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Cataclysm-X β Tutorial: Shading and Blending
by-nc-nd
Published: 2007-08-30 13:36:00 +0000 UTC; Views: 504037; Favourites: 7858; Downloads: 11833
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Description
...::EDIT::...Larger and edited file on request.
Several people were complaining about the small font. Leaving critiques and comments are more than welcome, but I just don't like it when people use my tutorials and at the same time nitpick about the smallest things and don't even leave a "thank you" note.
So for those who do appreciate the 30 hours I spent in writing and drawing this tutorial: I uploaded a larger file. You can click download for full size.
...Whoa...
This is a MASSIVE tutorial I did in only 2 freakin' days! LOL.
I said I would do a gift for you all because someone hit the 60.000 pageviews. Besides, I got over 1550 watchers and my drawings of Vincent and House got over 1000 favourites.
Ooohh look at the pretty colors. My previous tutorials look quite boring compared to this baby.
Ehm... what else to say...
Have fun!
Watch my other tutorials here!
1. Eye Tutorial
2. Nose Tutorial
3. Hair Tutorial
4. Shading & Blending Tutorial
5. Drawing Progress Tutorial
6. Detailed Hair part 1 Tutorial
7. Detailed Hair part 2 Tutorial
8. Editing Drawings Tutorial
9. Drawing Materials Tutorial
10. Male Lips Tutorial
11. Female Lips Tutorial
12. Proportions Tutorial
13. Group Images Tutorial
...EDIT...
Tortillions cannot be reused except for smudged areas.
However, blendingsticks can be used more often if you sharpen them with a pencil sharpener or sandpaper!!
Kudos
Related content
Comments: 961
use a piece of paper to lay your hand on and nothing will be smudged !
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Wow thanks a lot!
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Thank you for this tutorial
I used your blending and shading technique and it worked brilliantly. Check out [link]
Your tutorial took my drawing to the next level. 
--
Life is too short to be unhappy...so make it a good one!
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This tutorial is so cool, it just made me want to do some pencil work 
Thank you very very much! You bring great deal of knowledge to young newbies like me!
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Your wonderful tutorial has been featured here.[link]
Thank you for providing the gallery with such awesome Resources.
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wow I had no idea until now. Thank you so much!
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is that house's chin/stubble?
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Hmm...I've heard that you can make tortillions yourself by rolling a piece of scrap paper into a point. Ever tried it? I did but you kinda need softer paper I think than normal printer paper. Maybe notebook paper or tracing paper would work better...
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That was awsome..
and i used to say: "keep it simple"!!!!
i'm now questioning my abilities in art! lol
that was pretty useful...
umm... got one question 
how long did it take u to be as good as now in drawing?..
thnxxx...
Later!
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hey there!
sorry for the late reply
In 2000 I drew my very first portrait, but in 2004 I wanted to try if I could do better and voilΓ‘ 
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very useful for me! at least i found a nice way...i failed many times in blending...thanks!!
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Yup... dat vingerprobleemje had ik ook.... kon de vlekken niet meer verwijderen
Ik zal es een zakdoekje proberen
Ik gebruik ook ipv een "kneaded eraser" het kleine gummetje op mijn mechanisch potlood
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ja die zijn ook erg handig. Alleen gaan die gummetjes zo snel op 
Als je zakdoeken gebruikt, moet je Kleenex nemen. Iets anders werkt niet zo goed!
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Kleenex he? Ok, dat zal ik onthouden!
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i had my kneaded eraser at school one day and everyone was facinated by it XD i love your tutorial
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[link] .
lol, helpful! I wish i could find a knead-able eraser.. mum had one, but apparently i ate it when i was 3.
Dont ask what happened to her woodless graphite..
Your tutorials are nice and detailed. Some are practically just pictures and you have to figure it out on your own anyway. No jargon.. nice.
Shall be trying them shortly. I have trouble with making eyes individual.
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thank you so much for this tutorial, ive just recently started to like drawing and your artwork really really inspire me
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I like the tutorial a lot.Thanks for telling me about it because I would've ignored it, probably because I thought it was about Photoshop. I never knew there was more tools used in hand-drawing then your own hand, a peice of paper (I never knew there where different sizes, X() and a pencil. Mechanical pencils, kneadable erasers, sized paper, tortillions ( still don't know how to use them XD) and tissue paper, it makes my head hurt...
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Thanks so much for this tutorial. I will put the ink pen down for a while a try something with pencil. This is such a great resource.
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Oh thanks a ton, this will really help (even if I only draw cartoons at the moment
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wow, awsome tutorial!!!
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This is an excellent resource. Thank you for sharing it with us.
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Wow this is an excellnt tutorial!!!! Thank you so very much for doing it!!! it really has helped me out a lot!! You are very good at explaining things too! I love you and your fantastic abilities too!!! *bows in praise* You are a great inspiration to artists everywhere!!! =] You should definantly have your work published in a book and then become rich and even more famous!!!! Tee hee!
Oh yes. and in chapter 2 of your tutorial where you talk about the bad side of finger blending - I have read that another bad reason to blend with your fingers is that when you do, your fingers emit oils that make the paper and the smudges harder to erase....so I try to use tissue....
As far as tortillions....Im very bad as using those...I dont know why =]
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Wow! thank you so very, very, very much for taking the time to put this stuff together, which those of us who are not nearly as talented as you are, will be able to learn from!
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There actually IS a way to use what you call "tortillions" as often as you want.ItΒ΄s what I once bought to sharpen mechanical pencils...
Well, the dictionary doesnΒ΄t tell me exactly what the name is, here we call something like "reaming
board".DonΒ΄t laugh.
This device is a small wooden board about 3inches length and 1width, braced with two stripes of sandpaper, one fine, one rather rough.
Originally this is made to sharpen anything you canΒ΄t use a normal pencil sharpener for.
HereΒ΄s a pic of it:[link]
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Thanks you for posting this tutorial. I've been looking for something like this for a while.
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Do you use a special art mechanical-pencil with different lead?If so which brand?
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o m f g <.< a couple of things i wane make clear (might be a long list)
1. omfg your dutch WHAAA X3
2. i have alot of kneded eraser's X3 but i totaly dont know how to use it <.< mainly its just to keep me calm and well... to knead it
3. to blend with an tissue does it have to be wet? or do you use a dry tissue
4. tortillions? whats the dutch word of it?
5. what sice of paper do you usuay use when making a drawing anyways?
6. do you usualy lineart them 1st and then clean them?
7. whaa your dutch <.< ='3- and female
8. ='3 can i come visit ya once or twice so ya can show me how ya do it
well i gues that are all the questions for now
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1. lol yes I am, dutch people are crazy!
2. kneading it like clay eh? well kneaded erasers are being used to wipe away smudges from charcoal or pencil. Very useful!
3. I don't think blending with wet tissues is possible...?
4. tortillions is gewoon tortillions hoor
5. I mostly work on A4 size paper
6. sometimes I use lineart when drawing existing characters, but when I draw a portrait I normally just start to draw the eyes first etc.
7. hahaha seems like you're dutch too... lol being all excited and all
8. but I don't even know you! You could always stop by at my page and leave a comment or a note 
Good luck with drawing ^_^
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1. sry for posting question 1 and 7 two times <.<
2. well yea it keeps me calm while gaming, watching animes and sometimes to think of idea's (made a sword in stone with it....) hey what can i say. boredom is inspiring
3. maby it is maby it isnt posible to blend with a wet one <.< il try.
4. hm well i have all the time tomorrow so il go to my artshop ^^
5. like basic A4 paper(print paper) or special types there are alot of diferent types of paper to use.
6. so from lineart to reality.. <.< for portraits i can ask my dad
7. (sry for double post) well it was just kind of a shock to see an good artist beeing dutch, i looked up alot of dutch ppl and alot of them could not draw. (me errasedmy nation on DA)
8. ='3 everyone got to start somewere
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Goeie tutorial, bedankt!
En je gallery is ook niet verkeerd trouwens
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hihi dankjewel 
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Great tutorial, I'm so using this for my next pic
Did you read ~golfiscool 's tutorial where he said finger blending is so messy because of the oil it leaves on the page? I never knew that!
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thanks!
Yeah I knew about the oil thing, but I never knew ~golfiscool made a tutorial about that stuff
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Hmmm I've never heard of a tortillion before?
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lol...your tutorials are helping me so much with my stupid portraits...its so hard for me to draw "realistic"
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OMG I knew it was House before I read it!
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i have never even heard of tortillion until today. very useful as always!
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.. i love you
lawl XD
thanks a lot for this tutorial
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Ah, so that's what tortillions are used for, right... Uhh, the direction pact didn't say what they were for... and that's what the sandpaper was for... Err, I thought it was for blending. Oops...
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By the way when u shade the light places u use the tissue but which direction do u shade and does it matter
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Always nice to see how the expert does it! Thank's, this is great!
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this is very helpful, i didnt know you could blend graphite!! (takes notes)
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