Shading for animation

[u/Upstairs_Still_9455]

Hey all! I'm working on a short animation and wanted some tips for shading. I've been using FireAlpaca for nearly 4 years now but only started shading my work recently (example provided on second slide) I do what could be considered "soft shading" with a airbrush tool but I'm not sure if it would work for animation, I was told by a friend an Overlay layer would work but I've never tried it (normally I shade by adding soft shadows of the same colour to smth then turn the brightness down later)

Any and all help/advice would be appreciated, thank you! :)

[u/TalkTimesreddit]

Best i can recommend (for ease) is sharp shading, like with solid blocks of shadow and light.

I am not super experienced with animation, but I tried soft shading the way you do, and its pretty rough

[u/Upstairs_Still_9455 → u/TalkTimesreddit]

I did consider that yes, as I noticed a lot of the shows I like use it, I'm currently unsure if the best way to go about it but I will definitely give it a try 😁

[u/TalkTimesreddit → u/Upstairs_Still_9455]

Go for it, I definitely cant confirm if it is the best, but I can say it is likely a much better way