digital painting tutorial by bao pham

8/10/2019 Digital Painting Tutorial by Bao Pham

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Workshops

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1 SketchingI start off by sketching to generate some ideas. I know I want butterflies, lots ofthem. The process eventually leads to a small sketch at the lower corner of my page. Its

a girl unravelling into a swarm of butterflies, her tattoo peeling off at the same time. I

havent painted tattoos before and the butterflies I know will be a nice challenge. I scan

it in, clean it up, and then choose a square format. The drawing is only a guide, so Iknow I will have to fix the anatomy later. I try to keep in mind what needs to be

done, because things can get a bit messy.

LIBERATE YOURCOLOURSCreate a portrait using every colour in the spectrum as yourpalette. Bao Phamshows you how

started out drawing anime

then slowly moved to more

realistic subjects. By the time

I discovered painting it was

the summer before college. My first oil

painting was a small self-portrait. I

remember being very timid with the

paint, and was afraid to make any

mistakes. By the time I was finished, I was

hooked. It wasnt about the paint as much

as it was about using colour to create

pictures, and the possibilities that opened

I

2 First tasteof colourI start small, at 1,500px, because

it enables me to paint large, broad

strokes without the drag of a larger

file. The small dimension also prevents

me from going into detail early.

Choosing a bright yellow as my

background, I start laying down allthe colours I can think of. I use the

Colour Picker in Photoshop as a

guide to how colours fade into

one another. I use several custom

brushes to generate texture, as

well as some ideas of what to do

with the background.

Using a simple Hard Edge Round

brush with Spacing set to 15 per cent,

I indicate where the shadows and light

are on the figure. I add touches of rosy

up. I continued to paint and it wasnt until

my last year of college that I began to

grasp the concept of colour.

I took to colour pretty naturally and

have always been comfortable using it. I

constantly think in colour and lately it

has been the driving force for most of my

paintings. Colour is everywhere; if you

stop and look you might find a palette

already picked out for you.

For this workshop, Im going to be

using Photoshop and little bit of Painter

to create a portrait using the whole

spectrum of colour as my palette.

Painting is a back and forth process for

me, so dont take the steps too literally.

I generally paint everything at once and

then keep flitting between steps, refining

it until the very end.

It takes time to understand colour,

and its only through observation and

experience will you be able to achieve

your desired results. Trust your instincts

and experiment as much as you can.

orange on the nose, lips, and cheeks to

warm up the face and add some life to it.

Its better to have more information than

you need, so I often paint very soft shades

of colour anywhere I see fit.

Experimenting can really pay off.

November 2007

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In depthLiberate your colours

Bao PhamCOUNTRY: US

Bao is a

freelance

illustrator

currently

residing in

Iowa, USA. He came

from Vietnam to the US

11 years ago at the age of

11, and has been drawing

ever since. He just

graduated with a BFA

in painting from the

University of Iowa.

http://thienbao.

deviantart.com

DVD AssetsThe files you need

are on your DVD inthe Bao Pham folder in

the Workshops section.

SOFTWARE:Photoshop

CS3, Painter X (demos)

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3 ButterfliesFor quick indications of the butterflies, I use another custom brush. It is setto Jitter (in Brush Dynamics) between the foreground and background colours. This

helps me lay down multiple colours at a time. Its also set to Scatter, and the

randomness will help me visualise how to best portray the swarm of butterflies.

4 Go aroundBy this point, Ive already mergedthe sketch with the colour, and I continue

to work on the figure to bring out the

form. Its important to also follow the

shape of the form instead of simply going

straight through it. This process not onlyhelps define the form, but it reminds you

how you are seeing the form in space. Are

you looking up, down, from the right, the

left, or straight at it? Asking myself

questions about the image keeps me on

track with what I want to achieve with it.

5 Soft LightThere are times when paintingalone cant get me that bright colour or

that deep dark shadow I want without

covering up what I already

have. To help me I change

the brush mode to Soft

Light. Depending on the

value and saturation, I can

make the bright brighter,

and the darks darker,

while at the same timemaking the colour richer.

Picking dark blues and

purples I create a gradient

towards the bottom to darken it, and

a light yellow with a spackled brush

to brighten up the top left.

6 ResizeI continue to model the figure andstart finding the features of her face. Im

nearly to the point where I think the

7 LayeringFrom this point on, I always workon different layers to further refine the

image. Layering is the greatest advantage

of working with digital painting

programs. It enables me to paint on top

of my image without disturbing what I

have underneath. It also enables me to

layer my colours and textures to give mypainting more body and substance. I

usually merge the layers when Im

satisfied with what I have to keep it neat.

colouring part is complete, and I have

things all set to start painting. I enlargethe image to the final size I want it to be:

for this painting its at 4,000px.

8 ReinforcementI take a break to separate myselffrom the image. Coming back with a fresh

eye helps me see anything that might look

off. I decide to redraw the construction

lines on another layer and work from that

to get the perspective and anatomy fixed

up. This is a good way to reinforce your

painting when you cant visualise it.

During the whole process, I have a good-

sized mirror beside me so that I have a

live reference to work from.

9 ExpressionShowing emotion with yourcharacter can be a difficult thing, and

again the mirror is a great tool. Study your

own expressions. Pay

attention to how

subtle shifts of the

features can greatly

change the emotion

youre trying to

portray. Sometimes,

its necessary to

By switching the brush mode

to Soft Light, I can make the

brights brigher and darks

darker, and colour richer.

November 200780

Workshops

InstantgratificationDont get discouraged

easily if things arent

starting off well. Theres

a tendency for us to

compare our work with

better ones out there,

and doing this while

painting can be very

discouraging. Painting

takes time and a good

amount of work to get it

right. Dont expect to putdown a few strokes and

be happy with it,

because you have

thousands more to go.

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10 Warp toolIf you have Photoshop CS2 or CS3,you can use Edit>Transform>Warp. This

enables you to manipulate a 2D image in

a three dimensional way. Its handy if

you have trouble visualising how a flat

image would look on a curved surface. I

use this tool to make the tattoo look like

its curving with the surface of her arm.

Working on her arm, I notice its a bit

short, so I select the section I want to

extend and paste it to a new layer. I

adjust it to the right length and paint on

top of it to match layer underneath. Once

Im happy, I merge the layers together.

exaggerate certain features to give the

expression you want,. For the girl, Imtrying for a sad look of acceptance,

because although she is fading away, she

wont really be gone. Shell just become

a part of her surrounding.

11 Add to subtractI dont always use the eraser toremove what I dont want because I findit can get rid of too much. I usually pick

the colours surrounding the area and

then paint over it. It might be a habit I

developed from painting with oils, but I

find it gives a nicer and softer edge. You

also create layers of paint in the process.

There are times when I just have to erase,

usually when there is texture underneath.

12 ShapesHer shoulder looks a bit empty, soI try to play with different shapes to see ifit leads me anywhere. I find a brush I had

made a while back, and its curving shape

really helps accentuate the roundness of

her shoulder. Since Im still unsure if it

fits, I leave it and continue to other parts

of the painting. Later, I come back and

decide that its leading the tattoo in a

different direction, so I erase it. I move

the tattoo up towards the shoulder, which

takes the weight off her arm and creates a

nice secondary focal point.

13 Custom brushMy butterflies need refining. I

create a new document and quickly paint

a more recognisable butterfly shape. I set

it to the same setting as the previous one

and recreate the swarm on a new layer

14 BlendThere are four main brushes that Iuse to smooth things out. The main thing

to remember when blending is keep one

finger on [B] and another on [I] to switch

between the brush and the

Colour Picker.On a new layer, I use

the Round brush that

Ive been painting with

to start on her skin, then

a very soft custom brush to

refine it. I have a fine

Spackle brush that I use

to create more texture

where I need it. The

last brush is textured,

which I use as a Smudge

tool for the smaller areas

where the larger brushes

become clumsy.

15 Refine the backgroundThe background looks a bit chaotic

right now and the texture is a bit

prominent. I want to soften it, but also

want to avoid blurring it. I decide to take

it into Painter; I use the Loaded Palette

Knife to smooth out some of the texture.

I like the way the

Palette Knife pulls the

colours around, kind

of like the Smudge

tool in Photoshop,

but much more

natural. I then take itback into Photoshop,

softly reapply the

textures, and then try

to ease the transition

of the colours.

16 The swarmI save the most time consumingpart of this painting for last. This is when

I start to realise what Ive got myself into,

and how much I dont know about

various species of butterflies. I decide to

collect more references online to study

their shapes and patterns. Once Ive filledmy head with the hundreds of images

that I saved, I go to work. For each of the

butterflies, I only paint one of the wings,

mirror it, and then transform it to fit the

perspective. Some of the patterns are from

existing butterflies, while most of them

are inspired by references. From time to

time, I would duplicate a butterfly or use

the existing pattern to make new ones.

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Final touches

Once the swarm is done, I take thepainting into Painter and use the Palette

Knife. I lightly paint each butterfly with

the colour surrounding them to push

them back into space. Back in Photoshop,

I flatten the layers, duplicate it, then blur

it with Gaussian Blur at about 55px, set

the layer mode to Soft Light, and then

reduce the Opacity to 15 per cent. This

might seem strange, but the process gives

the painting a soft glow and unifies it.

Now, Im done.

Blending is basically picking the surrounding colours and

lightly painting with a large, soft brush.

November 2007 81

In depthLiberate your colours

Work withseveralpaintingsHave several paintings

on the go to take full

advantage of your time.

Painting can be time

consuming and boredom

can easily set in. Often, I

have to take breaks to

get away from a

painting; with several

paintings already

started, I can work onany of them until Im

ready to go back to it.

By taking that break, I

can come back with a

fresh perspective and

get inspired again.

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digital painting tutorial by bao pham

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