HAT TUTORIAL
i don't know, i just figured someone might like to know how to make a top hat? i know i wished i had a tutorial, this is probably my fifth attempt, and the only one i've ever liked.
just do me a favor and don't steal my lineart and my shading. the purpose of a tutorial is to teach someone else how to improve their OWN skills, if you just steal mine, what have you learned?
base for this tutorial by caf dollz .
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1. Start with the lineart for the hat, Make sure the brim curves forward in front of your base's face, then lifts back slightly behind the ears. I made my top hat more "fluffy" than straight, so the lines go outward and the top curves. If you're making a formal top hat, make the top of the hat slimmer and more rigid. |
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2. Fill the hat with whatever color you want it to be. I used my own purple palatte for this tutorial (modeled after the ones at Xandorra's Palace ), and chose the fourth color as my fill.
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3. Add your darkest shadows, using the number 2 section of the palatte. Don't go overboard with this, or the hat will come out too dark. You can see I only shadowed where her ears and head shadow the hat, and a bit where it curves. Again, if you're making a formal top hat, you'll have less dark shadows than this hat. |
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4. I went with less realistic shading for this hat, so now it's time to add your next set of shadows. Use the third color of your palatte for this, and don't be afraid to add "too many." Make sure you shadow where the silk ribbon for the hat goes (we will color it at the end). I added a bit of shading to the brim here too, where it slopes, and added to the dark shading around the ears. |
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5. Okay, now it's time to add the highlights. Be careful with this, if you add too many the hat won't look reflective, it'll just look weird. Trust me, I did this part over about three times. Just add a stripe using color number 5 a few centimeters from your shadows (leave some of your fill color showing). And make sure to add very slight highlights to the other side. This step is pretty much the same regardless of the kind of hat you're making. |
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Finally, change the color of your silk ribbon. I used Xandorra's pastel palatte (you can use just about anything you want here). I actually highlighted from the outside in. So color 2 (the darkest shadows) are around the edge of the hat, and it slowly gets lighter as you get to the center. Then, I added a stripe of color number 5 (being careful not to add too much highlight), and voila. One finished hat. |
THE FINAL PRODUCT
Feel free to save the animation below for reference.
