A_P_TPC_Vol11_2015_

LEARN HOW TO CREATE INTERESTING ILLUSTRATIONS THAT

COMBINE BASIC 3D RENDERS AND STOCK PHOTOS

COMBINE 3D AND

PHOTOSHOP

Y

ou don’t have to be a master of 3D graphics

to be able to use 3D to your advantage

while creating 2D illustrations in

Photoshop. In this tutorial we will look

closely at the process of mixing different digital

techniques in order to create a stunning,

atmospheric sci-fi illustration. Along with different

Photoshop tips and tricks, we are going to focus on

what is most important in any kind of creative

work; composition, lighting and the different parts

of art theory that help us to come up with images

that are full of atmosphere and are well-balanced

COME UP WITH A BALANCED COMPOSITION

THINK ABOUT YOUR CREATION AND SKETCH BEFORE STARTING WORK

in terms of visual content. Custom brushes and

plug-ins are not the only thing you will need to

create really professional visual creations, it’s

always helpful to look back at classic art theories

and mechanisms that have been used for centuries

too. There’s a lot of software around us, with

Photoshop being the main program for creating

visual content. Let’s take a look at how to

incorporate other software and techniques in

Photoshop to create even more complex artworks

• from the first sketch through to building your way
  from a basic 3D render to a final visual full of details.

01

START WITH COMPOSITION

This illustration will have a central

composition, which was picked purposefully

because it’s harder to work with. It’s challenging

to balance the composition and avoid making it

look boring and static. There was an additional

challenge of possibly incorporating the magazine

title into the composition while maintaining a

nice flow and balance in the illustration itself.

02

EVERY PART HAS ITS PLACE

On this image you can better see the main

elements and their placement, which breaks up the

central composition. Additional spherical parts and

other details of the bomb are placed in the ‘golden

points’ near the horizontal and vertical thirds of the

image, pushing the viewer’s focus away from the

centre. Foreground parts are added in at an angle,

which also helps to break the composition apart and

make it more dynamic.

03

LET THE LIGHT BUILD THE IMAGE

Another important part of the composition

is the flow of light and colours between background

and foreground. As you can see in this particular

scene, there is an amount of light decreasing

towards the foreground and on top of that there is a

mist created by the background waterfall – here

objects are disappearing with increasing distance

from the camera. This also enhances the fluid

composition and adds depth into the scene.

FROM SKETCH TO

FINISHED ILLUSTRATION

WORK IN

PROGRESS

Progress 1: Digitally

painted sketch

Progress 2: Raw 3D elements

Progress 3: Final illustration

TOMÁŠ MÜLLER

http://www.tomasmuller.com

@Tomas__Muller

OUR EXPERT

Tomáš Müller is a well known CGI

artist, matte painter and retoucher,

working for a wide variety of clients

and studios from different corners of

the creative industry, such as

advertising agencies, photographers,

game developers and many more.

SOURCE FILES

Explore the layered PSD file and

learn how the 3D and photo

elements were created and textured.

COMBINE 3D AND PHOTOSHOP