Wall Street flatting steps

Step-by-step of this: [link] I used Paint Tool SAI for all of it.

1) Sketch out your horse and rider! Mine is really clean because I used around three layers for sketching- one of just the shapes, the rough outlines of the pair, and the final sketch.

2) On a linework layer, use the curve and pen tools to do your lineart. I personally use the curve tool more, because my hand is so unsteady.

3) Flat color your horse.

4) On a separate layer, do the highlights for your horse. I like to set my layer mode to screen to make the highlights more natural for the coat color. Once you're done blocking in the highlights, smudge them out with the blur tool.

5) On another layer separate from the highlights layer, do the shadows. For this layer, I set it to multiply. It may look dark at first, but once your blur it, it looks a lot better, trust me. (:

6) Go to the linework layer and select OUTSIDE the lineart. Once you do that, go back to the base, highlight, and shadow layers and erase. the extra color that's outside the lineart. You don't necessarily have to select outside the lineart, it's just a matter of whether you want to accidentally erase inside the lines or not.

7) On layers under the body color, do the hooves and eye. I do the eye in two layers and the hooves in one.

8) Flat color the tack. I do the girth on one layer, the saddle pad on another, and the saddle and bridle on another.

9) Shade and highlight the tack. I also do these on the same layer that you flat colored on.

10) Color, shade and highlight the rider. I do the layers like this (from top to bottom): show coat, show shirt, gloves, breeches, boot, helmet brim, helmet, helmet straps, skin, eye color, eye white.

11) Use the airbrush tool to do the hair for the horse and rider. This layer should be above EVERYTHING. The horse's braids can be under the body color though. I use 10-20% opacity and a solid edged brush when painting this part. You're done with the horse and rider!

12) Slap a background on! As detailed (or plain in my case) as you'd like it to be. c:

_{Art and tutorial © =LittleCreekStables}