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03

SKETCH!

Having spent some time absorbing your reference images and scribbling in a notebook, you should

have a good idea of what you want to draw. Create a new layer above the underpainting and get scribbling.

Think about the composition; you want to lead the viewer’s eyes through the painting. The best way to do this

is to use lines that lead directly to the focal point, in this case the mountain, and to use colour and value

contrast to pop it out. Don’t worry about being clean and careful, as you’ll be deleting this layer later!

04

START PAINTING

Choose a textured brush and reduce the

flow to around 50% – this will apply less ‘paint’ with

each brush stroke. Take your time and really think

about each stroke you are applying; you want to

leave some spaces between marks to let that lovely

underpainting show through. Colour choice is

important, as it’ll help drive the viewer through the

image. The sky defines the palette of the whole

painting, so paint that with yellows, oranges and

other warm colours, while the rest of the image will

take on some colder blue tones.

02

CREATE AN UNDERPAINTING

In traditional painting, artists sometimes

create an underpainting as a base for subsequent

layers of paint. This technique applies nicely to

digital painting; if you allow breathing room

between your strokes, you’ll get some of that

colour and texture showing through. Create a new

document at A3 size. Choose a colour that

contrasts with your palette; in this case we used

blue tones. Grab your favourite textured brush and

start loosely filling the canvas! There’s no need to

be clean here – you want those imperfections.

01

COLLECTING REFERENCES

Start by collecting references. These can be photographs

relating to aspects of the image, for example skies, landscapes and

waterfalls, or paintings that match the mood you want to create.

Because we’re going for a traditional look here, you could include

work by painters such as John Singer Sargent, Thomas Cole and

modern artists like Jaime Jones. Create a new document in

Photoshop and simply drag your references in, arranging them to

your liking. Save this file to refer to later.

FROM SKETCH TO POLISHED

PAINTING

WORK IN

PROGRESS

Progress 2: Painting details

from reference

Progress 3: Finishing touches

Progress 1: Getting started

Take your time and really

think about each stroke

you are applying

DIGITAL PAINTING