Create a Children’s Book Illustration Part III: The Finishing

Step 7

Start to refine the outline that you drew on the layer below, starting with the head. Remember that children, especially their faces, are all soft curves, so try to avoid any harsh or pointing lines. For steps 7-12 I will be using a size 25 pixel hard-edged brush (100% opacity) and color #1D1D1D.

Step 8

Work on the neck and shoulders next. The neck will be soft and the shoulders narrow.

*The neck joins to the chest in the front; it does not disappear into the shoulder.

**The neck also joins at the base of the head; I have circled this area in white.

Step 9

The next part to draw is the arms. They are round and soft, like the shoulders. For now it is only necessary that you block in the position of the hands.

Step 10

The second arm is not completely visible, so erase any overlapping lines as you work, so that the object in front is not obscured.

Step 11

Now draw in the legs.

Step 12

Now block in the feet, much like you did the hands.

At this point it is not too late to make changes. In my case I reshaped the leg in order to attach it to the foot.

Step 13

Delete the layer “girl outline” so that there is only one layer in the set.

Step 14

Now make a new layer above that, “dress”.

Step 15

Using the same brush as steps 7-12, change the color to #2E002B and outline the dress and its folds.

Step 16

Now, going back to the “girl” layer, use color #2E0800 and draw in the hair. Keep the lines long and clean, without a lot of extra pieces, or rough edges.

Step 17

Erase the grey lines that appear within the hair area.

Step 18

Draw in the headband with the same color used to outline the girl’s body. It will be widest at the top, and come to a point where it disappears into the hair.

Step 19

Make a new layer below the others titled “girl hair”.

Step 20

Block in the hair with color #BF7A0C.

Step 21

Block in the first set of shadows with color #A06200.

Step 22

Block in another set of shadows with color #835000, and a highlight the hair with color #CE7E00.

Step 23

Set the dodge tool to 15% exposure (highlights mode) and create an overall shine to the hair, by swiping it in bands horizontally across the hair. By slightly curving these bands, you will make the hair look 3-dimentional.