3DTotal - Learn to paint fantasy landscapes in Photoshop - 2013

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Learn to paint fantasy landscapes in Photoshop The Six Realms: 6 pro artists reveal their digital painting workflows as they concept and create epic new environments

The Six Realms Chapter 01 – Mountains Chapter 01 – Mountains Software Used: Photoshop This mountain citadel is a place of refuge for the citizens of this cold outpost town. It also serves as a directional beacon that travelers could use to gain their bearings if stuck in a snowstorm or as a warning for approaching attackers. The approach I wanted to take was much like a desert oasis, except with snow. I envisioned a bright city in the midst of large, snowy mountains and a clear night sky. Temperature plays into the concept because I wanted the warm city to draw in the viewer. This made the color palette very easy to decide on

traveler looking up towards the citadel (Fig.01).

When the shapes started reading at a distance I

because torchlight is usually orange and snowy

I kept the block-in very loose, using large round

then began working in some more textures and

landscapes at night tend to be blue (or what we

textured brushes so that I could add the shapes

colors. At this stage I kept to two to three layers;

perceive to be blue). The composition is also

very quickly and also have a little bit of texture

one working layer, one merged layer and a layer

fairly simple. It has a focal point that the viewer

and noise to add some interest.

with my original color rough (for reference).

has to travel to and a surrounding environment that they have to traverse through.

When I am unsure about what I painted on my The way I thought about color and value at this

working layer I just turn it on and off to see if it

point was kind of like a black hole; everything

helps or hinders the image (this technique is

When I started the piece I knew from the brief

radiated inwards toward the focal point. All my

used throughout my process a lot!).

I was given it had to include three things: a

warms were centralized and all the darkest

citadel, a town and mountains. With that in

values were basically pointing towards the

Flipping your canvas can be a life- and time-

mind I knew I could keep the composition and

focus. I painted the image while it was still small

saver. I didn’t realize how grayed out my

concept simple so I could focus on the color and

at this stage, because I find it much easier to

painting was getting until I flipped it. I really

light.

work the whole composition when you’re not

wanted the luminescence of the city to spill over

zoomed in.

into the surrounding environment so I bumped

I started by blocking in a rough composition in

up the contrast by intensifying the city lights and

color. I knew that I wanted the camera angle

After I was satisfied with the rough comp, I

darkening the mountains (Fig.03). However, as

fairly low so that it would feel like you were a

started refining the shapes and edges (Fig.02).

soon as I had done this I realized I had slightly

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Chapter 01

Chapter 01 – Mountains

The Six Realms

overdone it, so I added a Multiply layer and masked out some of the parts that I wanted to remain a little bit lighter (Fig.04). To create the trees and rocks I used a regular round brush and sometimes the Lasso tool if I wanted a really sharp edge on things like the buildings (Fig.05). Most of the time I tried to work with more textured brushes, but because the scene is at night most of the texture wouldn’t be visible. To counter this I tried to bring out the texture more in areas that were lit. At this point I was still working out the design of the city and the immediate area around it, so you may notice that quite a few changes take place in Fig.06 – 07. Being that I’m Canadian I have a lifetime of experience in the snow and I can remember how different snow feels and looks. I can even remember how it reflects light differently, so when I try to apply this kind of stuff to my paintings it adds another level of enjoyment. If you are less familiar with the subject in your

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Chapter 01

The Six Realms Chapter 01 – Mountains paintings I would recommend gathering as many references as possible. One of the things I really wanted to paint was snow weighing down the pine branches and dead, leaning trees toppled over by the weight of the snow (Fig.08). At this point I was getting ready to start finishing the painting, so I looked for faults or areas that I didn’t think worked, like dead spaces, or contrasting elements that pulled too much. The bottom left didn’t seem to be doing anything so I thought it might be good to have some directional elements to support the eye’s movement (Fig.09). I can’t quite remember where or who I heard it from, but someone once told me that the edges of an illustration should always push the viewer and not pull them. To reinforce that rule I strengthened the values closer to the edges to add a kind of vignette (Fig.10). The final touches are usually slight color adjustments, but I also adjusted the contrast a bit around the focus just to try and match what I had originally envisioned (Fig.11). I added a bit of glow to the city to try and sell the mood a little bit more, and then called it a day. Overall I’m fairly happy with the outcome; the mood is close to what I wanted and the concept is what it needs to be.

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Chapter 01

Chase Toole Web: http://chimpsmack.blogspot.com/ Email: [email protected]

The Six Realms Chapter 02 – Arctic Chapter 02 – Arctic Software Used: Photoshop

Introduction The Illustration was based on a short brief provided by the client, but I was pretty free to interpret it. I like adding some story when making environment concepts. I often feel this urge to give my environments some life and add characters to support it. I took the opportunity to add a simple story for the readers to interpret. I wanted the illustration to feel alive and almost like I’d taken a screen capture from a movie. I kind of knew that this illustration would require some effort and I would

Getting Started

I decided early on that the main light source

probably change it a couple of times, and I

For the next step I used Photoshop. I started

should come from the left. I wanted to highlight

honestly didn’t really have a clear vision of what

with some simple and quick line drawings of

the character and the castle because they were

my final result would be, other than the mood of

the whole scene, basically just trying to sketch

the main focus in the painting (Fig.02).

the painting.

out what I imagined, with the support of my sketches. What I was trying to do was figure out

Foundation

When I first got the brief I started right away by

the composition, scale and proportions. I wasn’t

For the underpainting I randomly overlayed

doing some quick and rough sketches in my

concerned about details or trying to make an

photos, anything from cityscapes to snow

sketchbook. I then put the assignment to one

accurate design of the elements at this stage.

landscapes. What I look for in the references is the color palette, structure, texture and abstract

side, and came back to my sketchbook a couple of days later to see if I was still hooked on my

I had the line drawing on a separate layer from

shapes to interpret. Using its colors, I color

rough ideas, with fresh eyes. I find that it’s the

the background color, so I could easily do my

pick and paint, following my line drawing to

only way I can be critical of my work.

underpainting later on (Fig.01).

block things out. The whole idea is to have a

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Chapter 02

Chapter 02 – Arctic

The Six Realms

foundation to work with. For this image it was a bit dark in value, with subtle contrasts and colors, but it was good enough for me to start from and I intended to work from dark to light (Fig.03). I used a Curves adjustment layer to push the colors and contrast. I also added some animals into the story to show a bit more of the habitats, rather than just a guy with his wolves in a dead village. Suggestive light sources were also added in the tents to show some sort of activity in them. I worked mostly with mid-tones at this point, though I had elements in the foreground with a darker value just to separate important parts, which would require some attention later

with more values and contrast. Since the moon

For the mountains in the background I used

on (Fig.04).

was coming from the top left, I now had a clear

a snowy mountain photo, set to Overlay with

light source. I also had a better understanding

very low opacity – just enough to suggest some

References

of what should be in light and what should be in

details for me to paint later on. I also made

I always have a collection of photo references

shadow, and painted with that in mind.

some changes to the castle; I was inspired by

relevant to my subject matter on my second

Gothic architecture and basically copied and

monitor. I researched on Google, but I also

Since this illustration was somehow staged with

pasted part of a church image to get some

have a personal library taken from my field

a camera angle just above the horizon, with a

texture in, which saved me lots of time. I made

trips or travels. I find using photo references

large open space and under this light condition,

the moon and other light sources more present

very important, because I rarely find ones that

I knew most of the surfaces facing up would be

and visible. The idea was to be everywhere in

completely match my needs, which makes

highlighted. When I work on a busy illustration

the painting and I tried to paint with the thinking

studying and having a good understanding of

with lots of elements, the image can easily

that what I did now would effect what I did later.

your subject matter extremely important.

become noisy, so I intended to fake the amount

It kind of gave me the opportunity and space to

of the highlights and how the light affected the

try things and experiment (Fig.05).

Painting and Adding Photo Textures

elements and environment to benefit my focus

As you can see, I did a great amount of painting

points. So I had my lightest values around

I also added a rusty texture, covering the whole

on the village, the characters and the animals.

or where my focus points were to draw the

painting, set to Soft Light with 15% opacity.

This step was a big jump from the foundation

attention to these areas. I also added mountains

Since the rusty texture was pretty much red, I

and the process was pretty much repetitive; it

and pushed them into the background.

almost desaturated the texture. The reason I

was a process of detailing. At this point I worked

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did this is because it broke the Photoshop look

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Chapter 02

The Six Realms Chapter 02 – Arctic

up a bit, gave me a textured canvas to paint

Textured Soft Brush

Finalizing

on, and also gave me some suggestive details

The image lacked depth and atmosphere,

The last part of my painting process is the

and subtle value differences to interpret. I find

as well as contrast, so I pushed back the

most hideous part, in my opinion. I basically

most of my textures on www.cgtextures.com

background with atmospheric depth. I used a

run through the whole painting, stepping away,

(Fig.06).

custom made soft brush with a texture, with

observing, making corrections, removing,

the brush set to 10% opacity (Fig.07). I almost

adding, color balancing, defining edges and so

The last thing I did at this stage was copy the

like scratching the surface of the painting to

on (Fig.09).

whole image and open it on a new canvas,

make it less contrasting and saturated. Using a

decreasing the painting by 60%. Then I copied

textured soft brush, instead of the normal soft

On a separate layer I added some snow

the decreased image back to the original file

brush without texture, keeps things from looking

particles in the air to depict some sense of

and scaled it back up again. I used an Unsharp

flat; the texture leaves the surfaces with subtle

motion; I also felt it supported the mood I was

Mask filter, and moved the sliders around until

value differences, and this especially works

going for. Again, I added some more brush

I was happy with the result the effect gave me.

when I want to push things into the distance with

strokes here and there until I felt that I couldn’t

This is something I pretty much do by instinct

atmospheric depth.

add a single pixel more.

Find Balance

The last thing I did to the painting was use

These stages are probably unnecessary, but I

I was not happy with the castle, so I scaled up

Merge Visible on a new layer, using the Unsharp

feel that my paintings sometimes kind of flatten

parts of it, so it took up more of the space and

Mask filter to sharpen up the edges a little bit.

a bit, the pixels blend and all the brush strokes

therefore showed less of the sky. I felt that the

Then I signed it off (Fig.10). Done!

soften, yet they are sharp, I like to think I get

castle was too small in proportion to the rest

this dry paint effect. On top of that I continue the

of the painting and it needed to be balanced

painting process, defining shapes, and edges,

(Fig.08).

and I do it very differently each time.

Dennis Chan

and use adjustment layers such as Curves and

Web: http://dchanart.blogspot.co.uk/

Color Balance.

Email: [email protected]

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Chapter 02

The Six Realms Chapter 03 – Coastal Chapter 03 – Coastal Software Used: Photoshop

Introduction In this tutorial I was charged with creating a coastal encampment in a fantasy setting. Some specific tasks were to create a beacon, high walls, and some town elements. I immediately began gathering references for this project. My reference gathering involved finding images specifically related to coastal elements, along with a wide variety of random abstract pieces. With a library of images to work from, I began to form various ideas that I wanted to capture in the piece. In the beginning it was very abstract thinking; sometimes it was just a single descriptive word or a type of mood. Once I felt satisfied with my research, I began moving forward with the actual painting. Next I started blocking in some large masses

other scenarios. In this step I also knocked out

To start this piece I began with just some simple

for potential rock formations. At some point I

the large shape in the middle of the canvas

brush strokes and overlays to get rid of the

wanted to add architecture high up on the rocks,

because it was overpowering the beacon, and

absolute fear I experience when staring at a

so this was a bit of pre-planning. I added some

started to detail the ground surface.

blank white canvas (Fig.01). A blank canvas

indications of texture on these giant shapes to

feels incredibly daunting, so I always quickly

portray rock formations (Fig.02). The textures

At this point in the painting I was feeling

block in some colors or values that help get

were done with a bit of photo overlay combined

confident about the general direction of the

my mind moving forward. Even though I had a

with custom shapes.

piece. If I hadn’t been feeling the piece, even

basic palette down at this point, I didn’t want to

though it was still early, I would have gone

completely lock myself into it at this early stage

After I had laid in some basic shapes I quickly

ahead and started from scratch. It’s incredibly

in the painting.

blocked in the general area and shape of the

hard to go forward on a piece when it’s just not

beacon I wanted (Fig.03). I kept the beacon

sending you the right vibes. It basically becomes

Another step I did here was put down some

incredibly loose to start, just a few brush strokes

an epic battle to finish a piece you probably

basic brush strokes indicating the ground

to indicate a basic idea. The reason I started

should have just thrown away.

surface dropping back into perspective. I knew

very loose is that I didn’t want to jump into

I wanted my horizon line lower, so I could

designing the beacon before I had decided the

So now that I had come to terms with my

eventually have a very vertical beacon.

composition, placement, scale and a variety of

own sanity, I blocked a few more details into

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Chapter 03 – Coastal

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the beacon. I wanted the beacon to remain monumental with just some basic edge definitions (Fig.04). I also decided my light direction on the piece, indicating it on the beacon, the ground surface and the huge rock. Looking at the piece at this point I decided the composition was really unbalanced. The way I remedied this issue was by simply blocking in some larger rock masses to the right of the beacon. I kept the rocks very stylized, with some hard edges, just due to my personal preference on this piece (Fig.05). Now the piece looked a bit flat with basically just a mid-ground component. To push the depth more I included a large rock in the background that falls within the flow of the rock right in front of it. I kept this rock completely hazed out and low contrast to imply a further distance from the viewer (Fig.06). To push the depth even more I increased the contrast in the foreground and added some smaller rock elements. I also tried to portray the foreground as actually being within a large shadow being cast from off canvas. I also pushed a cool color in the foreground to contrast with the warm light being cast through the piece. Stepping back from the piece I decided to add a scale indicator in the foreground: a little dude (Fig.07). I have an addiction to adding silly little dudes wandering through my pieces. In my mind it tells a story more than just staring at a beacon and some rocks. I like to think of the moment

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Chapter 03

The Six Realms Chapter 03 – Coastal

this character comes into view of the scene

(Fig.08). This was exactly along the lines of how

are moving through the piece towards the

and takes it in. I also added some simple scale

I blocked in the beacon; just a few shapes to

background. A lot of the texture on the rocks

elements in the mid-ground, with a few brush

judge the basic feel and placement prior to any

was created by simple layering custom shapes.

strokes to indicate small ships with sails. I’m not

heavy detailing will save you a lot of time. These

too keen on rendering out pieces to hell-and-

simple shapes were created with a Marquee tool

Finally, the last step in any painting I do is some

back and enjoy moments where a simple shape

and some color sampling right off the rocks they

basic color tweaks and contrast adjustments.

can indicate an entire subject.

are placed on.

These are all done through adjustment layers, which I can use to erase out some of the effects

Now that the piece had clear divisions between

To continue this piece at this point I just

on parts of the canvas that I’d like to keep

the foreground, mid-ground and background, I

went into full-on detailing mode. I jumped all

unchanged (Fig.10). This stage really can be

just pushed some details further. I also flipped

around the canvas, hitting elements in the

an endless abyss, leaving you to second-guess

my canvas, which I’d been doing during the

foreground, blocking in some of the architecture

a variety of choices you’ve made. I find it best

whole painting process, just to try and keep a

on the rocks, and throwing in a lot more of

to just be very decisive here, otherwise you can

fresh eye on the piece. Once again, I indicated

an atmosphere with some clouds (Fig.09). I

easily end up turning your scene into a night

some very basic shapes on top of the rocks

did a lot of brush strokes and translated them

scene, or a disco party, or whatever else you

where I wanted some structures to be built

into perspective to give the feeling the clouds

can stumble upon with adjustment layers.

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Chapter 03

Levi Hopkins Web: http://levihopkinsart.blogspot.co.uk/ Email: [email protected]

The Six Realms Chapter 04 – Desert Chapter 04 – Desert Software Used: Photoshop

Introduction Hi, I’m Tuomas Korpi, a 26 year old production designer, matte painter and illustrator from Finland. I currently work in an animation and illustration studio called Piñata, doing production design and concept art for varying projects. The work we do is mostly in the field of advertising, but we also work with a number of games companies, directors, and animation and production studios. When I read tutorials or go to art lectures, I find the ones where the artist talks you through the thinking process behind the painting the most interesting. Being able to see the process in a step-by-step manner can also be educational, but what I find most interesting is reading why an artist made a certain visual choice or design decision. Why an artist adds one thing and leaves something else out is always interesting to know and helps you to make your own decisions. In this tutorial I will try to describe the thought process I employ when working on an environment painting, and will also tell you a little bit about my workflow as well. I try to focus on the design and conceptual aspects of the painting first, and then describe my painting process.

The Design Of course, every new painting starts with

might be. What kind of color palette reflects the

most interesting compositions! I also wanted

some general overall idea or a concept. In

nature of the environment? What are the living

to avoid clichés like a Tatooine-style Star Wars

this case the rough guidelines and framework

conditions like – harsh or mild? Is the culture

city, as well as keep away from the all-too-

were already provided. The image should

limited by their surroundings or do they control

familiar nomadic huts and tents.

be a desert environment that was based in a

their habitat? To me this part is like solving

medieval/fantasy period. It should also include

a simple puzzle. The key is to find the visual

I wanted to give the desert a surreal and alien

a settlement reflecting the habitat, and a citadel

solution that emphasizes the design, mood or

feel, but at the same time keep it relatively

with a burning beacon at the top. The brief

impression you want to communicate.

natural-looking. While sketching the first ideas

was quite simple, yet very broad, so right from the beginning there were a lot of ideas going

Wandering in the Desert

through my mind.

From the start I knew there were going to

down, I came up with huge rock formations that defied the laws of gravity (Fig.01).

be some challenges with the design and

I was quite free-handed with the formations, but

I usually begin by breaking the environment

composition, since the desert is pretty much

decided to keep the feel and texture close to

down into core visual elements and then trying

defined as an open, vast, horizontal space.

what you would see on the walls of rocks found

to find logical answers to any questions there

Grand open spaces tend not to make for the

in the Arizona desert. It’s always important to

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Chapter 04 – Desert

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borrow elements from the real world to make

elements in the picture. You are telling small

a bit further to create huge citadels and cities

the design and environment feel natural, and

stories and showing hundreds of years of history

carved from solid rock. I wanted some variation

give the viewer something familiar to relate

without actually having to paint it!

to the houses to imply some sort of social

to. The same applies to everything from the

hierarchy and decided to add smaller houses in

cultural detail to the creatures and habitat of our

If you think about Middle Eastern, African

imaginary desert world.

and nomadic cultures; they always seem to

the open desert.

live in harmony with their habitat. I think this

Even though there is some variation in the

There is an evolutionary process behind each

is because the resources in the desert are

architecture, I didn’t want to use precise

civilization and culture on Earth, and by studying

limited, but also because they have to travel

geometrical forms but keep the feeling of the

their architecture, traditions and history you can

long distances for resources and really respect

architecture really primitive and handmade –

get a great sense of reality in your painting,

their hostile environment to make a living there.

organic even (Fig.02 – 05). This would further

even if it’s an imaginary world you’re painting.

To keep the painting natural and believable I

emphasize the time period and create a feeling

Viewers immediately recognize certain visual

wouldn’t want to paint a huge amount of human-

that people are really living in harmony with their

concepts and link them to certain cultures.

built structures in the middle of a desert for no

desert habitat.

apparent reason, because they wouldn’t have The strategy I employ is to simply find a familiar

the resources or materials to do that.

cultural basis, and then modify and revise it

Exploring the Composition When I have the rough framework for my

to the point where the viewer’s imagination

I felt inspired by the ancient rock houses and

painting and environment figured out, I start

starts to subconsciously create reason for the

temples of Jordan and Tunis, and took this idea

exploring the composition through thumbnailsized ink sketches. I try to keep them very quick and rough, and usually spend only a minute on each one. If I already have one strong concept for the image in my head I might want to explore to see if I can take it a bit further. What I’m looking for is a composition, a view or a camera angle that maximizes the information I want to communicate, and nails the feeling I want the viewer to have. My main principle when working on the composition, and actually for the whole painting process, is to keep true to your original sketch and concept. If it’s not working at thumbnail size, it’s definitely not going to work when bigger! With this painting I explored aerial views and different rock structures, but felt the buildings and cultural elements of the image were left

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The Six Realms Chapter 04 – Desert too small. I also wanted it to feel as if you were arriving into a city complex and discovering it for the first time. The main challenge here was finding a nice balance for the rock formations and avoiding making the composition too crowded by having too many elements in the image (Fig.06 – 07). An amazing book full of great advice about composition is called Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual Storytellers and it’s by Marcos Mateu-Mestre. Another great read is Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation by the amazingly talented Disney production designer Hans Bacher. His blog is also worth visiting to learn more about composition. Of course, there are a ton of things that make a strong environment or landscape painting, but

The flow is what brings the form and depth

rough sketches. You can see the thumbnail I

for me it relies very much on the simplicity of the

together in a way that’s interesting and easy to

choose to develop in Fig.08.

form, the depth and the flow – three little, and

look at! Balanced composition is important, but

quite abstract, words.

especially with landscapes and environments

Even though I personally like to explore the

as you want to build an interesting path in the

composition quickly with inks, I also try to

By form I mean that the silhouette of each

image for the eye to follow. The eye shouldn’t

imagine the colors and values in my head while

element in your image should be simple enough

escape straight to the horizon or go directly out

I draw! With this desert painting I thought for

to read without the values or color.

of the corner of the image. In my opinion there

a while about whether I wanted the lighting

should be an easy starting point where the eye

and color palette to be based on an evening or

Depth is built through logical transition, variation

can start wandering around the image, like a

daytime lighting scenario, but I chose to go with

or repetition of elements from the nearest point

sharp contrast, a vivid color or an odd form –

the latter. I felt it would emphasize the living

in the image frame to the furthest point in the

something that catches your attention first.

conditions in the desert environment much better, and give me a nice shift from the warm

distance. This can be, for example, a color shift from warm colors to colder tones, a change in

From there you can build different paths that

tones to the cooler and more desaturated colors

the contrast, or a repetition of objects of the

intersect key focal points of the image. It’s easy

towards the horizon.

same scale that get smaller as they disappear

to experiment with different possibilities if you

into the distance.

start your painting process very lightly with

I also wanted a nice balance between the bright, well-lit areas of the image and the shadows to emphasize the feeling of a burning hot desert sun. The sun was placed so that it fits the composition nicely, but also so the light follows the form of each shape nice and clearly. I also introduced some reflected light from the ground to give the shadow areas more visual information, and to get some hot, red tones in my image. The dunes, buildings, small flags and sunshades are a great way to tell the viewer about the distance and scale of objects, and how they relate to each other. Repetition of elements improves the sense of depth and also

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gives the image a nice flow. You can see how I

methodically, but I do still try to think of the

layer in Multiply blending mode. This way it’s

would apply the depth in the color in Fig.09. You

image in layers of hierarchies where each

easy to paint on the layers underneath and just

can also see how I designed the silhouette and

element dominates and controls the other. My

click the line art on and off.

shape of everything in Fig.10, and the flow of

tip for a beginner artist is to keep doing small

the image in Fig.11.

practices every once in a while, employing these

Value and Lighting Studies

basic elements in order. Explore how you can

With the line art created it’s easy to just start

build depth in your image with values, how you

painting the image, almost like a coloring book.

When I’m painting digitally I usually follow the

can keep your silhouettes readable etc. Do

With the more complex images where there are

same workflow, more or less. The basis of my

small experiments with complete paintings and

a lot of things happening, it’s good to explore

workflow is, as I said earlier, staying true to

don’t get stuck doing one thing for too long!

the lighting and values a bit before starting with

Painting

my original concept and trying to improve the painting in each step I take.

Refining the Sketch

the colors. I try to keep this value study more as reference for later, but it also works nicely

After I feel I have a strong thumbnail sketch for

as a basis for your color palette in the next step

I like to think there’s a certain hierarchy of

my image, I scan it into my computer, scale it up

(Fig.13).

elements in every image, and you can’t really

and start doing a more refined line art version

change the order of how a viewer is going to

of it (Fig.12). Sometimes I like to do this step

The reason I paint the values separately is that

read your image. In order they will look at the

traditionally and size up the sketch and print it

it’s easy to get carried away with things like

shape or silhouette, the perspective, the values

on A4 paper. I would then grab some extremely

reflected light, bright colors etc., while you paint.

and the colors. This is quite a practical way of

thin animation paper and start refining the

This way you always have a reference as to

viewing things because you won’t be able to

sketch with inks.

how you would like the image to look. It’s much

fix major flaws in the values in the image with

easier to start with a simple grayscale painting

colors. Or if you haven’t focused on creating a

At this point I would refine the perspective in the

strong sense of depth and perspective first, the

image. I also design any buildings, creatures

values probably won’t fix the problems.

etc., that I might want to add. I don’t have to be

I make sure I carefully study the direction of the

too precise with everything, but good line art

light and silhouettes, to ensure that the contrast

Of course, there are exceptions to this, like if

helps to speed up the painting process. When

between the light and shadow areas is correct

I was doing a speedpainting or a sketch etc.

the line art is ready I scan it to my computer,

and that there is good contrast between the

I don’t paint these kinds of images quite as

open it in Photoshop and use it as the top

foreground and background elements.

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and then move on to colors later.

Chapter 04

The Six Realms Chapter 04 – Desert

The values you add at this point shouldn’t feel

have a pretty clear idea at this stage where I’m

to add to my cold and warm contrast. I add

too tying as it’s a reference for you to follow. If

heading with my colors. I know the time of day,

in tones of purple and yellow, which are also

you want to change it later you can do. When

direction of light and I have a clear line art for

complementary colors (Fig.14 – 15). I’ve also

working on this stage of an image I try to work

the objects in my image. I still continue working

added a hint of red and green here and there to

on the painting zoomed out, in a thumbnail

zoomed out and with really big brushes, trying to

disrupt the balance a bit, so the palette doesn’t

size. Again, the overall impression is the most

find the overall balance for my color palette.

look too uniform.

I usually start with a simple color contrast,

It helps me to keep the small color palette of

complementary colors, or a simple color

my Photoshop set to HSV (Hue/Saturation/

important thing and all the little details come later.

Color Palette

harmony and start to build my palette from

Brightness) so I can keep track of the brightness

The black and white values are ready now so

there. Here I’ve chosen the complementary

and hue separately (and in later stages, watch

it’s time to move on to colors. Basically I should

colors of blue and warm yellow, and continue

my saturation) during the whole painting process. I use adjustment layers and tools like Color Balance, Channel Mixer, Selective Color and different blending modes as much as I can. Using this approach truly justifies creating the image digitally rather than traditionally! I check my value study regularly to make sure there’s a clear distinction between light and shadow, and the lighting setup is natural. I try to improve the sense of depth with logical transformations in color areas (Fig.16). I use the Gradient tool a lot to make a lot of big, overall changes. Sometimes I bring back my value

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Chapter 04

Chapter 04 – Desert

The Six Realms

study and mix it in with blending modes like Soft

can do the necessary changes without having to

rendering everything out nicely and basically

Light or Overlay to get some definition back

take backwards steps.

just continuing to define each element further.

(Fig.17).

Painting and Refining

I keep the buttons of my Wacom pen set to Alt (shortcut for the Color Picker in Photoshop)

It’s all quite fast and chaotic, but there’s always

At this point I have the base of my painting

and X (changes between foreground and

a clear goal. There are just so many ways to get

created, but I still have about 80% of the actual

background colors), which speeds up my

to the desired result. I usually already know how

painting to do! Now I can focus on the detailing,

painting process quite a bit. I can pick colors

the image should look at this point, but it doesn’t hurt to explore a bit, check if you can improve the image even further. I don’t worry about spending too much time here because this is the stage that pretty much defines what the final painting is going to look like. If all goes well I should have a small, thumbnail-sized version of the painting that looks almost exactly like the final painting. This process is extremely convenient when working for clients, because you can give them a very clear idea of the direction you are heading in, without putting too much effort into painting and detailing everything. You also have the line art ready, so the client can comment on the design and content of your painting, and you

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Chapter 04

The Six Realms Chapter 04 – Desert

straight from my color sketch and keep two

first and it doesn’t hurt the rest of the painting

different colors active at the same time!

because the palette and composition isn’t going to change much.

Tuomas Korpi Web: http://www.tuomaskorpi.com/ Email: [email protected]

I try to follow my rough color palette while I paint, but also try to establish each of the

Thank you for your time and I hope you found

different materials. I also like to mix photographs

something useful here!

and textures into my painting to get a sense of detail quickly, but I usually always filter them with Median (Filter > Noise > Median) and paint over them to get rid of the overly sharp feel. This part is also about creating and building little stories into your image, and that’s the most fun part of the process for me (Fig.18 – 20). This kind of painting workflow would work quite well in a professional studio, where other artists will start using parts of your painting as a backdrop or reference for lighting or color palettes before your image is finished. If I need to complete a certain part of the painting first, to be used as a matte element in an animation for instance, I can paint that part of the image

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Chapter 04

The Six Realms Chapter 05 – Swamp/Marshland Chapter 05 – Swamp/Marshland Software Used: Photoshop

Introduction As the title suggests, this tutorial will focus on a human habitat set within a swamp. The interesting aspect about this particular project concerns the architecture and the manner in which it is dictated by the environment. In this case it seemed logical to have the buildings raised above ground or, in this instance, the water level. Swamps occupy waterlogged land and depending on the type, can only be traversed by boat in certain situations. This makes the notion of landdwelling homes limited and so, after scouring

The first stage of the process involved laying

the internet for reference pictures, I decided to

down some broad brush strokes in black and

situate my version within a shallow lake without

white to get an idea about the composition,

any significant land mass or protruding islands.

and where the main light and dark areas would reside. Some swamps are very densely

As a result I was left with the option of structures

populated with trees, so visibility can be

being supported either on stilts or alternatively

somewhat restricted, which hinders a sense of

built around tree trunks and held in place

depth and perspective. In order to house the

through a series of felled branches. Part of the

citadel in the background, I needed to ensure

brief required a citadel and as this would be too

there was a clear line of sight, but at the same

large to build around a single tree, I decided

time retain a claustrophobic quality, which I felt

shapes around the canvas for a while before

to support it through a series of stilts. For the

was important.

arriving at this particular composition, but decided that a light source in the background

smaller dwellings I thought it made sense to have these wrap around the larger trees,

Fig.01 shows the initial sketch, which alludes

worked reasonably well and would allow me to

resembling a traditional tree house. With these

to the citadel as a silhouette with most of the

use this as a way of creating depth in the scene.

decisions in mind I made a start on the image.

shaded areas set in the foreground. I moved Fig.02 shows three of the key brushes I used in these early stages and in fact, throughout much of the process. As you can see, two are textured brushes and one is hard-edged for more precise drawing; perfect for trees and branches. When you wish to block in sharp-edged shapes or structures it sometimes pays to use the Lasso tool; a method favored by many artists. The next phase of the painting involved establishing a color scheme, which utilized a new layer set to Overlay in order to preserve the tonal range. Fig.03 shows the result of painting a color wash over the black and white sketch. You can see that I have altered the composition somewhat, but the citadel and central tree remain. At this

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Chapter 05

Chapter 05 – Swamp/Marshland

The Six Realms

stage it is worth experimenting with different colors until you find a satisfactory palette. In this case I have focused the warmer tones in the background towards the sunlight. Once the color scheme is roughly decided I often flatten both the black and white sketch and color layer, and start working in color. Fig.04 shows such a stage, building on the previous image and enriching the palette. I

Another aspect I added at this point was

wanted to portray an algae-covered lake, but

evidence of photographs sampled from various

the main hurdle in doing so was to avoid it

sources. Generally I color correct these before

resembling moss-covered ground. When you

reducing the opacity slightly, but often it is

observe swamps, you’ll notice that the water

possible to simply change the blending mode to

is often obscured completely and hence can

Overlay or Soft Light and they will work.

appear misleading. However, there are two ways of overcoming the problem. One is to

You will have noticed I also started to add

make sure that the base of trees and anything

some of the tree dwellings, which I went on to

else has a sharp edge to signify they are

elaborate in the foreground of Fig.05.

standing in water, and the other is to have some water exposed and therefore reflecting the

I began to shape the distant citadel by

sunlight.

suggesting small windows and protruding supports. To help create a sense of depth and

This last device is shown ringed in red, with

perspective I incorporated a raised gangway

some water exposed in the extreme foreground

above the water level, which also allows the

by virtue of the dark blue patches flecked with

inhabitants to cross the swamp.

gray. Not every square centimeter of water is covered by algae and this means that at an

I liked the simple treatment of the citadel in its

oblique angle there will be a discernible highlight

silhouette form against the sunlight, but because

or reflection across it, albeit a far less obvious

it was the focal point I felt it needed a little more

one.

detail. The other problem was that it looked

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Chapter 05

The Six Realms Chapter 05 – Swamp/Marshland as though it was at the edge of the swamp, whereas I wanted to situate it somewhere in the middle. To compensate I added some fortifications around the citadel and some extra trees in the background (Fig.06). I decided to increase the density of the trees by placing some in the middle distance, but because these obscured the main citadel tower I flipped it horizontally to show the prominent towers. The haphazard array of branches and foliage in the center of the image lacked any real structure, so I decided to edit these to form two distinct tree houses (Fig.07). A good way of adding color is to use Overlays set to various blending modes. In order to add a more vivid green to the background foliage, as well as a warm tint to the sunlight, I created two new layers. Fig.08 shows the image with both layers set to Normal mode in the center, and the before and after effects on the left and right respectively. The sunlight (ringed in red) was set to Hard Light and the green patches to Overlay. Whilst working it is very helpful to flip your canvas both horizontally and vertically; something you will hear many artists mention for a very good reason. This technique can either reveal flaws or alternatively help solve problems. In this case I found there was a lack of continuity between the upper and lower halves of the

order to make the smoke more visible. The

canvas mainly due to the color scheme. One

placement of this didn’t feel balanced in relation

way of binding the background and foreground

to the two tree houses either side, so I opted to

was to tint the reflection across the water to

move it over to the left (Fig.11).

match the sunlight by way of a new layer set to Hard Light (Fig.09).

Two final touches that I felt were necessary was to first of all correct the perspective of the

Part of the brief required a beacon fire being

gangway, which seemed skewed, and then add

visible from the citadel, so it was important to

some evidence of human occupancy. I placed

include this. Being a swamp I imagined that a

a fishing boat in the foreground, but due to the

clear line of sight from village to village would be

lighting and color scheme I had to cover the

difficult and so it would be necessary to place a

lower left section with algae in order for the boat

lookout above the canopy. In order to spot the

to make more sense visually (Fig.12).

fires they would need to create a lot of smoke.

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Richard Tilbury

Fig.10 shows just such a fire in the background,

Web: http://www.richardtilburyart.com/

which I have placed on top of a high tower in

Email: [email protected]

page 35

Chapter 05

The Six Realms Chapter 06 – Jungle Chapter 06 – Jungle Software Used: Photoshop Every image, even personal work starts with some sort of brief or idea. The brief for this image was that I needed to paint a jungle environment that contained some structural buildings and a beacon. Immediately I started to imagine a huge landscape covered in rainforest and ancient structures that formed a city. The images that demonstrate the development of this image will show clearly how a changing mindset, emotions and circumstances can influence your design choices. This was the case with my image as

seen a lot of sunrises through my window

painting quickly, just to get the scene started

it was created over a long period of time. The

recently which helped speed up the process

and to stimulate my imagination. That’s how

only thing that stayed consistent throughout the

when painting this.

the composition started to change and gain

creation was the time of day.

more depth and substance. This is one of the I had already gathered some references to

ways I start an image, especially when the

The process started with a simple thumbnail

help me develop the image further. I gathered

requirements of the brief are not too specific.

painting, within which I wanted to establish the

images of the Mayan Temples and Aztec

This method keeps everything organic and easy

composition and general tone of the painting

structures. The immense detail on these

to modify if a better idea arises (Fig.02).

quickly (Fig.01).

structures inspired me to think about bulky

The thumbnail showed some sort of

structures that looked like they formed part of a

Now that I had the planes of my image pretty

rich, ancient empire.

much established I knew I had to start designing

conquistador’s ship arriving at a remote part

the main elements and buildings in the image.

of South America where there was dense

I sometimes find it useful to add a lot of

Using parts of photo’s that I had cropped,

rainforest surrounding an ancient city. I have

pictures of forests and architecture to the

scaled and pasted into the painting I started

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Chapter 06

Chapter 06 – Jungle

The Six Realms

to experiments with different proportions and shapes. At this point I was experimenting with big heavy bulky shapes. I left the image for a few weeks and my inspiration began to change. I decided that I wanted to work with a more alien like world and structures. My first idea was to develop structures which almost looked like they had been consumed by enormous parasites (Fig.03). Although this was interesting I wasn’t sure that it was what I wanted as I wasn’t happy with the shapes that I had created. For this reason I left the image for a while and thought about how it could be developed. When I returned to the image an idea hit me like magic. It is easy to get a mind block when you are painting and sometimes it is hard to find the solution you want, but by trying new ideas and by going in a totally different direction you might come to a good conclusion you hadn’t thought of before. I had become a little bit lazy when working on this image and didn’t go back to it for a few weeks. When I looked at it again the short structures seemed clumsy and boring, so I turned them into tall vertical towers by scaling

after about an hour I was looking at the piece

further into the painting to show depth and to

them (Fig.04).

thinking that it was looking regular and boring

make it look as if the structures had been there

again especially in the foreground.

for a long time (Fig.05).

way to find a better solution to a problem. This

I decided to start to work on the atmosphere,

As much as I tried to refine the image I couldn’t

solution seemed better so I started re-working

depth and micro-composition. I started using

save it. I had to start working on the image from

the structures. Sadly though this didn’t work,

repeated shapes which got smaller as they went

the base up again. I started by adding a huge

Using quick strokes and scribbles is a great

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Chapter 06

The Six Realms Chapter 06 – Jungle

mass to the foreground which had a tighter, less

To balance the heavy dark shape of the

to help lead the viewers’ eye around the image

fragmented structure. This looked strong, but

foreground I added more clouds and

and help the composition.

also consisted of organic lines to make it fit with

atmosphere to the beacon and its platform.

its environment (Fig.06).

This gave it a more mystical feel to it as well.

The next step was to start to think about the

Once I had the silhouette shape of the buildings

beacon. This was added to a structure in the

This seemed much better so I replaced the

sorted I started to add photos of car parts to

background. The beacon was added as a little

squid like structures with the tall strong towers.

the structures to give them a slick appearance.

blue light and a lens flare to make it look bright. I

Using vertical towers in the distance helped

By stretching and transforming them to size I

also added another smaller beacon light next to

keep the focus on the foreground and also

created an interesting look. The images needed

it. I could then also work on smaller areas of the

meant I would have an idea place for my

to be adjusted etc, but by doing this carefully I

image refining them and developing the micro-

beacon.

achieved the look I was going for.

compositions.

The next step was to refine these structures,

By adding a few highlights to the edges of the

From this point on it is a balancing act of making

firstly by working on their silhouette, then by

structures so that it contrasted with the darker

sure that the image looks consistent and that

looking at their design. This approach helps

color of the buildings. This also helped with

there is detail where there should be and that

to ensure that that viewers’ eye is drawn to

scale, depth and atmosphere. To make the

there is shadow in areas that shouldn’t draw

the important areas and then held there by

composition work I kept the structure vertical,

attention. I also played with the clouds a bit

interesting design (Fig.07).

but I also added some diagonal lines on them

so they looked like they were sitting around the structures. I also made them look slightly illuminated by the lights on the buildings. Of course if you are going to be a professional sci-fi scene painter, you need to add some flying birds to your scene. And with that the image is pretty much done. The image was a blast for me to do. It’s good to reminder that you should always focus on the essentials parts of an image and eliminate whatever is not necessary, and think before you paint (Fig.08).

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Chapter 06

Ioan Dumitrescu Web: http://jonone.cghub.com Email: [email protected]

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