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Make sure your art tool works for you
And this is the finished painting! As artists, I think we should seek out tools
that will complement our creativity and workf low. My advice is to find the tool that
makes sense to you: one that works for you and not the other way around. For me,
ArtRage is that tool, and I’m very glad that I found it all those years ago.11
Adjustments and finishing touches
The beauty of painting digitally is you can go back
and change things. In the workshop video you’ll see me
making adjustments to the dragon’s claw and warrior’s
foot, and shorten her arm that’s holding the blade. Once
I’m satisfied with the overall detail I’ll create another layer
with a low Opacity (say, 38 per cent) and select a textured
Bristle brush. I’ll then go around the edges of the subject
matter and start pulling in colours from their
surroundings. This will take off some of those hard edges
and in some cases create a special effect. I want the dragon
to look a little more magical; this technique enables me to
put a soft glow around him.
10
Use Soft Light layers to make your colours pop
Once I’m happy with the level of detail in the scene, I like to create new layers with the Soft Light blend mode. This helps to enhance the
colour tone. Right-click your new layer and go to Blend mode>Soft Light. I usually reduce the Opacity anywhere from 20 to 50 per cent and use
either the Oil brush or a custom brush that can lay down a lot of paint. To me this is the best way to mimic oil glazing, only instead of using
linseed oil you’re using a layer and blending mode. You’ll soon notice your reds and orange start to become more vibrant.
In depth ArtRage