Name: Cheryl D. Mabry

Location: Chetek, Wisconsin

Education:

BA in Art from the University of Louisville
26 Hours towards Masters in Philosophy
Extensive Training in photography

Equipment:

Computer: iMac - 3.4 GHz Intel Core I7, 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 memory, 3 TB Fusion HD

Tablet: Wacom Intuos 4

Software: Adobe Photoshop CS6, Eye Candy 7

This is the drawing I am going to show you how to create:

Stage 1: Image Dimensions

• Create a new 9” x 11” 600 dpi file in Photoshop. (Finished drawing will be 8” x 10”)

• Create a new layer and label it “Extended Area”.

• Make a 1/2” border around drawing

•To create the border, hit Cmd or Ctrl – A on your keyboard. Then select the Selection,

Modify, Border tool.

• Fill border with black and set opacity to 50.

The reason for the extended area is to be able to draw beyond what you will see in the final drawing. When beveling you want to have the bevel flow off the page rather that come to an abrupt stop.

Most of my drawings start with a line drawing in black of the subject matter. I use a Flex Nib on my stylus so that I have a little drag. This allows me to be more precise with line work.

Stage 2: Line Drawing

• Create a folder and label it “Small Medallions”

• Draw the outside layer of each small medallion. Label the first “Outside Circle 1” and the second “Outside Circle 2”

• Create a folder and label it “Large Medallions”

• Draw the outside layer of each large medallion. Label the first “Outside Circle 1” and the second “Outside Circle 2”

Your layers should look like this:

• Create a folder called “Leaves”

• Draw each leaf on a separate layer. Label each layer “Leaf 1” thru “Leaf 7”

- NOTE: The leaves were organized by how they overlap

• Make the sure the outline is closed. (Do not draw inside detail yet)

Here is what the layers should look like:

Here is what the drawing should look like:

Finish the rest of the outline:

• In the small medallion folder create a layer and label it “Position 1 Circles”
- Do all the inner circles

• In the small medallion folder create a layer and label it “Position 1 Lines”
- Do all the other lines

• In the small medallion folder create a layer and label it “Position 2 Circles”
- Do all the inner circles

• In the small medallion folder create a layer and label it “Position 2 Lines”
- Do all the other lines

• In the large medallion folder create a layer and label it “Position 1 Details”
- Do all the inner circle and details

• In the large medallion folder create a layer and label it “Position 1 Lines”
- Do all the other lines

• In the large medallion folder create a layer and label it “Position 2 Details”
- Do all the inner circles and details

• In the large medallion folder create a layer and label it “Position 2 Lines”
- Do all the other lines

• In the Leaves folder create a layer and label it “Leaf 1 Ribbon”
- Do all the ribbon lines

• Create layers for all other leaves and label them specifically to the leaf they go to

Here is what you layers should look like:

Here is what the outline drawing should look line:

NOTE: Use a Photoshop effect called Stroke on the outline. The stroke shows any left over stray line bits from erasing and helps to refine the outline. This is a very important step once you start filling or beveling those stray bits will show up as gaps.

Stage 3: Color Fill

All of the color fill will be metal, so this is where I begin to use Eye Candy 7’s Brushed Metal.

Decision Process:

• Do I want Circular or Linear?

• If Linear what angle do I want the grain to go in?

• What direction is my lighting coming from?

• What metal am I going to use for each section?

Once I determine these parameters, I write all these variables down so that I will be consistent throughout the drawing.

Medallions

• Do I want Circular or Linear? Circular

• If Linear what angle do I want the grain to go in? I will use default

• What direction is my lighting coming from? Default

• What metal am I going to use for each section? Copper, Gold, and Steel

• Select Small Medallion Position 1 Circles

• Select the center circle of the outline to be filled by using the Magic Wand Tool in Photoshop.

• This next step is very important, In Photoshop go to Select/Modify/Expand and increase the selection by 2 to 5 pixels depending on the size of the line work.
- The reason you do this is to make sure there is no gap between the outline and the fill.

• Select in Photoshop Filters/Alien Skin/Eye Candy 7/Brushed Metal

NOTE: Before you do anything else go to Filters/Alien Skin/ Eye Candy 7 and click on the question mark button at the bottom of the Eye Candy screen. Select Preferences.

• Select “Apply effect on its own layer when possible”.

• Then click on OK.

• Select the Circular preset and choose Copper

• Click on OK

This is the result:

Leaves

It is very important when color filling to put the leaves in front to back order. Leaf 1 and Leaf 2 are on top. Leaf 3 is under Leaf 1 & 2. Leaf 4 is under Leaf 3. Leaf 5 is under Leaf 3 and 4. Leaf 6 is under Leaf 1, Leaf 4, & Leaf 5. Leaf 7 is under Leaf 1 and Leaf 5.

Here is example of the leaf order:

Color Fill Decisions

• Linear

• The angle should be set to the direction of each leaf from top to bottom

• Default lighting

• Metals: to be used - Gold for leaves Copper & Steel for ribbons

Steps for Filling:

• Start with the empty Leaf 1 outline

• Select a section of the outline to be filled by using the Magic Wand Tool in Photoshop.

• In Photoshop click on Select/Modify/Expand and increase the selection by 2 to 5 pixels depending on the size of the line work.

• In Photoshop/ select Filters/Alien Skin/Eye Candy 7/Brushed Metal

• Select the Linear preset and choose Gold

• Set the angle to match the angle of the overall leaf and write this down for each leaf so that it can be used for the ribbons when you fill them

• Click on OK

When all the big leaf shapes are complete start on the ribbons. Once all the color fills are complete all the color fills can be merged together into one layer. Large Medallions on top, next Small Medallions, and last the Leaves.

This is how the color fill should look:

Stage 4: Beveling

Put your patience hat on because you are going to need it.

Leaves

• Start with Leaf 1 outline layer

• Select the area with Magic Wand

- Select only one side of the leaf at a time

otherwise it will not turn out correctly

• Expand the selection

• Select in Photoshop Filters/Alien Skin/Eye Candy 7/Bevel

• Select Buttons/Gentle Round

• Bevel Width slider set to 100

• Smoothness slider set to 100

• Default lighting

• Select OK

Keep doing this till all the leaves are beveled. Eye Candy does not need to be readjusted because all the leaves are the same. Don’t merge the bevel layers because the overlaps will have to be cleaned up.

Example of overlapping layers:

Now bevel all the ribbons. Use the same settings. The ribbons are on top of the big leaf bevels. This lets the lighting from the big leaf bevel show through. There are four stripes next to the Center small circles that I are not right. They look like they are butting up to the circle rather than flowing under. Use the Photoshop Smudge tool to smooth them out so they look like they are flowing under.

Before smoothing:

After smoothing:

Stage 5: Cleanup Process

• Merge all big leaf outline layers with their ribbon outline layers layers

- Now there should be 7 leaf layers

• Merge all big leaf bevel layers with their ribbon bevel layers

- Now there should be 7 leaf bevel layers

• Turn on Small Medallion and Large Medallion Outside Circle layers

• Select each Outside Circle layer until all are selected and then expand selection

• Go to each leaf outline layer and each leaf bevel layer and delete area.

Cleaned up leaf Bevel:

Medallions

This is the most tedious part of beveling because every little section will have to be done. But there is no need to do more than one each of the small and large medallions. I will complete each and make a copy and copy it to the other locations.

Small Medallion

• Start selecting sections, more than one section can be selected at a time just make

sure you don’t make selections of touching sections.

• Expand selections

• In Photoshop select Filters/Alien Skin/ Eye Candy 7/Bevel

• Select Buttons/Gentle Round

• Set Bevel With Slide to 100

• Set Smoothing slider to 100

• Click on OK

Do this until the whole medallion is beveled. Merge the beveled layers and then make a layer copy of the beveled layer and move it to the other position.

It should look like this:

Large Medallion

The Large Medallion is done in the same way as the Small Medallion except use Buttons/Flat Edge bevel on the outside ring. Bevel Width slider set to 10 . Everything else left at default settings. The very inside gold ring is not beveled at all. Make a layer copy of the beveled layer and move it to the other position.

It should look like this: