Hello, everyone!
I posted a making-of video on X showing how I put together a scene in Shoost, and I thought some of you might want to know the actual steps behind it in more detail. So this time, I'll walk you through the process in order.
For this explanation, I'm using Yotsuba Kotori-san as the model. Please use this as a reference for your own scene making!
Using LAYERS and EFFECTS the Right Way
Before getting into the actual steps, let's talk about how Shoost is meant to be used. Shoost mainly has two sections, LAYERS and EFFECTS, and knowing when to use each one is the key point here.
LAYERS: adjust each asset individually (background, character, etc.)
EFFECTS: adjust the entire screen as a whole
The basic flow is to first get each asset properly adjusted in LAYERS, then bring everything together at the end using EFFECTS.
Adjusting the Color of the Background and Character
Now let's go through the actual steps. First, I adjust the color tone of the background and the character.
In this scene, the background felt like it had stronger contrast and looked a bit darker compared to the character, so I used Levels and Color Grading to fix that.
Next, I add some light to the background.
Assuming light is coming in through a window, I added shadows using light and gradients to give the background a sense of depth.
Once I add some blur, the background is done. Now let's move on to adjusting the character.
Adjusting the Character
I adjust the color tone to match the background. Using Color Grading, I balance out the brightness while adding a slight blue-purple tint, since it's a night scene.
I also adjusted the saturation using Color Shift.
Here's a quick tip. This applies to both the background and the character, but as you keep stacking effects, contrast and saturation tend to get stronger and stronger. So it helps to keep things a little on the weaker side from the start, which makes it much easier to fine-tune later. Instead of lowering the overall saturation, it works better to bring down the specific colors that tend to get oversaturated.
To add a bit more depth, I added a gradient going from top to bottom.
At this point, the character looks too dark and doesn't stand out against the background.
So I start lighting the character, imagining that light is actually hitting them.
I create a new layer, make a gradient, and set the blend mode to Add or Hard Light.
As an accent, I also add a rim light on another layer using Add mode, to give the feeling of strong light coming in from the window frame.
That wraps up the adjustments for the background and character. The mood should already feel a lot better at this point.
Next comes the finishing touches for the screen as a whole.
Adjusting the Whole Screen
First, I darken the right edge of the screen with a gradient. This makes the overall flow of light easier to read.
From here, I move on to the EFFECTS section.
Since I wanted a soft atmosphere, I set Screen Effects to Diffusion. I also use Screen Filter to fine-tune the colors.
Then I add a touch of flare to match the light source.
Next, I use Color Grading to adjust the color of the entire screen.
What matters here is that the color tones of the background and character are already properly aligned. If they're not consistent with each other, adjusting the overall Color Grading won't pull things together nicely. It's precisely because the earlier adjustments were done carefully that this step actually works.
As an accent, I add Channel Blur. Finally, I add one more gradient over the whole screen and fine-tune the colors, and that completes the scene.
In practice, I don't go through these steps in a perfectly straight line. I usually go back and forth between them, making small adjustments along the way.
Final Thoughts
The important thing is to properly adjust each asset in the LAYERS section.
EFFECTS alone can already get you a decent result, but if you want to take it further, fine-tuning things in LAYERS makes a big difference.
Feel free to give it a try!