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joulee — Cleaning up lines tutorial II
Published: 2006-03-13 22:11:39 +0000 UTC; Views: 189456; Favourites: 5345; Downloads: 42438
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Edit: Eyes tutorial, featuring this same character, is up: [link]A sister tutorial to the last Cleaning up Lines Tutorial [link] I really appreciated the feedback that I got, so thank all of you, and I'm glad it was helpful to some.
A lot of people mentioned that it's hard for them to sketch cleanly, so the last tutorial didn't really apply. I have the same problem, and it takes a looooot of extra work on paper (erase, erase, draw, erase) to get pencil lines clean enough to start coloring off of. So.... that's why I often turn to Digital Inking!
Here are some of the ways that I do Digital Inking. I know the "trace directly over the original image" is probably the most common method, but it's hard to do without a tablet and also hard for people with unsteady hands, so that's why I talked a bit about other methods.
As usual, comments/feedback appreciated so I can incorporate them into future projects. Thanks and
to all of you!
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Comments: 830
You might have selected "shapes" mode in the pen tools option. Try selecting the other mode (the icon has a little rectangle with a pen through it.) Hope that helps! 
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Ah! If you haven't got to my note yet, this was my problem! Good thing I checked your comments!
Perhaps you should put that in the description in case we're not the only two confused about that. lol. Well, I'm off to make wonderful crappily colored but lovely lined pictures.
Once again... YOU'RE MY FREAKIN' HERO!!
I'll stop bothering you now. *accepts restraining order and leave quietly*
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Omygosh, I love this tutorial... I could seriously never understand how to use the pen tool in PS before, but now I get it!!
Hehe, I sound like someone on an infomercial... "I didn't think any diet pill would work for me, but I tried [insert corny name] and it works!" *cheesy smile*
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great tutorial...easyly discribed but....T-T...when I try to ink the way you discribed in no. 2 it doesn't work -.-....I can't make curved lines in one step and when I do more it gets black...well that's not the worst, but I also can't select "stroke subpath". And...am I right that the smooth lines appear? So...that the PC sees "ay...there are the lines and right there I have to ink"? I didn't work so much with photoshop CS2 yet -.-....
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You are probably under "shapes" mode in the pen tool options... try selecting a nother mode--I don't know what it's called, but the icon has a shape with a pen through it.
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Hum...I will try it. I searched for some help but there is noone who works with photoshop in that way -.-. But I'm optimistic ^^. Thank you!
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Wow! Thank you for this tutorial! It really helps
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yay!! thanks your tutorial was alot of help for me!
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I'll understand if you don't answer seeing as you have so many comments, but I just wanted to say thanks for the part about saving from Flash to open into Adobe. I've wondred how to do that w/out doing a screenshot. That was most helpful and I also learned more about the pen tool in Photoshop that I might brave to try it again- the subpath info was very helpful indeed. Thanks muchly for taking the time to make this. ^^
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ack! in my excitment I forgot to mention that inking has been a complete pain for me before. I've tried following other tutorials, but for just starting out with a pen tool, it can get quite confusing. You make it seem so simple
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so, what version of PS do you use? I have 6 and I cant find any simulate pressure option.
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Yeah... I've heard this from other people too, but older versions might not have simulate pressure. i'm using CS2, the latest version. ^^
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Yeah, it didnt. But I went out the next day and .... acquired CS2. Its so freakin sweet...
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wow, that's a really good tutorial!!! it explains a lot and i love how the tutorial itself looks so pretty ^^
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I can't get the line tool to work properly in PS. It keeps filling a shape and it won't let me "stroke path". I have PS 7.0 btw.
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you might be on "shape" mode. Try selecting a different option under the pen tool (the icon is one with a path and a pen through it) ^^
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Oh I'm sure I'm just being stupid but I can't figure out the pen. I can only get it to do two curves rather than one... *cries*
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;-; Try changing the direction of the little anchor points!
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OH hey! I figured it out. Control key doesn't work for me since I'm on a mac, to mess around with the anchor points I have to use the apple key 
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yay thats really helpful ^-^ i was struggling with that a bit XD
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Thank you so much for writing this tutorial. I had read another tut about how to use the pen tool to make curves and such, and she left out the ultra-crucial part about moving the points while holding the control key! I got so frustrated because I would try to adjust my points and they kept disappearing. At which time I would have to try and create new points, and they never seemed to be right where I wanted them, and....GRRR! So I'm hoping this will be really useful. I just read your tut and haven't tried it out yet but I'm excited! Pen tool here I come!
However, for some reason the last time I tried to open an .ai file in my Photoshop it didn't open. I'm not sure why that was, so I don't know if saving my drawing as an Illustrator file will work. I sure hope it does, that would be handy. Otherwise I probably will do what I normally do which is select all the white (background) bits and cut them out. I'm a newbie at this sort of thing so I'm sure there's probably an easier way.
Thanks again for writing this and also your other tut about cleaning up lines. I was just using your techniques last night to clean up a drawing and they worked really well.
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Really? O_O That's weird... I would think Photoshop would always have support .ai since it's the same company... Perhaps an earlier version of Photoshop didn't support that? I'm using CS2, the latest... ^^ Anyway, glad it helped you!
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yer tutorials are so helpful! they clear the clouds that blind mi vision into the world of digital art. i can never do anything digi'd >_< but i must ask you, do you use an updated version of photoshop (if there is one) ? when i used photoshop a while back, the brightness kept dulling into a grey stimutaneously without me altering it....it was so weird....
do you recommend a certain tablet? i tried looking for "Tabletta", but all i got were 'pill' tablets... 
anyway, mucho thanx!
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I use Photoshop version CS2. It's the latest, but it's not that different from the previous versions I've used. ^^
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oh oki. (i can't find mine... 
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OOOOh, in PS inking... thats awesome...
Altho that PS "pen" looks complicated...
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ok i love the idea of the pen tool but i have a question. when youre making the vectors into inked lines do you have to do it for each subpath or do you make them all and then do it? or can oyu work on like a section at a time and then do it?
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You can work on one section at a time and then do it.
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Very helpful! I always wondered how to use the pen tool! Thanks!
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i was always afraid to ink my art. thanx for showing me an easier way
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Very interesting...nice to learn about a different style from my own! Nice work!
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w00t for flash!
I occasionally dabble in PS when I want to edit some small images, but in my opinion (and limited skills) nothing beats flash for drawing. And then you can make it do all sors of cool stuff too, like flash pretty colours, and dance, but that's another story...
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just to let you know, I've done outlining in flash, the line tool works really well, cause you can bend it by holding down I think it's shift..but I'm not sure. ^_^
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wow, thanks! I'll definitely give it a try!
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Flash is nice for smooth lines like that. I lined my rose in my gallery using flash and just bending and pulling the lines...it takes a while,but it has a very vector like look to it.
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Question. In using the pen tool, if my "Stroke Path" and "Fill Path" is muted out and I'm unable to select them, what do you suppose I need to do to be able to access them?
Thank you for the tutorial!
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It probably means you've selected a different pen option. IN the pen tool options, try the regular pen too (an icon with the path and a pen.) It should work there.
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This totorial is soooo helpful, I love it!
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awsome i love this tutorial, it's really gonna help when i start inking stuf on the comp
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Wow! This is a great tutorial! I have one question though, what kind of tablet do you have? I've been looking for one but I don't know what kind, style or what ever to get. Do you have any suggestions?
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I use a wacom Intuos 3 6x8. I highly recommend wacoms--they've been very reliable for me in the past.
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Ah, a wonderful tutorial i must say!
This'll definetly help me when i try to ink my pics
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arg the pen tool isn't working for me and i dunno what to do T_T i made a curvy line and then it filled in all the space between the two points T_T it won't let me do what i want to and i can't select "stroke subpath" it's really making me sad T_T can you help? i'd really appreciate it
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