2DArtist — April 2017

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2DARTIST MAGAZINE | Master the Art of Speed Painting: Speed paint a dramatic fantasy scene

adding more volume and details. As a dragon
hunter, he needs to have some kind of armor
and a helmet. Using the same brush as the
rest of the painting along with some scattered
texture brushes, you can start defining the
different parts of the armor and clothes. This
is a good opportunity to introduce a new
hue – the green tones of the dress coat make
for an eye-catching outfit for the hunter.

14

Correct the composition: If you
are not happy with the placement
of your character you can easily correct the
composition by stretching and moving him
until he is in a better place. In a new position
in image 14, he is bigger and closer to the
viewer. He is in the opposite focal point to the
main subject, the dragon, giving the painting a
better balance and flow, following the diagonal
composition I liked in the original photo.

15

Refining phase: Now that the
painting is almost complete you
can start adding the last little details. Zoom
in closer, although not too much, to the
parts that you think need more detail.

You don’t want to waste time messing with
non-vital elements and unnecessary details.

Keep up with the spontaneous style from

the beginning right through to the end, but

still think carefully about when and where

you are going to put the brushstrokes.

16

Separate the main subjects: Near

to the end of the process is the time

to add some final touches balancing the whole

image. Duplicate the dragon hunter layer

and go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/

Contrast..., and play with the sliders to get the

values you want. This will give the appearance

that the two focal points are farther apart –

atmospheric perspective at play again.

The final placement of the secondary character

Using textured brushes I suggest more details on the

character, through the patterns on the coat for example

With more contrast the foreground elements look closer to

the camera/viewer