Tutorials - Setting up your canvas
Before you get to the actual dolling part, you'll have to set up your canvas properly.
Screenshots for this tutorial have been taken in both MS Paint and Photoshop. The reason why this is so is because some things are specific to more "advanced" programs like photoshop, which have layers and additional settings to set up.
I apologize for the watermark on the base. I have to put those so that people do not take the base off of this website. Please contact the original basemaker, daeidre if you want to use it. (It's not on her DA anymore, but you can probably ask her for it.)
Create a new document that is a bit larger than the base you want to use. You want to have room to put palettes on your canvas and to draw all the clothes
Important:
If you're using a more advanced program like Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, make sure that your document is in RGB mode and that the background is white.
Copy/paste your base from the doller's website onto the canvas.
Depending on the browser you are using, you might have a black or a white box around your base. Just select it with the magic wand and press DELETE on your keyboard. In MS Paint, use the flood-fill tool to fill it with white.
Tip:
Some dollers like to keep all the poses of the same base set together in one image. If you want to use a base that is like that, it is best to paste the base set into another new document, select the base you want using the selection tool, then copy/paste it onto your canvas.
Sometimes bases have a little signature on them to help you remember which site they were from if save it on your computer. You can erase this signature before starting to make your pixel doll.
Copy/Paste the palettes you want to use onto your canvas. This way, you can use the eyedropper tool to select the colours you want to use from them.
Tip:
This is what your layers should be like if you're using a program that has layers. Notice the separate layers for the base and palettes. When you'll draw the clothes, make a new layer for each piece of clothing.
Final Result:
Here's the final doll. The rest of the tutorials in the "For Newbies" series will show how to do her clothing and hair.