Welcome to my doll tutorials! As you can see, I only have two. This would be because it is all I have learned to do with any sort of proficiency. Which says a lot about my skills, I suppose.
I created this tutorial after finally feeling comfortable enough with how I doll jeans to share it with others. That and having your friends tell you how good they are tends to give you an ego boost and you begin to believe that maybe you are actually good at something. So yes. This tutorial was performed in Fireworks MX, but can be done in anything from a coloring book to MS Paint to PSP, PS and CIA or even FBI. If you fail at this, then you probably fail at life and I can't help you there. Enjoy!
Step 1.
Open your program of choice. I personally use Fireworks MX 8.0, and I think I might be the only person in the known world who uses it for dolling. I love it though, and no PS, PSP, or MS Paint loving hippy is going to change my mind. Even if that hippy is a really good friend of mine. FRIENDS DON'T MAKE FRIENDS CHANGE GRAPHIC PROGRAMS!
Step 2.
Pick your base. This is the imperative part of this tutorial. Why? Aside from needing something to actually doll on, if you are new to doing jeans you will want an easy, full frontal, symmetrical base to start practicing with. Sort of like how you would practice french kissing the back of your hand so that when that certain boy got you alone in the tree you felt that you had a grasp of the basics. Same concept, different application. I do not advise you to french kiss your base or the monitor. For this tutorial, I am using a base by aishiteru.
Step 3.
Pick your colors. Depending on the size of the base you will want to use three or more colors. The larger the base, the more colors you want because the more detail people can see and the better your mistakes show up. So don't screw up. On a base this size three or four would have been sufficient, but I wanted to be a snob and am using a six color palette courtesy of Xandorra's Place. I figure if you can master the six colors then you can start to drop down to fewer as you get more comfortable with the technique.
I like to have my shoes drawn before I attempt the pants, because you want to make sure they fall over the shoes correctly. That and I really hate doing shoes so I usually get them out of the way first. If I am having a hard time with the shoes I know that I had better quit while I am ahead or do a doll in a skirt that is long enough to cover the feet. But that is another tutorial...
Step 4.
On a new layer, with color number one (your darkest color) draw the outline of your jeans. Feel free to be as detailed as you want. I always like to try and include the fly as well as a couple of belt loops to work the pockets off of. Don't worry if it looks like crap when you are done - you can just draw the shirt over the top of the pants. That's what I do. And now you know my secret. Use this power only for good.
Once you have the outline done copy it to a new layer (so that you have two of them) and tuck it away. You will need it later for ransom.
Step 5.
Select your outline (in Fireworks you use the magic wand tool, click on the outside of the jeans, then choose Select>Select Inverse) and pick up color number two. I realize he is heavy, but don't say anything - he has been working hard at losing that weight. The holidays were rough for him, okay?
With color number two, and a 1 pixel soft line, draw in where the creases and folds would naturally appear on a pair of jeans. Some areas of interest include around the crotch, the knees, and feet. You also want to give some shadow to between the legs and along the outside profile so that they appear to be more convex. Try to start your folds at natural indentations in the outline so that it looks more commonplace to be there. Otherwise it's like a skinny kid loitering at a fat camp.
Step 6.
All done? Happy? Okay, now you pick up color number 3. Remember kids, we parked in Goofy and are still on the same layer. This is where you do some more subtle shading. I like to use this color around the pockets and to outline a couple of the already shaded folds you added. It just gives it more depth and makes you sound that much cooler (see:snobbier) for using a six color pallet.
Step 7.
This is a good point to just take a break. Sit back, relax, and reflect on the awesomeness that are your jeans. Okay, so right now they just look like a bunch of squiggles, but they are YOUR squiggles. You should be very proud. I know I am. Oh, no... wait, that's just gas.
With your layer still selected (you still have the little marquee running around your jeans, right?) you want to fill the area with color number... anyone? Anyone? That's right! Color number four. This is really the only action color number four gets, so you can imagine how he feels sort of like the redheaded stepchild of the palette. But it's okay, he's used to it. He's also a bit of a drama queen, so be ready for a hissy.
If you are using Fireworks (and let's face it - no one is) you want to make sure you have de-selected Preserve Transparency and have your Blend Mode set to Color.
Step 8.
By this point you should be feeling pretty darn good. Why? Because you are officially up to using FIVE COLORS BABY! Yeah man. So, as you can imagine this is where we really get those folds popping. Sort of. With your 1 pixel soft line you want to give a little highlight to the areas that need it. More specifically in the larger areas between the folds on the legs as well as on the thighs. Again, this helps for that convex effect that our legs tend to get when we aren't 2-dimensional beings. It's not showy, but it helps. Think of this as the techie of the dolling world. It does all of the behind the scenes work while someone else (color number six) gets all the credit. The rat bastard.
Step 9.
Drum roll please! You now have my permission to pick up color number six. Go on. I'll wait patiently here for you while you do it. Got it? Yeah? And you are still set to 1 pixel soft line? Yeah? Okay, here we go. All you do is trace along the top (or bottom, depending on how you want the fold to fall) of your folds to give them some stronger contrast. Don't forget to give some attention to the crotch if you shaded it, as well as the belt loops and pockets. So often they get over looked and it's almost as sad as how Susan Lucci has been nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy 21 times and only won once.
Step 10.
Your tedious task is done. Ready for the fun stuff? I knew you would be. This is actually a three-part step that I was too lazy to break down into more steps because I was afraid this tutorial would be too long and intimidating then. Right now, though, this step looks too long and intimidating, but really it's mostly my rambling on about nothing that is helpful to you. Back to the steps.
The first part is that you need to pull our your ransomed outline layer. You know, the one I told you to copy and save for later? You need it now. You need to copy it. Yes, again. But this is for a good cause, I promise. Copy and paste it over the current layer and merge them together. And like a pimp to his hoe, put away your original outline layer for later use.
Now that this is done, you want to get out your smudge tool. Set it to 50% pressure, two pixels wide. Ready? Okay! start smudging along the top of the jeans. Don't worry about the outline, it is adding to the shading. be sure to follow the strokes you made while shading or else it could look kind of weird. All done? Happy? Good, I didn't want to wait all day.
Now widen your tool to 3 pixels. Using a subtle slightly U-shaped movement, start at the top of the legs and slowly work your way downward. No, you do not want to follow your shading. Trust me - this works. Keep this up until you approach the feet. Now you want to level off to a straight back and forth motion and begin an upside down U-shape. I suppose it would almost be like an 'n' if you thought about it, but... okay, yeah. We'll go with that.
Be sure that you go from one side to the other. Don't worry about exposing the edges, you will fix that in a moment.
Feel free to keep working it until you feel it is sufficiently blended and looks good to you. Don't over do it, though. Sometimes crisp folds are just as good as smooth ones.
Okay, copy the layer. Yeah - the one you just got done smudging, copy it. Now select it. Now pick up color number one and fill that layer completely. Got it? Okay, send it to the back and merge it and the smudged layer together. See? Your edges are now filled and groovy and even add to the convexedness of the pants. Yes, convexedness is a word.
Step 11.
Now, you're probably sitting there thinking, I'm done! Well... you're WRONG. This is where the true attention to detail pays off. This is another two part step, but I will try to keep it brief. Now, this is one of the reasons that I love Fireworks so much. There is a nifty texture called scratch. In PS or PSP you can use add noise option, though the effect isn't as nice.
Select your layer again, and pick up color number 3. Set your fill opacity to 10. Select your texture (scratch for Fireworks, or something similar for other programs) and set the amount of texture to 50%. Fireworks users, be sure to select Preserve Transparency. Ready? Fill your jeans. Cool, huh? If you would like more texture, add some more. if you want less - feel free to muck with the settings until you like what you get.
Now. Be the pimp that you are and call up that hoe of an outline layer again. Place it over the top of your jeans layer. TA-DA! You have belt loops and pockets again. And there was much rejoicing. Just merge those two layers together and you are all done. Now go put a shirt on her, because that is just indecent you perv.
