FRUSTRASHOW

I decided it’s time to update Frustrashow’s Facebook page to better convey my plans for this blog, so I fired up Photoshop CS4 and worked on a new cover image featuring the tagline “ARGHtists Unite!” The end product is shown at the bottom of this post!

Like most of my digital works, this was directly drawn on Photoshop using my old Bamboo Wacom tablet. I usually start with a very rough pencils layer just to establish where the elements go, like the people and stuff in the background. I follow it up with another more detailed pencils layer to draw characters’ faces and other objects.

Next follows the inks layer, which can be really tedious as you have to trace lines you’ve just drawn a little while ago. I’ve also added something new to my workflow–a separate shading layer. I used to shade on the same layer as the inks, but I figured it would be easier to erase the shading if it doesn’t turn out as good as I want it to by allotting a separate layer for it.

If this were a colored piece, the next layer would be the colors and that could have multiple layers by itself because colors are just tricky. Fortunately, to preserve the black and white theme of Frustrashow, I only have to gray-out certain areas for the new cover image.

Added the tagline and blackened the background and voila–the new cover image is done! This was relatively a simple piece but it still took hours, around 4 or 5 hours to complete. What a pain but it was worth it in the end! 🙂