Placing Texture Elements
Using the character’s reference images to see where to place the basic texture elements, start painting over the 3D character. This time, the reference images are not the ones in the background of the 3D View (by the way, at this point you can turn them off in the Properties Region inside the Background Images panel), but you can divide your interface to have a UV/Image Editor display them. If you happen to have a second monitor, you can use it to see the references at all times without having to use up space in your main workspace. When you have all the basic texture elements in place (see Figure 9.2), you will need to save the image so you can keep working on it in 2D software.
Tip
Drawing smooth lines with a mouse can be tricky. For some elements, you may prefer to have steadier lines. To draw steady lines, go to the Tools Region and, in the Stroke panel, activate the Smooth Stroke option. Now when you paint, the brush will follow your strokes at some distance and smooth them, providing very clean and steady lines.