• Details:
• Skill Level:Advanced
• Techniques:Painting
• Used Software:Photoshop
• Completion Time:4 hours
• Rating:
  
   Loading ...

Final Result

In this tutorial George Patsouras describes in details how his work “Fotia” was created and gives useful tips.

Introduction

Hi and welcome to the “Making Of Fotia”. In this tutorial, I will describe to you the process of how this image was created. I will go into great detail about the brushes I use and so forth so you can have as a clear understanding of my process as possible. I also go into greater detail on how to hanldle painting the face and hands, as well as giving you a complete walkthrough on how to create custom textured brushes. Although you can follow this tutorial step by step to create a similar painting, I suggest using this as a guideline to create your own original work, as the techniques discussed here can be incorporated for pretty much any painting.

Concept

Before working on this piece, I was browsing through Boris Vallejo’s and Julie Bell’s “The Ultimate Collection”, and was greatly inspired by several of Vallejo’s paintings – specifcally the paintings featuring a female figure with a fire effect. I felt that look gave a very iconic presence, and I wanted to paint something similar. Vallejo is a huge inspiration to me as an artist, and I’m constantly studying and learning from his paintings – especially in regards to skin tones which I feel he is a master of. I had a very clear idea of how I wanted this image to look even before laying down one brushtroke, and figuring out everything ahead of time made the painting process that much easier.

STEP 1: Sketch

The first step is to create a sketch while looking at my photo reference. You don’t necessarily need to look at photo reference to paint a convincing figure, but I prefer a realistic look for my paintings so I find this step essential. There’s far too many subtle details that the mind simply can’t emulate as well as the real thing. An even better alternative would be a live reference model, although I didn’t have that luxury in this case (working from a live model gives you a ridiculous amount of value information, much more so than photographs).

In this case, the figure was referenced from 3DSK. You can use the same reference I used (located under the ‘standing_pose’ series), or a different reference altogether to create something more original – the choice is up to you. I create a new document at 13″ x 18″ at 300 DPI and quickly fill in the background with a light grey color (this is because I find white a bit too bright and distracting for me) using the Gradient Tool.

When sketching in the figure, I almost always work in two layers. The first layer I name ‘gesture’, and here is where we quickly sketch in the gesture of the figure using a standard hard edged brush at opacity 50%, set to ‘Pen Pressure’ and ‘Opacity’. The technique I use is something I picked up from an artist called Vilppu; First you sketch in the head and add a line to indicate it’s perspective. Next you use a line to indicate the direction of the neck, then a line for the torso (not necessarily representing the spine, but more of the gesture than anything) and so forth. Once I’m satisfied with my gesture drawing, I create a new layer and draw a much more refined version, using both the previous gesture sketch and the photo reference as a guide. I save the file under ‘sketch.psd’.

TIP: To get a fairly clean drawing, make sure you make use of the ‘Eraser’ tool as well. This will help make your line art more clean, and make the painting process easier as well.

STEP 2: Quick Color Test

I delete the ‘gesture’ layer as I have no use for it anymore, and reduce the image size from 300 to 100 DPI. and save the file under a different file name (this is so I can use the sketch layer again when I decide to re scale the image back up to 300 DPI). One of the benefits from reducing the image size at this early stage is that it focuses you to concentrate more on the ‘big picture’ without getting caught up with the details, a mistake many artists tend to do.
I fill in the ‘background’ layer with a dark red midtone, and create a new layer for the figure. I don’t like to use too many layers for my paintings; Usually I have roughly around 3; The sketch, the figure, and the background. Although I tend to create more layers on top of those, I always merge them down as soon as I’m satisfied with the changes just to keep things simple and unified.

All my color work here is done manually with the ‘HSB’ slider (located under Windows > Color in Photoshop). This allows me to paint all my tones fairly quickly and is perfect for a quick color test such as this, where I’m concentrating strictly on he feel and mood of the piece. I use a soft edged brush for the background (Hardness set to 0% for the smoothest tones possible) and quickly paint in some gradients. I have a very clear view of how I want to handle this image – fire surrounding the figure, and cooler tones at the bottom of the image to help her pop out, so I color and shade accordingly. I create a new layer titled ‘figure’ and choose a base color for the figure and use a hard edged brush set at ‘Pen Pressure’ and Hardness at 100% to quickly block in the figure.

STEP 3: Blocking In the Figure

The figure is easily the most important element of this picture, so I make sure that what’s I tackle first. Using the reference photo as a guide, I quickly sketch in my lighter values (in this case, I choose lighter, more ‘yellowish’ tones for the highlights), and darker, more saturated tones for shadows. I create a color palette for the figure – using darker, reddish tones for the background, and lighter, more yellowish tones for the highlights of the figure. This helps me give the figure a natural look. I also incorporate those colors for the background as well, which really helps to bring the painting together. All my brushwork for the figure is done exclusively with a hard edged brush at this point, as I’m interested in defining form, not so much smoothing her out at this early stage.

STEP 4: Working On The Skin

I continue to block in my tones for the skin. It’s important to use a fairly large value range here, so I take some time blocking in both the dark tones as well as the lighter tones, constantly looking at my reference photo as a guide. Again, all the work here is done with a hard edged brush. Additionally, I also play up the bright orange light on the side of the figure to help her pop out against the background as well. You’ll see that I’ll drop that orange color completely later on, but it’s important that I get the values to look good at this stage more than anything.

STEP 5: Working On The Background

After working on the figure for a while, I decide to do more background work as I left that pretty much untouched since the first step. I very roughly begin to define the shape of the hair/fire behind the figure, using lighter, brighter tones of the colors already in the background. To give the ‘hair’ even more depth, I add much darker tones on the top part of the image. I also very vaguely begin to give shape to the lava peak as well, using some more warmer tones to help it pop out a bit. I also change the colors from red to blue, which makes them pop out much more.

STEP 6: Back To the Figure

I resume my work on the figure; At this stage, I increase the resolution of the image all the way back up to 300 DPI so I can work on details more precisely. I spent quite some time defining the forms, focusing more on values as opposed to color. Values is what makes an image appear realistic, NOT colors. Things are looking a bit monochromatic now, but that’s intentional on my part; Working more monochromatic means focusing more on values, which is what’s important at this early stage. Very little attempt has been made to smoothen out the skin at this point as well. Always remember to think in simple basic shapes when shading, regardless of whether or not you’re using reference. This helps define form, and gives your image a more believable look.

STEP 7: Introducing Cooler Colors

I’m satisfied with how the values are coming along so far, so I decide to play up the colors more. I know that adding some cooler colors somewhere in the image will help the figure pop, so I vaguely add more bluish tones on the bottom of the image, as well as on the side of the figure for better color harmony. This creates a very rich effect and didn’t require too much effort or repainting. I also know that by using cooler tones behind the ‘flame’ effect, it will push it out much more which is exactly what I want for this image. For the background, I simply used a large airbrush with opacity set to 20% and build up from there. The light on the right side of the figure was painted with a hard edged brush with opacity set to 100%.

STEP 8: Smoothing Out The Skin

I made very little effort to smoothen out the skin so far, so I decide to work on that now. This step is actually very easy, and very important, as smoothing the harsh gradients will help give the figure a softer, more realistic appearance – this is especially important if the figure you’re painting is female, so do take care in this step. To smoothen out the skin, I create a new layer on top of the figure, and with a soft airbrush (Hardness set to 0%, and Opacity set to 50%), I begin to blend in the harsh transitions.

Extra effort is taken on the face, as that’s easily the most important aspect of the figure, and I want it to appear as smooth as possible. When I’m happy with my blending, I simply merge the layer down with the ‘figure’. I also lower the opacity of the ‘sketch’ layer significantly, as everything is so defined at this point that I almost have no use for it. I very vaguely sketch in the flame as well. I know I’m going to create several custom brushes for the fire effect, but it’s important that I put something there so I have a certain idea of where things will be headed. That was simple enough!

STEP 9: Creating Custom Brushes

At this stage, I concentrate specifically on creating custom brushes for the ‘flame’ effect. It’s very rare that I’ll create one ‘perfect’ brush, and I know this stage will require a lot of experimentation, so I create several custom brushes for this piece. Custom brushes are very important, as they really help bring life and texture to a painting, so I make sure I spend some time on this step (additionally, you can use the brushes you create here for future paintings, so it’s also very beneficial in that regard as well.)

First, we need to create a new document and work stickily in grey scale. Create a new document with the same dimensions for both the Width and the Height – in this case I used 2″ by 2″ at 300 DPI, and set the Image Mode to Greyscale.

Create a new layer and quickly paint in some random strokes suggesting a ‘flame’ using a soft airbrush. To give the texture brush a much more realistic effect, I bring in a ‘fire’ photo texture from cgtextures.com and place it directly on top of that layer, setting the layer mode to ‘soft light’. When I’m satisfied with the look of the brush, I go to Edit > Define Brush Preset.

I create several custom brushes, using both different strokes as well as overlaying different textures to create a variety of results. Experimentation is key here, and I promise you the more time you spend on the brushes, the more it will pay off not only for this painting, but for all your future work as well.

STEP 10: Applying Custom Brushes to the Background

Once I have a variety of custom brushes at my disposal, I create a new layer on top of the background and set it to ‘soft light’. Custom brushes generally work best under this layer mode, but not always – make sure you experiment and see what works best for your painting.

Before painting in anything, it’s important that we edit our existing brush to give it a more random, natural effect. To do this, open the ‘Brush’ menu in Photoshop (hit F5 on a ‘PC’ for the shortcut), and select Shape Dynamic. Here I put the Angle Jitter all the way up to 100%, and enable Pen Pressure for ‘Size Jitter’. I also enable ‘scattering’ for a more random effect. These are the settings that I generally use for custom brushes, although I urge you to experiment to get the most desired results.

Once my settings are in place, I begin to paint in the flames with the brushes I created. This is more of a trial and error than anything, but having a number of custom brushes at my disposal only makes this step that much easier.

STEP 11: Refining The Painting

Going back to the figure, I begin to replace the orange light I introduced earlier with a bright blue one instead. This helps the figure pop out much more and greatly enriches the color harmony as well. Additionally, I continue smoothening out the skin the way I mentioned previously; I use a soft edged brush with Hardness set to 0% and Opacity at 50%, and begin to blend the various tones to get a smoother, more realistic effect. I merge the layer down with the figure when I’m satisfied with the results.

Once I’m satisfied with the figure, I do a bit more background work. Using custom brushes, I begin to add shape to the background, suggesting flames and so forth. I’m working very abstract here as well, using the custom brushes to create some interesting effects. This requires a lot of experimenting, but it’s all worth it in the end.

STEP 12: Color Enhancement and Further Refinement

I notice the torso of the figure isn’t as smoothed out as the rest of the figure, so I use a soft airbrush to smoothen in the same way I mentioned previously. Once I’m happy with the figure, I decide the colors needs some work. Things tend to look a bit too dull after blending for so long, so I tend to save this step for a later point. To give the colors more life, I create a new layer set to ‘soft light’ I pick a more saturated red, and with a very large soft edged brush at a fairly low opacity, I go over the ‘flames’ to give more saturation to the reds. I use the same technique to enhance the blues as well.

STEP 13: Adding Clothing

I decide to add some clothes to the figure, golden armor to be specific. I start off playing with shapes and different designs until I’m satisfied with the results. Once I finalize that, I shade accordingly based on the lighting I already established, which is easy enough. When painting gold, it’s worth noting that the contrast is fairly high; Brights should be much brighter than you think, as are the darks.

STEP 14: Painting The Hair

Hair is something I handle at a later point, as it’s something I’m not a fan of painting to be honest. The hair needs some more definition at this point, but I still want it too look like it’s part of the flames, so this was a very interesting challenge. I decide I’ll go with a soft look to compliment the flames in the background. I use a soft airbrush with a very low opacity (around 25%) an begin to paint in the general shape of the hair. I don’t want it too detailed, as I want the focus to be on the flame, but I do want it defined to a certain point.

When I’m satisfied with the hair, I do some more work on the volcano, sampling colors from the figure and vice versa and painting some interesting shapes; My goal here is to make the figure appear she is a part of the volcano, so I spend some time here to make things looking as natural as possible.

STEP 15: Working on the Mountains

I neglected working on the mountains on the background for a while now, and the painting is lacking because of it, so I start on it now, refining the shapes and values for a more realistic effect. I create a new layer and quickly paint in the shapes of the mountains. I don’t want to over detail it, as that would take attention away from the figure, but I do want them to be defined enough to give it a fairly realistic look. I also define the ocean and the volcano harmoniously, and finally, paint in some stars here and there to give the image more life. I work in on at a very high ‘zoom’ at this stage, to make detailing more easier and more precise.

STEP 16: Painting The Face

The face is easily the most important aspect of any figure, so I make sure to put a lot of time and effort into it. I paint the face as I do everything else; Blocking in the basic forms with a basic hard edged brush, then smoothening it out with a soft edged brush, and finally, using smaller brushes for the details. I gradually play up the values as I progress, bringing out the form of the figure. I also focus on the colors here, adding very rich warm tones to help bring more attention to the face. Below you can see how the face progressed from the first step to the last:

STEP 17: Painting The Hand

Next to the face, the hands are of great importance when painting a figure. Painting hands are easier than one might think; The trick is to think of the hand in simple shapes, such as a simple cylinders for each individual finger, and shade accordingly. My approach to the hands is the same as everything else; The only difference here is that I don’t goo too crazy with the soft edged brush, as skin is very ‘tight’ in this regard, so I don’t want to ‘over-soften’ it.. Normally I would add more desaturated tones on the hand as well (specifically where the ‘veins’ are) but I decided to keep everything fairly saturated here, especially since the ‘flame’ is right next to it. I also paint in tiny details, such as fingernails, although I don’t go too crazy with it, as most of the detail work will hardly be seen from a farther away zoom.

STEP 18: Finishing Touches

Finishing Touches
Although I’m happy with how things are looking, I feel the image needs to be a bit more dynamic in terms of colors and contrast. What I do here is use a variety of adjustment layers, specifically ‘Levels’ to increase the overall contrast of the painting (Image > Adjustements > Levels) , as well as the color balance tool for better color harmony. I set these adjustement layers on top of the previous layers to make sure the whole image is affected by these changes, and play around with the opacity a bit for the most desired results.

One thing I adjusted greatly was the color of the highlights; Using the color balance tool (Image > Adjustements > Color Balance), I adjusted the ‘highlight’ color to more of a yellowish/green color, which complemented the reddish tones quite nicely. I also went over the highlights again using a soft airbrush set to ‘soft light’, which is great for adding saturation and life to a painting. This greatly enriched the painting in terms of both color and lighting.

And that’s it! I hope you found this tutorial informative, hopefully you can use some of the techniques here for your own painting. Practice, practice, practice, and have fun! Now I’ll leave you with some close ups to conclude the tutorial:

Tags: Painting

Tweet

Don't miss more tutorials and guides, published daily - subscribe to 3DTuts by RSS. Also you could Follow us on Twitter or simply recommend us to friends and colleagues!