DESIGN A CARTOON CREATURE
15
ADD MOSS AND FLOWERS
It would be pretty odd if the middle dragon got that flower out of nowhere, wouldn’t it? We’re going to
amplify the worn-out atmosphere of this dungeon and make a big mossy mess. For creating moss on the
walls, use a very light medium sized Airbrush to imply the green here and there, don’t make it too prominent.
We will be using a smaller and finer brush to paint some grass strokes and the pink flowers. Let’s ensure that
the pink pops so the viewer will connect the flower in the Hydra’s mouth to that on the dungeon floor.16
ADD BLUE HIGHLIGHTS
And here’s a fun part to tackle – the overall
tone’s light sources. Like we did a bit with the horns
before, we’re going to select a blue similar to that
used in the dungeon (preferably lighter and more
contrasted) and apply it as a highlight coming from
the dungeon floor and working its way up the
character and surroundings – creating a stark
contrast against the light of the lantern coming
from the top. Very lightly, with a low-opacity brush,
apply the blue hues onto the dragon’s scales and
highlight the edge of its limbs with a sheen.17
CREATE EMBERS
For some cool flashy fire effects, let’s be
sure to create a new layer and go to Layer>Layer
Style>Outer Glow. Now, create a bunch of sparks
coming off of the fire and dancing around the
scenery. We should make a variation of sparks,
varying their size and opacity. We can also toy
around with this by increasing the spread and size
under Elements and making the outer layer’s colour
more orange than the default white.QUICK TIP
The Navigator tool can be pretty restricting
sometimes because it’s so small. To get
around that, go to Window>Arrange>New
Window for your file – now we have a second
window for your drawing that you can make
any size. And any edits we make will
automatically update on the duplicate.18
ADD THE
FINISHING
TOUCHES
And now we can really toy
around with the Curves and
photo filters. To aid us in
these final touches, let’s
start by creating a new
layer: then select the
painting and then Copy and
Paste. Now we have a
dummy layer for edits. If we
feel like there’s a minor
colour that we dislike, we
can try to alter it a bit using
the Overlay tool, select the
layer and change it from
Normal to Overlay or Soft
Light. We can also use the
Dodge tool to bring out
highlights in the painting.