Shadeing questions

So i have been doing tattoos for a few months now and decided to get in to clothing. Every thing was going fine until it came time to start doing the shading and shadows and stuff.

Whats the easiest way to go about this? Doing it by hand seems nuts but the most effective, i have looked at a few 3D programs to try it that way but can't make heads or tales of them.

Plz help ty all

One thing about shading that I don't get, is why some clothing designers insist on putting large spots or stripes into their clothing. I saw a pair of jeans with two large round white spots on the butt of the pants, to me and IMHO this looks bad and not natural at all. But then again, I'm of the opinion that the oily look skins are horrible.... so what do I know.

Be careful with shading and I found its all a matter of trial and error, as is most things on SL. ; ))

Hi Rea!

What exactly are you having difficulty doing? I am certainly willing to explain what I can, but if you could be more specific that would give me a better understanding of what your needs are (i.e. where to shade, what tools/brushes to use, general shading technique....a step by step how-to shade...etc). Or at least point you to an appropriate tutorial which would cover it.

As for using a 3D program I only use the SLCP and PS when creating clothing.

Best,
~Ari

Neither technique for shading/shadowing is easy (depending on the quality of the results you're seeking for).

Digitally painting (or drawing on paper and then scanning it into the computer) by hand requires an eye for detail and a steady hand (talent) with a low to moderate technical knowledge of the paint software. Constructing and rendering an object in 3D, on the other hand, requires the artist to have a greater understanding of the art medium itself and the software used to achieve the desired effect. Talent needed on this end is a bit simpler: tweak the lighting and rendering settings to produce a believable baked texture.

Now if you're asking which of those two is the easiest to accomplish, without any prior experience with either, I would say doing it by hand. It's much easier to mimic a reference image than it is to attempt to recreate an object and it's environment.

Rea, you state doing it by hand is "nuts" but the real question you should be asking yourself is this: "Do I have the motivation to put forth the time and effort to learn either of these skills?". Everything is only as hard or easy as you make it out to be. Keep that in mind.

If you're using Photoshop, there's brushes out on the web that might help. A search will turn them up. No idea whether they are any use because...... see below:

If like me, you're a PSP user ...... well I haven't found any yet........ still learning