictures that are infinately scalable. This means that you can make them any size without losing resolution. This makes them perfect for making backgrounds and wallpapers. So how do we make one?
0: Pick an Image (duh).
You need a good image to start with. Blow it up to 3-4 times the size. This makes it easier to work with and we'll be able to scale it later, being a vector and all.
If this is your first time, do something simple. Try not to overdo it. For this tutorial, I picked a screengrab from Bleach. Baboon King, Zabimaru.
1: Learn your tools.
I'll label them for you.
#1: The Pen Tool. Click and hold on the pen tool to select the second option, the Freeform Pen Tool. This is what we'll use to make the outlines of our image. This way, you have something to fill in with color.
#2: The Shape Tool. This is what we'll use for coloring the image. It's a lot easier to use than the Pen Tool for making a path. You get a starting shape rather than a crazy pen path.
#3: The Eyedropper. This way you get right color for the area you're working on rather than guesstimating.
#4: The Layers. I work with 2. The bottommost layer is layer we color in. The middle layer is the source picture. This way you can click on that little eye next to the layer to make it visible or invisible and check your progress. The topmost is the line art. Some people do without it. I think it look silly without the lines. A little too 'soft,' if you can understand that.
#5: The history. Keep this up so you can go back if you made a mistake a few steps back.
2: Select the Freeform Pen Tool
3: Start lining the source pic
Click and drag along the line you want to make, then start making it conform to the original picture. If you need more points of articulation, right click and add an anchor point. You can use the arms on each side of the point to adjust the arc of the line and the angle.
When it's lined up, set your paintbrush size to a decent size for the pic (in the example I used a 3-brush), right click on the line and select Stroke Path. This will add an X-pixel (whatever size you think best) border to the path, making a nice line over the pic and get this:
Once the line is stroked, right click on the line and Delete Path.
If it doesn't look quite right, go back in the history and trash every step up to and including the Stroke Path step and adjust the line. When you're done, you'll get something like this:
4: Start coloring
Use the Eyedropper on the section you want to start working on and adjust the colors in the color window if you want. Personally, I round the RGB numbers to the nearest 5, but that's me.
Now select the Shape Tool and draw a rectangle:
Now drag the 4 points to the corners of the section you're working on.
Right click and add an anchor point.
Feel free to play around with it and see what the anchor point can do, if you didn't already when making the lines.
You should have something like this when you're done:
Less points are better, for the most part, but use as many as you need. Try to overlap the lines you made a little. That way you don't miss anything.
Now right click and select fill path. When the next window opens, click Okay as long as you've already selected the right color. Then richt click and delete the path. If you make the Source layer invisible, you can see your work.
Start adding in all the colors for the whole thing and you'll eventually finish with something amazing (hopefully
) When adding in colors, start with the main color for the area you're working on, then add the shading and highlights. Fill the whole area with the primary color first. Here's how my example pic ended up:
That snake skull came out awesome, if I may say so myself. My only regrets are Renji's face having little definition in the source pic and that I should have stroked the lines with a 4-pixel brush. But I still have the .PSD file so I can always go back later.
Now, get cracking and show me what you can come up with!
EDIT: Playing around with Levels (Ctrl+L) gave me this:
It looks a little less 'flat.' Try out yours and see how it looks.
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Most Brutal of all Metalists and Right Hand of the Goddess Black_Knight.
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lol you can vector real pics? i didn't know that. i should vector our prom pic. her dress was freaking amazing. it was like skimpy as hell
