Tiger Den tutorial

“Tiger Den” by Antonis Papantoniou
Final Sketch for Tiger Monk
After studying my reference, I started sketching the tiger monk character. I opened a document and filled the background with gray color. I created a new layer and named it LineSketch. I sketched the outlines of the character in that layer. After that was done, I created a new layer and placed it below the LineSketch layer. I named it Shadow, and I blocked in the shadows of the sketch in that layer. Finally, I created a new layer over the Shadow layer but below the LineSketch layer, and added light with white color. I used a simple brush with Shape Dynamics and Other Dynamics on and set to pen pressure, to do all of my drawing. I was alternating the opacity of the brush between 20% and 90% as I was working, by pressing the corresponding numbers on my keyboard.



Sketching the Background
During my thumbnails and rough sketch I developed some ideas as to what I want for the background of the character. I thought of having a large cloth on the back, and imprint the Tao sign on it. But then I decided to develop the Saolin Tiger concept and create a symbol that would imply that tiger monks have their own culture. I ended up with a design reminiscent of the Tao symbol, comprising of a black (yin) and a white (yang) tigers.
After conceiving the design, I went back to my tiger sketch. I created a new layer and placed it just above the background layer. I sketched the background in that layer. I was not really pleased, but I felt that I had to move on, and trust that my future self would come up with something better later on in.
I also wanted a tree in the back, to imbue tranquility to the image, so I also sketched an almond tree in the background.

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