Paint Tool SAI is a painting application with numerous tools and is widely used by digital artists. Blending is a technique used by many artists to give their subjects a more three-dimensional appearance. So, how can you blend in Paint Tool SAI?

Blending is effortless in Paint Tool SAI using the blender tool. This helps smooth the sharp lines and edges of subjects by blending them well together. Also, you can alter the blending level by changing the blender’s intensity. 

Other methods, such as shadows and fringe effects, are also used to create a blend in Paint Tool SAI. Keep on reading to find out more about blending in Paint Tool SAI.

How To Blend And Shade In Paint Tool SAI

Once you have drawn your characters or object’s outline, follow these guidelines to blend the images:

1. After giving your image a base color, make a layer for shading. By choosing the layers and selecting ‘layers panel,’ combine the levels that include your contours and flat colors. The layers can be separated later.

2. Select the merged layer and click on the ‘preserve opacity box,’ which appears above the layers panel. This fixes all of the created lines and objects, making it simpler to blend inside of them. 

3. Next, click on the ‘New Layer symbol’ located at the top left of the layers panel. Since this layer will be where you create your shading, be sure it is placed above your outline layer

4. This shadow layer, which is located just above Preserve Opacity, can have its transparency altered. You can see the outlines below if the opacity is adjusted to between 10% and 50%.

5. Next, above the opacity meter, set your layer’s mode to define how you want the shading layer to blend with the outline layer. 

6.  Using the multiply, shade, screen, and luminosity modes to darken or brighten your drawings is common.

You may also want to use the fringe effects to blend and shade quickly.

Adding Fringe Effects To Blend

This is a quicker method of blending in Paint Tool SAI. To use it, follow these steps:

1. Choose the ‘paints effect’ and ‘fringe effect’ options from the drop-down menu. This will automatically blend your design with a light layer.

2. To alter the length and darkness of the automatically generated shadows, you can change the opacity and width of the fringe effect.

Adding Shadows To Blend

Using shadows is another way of blending in Paint Tool SAI. To add detailed shadows, follow these steps:

1. Begin by selecting a darkening mode such as ‘shade’ or ‘multiply.’

2. Select the required brush size and color to darken the areas on your drawing that are opposite the light source. This will make the shadows appear more realistic.

3. Use the ‘oil water brush’ or ‘blender tool’ to smooth the rough edges.

The following video thoroughly explains how to blend in Paint Tool SAI:

Conclusion

Blending your subject to make it appear more life-like is important in illustrating. Although the blender tool is easiest to use for creating blends in Paint Tool SAI, several techniques, such as adding fringe effects and shadows, are also used by artists.