07
ADD THE MILKY WAY
With the foreground more refined, turn to
the background. Photos of the Milky Way show that
there is a darker area in the middle of the belt
surrounded by lighter spots filled with thicker
clusters of stars. Use a standard Soft brush with an
Opacity of 60% to paint in the darker area using
shades of dark blue. Set the same brush at a higher
Opacity of 80-90% to paint in the lighter areas using
light blues, purples, and yellows.06
ADD THE CORAL
After some thought it’s decided that adding
bleached white coral antlers will match the light of the
moon and tie together the colours of the sky, sea, and
leopard to balance the composition. Use a standard
Soft brush to fill in the shadows on the coral antlers
using dark blue and purple, then use a small Hard
brush to add texture using light blue, purple, and pink.
Limit the use of details on the tips of the coral that are
receding into the background, this will help push them
further back.05
STUDY PHOTOS
To help visually stay on track throughout the
painting process, carefully narrow down photos that
mirror the colour palette you have settled on for the
scene. Photos of abalone shells show a texture
comprised of green, blue, and pink. Create a new
layer on top of the composition set to Normal mode
and use a small standard Hard brush to paint in the
pearlescent texture on the skin. Use Opacity settings
between 60-100% to create the various soft and hard
edges and to blend the aforementioned colours
together seamlessly.QUICK TIP: TRY PHOTOBASHING TECHNIQUES
Photomanipulation can be a powerful tool if used correctly on a painting. Many modern matte paintings
combine photo textures with painted elements to great effect. If you have a camera you can even make
your own base plates to photobash over!08
PAINT THE STARS
Paint the stars on multiple separate layers using the custom
created brushes that are included on FileSilo, with varying Opacity and
sizes to create a sense of depth in the star field. Create an Overlay layer
set to 100% Opacity/Fill over the star layers to add a glow effect and
further push depth of field. Using light blues and yellows with a standard
Soft brush, paint over a few select stars, being careful not to overdo the
effect. Zoom out frequently to check your overall progress.09
ADD THE MOON TEXTURE
Sometimes it is desirable to use photo textures for certain objects, either for the
effect or to save time. For the Moon, a photo texture from cgtextures.com is used. First,
lay down a silhouette of the Moon with light yellow using a standard Hard brush. Then
select and move the part of the desired texture over from the photo onto a layer new set to
Overlay. Lower the Opacity of the layer until the texture blends in naturally (in this case,
roughly 80%), then use the Eraser tool (Soft brush, Opacity of 10-20%) to soften the edges.