How to CG in Cell-Style in Adobe Photoshop 7 -- Step 06

Step 06: Adding a Background // Special Effects

If this is your first time coloring on a computer, you should be proud of yourself for coming this far~ ^__- ehehehe~ Now that we're done coloring the character, we're now gonna add a nice background (BG) to the picture to complete it.

1) WARNING: Do not proceed to this step unless you're absolutely sure you're not gonna do any more changes to the character's coloring (fix the shadow, or the highlights, whatever).

.............................................

...............You sure? All right then~ X3

Click on the Outline layer to select it. Then switch off the Background layer by clicking on the little eye in the layers panel. Your character should be on a checkboard pattern....

Now go to Layer > Merge Visible. Your layers order should now look like this:

Your current layer order..

What you have done is, you've combined the layers that are visible (the outline and the color layers) into a single layer. This will reduce your file size greatly, and it's important if you're planning to work on a complex BG. Ok you can switch the Background layer back on now.

2) Now you can slap on any kind of BG you want on a layer BELOW the layer with the character on it. Maybe a photo? or some gradient fills? it's up to your creativity. I can show you some tricks to get started..

Filter > Render > Clouds

This creates some cloud-like effects, depending on your Foreground and Background colors. For instance, blue and white makes something like this:

The only downside is, the 'clouds' look fake. ^^;;;; But maybe you can mix and match some other filters to get an interesting effect - Like:

i) Filter > Sketch > Chalk & Charcoal

then..

ii) CTRL + i (this inverts the layer colors)

finally..

iii) Image > Adjust > Hue/Saturation; Hue = -30

LOL~ Now it looks like some kind of animal skin/fur XD XD XD ehehehe. Well it's up to you~ The possibilities are almost infinite~ ^___^

Light Effects

You can also play around with lights... =3 Filter > Render > Lighting Effects Your layer must have something on it for this effect to be used. Experiment with the Texture channel in the Light FX menu (near the bottom) to make it seem like a 3D texture. For example:


Filter > Render > Clouds	+ Light FX (with texture)

......Does it look sorta like grass at night to you? O_O; It sure does to me. lol~

* Conclusion is: Try to experiment with the different Filters in Photoshop. Sometimes you can download external filters from the internet, such as the ones from www.ulead.com

More BG ideas... Mouseover for captions:

Before merging layers, duplicate the Outline layer and move it to the back for an interesting Trading Card effect...

Feeling background lazy? Just slap on a photo and you're ready to go~!! ^w^

As for me, I am content with this picture as the final product. ^___^ Remember to type your name or signature on your pics, for prevention of art thefts~ XD; This marks the end of my first ever CG tutorial, I hope you can understand my english ^^;; If you have any questions or future tutorial requests, you can contact me thru my website, Magician's Quest.

Thank you so much for being patient with meh~ A million thanks also to Sapphirez who gave me permission to use her lineart for this tutorial ^w^ Thanks also to Julie Dillon who inspired me many years ago to create my first CG art~ *worships*

** This tutorial was created exclusively for the Mushroom Patch~ Please do not link or direct link anything within this site without the permission of the webmistress of the Mushroom Patch ok~ **

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