2DArtist — April 2017

2DARTIST MAGAZINE | ISSUE 136

111

excitement and anger whereas cool tones
often give the sense of a calm or sad emotional
state. The mood I intend to get across with
this piece is a feeling of both excitement and
anxiety. To achieve this I choose to light the
adorned skeleton in a warm orange glow.

When it comes to the skeleton’s eye I want it
to be appealing but also give the viewer the
feeling that risk is involved, so I decide on a
red-orange hue. If I choose a blue, for example,
it would have a different impact. You can
see how the two compare in the image.

03

Particles and dust: The use of dust
particles is a great effect to compliment
your scene, especially in the right context. By
adding a few plumes of dust lingering in the air
you can really make a space feel uninhabited.
You can also add a lot of depth and presence to
the atmosphere in the process. These attributes
will of course be a perfect fit for a tomb!

To achieve this look and really enhance the scene
I place the particles of dust within the rays of
light. I stop as the light transitions into shadows.
The reason for this is that the dust in the air
becomes visible from being illuminated with light.
Since there is little light in the shadows there will
be less visible dust to illuminate. Being aware
of this will help give your scene gain a greater
sense of realism. To actually create the dust I
use a variety of brushes including a speckled
brush, and soft low-opacity brush. Once they are
laid down I blend them with a smudge brush.

04

Candle lighting: Although it is a bit
of a cliché for abandoned dungeons
to have mysteriously lit candles, I felt it would
be a good opportunity to show you how to
create candle effects! Supplemental lighting

PRO TIPS

Blending color layers

If you want to have more control of how a color layer blends with the layers below it you

can do so in the Layer Style menu. Just double-click the layer thumbnail that you want

to change and head down to the bottom. Hold Alt and drag the little arrow so it splits.

This will let you adjust how your selected layer is blended with the layer underneath.

This is especially helpful when applying colors specifically to the highlights or shadows

on an image.

Candles are added using a glowing brush and fading the background behind it, creating an illuminated, highlight effect

Dust is added into light to give the scene a neglected and uninhabited presence