Show me how you use textures, noise, filters, etc.!

[Hodge]

Hello~ So I've been playing with adding noise, using textures, gaussian blur filters, gradient maps, etc. with my webtoon to exaggerate a certain mood or tone. Here's some examples:

Sepia gradient map + texture + gaussian blur

a different sepia gradient map + texture + gaussian blur

super subtle 20% noise on divide layer + sunrise theme gradient map on overlay layer + gaussian blur

I like the "cinematic" look it gives, though I feel like its really easy to overdo it (cough cough lens flare). I've seen other artist go the complete other direction and use textures and the like to give a more traditional look as well, or even a slight vintage-y tone to it.

How do you approach "post-processing" your comic? Do you like seeing it in other comics or do you find textures and the like to be intrusive/unnecessary?

[BobbyjoeX]

you mean like this? (its the tutorial i used for my new icon and banner) also, this may be for Clip Studio but i think you can get the effect on Sai or Photoshop if you know your way around the programs

ok not saying this is what you are loking for exactly but its in a similar sense

Using Gradients for an easy reverse-cellshading techinque by Jackybunny - CLIP...

EDIT: realised you were not asking how to do it, you are asking how i would do it XD whoops

EDIT 2: forgot to post my example

[Hodge]

Ohh this is a pretty good tutorial for getting that dramatic anime look, yeah this is the kind of stuff I meant haha. It's definitely one approach.

I like how you used it for your banner, the lighting is really pretty~

[BobbyjoeX]

another tutorial i found really useful is this one, since my current chapter has a Water Magi (person that can use water powers) i started by rendering the effect myself and well now i can't open those pages without crashing. this method is much easier on my computer

QUICK TIP! Jelly Effect using Gradient Map Sandwiches 🥪 by LusentSoul - CLIP...

Note, it says to go into Edit = Tonal Correction and then gradient map, i recommend not doing that, it just kept giving me an error, instead, i went into Layer = New correction Layer = Gradient map

[Hodge]

Yeah I usually do gradient map on a correction layer, that way I can use mask to mess with it.

Definitely these kinds of handy shorts cuts are easier on the computer then hand rendering everything. CSP doesn't like it when you use too many texture brushes, especially if you need everything to be super high res like me haha. I've also found with these kind of effect I can find a good csp asset or make my own brush to speed things up. Though it takes a bit of time to learn the brush engine.

[indagold]

What I do for most scenes is have the character over a flat background with a texture set to overlay, sometimes I duplicate the layers and merge them, then blur them and set them to screen or lighten to get the glowy effect below.

For complex pages like this I create a ton of layers and masks with adjustment effects like a gradient map. I specifically separate line work and other visuals to get that pop where some aspects aren't affected by layer effects.

otherwise I just do the first method.

All Broken Gods | Tapas

[nathanKmcwilliams]

I use textures brushes for the shading on backgrounds a lot. Something I picked up from watching Regular Show. (None of the characters are ever shaded but the backgrounds are, with textures)

And I use Gaussian Blur copies of Layers with either Overlay or Color Dodge for my auras and effects. I just draw the desired effect and then copy it and do the blur and overlay on the copy.

I don't know anything about masks at all. They seem way too complicated to mess with.

[Elixiink]

I'm absolutely terrible at adding textures so I think I'll learn a thing or two from this thread!

[Zyephen]

Speckling brush, color balance layer, bit of gaussian blur on the diffused light bits.

[byelacey]

sometimes i'll use a blur effect here and there but i always use texture! just subtle, watercolour textures a friend made, at around 20% opacity. it just gives the page the tiniest bit of grit and adds interest. since my pages are flat greyscale, small things like that have a big effect without overshadowing the main focus on my art: the lineart!

[Cronaj]

I don't typically use a lot of filters, noise, or effects, but textures.... TEXTURES are my jam! I fell in love with impressionist paintings back in college, and I have never been the same since, lol.

I end up using a lot of digital brushes that mimic traditional paint brushes, particularly with lots of bristle textures.

Especially with backgrounds. I kinda just go NUTS with the brush strokes, and I don't always sketch the BG elements, leaving most of it to let myself freely paint. XD

For this panel, I used a speckly brush to add subtle freckles and skin texture. But usually I don't go into as much detail. I really wanted this panel to pop.

In regards to lighting effects, I pretty much rely on luminosity/dodge layers to push the image to its final stage of completion. I'm a simple person, lol. I see shiny effects, and I'm happy.

Here you can see what the panels typically look like before I add some lighting effects with a dodge layer:

But yeah, that's pretty much it. I am a very simple artist. I don't do a lot of post-processing and filters and such.