Cell Shading, what is it?

[lwflouisa]

I've mostly only ever shaded with charcoal and specifically chosen positive space, leaving negative space largely unfilled.

In what ways are doing cell shading different from normal traditional shading?

One reason I had always avoided it, was I'm not sure if it's going to contrast with charcoal shaded art, which carries its own visual aesthetic at times. ( Especially when you smudge it. )

Most of my dark art in the past has been with homemade burnt cedar. I choose cedar, because I feel like it burns more thoroughly, smells better, and you get more bang for your buck.

[IdiotWithPencil]

I think it's better and example then saying in words so here

basically it's a digital painting technique where you use a hard brush to place harsh shadows (like charcoal but with no smudging) and then some small gradients for color tones

while soft cell is with a soft brush and low opacity (like charcoal with smudging) and again small gradients here and there

but again this is for digital art exclusive (or radiography)

[lwflouisa]

Oh! Ok. I wonder if I was thinking of applying toners maybe? I'm definitely familiar with that kind of shading.

That perfectly highlights the difference though.

I might not end up bothering with Toner then, unless it really improved the thing. I'm not sure.

[IndigoShirtProd]

Wait, what do you mean by toner? Do you mean like blending layers?

[lwflouisa]

Yea like the half tone stuff professional manga does, where it's not actually images, so much as a collection of closely stitched together prefab micro dots.

[IndigoShirtProd]

Oh like screen tones. I get you.

[IdiotWithPencil]

screen tones are great if your working black and white, like most manga, but if you are gonna be coloring it a great inking style could make it stand out (solo leveling is a great example where the inking style elevates what is basically a generic battle Manwhua to exceptional), I believe your experience with charcoal could help you with this since inking and charcoal are very similar (both permanent and using harsh shadows to convey form)

Edit: also some digital editing could help you with speical effects like using fire for auras or sharpening flares for dazzling