STEP BY STEP CREATING CARTOON SHADERS IN BLENDER

01 PREPARE SETTINGS

Before we can talk about materials, we need to sort a couple of settings. First of all, go to Render Properties>color Management>view Transform and select Standard. This will ensure your image looks less filmic and more stylised. You can experiment with the other options to get the look and feel that’s right for you. The second setting to sort is in Output Properties>passes, where you tick ‘Z’.

02 OBJECT FACE MATERIAL

Select your object and go to the Material Properties tab. Add a new material and head to the Shader Editor. Disconnect the Principled BSDF node from the Material Output node. Using Shift+a add a ‘Shader to RGB’ node and a Color Ramp node. Adjust the Color Ramp Type to Constant and select the colour you want for your object. Now it’s time to connect your nodes together. In order, link Principled BSDF to ‘Shader to RGB’, to Color Ramp, and to Material Output.

03 EDGE LINE MATERIAL

Now it’s time to give the edge of your object a solid line. Do this by selecting the object and adding a new material slot. In the Shader Editor delete the Principled BSDF node and using Shift+a add an Emission node. This will be used to dictate the colour of the line. Select a colour and connect the Emission node to the Surface input of the Material Output node.

04 FINISH UP

Head to the Modifier Properties tab and add a Solidify modifier. This will be used to create the line work on the edge of your object. In the Normals rollout select Flip, and in the Materials rollout set the Material Offset to 1. In the Material Properties tab, go to the Settings rollout and select Backface Culling to remove the main mesh from what you’ve created using the modifier. If you want a thicker line, simply head back to Modifier Properties and increase the Thickness.