How To Create a Pixel Canvas With Grease Pencil (for Portray)

Sophie Jantak is likely one of the main Grease Pencil artists, primarily specializing in animals and nature scenes. On this video, she explores a method to keep away from a few of the present limitations of Grease Pencil that trigger arduous edges or discolorations in strokes. I actually love such experiments the place a limitation of a program drives you to determine ‘hacks’ to nonetheless obtain your objective!

Hello, I’m a digital artist who has been working virtually solely in Blender since I found grease pencil in 2021. I’ve discovered a reasonably comfy portray routine, however now a brand new methodology has come alongside to vary the whole lot!

On this video, I clarify how I create a pixel canvas in grease pencil, and the way this permits me to get the smoothest coloration transitions that I’ve ever achieved.

With the best way that grease pencil strokes (that are vectors, bear in mind) layer on prime of each other, getting smooth edges has at all times been a problem for me. For a very long time, my method simply embraced that this wasn’t potential with this device. I’d make both sketchy artwork with an emphasis on lineart (backside left), or I’d use textures to create the phantasm of soppy edges (backside proper).

However the type of easy edges I might get with the airbrush device in any pixel program remained out of attain.

…Till now.

So, to get one of the best of each worlds, I’ve began incorporating pixel canvases into my grease pencil artwork to get these easy transitions.

There are a lot of advantages to utilizing grease pencil instruments, in my view. Its vector-nature offers me extra management over my artwork than I’ve ever had earlier than, and after I attempt to return to pixel applications, I’m annoyed to not have that management.

(This video goes extra in depth about this, in the event you’re curious)

And now that I’ve integrated this new methodology into my portray course of, I really feel like I’ve extra choices than ever! I’m making artwork that simply months in the past would have been not possible.

I’m nonetheless in awe of what this device is able to, and I’m excited to maintain exploring and naturally sharing what I be taught. I hope that is useful!

-Sophie