WHAT WERE THE MAIN PHOTOSHOP TOOLS
AND TECHNIQUES YOU USED FOR THE
CREATION OF THE PIECE?
The main Photoshop tools and techniques used for
my piece were three brushes: a round traditional
brush, flat round brush for edge control and a
custom brush of mine for a painterly look. I also fool
around with Brightness/Contrast, Curves, Hue/
Saturation and the Gradient tool. As for technique I
first sketch out my piece in black and white to get
the overall shapes, values, atmospheric perspective
and composition before I start getting into detail.
Once rendered I throw a Color layer on top of the
black-and-white image and experiment with colour,
using complementary colours such as warms and
cools to really pop the image. Then once that’s done
I start cleaning it up and add unique features to the
piece such as rain, rust and reflections to really add
spice to the image. I usually start sketchy and
painterly in the beginning and as I progress I get
more in depth.WERE THERE ANY CHALLENGES THAT YOU
NEEDED TO OVERCOME TO BE ABLE TO
COMPLETE THE PROJECT?
Once in a while I run into artist’s block. The way I solve
that is to take my eyes off the piece and explore
inspiration from movies to art books. Usually the movies
and art books will relate to what I’m working on fromsupported me and inspired me to push on... [they] gave
me hope. Behind every illustration of mine there is
meaning [that is] full of emotion covered in beauty. The
workflow behind the creation of Hope took one step at
a time, layer by layer piling paint on top of paint. I
usually experiment with the shapes, composition,
values and idea of the piece first. Then the fun begins
where I start rendering and adding rain, reflections,
colour, and rust.
Without a proper composition the viewer will have a very difficult time deciding
where to look, and we don’t want that. Shapes and even direction from a simple
brush stroke or even a literal direction like the point of a finger from a character
will create a successful composition. For example, my character looking up at the
bird gives the viewer a direction to explore the rest of my image.Always use a Gradient tool at the beginning of the process to lay out where the light will come from.
Lighting is very important when setting up [the] type of mood you’re trying to execute in your piece,
whether it’s a dark and sad mood or a happy and joyful mood. From observing the real world I can
automatically spot where the light is going to hit and where it won’t.the mood and style of the piece. I also don’t know when
to stop rendering a piece, I will always find something
about the piece that bothers me. I overcame that
challenge by rendering what’s important, the main focus
of the image – that’s when composition comes in handy.WHAT OTHER ILLUSTRATORS DO YOU FIND
MOST INSPIRING TO YOUR OWN WORK?
I find Paul Bonner, Andrew Theophilopoulos and
Assaf Horowitz very inspirational artists that have
always influenced my work from colours to styles.ARE THERE ANY PHOTOSHOP PLUGINS,
BRUSHES, OR ANY OTHER RESOURCES YOU
WOULD RECOMMEND TO A BEGINNER TODAY?
Honestly I recommend just using the traditional
round brush to begin with. I began with just using the
round brush before I experimented with other
brushes. Then after [becoming] an expert using round
brushes I highly recommend exploring other brushes
and getting a feel [for their] variety and speed. Even
before using Photoshop I recommend learning the
fundamentals of traditional painting and drawing,
because in a way Photoshop works the same way.WHAT WOULD YOU MOST LOVE TO SEE AS
DEVELOPMENTS/NEW TOOLS WITHIN
PHOTOSHOP FOR THE FUTURE?
Texture swatches!Starting Hope
Detailing
Creating charactersThe finished pieceI occasionally use photo references
astart a painting or to add texture to nd textures either as a layout to
a certain area of the piece. Usually I play around with the image as a
Multiply layer, Overlay or Soft Light layer depending what the image is
and how it impacts this piece.The Traveler from The Book of Soal