Digital Art Tutorials

Tutorials for painting in photoshop, concept art, & comic art.

[as-warm-as-choco]

7 Essential Design Principles Star Wars Taught Us 

Click on the original article if you want to read a deeper analysis and information about each film-making principle + gifs comparison.

[jeanox]

Painting with mice is one reason why I’m still a painter. I didn’t have much money growing up. I made my computer out of old discarded parts and after I saved up for a long time to get a tablet, it eventually stopped working. I learned to paint with a mouse so I could keep making progress and what I learned is that both are super legit approaches to making art. Each has a positive and negative aspect to them.  Tablets let you “click” very quickly, kind of alike a semi-automatic. Mice let you click at a much slower rate, like a sniper rifle. Both approaches are useful and at the very least, cross training can’t hurt. I’ve found when i get used to using a mouse, it makes my tablet work much faster. To see how I drew the last painting, click here. 

[jeanox]

Pay What You Want: Game Design Course Bundle (worth $796)

Interested in making games? Check out this bundle! It gives you access to courses in game theory, 3ds Max, blender, photoshop, Unity, and seems to be a pile of awesomeness generally speaking (particularly if you’re just getting started with things). 

Best of all, pay what you want for it. (via kotaku)

These four courses teach the required skills over 115+ hours of top-notch video instruction. That ranges from development in Unity 3D and 3ds Max, to the designing of layouts and artwork for both 2D and 3D titles, plus content on how to make your games truly compulsive.

[tycarterart]

Painting Process on Mt. Olympus

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about my painting process so I’ve put together this play by play with my thought process. 

1. Design and Value-Before starting, I want to make sure I have a nice design I’m happy with. I need to know this before hand because it’s really my blueprint to paint light and color. So, the shapes are really important. Then I need to make sure each shape is distinguished from the one next to it. This is Value. It is the single most important thing here. This step is crucial to getting the color to work. If the Value is off, then I will never get the color to work. 

2. Light Shapes and some temperature-Here, I’ve laid in some rough color with broad strokes. I’m just looking at relationships. There is nothing more to it but this step is important before I invest time in the edge of forms. I do everything up to this point at a very small thumbnail size. 

3. Rough Texture and Foreground-Now that some of the lights are working I take a look at the shadow area. I adjust the color to match the atmosphere. I experiment with the transition from light to shadow with a texture brush. 

4. Light Reveals Texture Details-At this point, I am working at about 100%-125% and start to paint in any cast shadows in the light shapes. I work from large to small. I keep my focus on just the areas of light since the shadows will be much less detailed. Shadows are transparent. Light reveals texture. Dark reveals form.

5. Principles of Light-Up to this point, I’ve hit my key light, cast shadows, core shadows, fill light, occlusion, and now I’m approaching bounce. This is an unusual image because the bounce isn’t really obvious in the cliff shadow sides. So, I subtly lift out a little texture in the atmosphere of the cliffs. I have to keep it very subtle because the texture is not revealed in light but without anything it doesn’t feel right. I run through my principles of light and make sure I’m following a consistent light direction. I add some clouds into the background to test my depth. It feels good so now I’m thinking about adding them to the mid-ground somewhere. I add a figure silhouette where I am pointing my light shapes. 

6. Nitty Gritty-Okay, now the gloves are off. I’m getting down and dirty to hit every little detail. I know where I can invest. I keep the shadow areas simple. I add fill light to the figure. I keep its value darker than the background for readability.      

7. Final touches-I make any final adjustments here to assist the story. When it’s ready, sign it and ship it!

I hope this helps in your own artistic decisions. Please feel free to share and send in any questions for future process tutorials. For more updates, you can follow my facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/TyCarterArt

[misselaney]

Natural Black Hair Tutorial! Usually Black hair is excluded in the hair tutorials which I have seen so I have gone through it in depth because it’s really not enough to tell someone simply, “Black hair is really curly, draw it really curly.” 

The next part of Black Hair In Depth will feature styles and ideas for designing characters and I will release it around February. If you would like to see certain styles, please shoot me a message!

[smallrevolutionary]

YES! BOOSTINGGGG FOR MY FOLKS WHO WANNA/NEED TO KNOW HOW

[diablograndearts]

Reblogging because this is awesome reference right here.

[digitaltutorials]

http://www.stevenegordon.com/tutorial.html

[elvarinth-deactivated20240318]

hello! can i ask for a tutorail in hands/arms and legs/feet?

Hey! Sorry for the late reply, I haven’t really had time to do the tutorial for you! But, I did one today. It’s kinda messy and not 100% anatomically perfect (I do several flaws myself) but I think I made some good points!

Arms:

Arms cannot be done without shoulders, so that’s why I will include them here. To know how one body part works, you need to understand the other parts too. I suggest drawing a stick figure, as shown above. Do it with shoulders and everything - don’t care about anatomy. Really, don’t - go mad! You can figure out how to deal with the anatomy AFTER you have figured how to draw the body freely.

I imagine most body parts to be shaped as tear drops, as shown above; especially the arms and legs. Draw them above the stick figure - don’t be afraid to overlap the teardrops. In fact, I suggest it! The best way to understand anatomy is to think of it as shapes and doll-parts.

After you’ve figured that out, do several, VERY tiny, small doodles like these. Go crazy - don’t bother with anatomy just yet. Do them also very quickly and so small you can’t think of the details. Just keep doing this until you sorta understand how arms work. 

Here is a doodle of a “real” arm, and as you can see, how it’s shaped it resembles the teardrops above. A general rule is to constantly draw the body in curves - male AND female. NEVER draw a single line straight.

I mentioned before I thought it was important to include shoulders/other body parts to understand another. This is why. The body basically has a “flow” when you move. The red lines clearly shows the flow. This is also how you can create a dynamic pose: think of the flow. The muscles are formed that way to be able to function. Which reminds me, buy some good anatomy books. And I’m talking about more or less MEDICAL anatomy books - you think you won’t need it - but trust me, it’s more useful than you can imagine. I do NOT suggest buying “stylistic” anatomy books, like Christopher Hart (ugh NO), for example, as these can mislead you. Medical anatomy books CANNOT because they MUST be right.

And for the last part, here’s some “do’s” and “don’ts”. It’s important to remember the muscles between the neck and shoulders. Many, especially when drawing females, forget this. It’s true the most visible it is - the more muscular you will look. But even the most petite people have these. Your neck literally would not function if you didn’t have these supporters. Then, the arms below is just to show why it’s important to draw the body with curves. Many have probably heard “straight lines for males” which is a complete lie. They will look stiff and unnatural. Curves can both empathize muscles AND fat. Heck, even your bones aren’t straight.

Legs:

Legs certainly are the hardest. There’s a good reason for this; because they’re one of our most strongest muscles, and they are more or less dominating when it comes to poses (together with the spine). However, just like with the arms, draw a stick figure. I won’t suggest drawing them completely straight, as you can see here, as it will add weight. Do teardrops shapes. As for the hips - think of them as panties or briefs. This is not a MUST; but it will help; I think!

And just like the arms, do small doodles. Don’t be serious, play around until you get the idea.

As you can see, these legs easily can be turned into teardrops even when they’re detailed like this.

Now, what makes legs/hips interesting is that the way fat gathers there. Although not a must, seeing as we’re all different, females tend to get more fat there than men. Usually, however, it’s not at the SIDE of the hops, but at the thighs, calves and the “love handles”. (Excuse my english, aaah…) Women also tend to have bigger hips, but again, it’s not a must. It’s not uncommon to have small hips, either; or big hips for men, etc.

Of course, the legs too follow the “flow”!

Something worth noting is the “Standing point” The standing point is basically a straight line, and the further away you are from the line; the more unbalanced you are. To create a dynamic pose you should avoid that line as much as possible. However, if you want to look balanced/realistic, have the one leg stand there for support. The leg to the left is balanced, as you can see one of the legs is taking all the weight; with other words, it’s the support leg-making it balanced. The legs to the right, however, are likely to fall over if she keeps standing like that!

Now for some more do’s and don’ts. I already mentioned the barbie legs, invisible heels and micro-mini crotch in my previous tutorial, but these two are different. I see this mistake a lot; when you sit down, your thighs will become wider because you’re pressing all the fat to the sides. Now, this also depends on how you’re positioning your legs. How much it widens depends on how much fat you have in the first place; but it will always be there.

And then there’s this awkward “thigh gap”. Before I get any haters telling me how I “thin shame”, please, take a seat and read this. Good? Good. How much space you actually have between your thighs depends fully on how you’re standing, bending, angle, body type and everything else. However, the one to the right? Not likely.

Hands:

Okay, I’m getting really lazy now; so I’ll be quick. Draw a rectangle. Sorta like this; it doesn’t have to be exactly like this - since hands can be shaped VERY differently. Just compare to your friends.

Draw a little triangle attached to it.

Now, the fingers! How long they should be and etc doesn’t really matter either. But if you’re unsure, draw them as tear drops, too.

Now, draw the fingers! Starting to look like a hand, sort of.

Then draw the details and fix things you didn’t like. I really don’t like the way this is drawn but I’m just tired right now.

Just like the legs/arms, practice by doing that simple figure really quickly.

Guess what? Hands also follow “the flow”!

Feet:

Okay, I’m getting really lazy. Plus, feet are SUPER HARD- I’m just going to say this: think of them as triangles. Overlap them; think of it as 3D!

Practice practice practice! And medical anatomy books. And photo references. And real-life references!

Hope this helped! \o/ As I said, I’m nowhere near perfect but, ahh, I tried.

[grizandnorm]

Tuesday Tips - “Pick A Side” To create appeal and clarity in your figure drawing (or any character drawing), try to simplify an overall side of the body and to keep the details (limbs sticking out, face profile, body compression) to the other side. Your posing will becoming much more dynamic and interesting to look at, creating an organic asymmetry to the overall silhouette of the body. -Norm

[digitaltutorials]

This article was written by Phil Straub back in 2005, and it is as fresh and vital today as it was then. Phil’s tips and trick are timeless, and can help you make your images pop!

  Composition is everything! No amount of detail in an illustration or Concept Painting will be successful without a strong composition foundation.

  Composition in Environment Concept painting can be quite difficult since your focal point usually isn’t as obvious as in a character piece. In this introduction to Composition we will explore the fundamentals used to create exciting and functional compositions along with a variety of composition techniques. Initially I will show some successful examples of iconic composition, formal composition, the rule of 3rds, the golden rule, etc. There will be a discussion on what makes each piece successful and an explanation on why the artist chose to describe the scene using a particular form of composition.

When you take the canvas area and divide it into ‘thirds’ Horizontally and Vertically, where the lines cross in the picture area is a ‘Golden Mean’, or the best spot in which to place your Main Subject or Object of Interest as it is the Focal Point of your picture. The golden rule originates from the Ancient Greeks, since they were great mathematicians as well as artisans, they came to the conclusion that there needed to be a certain balance in composition for it to be pleasing to the eye. They further developed this theory and defined what they called “power points,” Power points are located at the point where the lines used in the golden rule intersect. By placing a main subject on a power point, it further defined that subject as the focal point.

  The golden rule can and usually is applied to a paintings canvas proportions. As you read through the following text you’ll notice that most of the imagery presented utilizes similar dimensions and almost all of them fall into the “golden rectangle.” Today you can find the Golden Rectangle almost everywhere: from credit cards to phone cards to book covers, all are shaped with its proportions. The Golden Ratio (the ratio of the longer and shorter sides of the Golden Rectangle) also appears in many natural phenomena. The ratio between the length of your nose and the distance from the bottom of the chin to the bottom of the nose is the golden ratio. The spiral growth of crustaceans follows the golden spiral. The divine proportions are an in-built (or in-grained) aesthetic parameter we judge beauty by.

  The imagery [above] represents the division of space when the “golden rule” is applied to a blank canvas. Basically it is the division of a line in two sections, where the ratio between the smallest section and the largest section is identical to the ratio between the largest section and the entire length of the line. In other words A/B = B/(A+B). The ratio is about 1/1.618. Honestly, I’m still not exactly sure what that all means? but, I do know that I used this grid layout a-lot when I first started painting and found it helpful. I still do.

  In the beginning you may find it useful to use this as an overlay for every concept piece you do. Having this grid float over your imagery as a reminder of where to place the objects of importance in the scene may help you as your develop your composition.

From the golden rule came the “rule of thirds” which is virtually the same concept but slightly altered to fit photographic proportions.I find it a bit easier to follow since it's very simple in its origin.Here we have a look at the rule of thirds in action.

  Notice that the main focal point sits right almost directly over one of the “golden means.” Additionally, other objects are placed near the other converging lines (the bird, for example) but, not directly on them, since that would create competition for the focal point.

  There are Four Spots where these lines cross the Upper Left the Lower Left, the Upper Right and the Lower Right. Please note that all the “hotspots” are away from the center position in the picture frame.

  The two best “power points” are the Upper Right and the Lower Right because the eye enters the picture frame at the lower left hand corner of the picture frame, travels to the center of the picture area and then reaches the right hand ‘Golden Mean’ position where it stops to look at the ‘Center Of Interest’.

  The reason the eye enters a picture at the lower left side is because we are taught to read from Left to Right. This is a psychological fact that has been proven over the years. Next time you’re in an art gallery or art museum that shows the Old Masters paintings, notice how many have the Center Of Interest in the “Golden Rule” positions.

‘Implied Forms’ are a combination of ‘Implied Lines’ and they help to hold a painting together. The eye enjoys these interesting forms and will stay in the picture area to examine each one of them, if they are present. The following text and sample imagery will demonstrate a variety of implied forms and composition approaches.

The Circle is made up of a continuous ‘Curve’ and it’s circular movement keeps the eye in the picture frame. There are many circles in nature and man made objects. You can use the circle in a very obvious way in your composition or simply suggest it.

 The  image [below] is a very obvious and deliberate usage of circular composition. Notice how the circular shapes created by the dragons also follow a path that leads your eye towards the focal point.

Another example of circular composition! Again, I chose this type of composition to enhance the feeling of motion in the piece. You can see how the eye follows the circular shapes across the picture plane to the focal point. Something interesting to note with this image, it actually uses two composition approaches at one time; circular composition and iconic composition.

This has a ‘solid base’ and will show Stability. It also has Height and Strength. The Pyramids of Egypt have survived for thousands of years while other types of solid buildings have crumbled in to dust in less time. With the image below I was very deliberate with my arrangement of shapes so the triangle or pyramid composition is obvious. When I began this piece I simply started with a triangle shape as my starting point...nothing more than an abstract composition. I just let everything flow from there....and very quickly the painting began to take shape.

Is a connection of ‘Lines’ meeting in the Center and an expansion of ‘Lines’ leaving the Center. The Radii is usually found in Nature Subjects. The best example of the man made Radii is the spokes of a wheel.

  The eye has two ways to go when it comes upon the Radii. It can either be drawn in to the picture area or it can be led out of the picture area. You must be careful how you used the Radii and try to have the eye led into the picture.

A showing of ‘Opposing Force’ that will give the picture a feeling of Cohesion and Relationship. The horizontal bar of the Cross will act as a “stopper’ while the vertical pole can act as a leading line. The windows in a large skyscraper will form crosses and will keep your interest in the building. The Cross also has religious meaning and the subtle use of the Cross can give hidden significance to an image.

  In the painting below Hong Kuang uses the cross composition subtly. One could argue this piece is also using an “L Composition.” The strong line across the horizontal center that’s being formed by the characters body suggests “The Cross.” The somber facial expression and subject matter demonstrate an experienced artist’s ability to use symbolic composition to help tell a narrative.

  To the right of that is  Daryl Mandryk's work which  successfully combines a Cross composition with iconic composition. This is common composition choice for themes of heroism or comics. Fantasy artists like Brom and Frazetta use this type of composition in their work regularly.

This makes an attractive ‘frame’. It can be used to accentuate important subjects. Many times it is a ‘frame’ within a ‘frame’.

  A tree with an overhanging branch at the ‘right’ side of the picture area will form a ‘Rectangle’ and help frame the Main Subject in the picture. By doing this you will make the Center of Interest stand out and be noticed clearly.

Some Art theorists contend that the most important information in the image should be placed near the center of the picture plane. This may seem confusing to some students since this contradicts many of the major principles of the “golden rule.” In general iconic composition should and can be used to describe a subject in a certain way. Iconic Composition or “Formal Subdivision” applies best to subjects of a dignified or religious nature. This style of composition was the approach of choice in earlier times and many excellent compositions have been made with it. Usually Iconic composition is used to describe symbolic subjects, heroic subjects, or religious subjects.

  I’ve taken the liberty of drawing over this imagery to demonstrate the division of space in iconic composition. This is a technique used by many illustrators to help define the division of space and focal point when creating an iconic illustration. Well know and renowned illustrator Andrew Loomis used this technique extremely well and his book “Creative Illustration” to demonstrate this further.

  Notice, that while the focal point is slightly off center, all the converging lines lead to the center point of interest. Additionally, notice how the figures head sits directly in the diamond shape of the overlay lines I’ve created. It should also be noted that I chose this composition to further enhance the regal and heroic appearance of the character.

Tong Wu uses Iconic composition perfectly here! Notice how the character again falls nearly at center of the canvas. I’ve taken the division of space a bit further on this imagery and have broken down the image into smaller segments so you can so how the artist balances everything in the piece.

  Notice how the top right corner is almost a mirror image of the top left corner. In fact, look at almost any opposing segment in the painting, they are very similar! When creating iconic composition, it’s not necessary to duplicate each side exactly, but there should be a feeling of complete equalization of the units or masses, the line and spaces of one side with the other.

So, there you have it, a variety of ways to deal with division of space when you first begin visualizing a painting or drawing. At the end of the day, theses approaches to composition are guides and simply a place to start. Once you become more comfortable with composing a scene you can begin to push the boundaries of formal composition.

Since most Environment Concept Artists work in the entertainment industries, its expected you will be asked to create cinematic moments or “memorable moments” utilizing the environment as a stage.

 You’ll want to use your mastery of composition to lead the viewer’s eye and really make the viewer feel like they’re in the scene. The single most important thing you simply must have in any Environment Concept Painting is a clear and dynamic focal point.

 Without a place for the viewer’s eye to rest, the painting will lack impact and won’t hold the attention of your audience. It’s the job of the Concept Artist to visualize what can’t be visualized in reality. Concept Artists are the first step in every production and therefore must create dynamic imagery that the rest of the team will be excited to build. There are a few cinematic tricks that you can use as a Concept Artist to make things appear more dynamic.

Sometimes all it takes to add an extra bit of drama to your composition is a simple tilt of the camera. In the image to the right the viewer really feels like they are part of the action, simply by slanting the camera a bit. This approach is especially useful when you are trying to depict action in your environment.

  Many Concept Artists today, myself included, use perspective as a tool to create dynamic compositions that appear to have motion and lead the eye to the focal point clearly and concisely.

    In the painting below you will notice I’ve used many of the objects that appear in the painting as opportunities to further guide the viewer to the “payoff.” Additionally, I tilted the camera a bit to add to the action.

http://www.cgsociety.org/index.php/CGSFeatures/CGSFeatureSpecial/phil_straub_composition_tutorial

[digitaltutorials]

What I've learned in 7 years

• It takes about 4-5 years for most concepts to sink in. This is where the 10,000 hour rule comes into play. It's all possible, you just have to pay your dues by putting your coins in the practice fountain. A cumulative effect starts to happen. You'll reach plateaus, platypuses and valleys.  It's an upward staircase while you fill the gaps you don't understand. It's like boiling water. Eventually, you will have hot water. 

• Shut up. Succeed. 

• Do the best possible job you can. It's even better if the story/budget/art director is lame. There's no pressure. Every job has the potential to be your best piece yet.

• Just FINISH it and ship it. Shipping something 72% awesome is more vital than waiting to ship it until it's 100% awesome and never gets shipped. Just ship it. 

• Push away from your piece so you can see it anew. Flip it, turn it upside down, put it into a PDF, slide it into a browser, look at in a mirror, send it to your friends for draw overs, put it in a kitchen drawer, anything to get distance. 

• Your fingerprint is so flawed and perfectly wonderful. Push it forward, embrace the foibles and the flaws. Show what you love and your world view. Style bleeds out from what you love. Do whatYOU love. Don't copy, that's boring.

• There are humans who have accomplished amazing feats. You are also a human. You have the ability to accomplish amazing feats. Believing you can is about 90% of it. I promise.

• Make sure you want to be in your studio. Make it the most amazing enjoyable place you can possibly afford, sleep on the floor, eat cheap, but make your studio a place where everything can flow. Buy pencils that feel good, that you can't wait to hold. Buy RAM for your computer and make it lighting fast. Align everything so you'll love to show up. Showing up is most of the puzzle. 

• It's really just all information. Looking at figures that I drew a year ago, I was missing vital parts. It's blatantly obvious what I didn't understand. Sometimes, you may understand most of it, but you're missing one vital part. And that vital part collects the whole thing for you. Like having a safe filled with gold and pastries and fully paid mortgages, and all you need is the key. These keys *do* exist. How you get them is up to you. You get them by getting a Mentor, going to the IMC, having a support group of people tell you when your work can be better, copying masters or people that you love, life drawing at every free moment, until it starts making sense. Most people give up. Don't give up. 

• FLOW: The combination of the most amount of challenge coupled with the greatest amount of skill. Flow is a magic thing when time stops, and you're plugging into a creativity greater than your own. 

• Aim for FLOW, learn how to achieve it, harness it, and turn it up on command. I've been able to plug into FLOW with the Pomodoro Technique. Set a timer for 25 minutes, and get to work. No email, Facebook, or goofing off allowed. It's just 25 minutes, you can do it. Even if it takes 24 minutes to get started, you'll be amazed at how far you'll get in the time allotted. You achieve a small victory, you'll want to keep going. Then a 5 minute break, and 25 more minutes of working. Soon, you'll plug into the FLOW.

• It's hard until it's just not hard anymore. 

• You have to pretend to be successful before you become successful. Confidence in spirit will lead to confident lines, confident colors, confident sales. It's all cumulative. Every mark you make accumulates into your 10,000 hours. Cheat, see how you can makes more marks on purpose. The more pencil nubs you make, the more sketchbook pages you fill, the stronger your work becomes. It's thrilling to look through past work and see how much you've learned, It's almost a game. Put dates on your sketchbooks to track your progress. You learn to draw by drawing.

• Our world is changing. Bank tellers will disappear, factory workers will disappear, but imaginators, people who draw stuff to show the makers, will always be needed. Because there is no way to automate something so magical. 

• You learn to draw by drawing.

• There is no shortcut, snake oil, or passwords to greatness. You just have to put in your time, fill up your sketchbooks, draw from life, say yes to scary assignments. Eventually, it starts making sense. These victories are ridiculously thrilling.  

• Make your values sing. Always turn your work to greyscale. Does it pop? Is it a grey soup? Are your shapes interesting, or confusing and boring? Learning the idea of a NOTAN is so important. Is it still interesting at postage stamp size? Or does everything disappear into a grey soup? Don't make pieces that look like grey soup. 

• Small victories will lead to huge victories. Don't try to write a novel, you'll never get past the 2nd chapter. Practice your scales. Succeed small for a while, everything is cumulative.

• I worked at a muggle job for a while and my boss said, "Weather you think you can or you think you can't, you're right!" I know he stole it from some inspirational kitten poster…. but it's so goddamn true. 

• Shut up. Succeed. 

• Do not consume more than you create. I've been collecting pretty images since 2nd grade. But I rarely would do anything with them. Eventually, I realized, I'm not allowed to collect more than I create. I had a Pinterest 20 years ago. Instead of adding to my Pinterest, I want to BE a Pinterest. 

• Sometimes, you have to hold your pencil like a monkey, just let go... let go of your grip, and believe that all your training will manifest in your hand through your pencil. Just let go and believe. This only works if you've paid your dues. Your goal is to get out of your own way. Use a timer, your non-primary hand, a stick, anything to bypass your self-depricating brain. 

• You can do it in 2 days, you just don't know it. Likewise, you can do it in 45 minutes, you just don't know it. 

• Don't be paralyzed in pursuit of perfection. Just keep going. Know that it's absolutely all cumulative and acheivable. Small victories lead to huge victories. I promise. 

• Shut up. Succeed. 

ZELDA DEVON

[grizandnorm]

Tuesday Tips - STRAIGHT against CURVES This principle really helps to create shapes and characters with “points of interest”. The straights move the eye towards the areas of curves, bumps and details. I mostly focused on the silhouettes of the shapes/characters, but the same principles should also be applied to shapes and volumes inside the main shape/volume. Norm

[jeanox]

Quick tip for anyone just starting out. This eluded me for the longest time. I’d like to do more on the brush palette in the future. If anyone has a photoshop/painting related question or request, feel free to drop me an ask.

*edit*

If anyone needs a comparison to traditional mediums, think about it like trying to draw something by pressing a stamp to a paper over and over again. Imagine you could only press the stamp to the steady beat of a song. That’s basically what brushes in photoshop are. The beat is the spacing setting.

[jeanox]

Little nugget of advice that really changed the way I approached painting. When I started blending like this it was a real turning point for my art quality.

Forgot to add that lighting conditions and other variables in a piece make the hardness you want to choose somewhat variable. Drawing things like skin is more of a hardness range than it is a hard rule. 

Eheh…get it? Hard rule? (aaaaaaaaaand i’m done). 

[painted-bees]

Haa thanks, I can’t even put into words how unappealing the overuse of a soft brush is when rendering. There have even been otherwise expertly painted images that were (in my opinion) ruined by that overly soft ‘airbrush’-y look that soft edged brushes give off. 

I mean, I just really hate soft edged brush in most cases. It’s definitely the fact that you can’t read any real confidence in the brush strokes of a soft edged brush. It makes it really difficult to nail down any solid shapes or forms in your painting. Weak vagueness both in brush strokes and with shape and form is generally not a good thing when painting.

 If I can tell a soft edge brush was used (a lot) in an image, I probably won’t like how it’s been applied.

[punchbuggo-blog1]

OH MY GOD THIS

[turbles]

especially since when you paint with a hard brush, you can easily go soften areas later, whereas if you start a painting with the soft brush its such a hassle to tighten things up

[jeanox]

This is very good point. It gives you a natural advantage.

[digitaltutorials]

Geometric brush setup

[digitaltutorials]

Customizing Photoshop brush spacing and saving changes.

[digitaltutorials]

Part 2 of From Paper to Painting: Transferring the lines of a sketch to a transparent layer in Photoshop

(click here for part 1)

[digitaltutorials]

Part 1 of From Paper to Painting: Transferring the lines of a sketch to a transparent layer in Photoshop

(click here for part 2)