2019 Update!
I’ve completely overhauled this tutorial head to toe. It is written currently for the most recent update of GIMP, version 2.10.8. It should still work for older versions, however, if needed. As the other tutorials were outdated I’ve taken them down; thank you to user Anuacyl who helped write the 2.8 tutorial part way back in 2014, you were loads of help.
I assume a general knowledge of GIMP and how Layers and art programs work in this tutorial. This tutorial is long and has many, many steps but I do this for the sake of clarity. There are many ways to do skins/accents in GIMP and if you do not like this one, I can try and suggest other ones.
Onwards!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
[If you wanna ctrl+f]
- How to Open .PSDs in GIMP / Which File to Use
- Do I Use the ‘Accent Group’ of layers or the ‘Skin Group’ of layers?
- How to Paint your Accent/Skin
- How to Save:
--->Accents or Skins that do not cover 100% of the dragon
--->Accents or Skins that do cover 100% of the dragon
- If You Mess Up
- FAQ
How to Open .PSDs in GIMP / Which File to Use
1. Download the Dragon/Gender you wish to use.
2. Unzip/Extract it using your preferred unzipper – I use Winrar out of habit, but there are plenty of better ones nowadays. Remember where you put it.
3. Open GIMP.
4. Select Open, navigate to wherever you saved it.
5. Select either of the .PSDs – I highly suggest you go with the NONE ELEMENTS FRIENDLY ONE. However both will work.
6. If prompted with “Import the image from a color profile” just click ‘KEEP’. Please note: I am not 100% what changes if you click convert. I see a slight difference when I open two of the same images but can’t place it. If you follow this tutorial and notice what the difference is, or if pressing KEEP is a mistake please let me know.
7. Once your file is open, it will be advantageous to bring up the Layers dialog as it will be very important to everything you do in the future [Ctrl+L on Windows.]
Do I Use the ‘Accent Group’ of layers or the ‘Skin Group’ of layers?
It’s all personal preference, however, I strongly suggest even if you are making a skin to use the ‘Accent’ grouping.
The reason for this is if your skin or accent does not cover the complete layer in the Skin group, it will be much more difficult for you to erase the parts you didn’t use.
I assume you use the method described below to paint your skin/accent, the method of saving will not be the same if you did not follow my steps.
The following is the most important part of this tutorial, it has changed quite a lot from the older versions.
How to Paint your Accent/Skin
1. Under the ‘Skin Parts’ layer group, select the layer labelled ‘Base.’
2. Duplicate that layer.
3. Move the layer up so it is below the ‘Shadow’ layer in the Accent Layer Group.
4. This duplicated layer is Alpha locked by default, do not uncheck this yet [the square on the Layers dialog next to the Paintbrush and Arrow/Compass icon located below the ‘Opacity’ bar].
5. Right click the duplicated Layer > Alpha to Selection. You should see ‘ants’ floating around the lineart of the dragon. If for some reason you do not see these, restart GIMP.
6. Click the Alpha Lock square so the layer is no longer alpha locked.
7. With the duplicated layer still selected, go to Edit > Clear.
8. The layer is now empty, and you can begin painting. Do not deselect or select anything new as you will then be able to paint outside the lines. [See ‘If you mess up’ to how to fix this.]
9. As long as the ants are there, you can add layers and paint to your hearts content.
How to Save:
ACCENTS or SKINS that do not cover 100% of the Dragon:
1. Merge all of your painted layers together, they should be one layer. Do this in a top down manner. DO NOT merge any of the ‘Skin Parts layers, but don’t delete them yet, either.
2. Select>None
3. Select the ‘Extras’ layer under ‘Skin Parts.’
4. Right click > Alpha to selection. You should, at least, be selecting the eye and possibly other details. If for some reason you’re not, find the body part layer that includes the eye and follow the step again.
4. Select the layer with your skin on it.
5. Zoom in.
6. Grab the eraser tool and erase out the eye on your painted layer.
7. Delete all of the ‘Skin Parts’ layers.
8. If needed, adjust the ‘Shadows’ and ‘Lineart’ layer as needed. I do not recommend making a skin where the ‘shadows’ layer is set to anything but multiply.
9. When satisfied, right click your painted layers > Alpha to Selection
10. Select the Lineart layer.
11. Make sure it is NOT alpha locked.
12. Select>Invert. You should see the ‘ants’ dancing around the border of the image as a whole.
13. Edit>Clear. If done correctly, all the lineart not within your painted layer is now deleted. If nothing happened, check to make sure the Lineart layer is not alpha locked. If lineart within your painted layer was deleted, undo it and hit Select>Invert a second time.
14. Select the ‘Shadows’ layer and set it to ‘Normal.’
15. Repeat steps 10-13 with the Shadows layer.
16. Change the layer mode back to ‘Multiply.’
17. When you are satisfied, and any superfluous layers are deleted or hidden, File>Export As
18. Name your file whatever you like, make sure it ends in ‘.png’
19. When prompted click ‘Export.’
20. After a second it will save [your open image will now read ‘exported’ in the top bar].
21. Save the WIP backup with GIMP’s psd equivalent, .xcf, if needed. [File>Save As…].
22. File>Open and find your new .png file.
23. With the .png open, Image>Scale Image. Make sure the 'chain' between the Height and Weight boxes is connected. Make sure 'Cubic' is selected under 'Interpolation.'
24. Change the Height/Weight to 350 pixels. Click Scale.
25. File>Export to [FILE NAME] to overwrite the .PNG.
26. Submit your .png file for approval!
SKINS that do cover 100% of the Dragon:
1. Merge all of your painted layers together, they should be one layer. Do this in a top down manner. DO NOT merge any of the ‘Skin Parts layers, but don’t delete them yet, either.
2. Select>None
3. Select the ‘Extras’ layer under ‘Skin Parts.’
4. Right click > Alpha to selection. You should, at least, be selecting the eye and possibly other details. If for some reason you’re not, find the body part layer that includes the eye and follow the step again.
4. Select the layer with your skin on it.
5. Zoom in.
6. Grab the eraser tool and erase out the eye on your painted layer.
7. Delete all of the ‘Skin Parts’ layers.
8. If needed, adjust the ‘Shadows’ and ‘Lineart’ layer as needed. I do not recommend making a skin where the ‘shadows’ layer is set to anything but multiply.
9. When you are satisfied, and any superfluous layers are deleted or hidden, File>Export As
10. Name your file whatever you like, make sure it ends in ‘.png’
11. When prompted click ‘Export.’
12. After a second it will save [your open image will now read ‘exported’ in the top bar].
13. Save the WIP backup with GIMP’s psd equivalent, .xcf, if needed. [File>Save As…].
14. File>Open and find your new .png file.
15. With the .png open, Image>Scale Image. Make sure the 'chain' between the Height and Weight boxes is connected. Make sure 'Cubic' is selected under 'Interpolation.'
16. Change the Height/Weight to 350 pixels. Click Scale.
17. File>Export to [FILE NAME] to overwrite the .PNG.
18. Submit your .png file for approval!
IF YOU MESS UP:
1. Duplicate a new ‘Base’ layer.
2. Bring it up to be below all of your painting layers.
3. Right click > Alpha to Selection.
4. Select your painting layer, if you did not color outside the lines, continue as normal with the rest of this tutorial. If you did color outside the lines, continue reading this section.
5. Select>Invert. You should see the ‘ants’ going around the border of your image.
6. Edit>Clear. If you deleted the part of your painting that is within the lineart, undo, and then Select>Invert again.
7. When the mistake is erased, Select>Invert so you are again coloring inside the Lineart. You may continue on Painting your accent/skin.
FAQ:
1. Are you willing to share another method of doing this?
- Yes, if requested, I can write up an alternate method. However, in my opinion, while this might look complex, this is the easiest way to approach coloring Accents and Skins in GIMP as GIMP does not support clipping layers.
2. Can I PM you for any problems?
- Feel free! I try to remain active on FR just so I can be easily tracked down for help. Please provide screenshots and/or describe your problem as clearly as possible.
3. Could you do a Video Tutorial of this?
- I’m thinking about it, actually. If you’d prefer a video tutorial please let me know so I can get that done sooner rather than later.
4. How do I calculate % coverage of an Accent?
Here
5. What is a PNG24? Does GIMP support this?
- In short, PNG24 is a PNG that supports transparency. GIMP does indeed support this. The alternating gray squares you see on your image mean transparency. If at any time during the process you worry this is not the case, right click a layer and look for the term 'Add Alpha Channel.' If that is not selectable, you're good to go - the image is transparent already.
I’ve completely overhauled this tutorial head to toe. It is written currently for the most recent update of GIMP, version 2.10.8. It should still work for older versions, however, if needed. As the other tutorials were outdated I’ve taken them down; thank you to user Anuacyl who helped write the 2.8 tutorial part way back in 2014, you were loads of help.
I assume a general knowledge of GIMP and how Layers and art programs work in this tutorial. This tutorial is long and has many, many steps but I do this for the sake of clarity. There are many ways to do skins/accents in GIMP and if you do not like this one, I can try and suggest other ones.
Onwards!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
[If you wanna ctrl+f]
- How to Open .PSDs in GIMP / Which File to Use
- Do I Use the ‘Accent Group’ of layers or the ‘Skin Group’ of layers?
- How to Paint your Accent/Skin
- How to Save:
--->Accents or Skins that do not cover 100% of the dragon
--->Accents or Skins that do cover 100% of the dragon
- If You Mess Up
- FAQ
How to Open .PSDs in GIMP / Which File to Use
1. Download the Dragon/Gender you wish to use.
2. Unzip/Extract it using your preferred unzipper – I use Winrar out of habit, but there are plenty of better ones nowadays. Remember where you put it.
3. Open GIMP.
4. Select Open, navigate to wherever you saved it.
5. Select either of the .PSDs – I highly suggest you go with the NONE ELEMENTS FRIENDLY ONE. However both will work.
6. If prompted with “Import the image from a color profile” just click ‘KEEP’. Please note: I am not 100% what changes if you click convert. I see a slight difference when I open two of the same images but can’t place it. If you follow this tutorial and notice what the difference is, or if pressing KEEP is a mistake please let me know.
7. Once your file is open, it will be advantageous to bring up the Layers dialog as it will be very important to everything you do in the future [Ctrl+L on Windows.]
Do I Use the ‘Accent Group’ of layers or the ‘Skin Group’ of layers?
It’s all personal preference, however, I strongly suggest even if you are making a skin to use the ‘Accent’ grouping.
The reason for this is if your skin or accent does not cover the complete layer in the Skin group, it will be much more difficult for you to erase the parts you didn’t use.
I assume you use the method described below to paint your skin/accent, the method of saving will not be the same if you did not follow my steps.
The following is the most important part of this tutorial, it has changed quite a lot from the older versions.
How to Paint your Accent/Skin
1. Under the ‘Skin Parts’ layer group, select the layer labelled ‘Base.’
2. Duplicate that layer.
3. Move the layer up so it is below the ‘Shadow’ layer in the Accent Layer Group.
4. This duplicated layer is Alpha locked by default, do not uncheck this yet [the square on the Layers dialog next to the Paintbrush and Arrow/Compass icon located below the ‘Opacity’ bar].
5. Right click the duplicated Layer > Alpha to Selection. You should see ‘ants’ floating around the lineart of the dragon. If for some reason you do not see these, restart GIMP.
6. Click the Alpha Lock square so the layer is no longer alpha locked.
7. With the duplicated layer still selected, go to Edit > Clear.
8. The layer is now empty, and you can begin painting. Do not deselect or select anything new as you will then be able to paint outside the lines. [See ‘If you mess up’ to how to fix this.]
9. As long as the ants are there, you can add layers and paint to your hearts content.
How to Save:
ACCENTS or SKINS that do not cover 100% of the Dragon:
1. Merge all of your painted layers together, they should be one layer. Do this in a top down manner. DO NOT merge any of the ‘Skin Parts layers, but don’t delete them yet, either.
2. Select>None
3. Select the ‘Extras’ layer under ‘Skin Parts.’
4. Right click > Alpha to selection. You should, at least, be selecting the eye and possibly other details. If for some reason you’re not, find the body part layer that includes the eye and follow the step again.
4. Select the layer with your skin on it.
5. Zoom in.
6. Grab the eraser tool and erase out the eye on your painted layer.
7. Delete all of the ‘Skin Parts’ layers.
8. If needed, adjust the ‘Shadows’ and ‘Lineart’ layer as needed. I do not recommend making a skin where the ‘shadows’ layer is set to anything but multiply.
9. When satisfied, right click your painted layers > Alpha to Selection
10. Select the Lineart layer.
11. Make sure it is NOT alpha locked.
12. Select>Invert. You should see the ‘ants’ dancing around the border of the image as a whole.
13. Edit>Clear. If done correctly, all the lineart not within your painted layer is now deleted. If nothing happened, check to make sure the Lineart layer is not alpha locked. If lineart within your painted layer was deleted, undo it and hit Select>Invert a second time.
14. Select the ‘Shadows’ layer and set it to ‘Normal.’
15. Repeat steps 10-13 with the Shadows layer.
16. Change the layer mode back to ‘Multiply.’
17. When you are satisfied, and any superfluous layers are deleted or hidden, File>Export As
18. Name your file whatever you like, make sure it ends in ‘.png’
19. When prompted click ‘Export.’
20. After a second it will save [your open image will now read ‘exported’ in the top bar].
21. Save the WIP backup with GIMP’s psd equivalent, .xcf, if needed. [File>Save As…].
22. File>Open and find your new .png file.
23. With the .png open, Image>Scale Image. Make sure the 'chain' between the Height and Weight boxes is connected. Make sure 'Cubic' is selected under 'Interpolation.'
24. Change the Height/Weight to 350 pixels. Click Scale.
25. File>Export to [FILE NAME] to overwrite the .PNG.
26. Submit your .png file for approval!
SKINS that do cover 100% of the Dragon:
1. Merge all of your painted layers together, they should be one layer. Do this in a top down manner. DO NOT merge any of the ‘Skin Parts layers, but don’t delete them yet, either.
2. Select>None
3. Select the ‘Extras’ layer under ‘Skin Parts.’
4. Right click > Alpha to selection. You should, at least, be selecting the eye and possibly other details. If for some reason you’re not, find the body part layer that includes the eye and follow the step again.
4. Select the layer with your skin on it.
5. Zoom in.
6. Grab the eraser tool and erase out the eye on your painted layer.
7. Delete all of the ‘Skin Parts’ layers.
8. If needed, adjust the ‘Shadows’ and ‘Lineart’ layer as needed. I do not recommend making a skin where the ‘shadows’ layer is set to anything but multiply.
9. When you are satisfied, and any superfluous layers are deleted or hidden, File>Export As
10. Name your file whatever you like, make sure it ends in ‘.png’
11. When prompted click ‘Export.’
12. After a second it will save [your open image will now read ‘exported’ in the top bar].
13. Save the WIP backup with GIMP’s psd equivalent, .xcf, if needed. [File>Save As…].
14. File>Open and find your new .png file.
15. With the .png open, Image>Scale Image. Make sure the 'chain' between the Height and Weight boxes is connected. Make sure 'Cubic' is selected under 'Interpolation.'
16. Change the Height/Weight to 350 pixels. Click Scale.
17. File>Export to [FILE NAME] to overwrite the .PNG.
18. Submit your .png file for approval!
IF YOU MESS UP:
1. Duplicate a new ‘Base’ layer.
2. Bring it up to be below all of your painting layers.
3. Right click > Alpha to Selection.
4. Select your painting layer, if you did not color outside the lines, continue as normal with the rest of this tutorial. If you did color outside the lines, continue reading this section.
5. Select>Invert. You should see the ‘ants’ going around the border of your image.
6. Edit>Clear. If you deleted the part of your painting that is within the lineart, undo, and then Select>Invert again.
7. When the mistake is erased, Select>Invert so you are again coloring inside the Lineart. You may continue on Painting your accent/skin.
FAQ:
1. Are you willing to share another method of doing this?
- Yes, if requested, I can write up an alternate method. However, in my opinion, while this might look complex, this is the easiest way to approach coloring Accents and Skins in GIMP as GIMP does not support clipping layers.
2. Can I PM you for any problems?
- Feel free! I try to remain active on FR just so I can be easily tracked down for help. Please provide screenshots and/or describe your problem as clearly as possible.
3. Could you do a Video Tutorial of this?
- I’m thinking about it, actually. If you’d prefer a video tutorial please let me know so I can get that done sooner rather than later.
4. How do I calculate % coverage of an Accent?
Here
5. What is a PNG24? Does GIMP support this?
- In short, PNG24 is a PNG that supports transparency. GIMP does indeed support this. The alternating gray squares you see on your image mean transparency. If at any time during the process you worry this is not the case, right click a layer and look for the term 'Add Alpha Channel.' If that is not selectable, you're good to go - the image is transparent already.
.:| Watch me struggle to breed a dragon |:.
.:| Ping me for GIMP Help | Commissions | Art Trade Busts |:.
