A_P_TPC_Vol11_2015_

3D AND PHOTOSHOP

03

ESTABLISH THE LIGHT

For now you don’t need the perspective guidelines any more. You can simply hide the layers or

layer group. Before going into shading and detailing the architecture, let’s define the light source in the

scene. Everything will follow that definition. Use big Soft brushes or the Gradient tool to establish a

dramatic saturated sky. Put the sun out of frame and brighten the horizon line a tiny bit. Also make sure

the tones of the sky vary from cyan tones to darker indigo blue. This will make it more realistic.

04

CREATE THE SILHOUETTE

Now let’s create a silhouette layer for your

building. You don’t have to make a new layer yet. This

comes later and saves you some clicks for now. Just

pick the Polygonal Lasso and start making a

selection of the outline of your complex, then go to

Layer>New Fill Layer>Solid Color. This will create a

new adjustment layer with your selection already in

the layer mask. Make sure the layer is located right

underneath your sketch. Now double-click on the

colour icon of the adjustment layer to open the Color

Picker. Choose white as your base silhouette to

make your buildings pop out in front of the sky.

02

SKETCH THE BUILDING

Create a new layer and start sketching your complex.

Focus on proportion, style and scale. A big help while sketching

technical objects or architecture in Photoshop is the Shift button,

because it enables you to make straight lines horizontally and

vertically. You can also make diagonal lines by making a dot with

your brush, then holding down the Shift button and making a dot

again somewhere else. Or just rotate your canvas with the hotkey

R and make a horizontal or vertical line as described before.

01

SETTING UP THE PERSPECTIVE

Open a new document sized at least

3840x2160 (double HD 1920x1080). Make your mind

up on how you want your architecture to be presented.

Put your horizon line in the lower part of the picture

and vanishing points slightly out of frame. Create a

new layer and paint a straight line for the horizon. On a

new layer create several parallel horizontal lines.

Right-click and Convert to Smart Object. This enables

you to make changes easily later. Now go to Edit>

Transform>Perspective and adjust the lines so they

vanish towards the horizon. Repeat this for a second

vanishing point. This should ensure a solid basic

two-point-perspective for a skyscraper design.

QUICK TIP

Before going into shading and detailing the architecture, let’s define the light source in the scene.

Everything will follow that definition.

FROM SKETCH TO

FINISHED ARTWORK

WORK IN

PROGRESS

Progress 2: Add a light source,

textures and detail

Progress 3: Presentation

is everything

Progress 1: Create an

architectural sketch

As a concept artist or digital painter

in general it’s always useful to

create your own library of textures

and reference images