Here's the shading tute, as promised. :) The work is done in Photoshop, and I use a tablet for all my digital coloring and shading, but you can probably get by with a mouse if you're careful!

1. Create a separate layer for the shaded area you're about to create.



2. Go back to the layer with your flat-fills on it, and select the area(s) you want to shade with the magic wand.



3. Returning to the shading layer you created, shade the selected area as you like, with a soft-edged brush, in black. (as with any shading, just pay attention to how your subject is shaped in "3D", and where your light source is coming from)



4. Do Select / All, then Edit / Copy your shading to the clipboard.



5. Open up a new document, and paste it there.



6. Go to Image / Mode, and convert it to grayscale (flatten the image when it prompts you).



7. Go again to Image / Mode, and convert it to Bitmap. A dialog box like this will appear, so choose "halftone screen..." as the method.



8. This will lead you to another dialog box, like this. For Frequency, the lower the number, the bigger your "dots" will be, so mess around with this and adjust to your liking. I use round-shaped dots. When you're done, hit OK.



9.You'll have to convert it back to Greyscale again, since Bitmap mode won't let you use the magic wand. After you've done that, pick your magic wand tool, uncheck the "anti-aliased" and "contiguous" boxes at the top of the screen, and click anywhere on the black to select your new piece of halftone shading. Edit / Copy it to the clipboard.



10. Return to your image, and clear away the original black shading you put there (just hit Delete if it's still selected), and paste your new halftone shading into the same layer; drag and fit it into where it's meant to go.



11. Click inside the shading with your magic wand tool to select it again, then pick the color you want it to be; take a big brush, and fill it in. Deselect, and voila!

Heh, I guess I should have been a bit quicker in saying hello and introducing myself, but better late than never! I've got two designs in the running already that you can have a look at (and score, pretty-please), and more on the way... my stuff can be quite strange sometimes, but hopefully that'll be more of an asset than a vice around here. :)

I'll be uploading a shading tutorial in my next post, so watch this space!