Tutorial: an illustration from A to Z with Krita

A long 1h22min Krita video tutorial fully commented. A real full length course suited to beginners, but also advanced digital painters. It starts from scratch with default set of brushes, preferences and break-down all the process. The repetitive parts while painting were all accelerated and can be skipped easily (a timer in overlay appears on display) Check the Timeline codes under to navigate in the video.
Subtitle are unfortunately not available, sorry for my (heavy) French accent and poor vocabulary. It was too long to write them this time. I hope the auto generation will work and you'll have not a lot of trouble to understand me mumbling sometime.
I recorded over 6h of material, and at the end I was totally brain washed. Painting and talking while recording really overheat my brain, and I also recorded that under a super hot weather, 39°C , and I had to turn of all the fans to reduce the noise on the microphone. That was a real challenge.
Big props also to the OBS studio team (for the recording software) and Kdenlive team (for the video editing software). Of course, to the Krita team too!
Link to high resolution: www.davidrevoy.com/data/image...
Krita website: krita.org/en/
*Timeline, Table of Content:*
- 00:00:00 Intro
- 00:00:40 Chapter 1, Customisation of the Krita Interface (Intro)
- 00:01:31 Reduce size of toolbar icon
- 00:01:57 The Advanced Color Selector
- 00:02:41 Two columns of dockers
- 00:03:37 From Tabs to Subwindows mode
- 00:05:10 Third Flow sliders, and new toolbar buttons
- 00:07:14 Canvas border background color
- 00:07:46 Brush outline and cursor
- 00:08:42 Tool Options, not as a docker but in toolbar
- 00:10:02 Document creation, A4@300dpi sRGB 8Bit
- 00:10:33 The Overview docker
- 00:11:23 Navigation on Krita canvas, with shortcuts
- 00:12:16 The Default brush presets set
- 00:12:37 Chapter 2, Finding the idea (Krita artist contest)
- 00:13:43 Chapter 3, References with BeeRef software
- 00:15:54 Chapter 4, Thumbnails
- 00:16:27 Basics of Krita (Fill, Transform, Selection)
- 00:19:35 About values in painting, the big "scheme" for portraits.
- 00:21:23 Starting to draw the thumbnails
- 00:24:20 Painting colors on the thumbnails
- 00:25:31 The Blending Modes (on brush) Overlay
- 00:29:17 Filters of Krita (Curves, HSV adjustement, Color Balance).
- 00:32:37 The concept of "Dirty" brush preset, and cleaning them.
- 00:35:47 Chapter 5, Drawing. Transform of the thumbnail, resolution and layer setup.
- 00:39:09 Drawing (Timelapse)
- 00:41:47 Chapter 6, Painting under the line-art
- 00:43:37 The Deform Brush Engine
- 00:45:20 "Grain Merge" blending-mode on the line-art
- 00:46:45 Introduction to creating brush presets
- 00:51:21 Brush usage, hard edge, spikes, glazing and replacing colors
- 00:51:50 Paint under, Timelapse
- 00:52:55 Chapter 7, Paint-Over (setup)
- 00:55:04 Paint-Over (timelapse)
- 00:56:11 Adjustements, and self-criticism
- 00:56:46 Values, Reading Histogram docker
- 00:59:21 Values, fixing with Curves filter
- 01:02:19 Color temperature, fixing with Color Balance filter
- 01:03:50 Background painting (timelapse)
- 01:04:22 Silhouetting the character with the Lighten Blending Mode (fog)
- 01:08:10 Paint-Over fix, removing the squirrel's hears (timelapse commented)
- 01:08:52 Lens Blur Effect for the depht of field (Filter Mask).
- 01:11:46 A special thanks for the idea of the video
- 01:12:29 Another pass for thinner details (big timelapse)
- 01:16:27 (pre)Final, and saving/archiving the file.
- 01:17:56 Appendice, fix pushed "One day after" (timelapse)
- 01:19:55 The final artwork
- 01:20:05 Outro
- 01:21:58 Credits, Attributions and License
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Video and artworks by David Revoy
Kiki is a character design created by Tyson Tan (CC-By)
www.davidrevoy.com
*Soundtrack:*
- Intro: Fabian Measures - Hanami (CC-By) - www.soundcloud.com/fogheart
- Timelapse: Kevin MacLeod - Perspective (CC-By) - www.incompetech.com
- Outro: Kevin MacLeod - Backed Vibes Clean (CC-By) - www.incompetech.com
- SoundFX: Oriental Harp3 by Soughtaftersounds (CC-By) - Freesound
Edited with Kdenlive 21.04(appimage) on Fedora KDE 36
*Support:*
- Patreon: / davidrevoy
- Tipeee: fr.tipeee.com/pepper-carrot
- Paypal: paypal.me/davidrevoy
- Liberapay: liberapay.com/davidrevoy/
*Follow:*
- Mastodon: framapiaf.org/@davidrevoy
- Twitter: / davidrevoy
- Instagram: / deevadrevoy
- Facebook: / pepper-carrot-30767787...
*Website:*
- Webcomic: www.peppercarrot.com/
- Blog: www.davidrevoy.com/
*Alternative channel:*
- Peertube: peertube.touhoppai.moe/accoun...
- KZbin: / davidrevoy

[@cassascorner611]

Also, don't apologize for your accent. You're speaking a language that's not your native one. The people who complain can learn french if they want, but they haven't, have they?

[@BreadAckerman]

you are soo soo right

[@faelwolf1177]

Accent? I'm from the back hills, still calling Krita "critter". Who would I be to complain? lol

[@shim2822]

Agree. Moi-même, je n'y arrive pas...

[@DV-dt9sq]

I adore French language ♥️

[@jessybeloved1549]

Your accent is so good and your voice is soothing

[@kathywolf4558]

David, don't apologize for your accent. English is not your indigenous/first language. You are a very good teacher. You are NOT hard to understand at all. This video is helpful for many, many people and very appreciated.

[@jonsotbh1565]

it's not literal, it's mostly just an icebreaker but i'm know where you're coming from and i'm sure he appreciates the gesture

[@Kitten202021]

I came down here immediately to type this very same message! Mr. Revoy, your accent is absolutely beautiful, never apologize for not being English-speaking as it isn't even your first language; the French language is beyond beautiful and you speak English marvelously, very easy for me (with hearing impairment issues) to understand you. Thank you for this very ambitious tutorial, I just got the Wacom Intuos Small (CTL4100) for Christmas, it is my very first drawing tablet! Any suggestions on settings I should setup for it anyone? I've watched a few videos on setting suggestions, but there are buttons on the tablet itself, then on the pen and I'm not sure what these should be set to with Krita that would be beneficial. Additionally, is it normal for the pen to be so sensitive? I barely get the pen close to my tablet and it's already moving the pointer on my screen - is this just something I need to get used to?

[@Neamerjell]

You got that right. Even a thick French accent is easier to understand than the torture of listening to some Indian ex-Dell tech support representative mangle the English language so badly that it isn't even recognizable as English...

[@RexelBartolome]

1 hour long of narrated step by step process from a fresh install to a fully fledged illustration? David youre insane! truly a gem to our community 😊

[@DavidRevoy]

Thank you very much! ✨

[@Wastelandman7000]

I agree, and his tuts are very relaxing too.

[@shahidchaudhary52]

Yea not for beginners at all.... 🤔...

[@Squashay]

Merci Beaucoup Pour la vidéo. Thank you very much for this magnificent tutorial, it really helped me understand Krita. You covered every detail about the painting, and it is incredible how calm you are. Thanks again.

[@caveirainvocada9438]

MAN, i always wanted a video with your full step-by-step process, this is like a dream come true!

[@crumblyguy1834]

Holy cow, this is awesome. I’ve started drawing again, trying digital and I’ve been horrible at planning out how I’ll draw my compositions. This video helped 👍

[@DavidRevoy]

Thanks! Planning out is everything. I think I only start to draw on this video after the half (ok, a big part is about also customising the option of Krita so I can feel "at home" later on the video, but, it is still speaking volume about importance of planning on my workflow).

[@s-o-o-z]

I'm not even halfway through but I had to stop and say thank you. Wow, you are so generous in the way you share your knowledge. Thank you. (BTW, I'm a big fan of your accent.)

[@DavidRevoy]

Thank you Sooz!

[@langbis]

I just downloaded krita and was struggling to navigate and understand the tools. I was disappointed when I couldn't find the airbrush tool. At the same time, I am looking for a tutorial on how to use this software and I am grateful to have found your video. It is very helpful. Thank you. More videos to come.

[@nacs]

Love that you walked through your layout setup process and everything, thanks a lot! Re: that disclaimer in beginning -- I actually prefer my English tutorials with a heavy French accent :D Also love the draw-in-the-style work, I prefer it over the more anime-style original.

[@DavidRevoy]

Awesome, thank you about the accent.

[@J_Tchang]

Incredible helpful video David !! As always more and more people are adopting Krita thanks to amazing artists like you !

[@DavidRevoy]

My pleasure! But I think Krita is getting more and more adopted thanks to the amazing good work done by the dev, mainly. I'm glad I can attempt to demo it for other artists. 👍

[@setin8720]

I always find you a very apt teacher. You've always inspired me with both your artworks, and with how much you choose to give free to others. I thank you as an aspiring artist.

[@DavidRevoy]

💜 thanks!

[@Kris_Toffer]

I'm trying to get back into drawing after having quit as a kid, so im basically starting from scratch, and this is great help for me. It's a lot of information and a lot for me to remember, but its also very convenient to have it all in one video instead of having to watch a 40 video playlist with lots of fill. I'll definitely keep coming back to this from time to time to pick up new things after I've tried the things I do remember. It's so well made, it'll be a great resource. Thank you for making this.

[@DavidRevoy]

Thanks! And good luck in your art quest, it's a long journey but a cool one.

[@masonleblanc6726]

It is very cool to see an artists full process. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@Dimipim1]

oh my God this video is everything that I've been asking for in a tutorial about Krita Seriously, thank you SO MUCH

[@DamianDC]

Whatever, I know everyone said it already: you have an awesome accent and the moment I read your apology I already knew that I liked you AND your training. Thanks!!!

[@karkovb1522]

I actually sat through the whole video and it's been extremely helpful. Your accent is fine and as a non-native English speaker everything you said were pretty clear to me. The part where you said waking up the day after and notice some additional stuff that needed fixing is so true it actually happens to me pretty often.

[@DavidRevoy]

Thank you for watching it! Oh yes about "putting a night" on artworks, I regret many artworks I immediately posted the same day, or sent to client. A night really recover a part of my ability to self criticise the artwork. Precious ✨

[@marvngardn]

Your demeanor while you teach is both soothing and very wholesome, making the learning process for novices like myself less painful. Also, I enjoy the timelapse song more than I probably should. Thank you for the video!

[@DavidRevoy]

Thank you very much!

[@Biggerman]

Before I even start watching I want to thank you. Your art tutorials have been a big inspiration for me and I'm beyond happy to see a new one.

[@DavidRevoy]

Wow, thank you!

[@SanOcelotl]

This video is pure gold for a Krita beginer, thanks :)

[@nothingiseverperfect]

The thumbnail process and the “value comparisons” was such an amazing insight into how to try many variations without making a big mess! Your videos and work is truly so helpful thank you so much.

[@DavidRevoy]

Thanks!

[@dumdumbox]

7 minutes in, and I didn't know I could do any of this magic xD Thanks for much! Gold mine already.

[@Mr59Kenzo]

excellent work as always thank you very much for all you do. really enjoyed watching you paint and explain your choices will be watching this multiple times also really appreciate the customization piece, I'm just getting started finally got myself a tablet to try to paint digitally with.

[@pippofranci]

thanks to David for this wonderful tutorial and to Krita for giving everyone a chance to draw.🤞

[@sennabullet]

An hour well spent...the French accent made listening a joy! Thank you very much for the immense effort you put into making this fantastic tutorial!

[@DavidRevoy]

Thanks you!

[@anuragsolanki07]

really a great guy, putting most of his content from a open source software which everybody can use. And everybody ultimately end up using krita cause its free....Keep it up sir👍

[@Helgrind44]

You're a huge inspiration to me. I love your style and your commitment to open source softwares. Thanks a lot for this video, I always wanted to see your whole process

[@LBP2Saperoth]

Have been wanting someone to do something like this for krita for a while. Never apologize for your accent! it is hard to learn a second language. thank you for the amazing videos and +1 for linux.

[@DavidRevoy]

Thanks! (and yay for noticing my Fedora KDE desktop

[@matthews.3766]

I have never thought about doing a thumbnail, the resizing it to draw over. That alone was awesome. Thank you.

[@DavidRevoy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@seva4241]

I'm only 30 minutes in, but you've apologized for your English/accent a few times now. Just wanted to let you know I haven't had any issues understanding anything you have said. I am from the US, but you your English is just fine to me. Thank you for this tutorial, it is excellent!

[@DavidRevoy]

Thank you very much for your nice words, they boost my confidence. Have a good sunday!

[@shu1161]

I always learn something new from you, and it inspires me a lot!! Thank you for your hard work, we do appreciate it ❤

[@DavidRevoy]

You are so welcome!

[@P3riodd]

i was just looking for a nice guide for krita, thanks a lot :D

[@cassascorner611]

Thank you!! I will watch this like 15 times!

[@ArneBab]

The subtitles look pretty good, which unlocks the automatic translation, making this available to french speaking people :-) Thank you for your video!

[@DavidRevoy]

Thanks Arne; ha good news if they are generated!

[@kdods22402]

I cannot believe how amazing you are at digital art. You must have a great mastery of traditional art to be able to do what you do. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video

[@DavidRevoy]

Thank you very much!

[@Som3howDifferent]

I really appreciate the effort in all of your videos as they are a big help for me as someone who is relatively new to drawing digitally! I love that you explained everything in great detail and that you included all the 'basic' steps as well. I struggled a lot with just setting up Krita and how to deal with layers and brushes so having everything compiled in one video is such a relief! Your thought process concerning composition and values was also super interesting and helpful :) Thank you so much!

[@DavidRevoy]

Thank you very much!

[@NorbertNogacki]

I liked it so much I accidentally removed my thumbs up on the video when I tried to give you a thumbs up a second time 😀. You've got a very methodical approach to teaching, very easy to follow, engaging and really fun. Thank you for this video!

[@carolynprior6488]

Found this by accident. Loved it! Really enjoyed watching your process. Love your accent too 🤩

[@DavidRevoy]

Thank you very much! 😊

[@kanewilliams1653]

What a joy, we need more tutorials like this on the internet. Thank you!

[@ndolo_y2k]

Your french ascent is really lovely and your videos are so wonderful. Learning so much here 👌🏿✨

[@esmailiyou]

Wao, thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. And thank you for spending so much time making this video. It was not easy for sure

[@DavidRevoy]

So nice of you; yes, the heat wave and recording without the fan for the micro noise made it harder than what I thought. I'll probably enjoy thinking about that when I'll record things this autumn and winter 😆

[@vitoferrero8425]

It's beautiful every thing about your art. Congrats! Your example is so inspiring for artists!

[@one_with_the_one]

What an exceptional video! Thank you so much for all the effort that you put into making this tutorial. It is truly incredible and super helpful. Thank you and thank you and thank you!!!!! Really so grateful!

[@miikaaeeel]

Great video, I started learning digital drawing a month ago and this is by far the most useful guide i've seen

[@0171710]

Amazing work. And you are very clear and precise.Thank you for this tut.

[@x_ha7mody_x900]

I know im too late 😅, but im starting to get into digital art, and i set you as a pillar, one of the artist to learn from always, thank you David 😊

[@The__Pengwin]

I really like this video and your accent is not a problem it ads to the mood and the atmosphere. You are on the list of my new favorite arteests!!!

[@artinside]

Thank you...This tutorial is an amazing gift for us!!!

[@brunifreud8082]

I am grateful for this video and for your work.

[@DavidRevoy]

😍

[@yenee94]

David you're a legend for doing this.

[@jananovakova7171]

What an excellent video tutorial!!! Thank you very much! ❤❤❤

[@noormuhammad8003]

this video is the best of all among others, so simple and easy to understand.... thanks David for providing such great , beginner friendly tutorial..

[@slateportraichu5416]

This video is just in time. I've decided to move to Krita and this is so thoroughly explained. With timestamps. You are amazing=3 Thank you so-so much!

[@DavidRevoy]

Thanks!

[@jdrsant0s]

In addition to being a great artist, you are also a great teacher and a person of great generosity. Thank you sir 🖖

[@DavidRevoy]

Thank you for your message

[@yanuarnorman529]

Thank you very much for sharing! I've been using Krita for more than 2 years now. Your videos really help me understand the app.

[@adeptusjoker7176]

What an amazing video! You are such a credit to all of us! (And never apologize for your accent!)

[@teclinsoro4523]

honestly your accent is gorgeous and it made the tutorial really pleasant to listen to!

[@caveirainvocada9438]

I really like the way the drawing turned out right after you resized the thumbnail. You can really see the brushstrokes and it gives the painting this distinct non-digital look.

[@Exodus00FF]

This was an amazing video! This is a great tutorial and your artwork is beautiful. Amazing work!

[@gummywasp7174]

I am so happy you did this!! I've been looking from someone to paint their art works step by stem in great detail. Thank you so much!! I've always wanted to learn how to render my art, but it never turns out good, so this is so helpful! Thank you again! ☺

[@qazifaran]

Thank you for this detailed tutorial

[@BoneCrusherofOlde]

Thank you so much for this, David!

[@Schizoid137]

Awesome work. I especially liked seeing the setup for Krita from default. Thanks

[@DavidRevoy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@kerivkennedy]

Agreed, the video was suggested to me for other reasons, but I found the first bit so immensly helpful! Especially setting up my dockers. It was how I've wanted mine set all along, but could never quite get.

[@vizvik1678]

Krita is an excellent app and you are the best teacher for it!

[@alvarosuarezisaza676]

Thank you David for the magnificent initiation tutorial with Krita... Greetings...

[@kenadroider]

Thank you for this!!! So informational especially for beginners and total noob like me in digital art!

[@mattlowe7630]

Love it! Thank you for your time and dedication to this community. And I agree with all others. Your accent is great. Apologies never necessary.

[@DavidRevoy]

Thank you very much!

[@thatdaveguy8895]

This was honestly a truly awesome tutorial.

[@Gombakka]

Thank you for the great tutorial, looking forward to next one

[@kind0121]

This video is really good and inspiring, thank you so much for doing this

[@suwooru7171]

Just... Bravo! Giving you standing ovation right now. I liked the very detailed explanation and your french accent - it just make the video better. I am still couple of light-years away from your level of drawing skills, but video helped me a lot.Thank you!

[@kris5187]

this has even me a lot to think about, thank you.

[@keefer88]

thank you for the wonderfully detailed tutorial!

[@ninopriore]

An excellent video, thank you, David.

[@aadipie]

Thank you so much, I'm using krita for animation and loving it but I love learning as much in art. Don't apologize for the accent at all, it's perfectly fine.

[@Rizno]

Great as always, thank you David

[@chRizma]

Thank you so much for this tutorial! I keep it saved to refer back to. I would like it a million times if I could.

[@SenJacob]

Thank you for a detailed video on painting process! I'll try out Krita later.

[@martind4636]

Excellent video, like the others you posted!! This one is pure gold, for sure. Very well produced videos, great artist and skills and the kindest person who took the time to share his knowledge. That's who you are, that's your amazing contribution. Thank you.

[@DavidRevoy]

Awww! Thanks. Thanks! THANKS!

[@art2design514]

Ive been using Krita almost 2 years not actually using it everyday just had it that long. And my lord you have solve so many of my problems, because I use to have photoshop in the past but I cant afford it now but sometimes krita is a little bit frustrating on simple terminologies. Like there was a video you explaining about the merge layer because it always renames it merge instead of keeping it the original text. Everything you have been discussing is helping me so much. I didn't realize you can actually change the colour palette selector to the original square colour palette gradient or individual colour swatch picker like Photoshop. Thank you so much. So helpful!!

[@DavidRevoy]

Thank you for the feedback!

[@tosterpl4348]

Don't apologize for your accent your guide is quite understandable and you have a fairly high level of English. Thank you for the guide.

[@anaelleparsis7933]

Magnifique ! J'aime beaucoup ton process. Bravo !

[@damiendupont9416]

Merci pour cette vidéo David. La qualité est la et mon dieu comme c'est utile et pratique. Pas de blabla superflux des vrais conseils et astuce. Bref dessiner sur krita deviens chaque jour un peu plus techique et fun avec la découverte de ces possibilitées. j'ai plusieurs fois mis la vidéo en pose en mode "mais what? on peut faire ça?" ou alors "ahhh ouaaaiiis j'y avais pas pensé" et la go krita pour essayer direct. Franchement c'est super encore merci. 😍😘🤩🤩🤩

[@faho4387]

Thank you so much!! I love your art and i learn everything from you. This so helpful. You are professional.

[@DavidRevoy]

Thanks!

[@lidiatorresprado]

Amazing I will watched, thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge.🤗🤗

[@faelwolf1177]

Totally worth watching for the setup information alone. Well done!

[@ik0la]

This has helped me with my motivation to get back into Krita immensely. Thank you!

[@brucebissell7626]

REALLY AWESOME JOB. THANKS. GOD BLESS YOU.😇

[@starlytesherice9648]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to teach us the video is great and very interesting and informative. I can’t watch to see what ur next video will be base on very much looking forward to learning ur skills.

[@huriyahkun3219]

Highly appreciated, thank you.

[@wietsesartsythings969]

I have no problem understanding what you say. Excellent video, thank you!

[@DavidRevoy]

Thanks for your message!

[@qeluqi]

I can't thank you enough for this tutorial, as someone just starting out with digital drawing this will help me tremendously. thanks and greetings from Mexico

[@DavidRevoy]

Thanks Lenna! 💚

[@uksoloz]

Trying to get into drawing and this will help a lot thank you for the long format video 😁👌

[@crochetilico]

Thank you so much. Merci beaucoup, un tutoriel super genial. 😍

[@casperwilliams6393]

thank you so much sir !!!!! great helpful !! very cooooolllll

[@SeverusSnope]

You're amazing, thank you so much for this.

[@pablojaviermuratore]

Awesome workflow! Thanks for sharing

[@logannicole4005]

this is sooo awesome!!!

[@yorugecko]

Love this video, makes me want to get back to Digital Painting

[@keyr3733]

"heavy french accent" already warms my heart))

[@DavidRevoy]

🙂

[@alexduesling4263]

I love your videos! Don't apologise, you are incredibly clear and easy to understand :) Thank you for the wonderful content!

[@DavidRevoy]

Thank you for your encouragement about my accent!

[@catklu]

Thank you so much for this video. So much work and nice done.

[@DavidRevoy]

So nice of you 👍