godspeed you! yuri warrior

SAME TO YOU ive seen yours around somewhere and thought it was good. we are both

making gy!be jokes

my accounts so far are

• main
• palette blog
• secret third thing (it's not really)

i keep mixing up gradient maps and gradient meshes fuck

so i use these all the time and they're really fun. someone asked for a tutorial on them so here it is. please note that this tutorial specifically is for Clip Studio Paint but it seems like a lot of other art programs have this feature (Krita, Firealpaca, Procreate, Photoshop) so you don't necessarily need to have CSP to use it.

step one: creating a gradient map layer

this is pretty self explanatory. to make a new gradient map layer, select Layer > New Correction¹ Layer > Gradient map.

step two: setting up your gradient

this dialog will come up once you create a gradient map layer. the top bar is the gradient map. basically, what a gradient map layer does is take the luminosity and opacity values in a black-and-white² image, from 100% black to 100% white, and maps them to the colors of the gradient you pick. there's some presets, but you most likely want to generate your own. (or you can use one of mine)
this is a preset palette i had already saved. essentially, you can click the map at the top and it will generate a new color point wherever you click. once this is done, you can assign a color to it from your main color, your sub color, or pick it with the eyedropper. note that your gradient map layer should be the first or second layer in your drawing; the layers above it won't be affected but the layers below it will be³.

step three: get to drawin gamer

once you've got your map set up, click "OK" in the dialogue box. now you can create a layer under the gradient map layer and start drawing. if you have the gradient map on, it should be showing you your drawing in the colors of the gradient you chose.

i'd suggest working in greyscale for the underdrawing, since hue doesn't have an effect on how the gradient map displays and it's also easier to keep track of what specific colors you're using. above you can see an example of the same drawing with gradient maps off and on, as well as a gradient that demonstrates how the colors map in this drawing.

and that's it! now you know how to use a gradient map. i really like drawing with them when i'm just fucking around and i hope you will too :)

1. if you're not using CSP: some programs call these "adjustment layers"

2. well really you can use any colors for the drawing. see step 3 though

3. i should also note that if you put a gradient map in a layer folder it will only apply to the contents of that folder. grain of salt bc i don't know how it works in programs that are not CSP.

another example: this beato painting was done entirely in greyscale and colored with a gradient map. so i can pop open the csp file and do some andy warhol shit like this