Advanced_Photoshop_Issue_136_-_2015_UK_

decent drawing and a good array of brushes that

you work with. I always start with a blue pencil

sketch and

ink my illustrations with the custom inking

brushes. In this particular piece I used Kyle

Webster’s Dry Media brushes for inking as they let

you to keep the traditional organic feel thanks to

the brushes’ shape dynamics and a bit of noise.

For the background I used my own hi-res

paper texture onto which I applied different kinds

of scanned splashes created manually with

deeper into shades and light.

Finally, when the whole picture was coloured,

the illustration got into what I call [the] post-

production stage when I subtly changed the

colours, worked with the opacity of some layers,

added gradients and applied some filters to the

whole image.

WHAT WERE THE MAIN PHOTOSHOP TOOLS

AND TECHNIQUES YOU USED?

I think the most important thing in any illustration is a

watercolour and ink. I also applied the linear

gradient (Normal or Color Burn) to some layers to

make the illustration more vivid.

I use a lot of masking, opacity and subtle

gradients or delicate colour burns to create

watercolour-like effects. I really like the traditional

look of the illustration and I believe that the key to

this look is using the effects that Photoshop offers

in a subtle way. If you overdo it, you lose the feel of

a handmade drawing or painting and the

illustration becomes digitally soulless.

Final version

Making a start Sketching Alternative monochrome palette

When creating an illustration for a magazine,

youillustrations hardly ever appear on a page on have to remember that editorial

their own. Most of the time, these images are accompanied with some text so you have to

work on the composition in such way so that the design team will still be able to incorporate

the headlines and leads into your work

To get the watercolour-like effect, use different levels of opacity,

subtle gradients or delicate colour burns. If you want to keep the

illustration analogue looking, make sure that you don’t overdo it

When you draw animals or people,

make sure you know their anatomy. The best way is to break up the

body into shapes. If you look at the turtle as a combination of oval

shapes, it will be easier to apply light and shadow in the right places

once the linework is ready