So while adding my layers together for that gif, gives a vague idea of how I do lineless there is a little bit more to it than that.
While it’s true there usually isn’t a sketch layer, there’s still lots of give and take, or failed poses and shapes.
All you’re doing is building different shapes on top or below eachother. Then embellishing those shapes with sparkles, or shades.
I usually start with the head to base all the proportions around. I know what headshape I’m going for, and it begins the angle for the rest of the body.
My lineless art is almost entirely, build a shape then fill.
So here I built a shape: Catty head
One of the reasons why I love Sai so much is because it’s versatile fill bucket. I haven’t encountered a lot of art programs that can fill so crisply while looking at multiple layers.
But lineless (unless put at the correct silhouette) can be very blobby. So you can add some lines to indicate linework or shades
And it’s not too difficult to do, you just think about where her body is going to lie. Like sketching on top of it.
This has all been on the same layer so far, so when I add things like hair and clothes it’s the same concept. But on another layer.
So I just doodled hair on top of her. I almost always do hair on top and just draw around her body, but working with bangs on top, and hair-behind underneath the layer, works too.
And the benefits of another layer is I can add gradients and darker colors. By locking the layer I can swipe over with a watercolor brush to add a gradient. Or grab the same darker pink to fill in the depth of her hair.
Then you can add hair shinies, and make another layer for her face or something. Before finishing this one I’d probably also add hair strands to show where her bangs separate. Pupils, a nose, an outfit. Etc but for the purposes of showing my process I’ll stop here.