Advanced_Photoshop_Issue_136_-_2015_UK_

(Brent) #1
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
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