Flash Vector Illustration Walkthrough

Step 7 Basic shading

This bit is really for you to get experimental with. I often just choose whatever “feels” right and tweak and adjust from there. Fill in your main colours with the fill tool, and work out something that compliments the group of colours in the scene. With my vector style, I usually shade on a layer above and then merge it back down , then erase all line work.



Shading is simply a matter of sampling the base colour and moving above and below the midtones. The harsher the lighting, the further the way you should deviate from the tones. To avoid major stepping, two tone shadowing and highlighting is a great way to break the harsh tonal divisions up. Consider the direction of the light source, and project the shadows in the opposite direction, whilst keeping the closet face to the source highlighted. The easiest method to select tonal values is to move the brightness slider up and down whilst the relevant midtone is selected. This will prevent any wacky tinting going on with shading.