How to Cel Shade: Avoid These Common Mistakes!

[@mutecryptid]

My experience with “I can only soft shade I don’t know how to cel shade”, is that no matter what it feels unfinished and I can’t just leave it unfinished.

[@wingedcanvas]

That's so common, it takes a lot of mental practice to be able to take that leap when you're used to doing it a specific way. Maybe a combination would work well for you.

[@J1mmySticky]

Real

[@art4anj]

Same! I'm actually practicing the habit now and get used to it, I have to since it'll be easier to animate

[@DionsWorld24]

For me it’s cause I don’t feel confident in soft shading, plus I’m lazy lol

[@JamAttack]

it's easy you just have to be lazy and then you'll want to do less work, I've gotten good at this skill.

[@everydayday9437]

“Shadows are shapes, not lines” haha thank you that shot needed to hit my artwork lol.

[@wingedcanvas]

WE STILL LOVE YOU!! Haha, when you know - it makes it easier to take the next step! You've got this.

[@rosalyng2626]

Yeah, I seriously needed to hear that 😭

[@wingedcanvas]

We got your back!@@rosalyng2626

[@graysbygrace]

@@everydayday9437 I also needed to hear that because I have been drawing it as a line rather then a shape😭

[@keropeko13]

now i know why my arts sometimes look kinda off, thank you for this !

[@wingedcanvas]

Yess!! The more you know, the better you get. You got this!!

[@StrawberryBunnyBoba]

Literally perfect timing, I needed to figure this stuff out for my portfolio lol

[@wingedcanvas]

PERFECT TIMING!! That's awesome. We've got some really good Summer Intensives coming up if you're looking for some extra help perfecting that portfolio! www.wingedcanvas.com/summer-intensive-art-camp-for-teens You might also enjoy our portfolio advice playlist, with tons of tips for crafting a portfolio! kzbin.info/aero/PLUqm7Uq0GjEC7TN8FOrmQIwZxHGqzSpPp

[@oldmanofthemountains3388]

This reminds me of the inking step when comics were still hand-drawn

[@wingedcanvas]

Yess!

[@JayDay04]

These tips were actually useful, thank you. I'll keep them in mind when i learn light and shadow. Cause let's be honest, if we don't know how to draw shadows, both soft and cell shading will look bad

[@wingedcanvas]

Exactly! We've got a lot of other videos on light and shadow too, if you're interested and haven't had a chance to check those out yet. kzbin.info/www/bejne/manRXmV9qLB8mrc Oh also, our upcoming livestream! Improve your art with better shadows! kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6qWoqRumpJooaM

[@No_Vanilla]

Of course I get a cel shading video halfway through my first cel shading project.

[@UrSammich]

Explaining it as shadows are shapes not lines actually made sense to me. I wish my art teachers told me this instead of "oh put in what you see". Yeah if I have a reference/model in front of me it makes sense, but I see so many shadows that I'm like "what is this? I see too many places to shadow in". This was mostly in life drawing and still life.

[@wingedcanvas]

Yes! The thing is, a lot of people teach draw what you see -- but the negative space, the space in between the subject; shadows, shapes, they're just as important as what you "see".

[@melissaregan7215]

Thank you. It is so much easier to learn HOW to do something if I know WHY it's done that way.

[@wingedcanvas]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Sylvia_15]

Somehow out of everyone I’ve ever listened to (tips for art) you are the ONLY person who’s actually stuck to my head other people either stretched the explanation out to much and made too much going on and everything to difficult to fully understand but you make things short and simple and explain why things need to be the way they are and tips within the tips I know some of that will not make sense

[@wingedcanvas]

It all makes perfect sense and glad to hear! Thank you. :'D

[@WillowFrogs]

You guys must be psychic this is just what I was needing, thanks for the help it’s super useful!!!!!!❤

[@wingedcanvas]

Our pleasure! Glad we could vibe with you!

[@st1p1dy_t0my]

Eyy this is really helpful!! I really suck at shading so this helps a lot!! Im glad i found this!

[@wingedcanvas]

We've got some other shading videos you might enjoy, too like: 7 Tips to Shade Like a Pro kzbin.info/www/bejne/manRXmV9qLB8mrc

[@st1p1dy_t0my]

@@wingedcanvas ooh ty!

[@m00nvale.]

yooo tennis ball profile pic

[@error_606_]

I was not expecting to learn SO MUCH in a video of less than 10 minutes. You explained easily and directly to the point, kept me focused all the time. Thank you, I will aply this knowledge. Thank you.

[@wingedcanvas]

We love to hear that! Good luck on your art journey, if you have any suggestions for future content; like art topics you struggle with, be sure to send them our way!

[@dougiestarr3760]

Thank you so much for the tips!! Ive been doing cell shading for a while but this has helped me so much!!

[@wingedcanvas]

Glad we could help!

[@doomus_]

i was SO confused looking at a 3d model i was redrawing in 2d (jax from tadc specifically) and then seeing shadows AND light on the edges. my brain just couldnt comprehend it until i watched this and figured out what light reflecting was

[@polarosies]

this made shading click to me... like before it all just looked like random lines and now it looks like something actually omg i love you

[@paolacintron6200]

Felt called out at 02:07 hahaha but in a good way. Love the look of cel shading and I need to practice more!

[@PFanima]

This is literally the best cel shade tutorial I've seen, TYSM for helping us all with this (and for not making the tutorial a whopping 30mins lol)!

[@wingedcanvas]

Thank you so much!! Glad we could help.

[@hauralins]

Omg!! You don't know how grateful I am that this tutorial appeared in my recommendations! I always hated trying to shade my drawings with cel shading because it felt like it was being done wrong or something was missing. But now I have a new perspective on this technique and I can't wait to try using it again!✨💕

[@becker_mikayla]

This is great, you guys are like the Khan Academy of art

[@nesd6640]

I love how she makes this fairly easy to understand, she explains everything so well :}}}

[@jjdraws385]

You started to point out the first mistake, and I was like, "nooooooo!! I know where she's going with this, and I'm guilty of doing it!!" This is so helpful, though.

[@ily2739]

I should have been researching this years ago! 😊

[@tarasdiary]

the line shading was such a call out i needed hahaha, thank you!

[@starrbunnyart]

I've been drawing digitaly for maybe 10 years now and it was nice for this refresher. I sometimes forget the concept of cell shading, adding smooth shading. And sometimes overdo it at times, when you mentioned to not do unnecessarily shade. I'm guilty ^^;

[@Lycanmoon31]

Waiting waiting, it may take a while but I'm waiting

[@Gacha__Staryy]

Cel shading works a lot better especially for my art style, that’s why I’m happy I found this video because I kept running into soft shading

[@unknownemy...]

7:34, how did you know to use orange and a lighter blue? thats smth ive been noticing in people’s art and im always confused to how they make it work so well

[@cassidy115]

Omg thank you SO MUCH this helped me alot!

[@wingedcanvas]

Glad it helped!

[@nonexistent-toad]

this was so informative that you so much!!

[@El-Nico]

Thanks again for the tutorial, really helping a lot

[@Choomsy]

Omg thank u thank u so well and simply explained! This helped a lot🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@Mxffy-ts2ph]

I find this indeederously very helpful, tysm for making the vid :D

[@satriadibasuki]

amazing, I am a 3d artist but sometimes people trust some illustration job to me haha, just recently When shading I just used the lasso tool to block some shadow and how quick it gives life to the object, even hours of shading basically just have a similar effect when zoomed out, so it is called cel shading

[@wingedcanvas]

That’s a great observation! It's amazing how those simple shapes can have such a big impact.

[@sunny99179]

So,you recommend use Lasso tool for cel shading ?

[@Nyxaeia]

i typically use both a cell shading layer and a gradient. The gradient will be a clipping mask of the shading color on the base color. Then my shading layer is a higher cell shading clipping mask. Sometimes I'll turn on multiply if i feel like it on the cell shading layer

[@wingedcanvas]

Oh that's really coincidental and interesting, did you see our newest video? kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJ_QiGejp9R6rbc

[@kstewart5391]

Tysm for the tips ❤ You are an amazing teacher! You made cel shading easy to understand, and now, i wanna use this technique! But quick question, do you have any more tips for drawing animatonics/robots?

[@supercutemagicaldoctor]

this was so easy for me to follow, ty for this

[@Niffe]

thank you, that was very helpful, especially the parts about not shading if it's not needed

[@wingedcanvas]

Glad to hear that!

[@somerandomdude403]

I’m excited! I love learning from your channel ❤

[@wingedcanvas]

Awesome! Thank you! We love helping you learn!

[@Pr1z]

I realy like these kinds of vids, keep up the good work!

[@wingedcanvas]

Glad you like them! Thanks for the feedback and appreciate your support.

[@happyperson6376]

Hii! The video is really good at breaking down the basics of cell shading! I have a question tho: If I wanted to learn more about Bounce and subsurface shading/lighting where would be a good place to start/Are there other videos on this channel that mention the topic? I didn’t entirely understand what it was supposed to be but it sounded interesting from what I did understand

[@wingedcanvas]

We sure do! I'd start here, but we have a bunch of videos on this topic. 7 Tips to Shade Like a Pro kzbin.info/www/bejne/manRXmV9qLB8mrc

[@Claw-iq8sq]

Thankyou for the simplification my brain can't really process big words

[@reniac3128]

Because of playing Blue Archive I decided that I want cel shading to become the style I'm gunning for, so thanks for this!

[@boiboi913]

I've done shapes before but i always have a hard time applying that to other things like shading characters. I just dont know what parts should be in shadow and what parts should been in the light. Even when you did that hoodie i was still confused. Probs thinking about it too hard tho.

[@scribblecloud]

i personally kind of like doing cel shading and then blurring the hard shading in certain parts where it feels appropriate and looks good (like a large shadow going over a big rounded shape for example)

[@CraneStyleNJ]

Awesome and very informative video! My current struggle right now is I'm crossed between going more "painterly" or more "manga/comic booky" with my art style. I'm currently working a "hybrid" style which has some areas soft shaded while other areas are cel shaded but I don't know what I truly want to commit to.

[@AngiShy]

i just lately started to experiment more with colors and gradients for my cel shading technique and for last few weeks now i started to experiment with core shadows and bounce lights and ohh boi how much life it gave into my art! I was always too afraid to play with colors and shading, even experimenting with different brushes and textures was a big tabu for me a few years back, but now im trying to not be such an overly detail oriented nitpicker...though i still struggle with the detail nitpicking part lmaooo

[@YaBoyBenji423]

Your video came at such a good time omg-

[@wingedcanvas]

Yess!! We aim to please. Hope it helps.

[@akitoakito8790]

Thank you ❤😊

[@neilowens2371]

I would love to know how you handle multi-light source cel shading because I’ve been struggling

[@wingedcanvas]

Oh, you came to the right place friend. This video is actually part of a SERIES on shading. We've got you covered! How to shade multiple light sources: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aH-loZVva95mnck Full playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLUqm7Uq0GjED2wTEjuu7mMSGPZIzTQmXg

[@neilowens2371]

@Wingedcanvas thank you 😭

[@drsusredfish]

what color the shadow should be and the need for a shadow are where i struggle with cel shading.

[@oightKoreraAreEditable]

Yooo 2 days till starting gang

[@wingedcanvas]

IT STARTED!! Did you enjoy it?

[@SuzyUzi]

❤ will watch !

[@wingedcanvas]

This is a good one, hope you enjoy!!

[@CireDrawoh]

Thanks

[@wingedcanvas]

You're welcome!

[@monstergirl3040]

Omg your teaching me more than my college

[@callmesvn]

This helps I try to use a blend of both types of shadows so knowing how cell shade works specially the bounce light helps a lot. I also have a request can you do a tutorial on how to do clothes' folds I know you probably did one before but can you like go into details with it? It would really help me and many others. Thanks for the time!

[@wingedcanvas]

Thanks for sharing!! Clothing folds: The Secret to Drawing Clothing Folds: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l2KyYoKHnNF0bdk 🔴 How to Draw CLOTHING FOLDS kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnbMhHt-dpqmnK8

[@callmesvn]

OH Thank you so much!!!@@wingedcanvas

[@abdenourabdenour1172]

Thank you so much for the tutorial

[@sj.Nevan9]

A mental note to myself that don't just draw random dark lines and call it a shadow 😭

[@rinflybird6114]

im so emberassed... i did line shading @x@ thankyou!

[@quocminhtran862]

1:50 nah aint no way she just draw a whole upper body like that in 5 second bruh,that sht gnna took me an hour 😭😭

[@Valkyree3195_Art]

Could you persay use both in art? Like hard shadows would be cel and a soft light is soft shade? Or vice versa? I think I kinda work in both but more in cel shade. Very informative video anyways 👍👍👍

[@wingedcanvas]

Yes and yes!

[@Arikiranix]

thank you for this video!

[@awawawaawawawa2321]

also how would i do the same for the core shadow? when would i choose between core shadow/subsurface?

[@wingedcanvas]

This is an on-going series, make sure you're subscribed and have the bell rung to get notified when we release the next one!

[@ryanthetenrec8244]

great one this can help me

[@3emad.305]

I didn’t think about the last one, even though my favorite parts are coloring and shading. I’m fake!

[@scale455]

Can you show a tutorial on how to draw emotionally investive scenes? Kinda like a scene in a comic that makes the emotion very clear.

[@Beegledaproot]

Shading is the bane of my existence…i keep watching more and more tutorials and turns out that soft shading is not for me! Also this was very helpful!!

[@wingedcanvas]

Glad to hear it! We've got a bunch of tutorials on cel shading, but it takes practice!

[@awawawaawawawa2321]

hello i have a question about subsurface scattering where the shadows are outlined with a color, how do you go about picking the color? do you colorpick from the shadows or light family? do you hue shift warm or cool? and do you increase saturation?

[@wingedcanvas]

Great questions, I think these videos might help you! We have a bunch more in our shading series too, I'll link our full playlist if you're interested. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5DccmeNfqiDpq8 kzbin.info/www/bejne/aH-loZVva95mnck kzbin.info/aero/PLUqm7Uq0GjED2wTEjuu7mMSGPZIzTQmXg

[@teenageturtlefan8031]

How does the subsurface and bounce work exactly? I know the theory, but in practice it seems I never manage to get it right. And what are the proper colors to use for shadows? And is it better to shade with the same color on a multiply layer or shade each thing individually with specific colors? Sorry for the many questions, I just really struggle with all of this.

[@wingedcanvas]

Our newest video might help you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJ_QiGejp9R6rbc

[@teenageturtlefan8031]

@@wingedcanvas Thank you! ^^

[@Wooble_Deathnote]

This video called me out in 5 different languages

[@concanthandleme]

"Shadows are a shape not a line" my world-blown

[@christopherrosado8420]

Thank you :)

[@josephm7606]

I have a question how do you create characters with unnatural features and not obsess over whether they’ll be relatable/marketable to people? Giant eyes, no nose, receding hairline, no chin, etc? I struggle with different art styles because I obsess over how different to realism they are and whether they’re cute or relatable or marketable, whatever I’m going for? Your characters can break all the “rules” of human features and I’m jealous 😅

[@weixheju3258]

Hey, I was wondering how you make your character talk when you talk on strean? do you need a certain software or how is that done?

[@mashroomanimation2024]

Hello.. Thank you so much for the video..I currently learn about cel shading and your video help me a lot..😊 But I still stugle how to cel shading a hair..😅 Can you teach us about Hue Shifting in next video ? Thanks 😊

[@yafre_tv]

thanks a lot

[@wingedcanvas]

Glad to be of service!!

[@walkingwithdragons251]

Can you do a tutorial on rendering fur but *not* use a sphere as a guide? Using maybe a animal for reference bc sphere guides never work out for me outside of using a sphere

[@olly6104]

thank you!

[@wingedcanvas]

You're welcome! Hope it helps.

[@Shadow-ql8vq]

two big problems i have with cel shading is 1. how is a certain object, shape, person, creature, etc, is supposed to look like with the shading, like where do place the shading on whatever I'm drawing? (depending on light source) 2. if shadows are shapes, what shapes is the shading supposed to be for the area that I'm shading? both of these problems are connected, where am I supposed to place the shading and what shape is it supposed to take form? (this also applies to adding deeper shading) i've been searching on how I'm supposed to learn this for like a month or more, even watched this video a few time and really haven't gotten it yet, something is not clicking

[@wingedcanvas]

The shadows shape follows the shape of the object the shadow is. You place the shading where the light is obstructed.

[@Shadow-ql8vq]

well, that is the problem im having, how do I follow the shadow shape to the object?, it becomes more difficult if you try to do it with clothing

[@tessfabled4115]

7:01 I have a character with this exact feature haha :o

[@sillestshark]

hello! i wanted to ask what are the best colors for shadows and highlights? i've been stuck on that and it's honestly breaking my mind

[@wingedcanvas]

It all depends on your illustration, check this video out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/manRXmV9qLB8mrc

[@SukunaYaoi]

So u mean this whole time ive been cel shading? xD thanks for this btw

[@Bluelaserbeam]

I think people have difficulty with doing both soft shading and celshading because soft shadows have a lot more subtlety to them, with having a gradience of lighter to darker shadows. There's generally never shadows in real life where there's 100% shadow and 100% no shadows. There's always gonna be an area of an object that has a certain percentage of light on it. Celshading, in contrast, is more about establishing a clear, hard line on what's shaded and what's not. When I've referenced real life photos to practice celshading on, it was difficult for me to know where to establish that hard cel line in translating softshading to celshading when the shadows on the ref is varied. Speaking for myself, celshading on original art is simpler because it's easier for me to BS it and still look "fine" for most eyes. Softshading requires a more intuitive understanding of light and shadow or else the artwork can more easily fall into the uncanny valley.

[@Cybermoonmage]

THANK OYU

[@wingedcanvas]

No, thank YOU.

[@Cybermoonmage]

@@wingedcanvas ah! I stand corrected

[@andrew_the_artist]

Seems useful, my art looks way too flat.

[@wingedcanvas]

Understandable, we've got some free arts education livestreams coming up soon that you might get some use out of!

[@ultrio325]

couldn't be bothered to shade, just removed the light source and now I don't have to do any shading at all the image is pitch black but I'm sure it's fine

[@wingedcanvas]

IT'S FINE, EVERYTHING'S FINE, NOTHING TO SEE HERE. :jessie_wheeze:

[@kirahhdrop]

Grrr Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie post it NOWWW 😤😤😤 Jk I can wait 😂

[@wingedcanvas]

I can't!!! It's soo gooood.

[@aPuddle123]

thanks :D

[@GedanJ]

Honestly i more or less cell shade whenever i draw colored, that, or giving a simple blur to some edges, rarely do i just do full soft ngl- It feels easier and i'm not that good at shading

[@MainlyMustard]

I’ve been cel shading my whole life without even realising 💀💀

[@genshaw6794]

funny how my "normal shading" is cel shading and hearing her reffer to soft shading as ger normal shading is mind blowing

[@genshaw6794]

but this actually taught me something very important

[@nooneis_home]

How can I choose the colour of the subsurface scattering ,do I just choose it randomly? Sorry I’m a beginner

[@wingedcanvas]

Check this video out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/manRXmV9qLB8mrc

[@smvg7035]

highlights please

[@EasyCartoonDrawingTutorials]

I love cel shading. It has a timeless look. Games with cel shading in the early 2000's still hold up whereas the games that tried to look more realistic have aged.

[@Nicoya]

On the origin of the name "cel shading" you got things mostly right, but you missed the key link: the animation cels were called "cels" because they were painted on clear sheets of celluloid plastic. Since they were usually painted from the reverse side, blending colors for smooth/soft shading was nearly impossible (not to mention it would be very difficult to keep it consistent from frame to frame).

[@J1mmySticky]

OH WAIT THIS WAS 25 MINUTES AGO?

[@wingedcanvas]

WAS IT!? Well it was 4 hours ago now, but yeah something like that! Lol

[@J1mmySticky]

@@wingedcanvas i thought this was uploaded days ago ngl

[@wingedcanvas]

We set it to premiere days ago, but it just went live today!@@J1mmySticky

[@J1mmySticky]

@@wingedcanvas makes sense

[@MrSucc-fp7rt]

I want a hand tutorial. Most of all, thumbs. They’re SO hard to draw

[@wingedcanvas]

Just so happens we have a lot of those, try one or all of these: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXWufKCXYtOmrck kzbin.info/www/bejne/onm0eZiJd72lpKs kzbin.info/www/bejne/hobReoaFocd4npo kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpOUk5Z9gtOXaZI

[@lillygames6117]

Wait. I do that. I didn’t even know it was called that I kinda do a mixture of the cell and I think soft shading

[@pephermint]

Great I see shadows differently now. EVERYTHING IVE DONE BEFORE SUCKS 😂