Painting in Photoshop

By Elin Josefsson

I have seen many good and interesting articles about how to color pictures in Photoshop. My article, therefore, covers techniques for PAINTING directly in Photoshop.
I use mainly soft edged airbrushes in different sizes.I work at diferent layers, the brush set to low opacity and low pressure.

To do this picture I had a photo of a friend in the position and lightning I wanted to draw. I used this photo as a reference and a guide line making the picture.

After making these outlines I made a new layer, and I started blocking in the colors where they should be. I did this rough, just to show where I wanted my shadows and highlights to be.

I started by blocking in some color for a background, to have a ground to how the lightning would fall, and which nuance I would use. Then I painted the outlines of the face and the hair, using a light color, and a small brush, 5 pixels wide.

Then I started to merge the colors together, using a 35,45 pixels wide brush, with opacity set low, the colors merge themselves. I just scribble back and fort with my finger on the -alt button on my keyboard. When holding -alt the eyedropper tool is selected, and I chose a new color. I scribble a light color over the edge of a dark, then I select the dark color, near the light, and scribble over the edge again. I do this until I like the merging areas.

Here I have also mirrored the image, so I can see if there are any anatomical faults. I go to image>rotate canvas>flip horizontal. I noticed that the chin was too big, and the forehead was too small, so later I changed that.

I changed the anatomical problems, and played around with the shadows and highlights.

When I was happy with her skin, and face, I started working with her hair. I already had a base, to work from, so I created a new layer, and started painting smaller strands, and bunches of hair. To make them look more realistic, I made black lines to indicate where the different strands where. The hair was really difficult to make, with the frontal light I had chosen, all highlights must be vertical, instead of horizontal, as they usually are. It was also hard to define the hair on the back of her head, as it would be almost completely black with the light I had chosen, therefore I chose to have a small light source coming from her back.

I worked down her hair, creating bunches of hair, and making more details in them by choosing a smaller brush, and zooming in.

Here, the complete hair is finished. Later I changed it, but it was finished for now.

First, I worked a little more with her face, deepening the shadows, and trying to make it look more like my friend.

On a new layer, I started blocking in, and refine the colors of her arm. I made it look like she had a baggy sweater on.
After finishing with her arm, I painted in some lines, on a new layer, to indicate where I wanted the stones in the background to be. I also started to shadow them.

I continued to indicate where shadows would be falling, using my first background as a guide. I worked with a big brush, with low pressure.

I refined the shadows, and blocked in new colors, using the same technique I used with the face. I painted strong highlights coming from the upper right-hand corner, and shadows falling on the opposite side. I also wanted it to look like the light was falling trough a window, so I just painted highlights on a certain amount of stones.

Here is the girl, in front of the background.

However, as it was pointed out to me, the hair seemed to be floating in air, like she had used to much hair gel, so I repainted a large bit of it, making it follow her body more, I also trimmed away the lower part of the image.

It was also pointed out that the stonewall was too symmetrical, and that stones don't lie in rows like that, they are overlapping each other. The stones also were to smooth, and the gaps between them where to big, so I repainted a large part of the background. To make the stone more stone-like I scribbled back and forth with a dark color, and the pressure set to 7%. I also just scribbled the highlights loosely on the upper right-hand corner of the stones.

I signed the painting, thinking it was done.
But, I was wrong. I got the advice to longer the canvas, to the first length, so I did that. I also worked a little bit more with the hair. When I lengthed the canvas, I had to get rid of an ugly line going right troug it, where I had cut it earlier. I painted a longer arm, and continued on the hair.

So, here is the final painting:

FARP Article Guestbook Date Name Comment   28 Mar 2006 H. England Loading... UPDATE FROM ONE OF THE FEB 2005 COMMENTS: The current newest version of Photoshop is Photoshop CS2 now. It is indeed pricey, but so worth getting. Especially if one has a tablet. Corel Painter IX is another very good computer painting program. Very good tutorial. But I don't have the patience to do something like this! It's so pretty! I'll keep trying... ^.^ 6 Apr 2006 Anonymous Loading... Usually the only time I become inspired enough to actually leave a comment on someone's web page is when there's been something so stupid or ignorant or whatever that i can't resist leaving some smart ass remark that's mean but true... Anyway, this is SO not the case here!!! What a beautiful talent you have. I would totally buy this 'Painting in Photo shop' if I could. Excellent job by the artist, hats off. Thanks! 11 May 2006 Averil Tincolindo White Loading... I rarely leave comments on tutorials, unless its really, really helped me - and this is probably one of the best tutorials I've seen for a new digital artist like me. Virtually everything I've seen is about scanning a pencil sketch in and working from that - all very well, but that's not how I work. Ahem. Getting off the point. This tutorial is clear, succint, and has helped to address all the aspects of painting into Photoshop that I need at the level I'm currently at. Many thanks, and hopefully it'l help my art improve. 2 Jun 2006 Herman <hermanbong@msn...com> Loading... there is something about a girl with a long neck that says I CAN SING LIKE A BIRD!! can she sing well ? i am sure she can . well beautiful painting i enjoyed your tutorial . 11 Oct 2006 Hohokacer Loading... Did you use table or mouse? 31 Jul 2007 13 & lovin' it Loading... I absolutely love the end result but I find that there is something a little off when it comes to the forehead as it emerges from the hairline...anyway, wonderfully done! I've always wanted to know how to paint in photoshop ^.^ I just started 7 Dec 2007 CoNs Loading... Has anybody saw any of Makani's tutorial? She's awesome! Her photoshop painting really helped me ^^ http://acciobrain.ligermagic.com/tutorials.php 9 Apr 2008 Ryan Corwin Costal Loading... wow she’s pretty but her nose kinda juts out 26 Jan 2009 Anon. Loading... Your shoulder is in the wrong spot. Her neck would have to be twice as long as a normal human to have her shoulder there. More anatomy classes and life drawing will help correct this issue. 3 Jun 2009 Linzi Jay Thompson Loading... Im confused Page: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Not signed in, Add an anonymous comment to this guestbook...     Your Name: Your Mail: B I U URL ? Click here to write something! Post Message!    Private message? (Info)

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