QUICK TIP: BUILD UP WITH LAYERS
Use a multitude of layers to fill in the details of
your painting. Mistakes or a change in
compositional direction can occur, so instead of
erasing or painting it all over again it can be
removed by deleting layers.13
CREATE REFLECTIONS
Light on the water’s surface reflects onto
surfaces underwater, creating swirling light ripples
that would be seen on the leopard’s legs. Use the
standard Soft and Hard brushes with a light colour
matching the hues of the surrounding area to create
the reflections of the waves on the leopard’s skin.
Then create a new layer set to Overlay and 100%
Opacity/Fill. Light appears multiplied and opaque
underwater. Use a standard Soft Round brush at
varying opacities to paint over the underwater area
to make the underwater light glow opaquely.10
PAINT LIGHT ON WATER
Light on and in water is tricky to paint. Study
photos of waves and ripples. The leopard in the
painting is the primary source of light and like
abalone being hit by light, his skin radiates a warm
bright light throughout the surrounding waters. Use
a standard Hard brush to paint the ripples and foam.
Then in a new layer set to Overlay and 100% Opacity/
Fill add a glow effect by painting over the surface
ripples with light hues of pinks/yellows/purples to
make the ripples glow more intensely.14
REFINE THE DETAILS
Use a small standard Hard brush to add
more details onto the abalone texture using
complementary colours such as orange, purple,
yellow and blue. Also add more highlights and
shadows in the eye to give it more depth and draw
the viewer’s eyes into the leopard’s soulful longing
gaze. Use a Hard Round brush with a light blue,
almost white, hue for the eye glints and rich opaque
aquas and flecks of purple you would see in the
veins of abalone for the final eye details.11
CREATE ADDITIONAL EFFECTS
The outline of the leopard’s head requires
some additional effects in order to make the
majestic crowned head of the leopard the desired
focal point of the piece. Use a small standard Hard
brush to add some contoured highlights around the
mouth and neck, then paint in some light thin hairs
around the chin. To finalise the effects, create a new
layer set to Overlay and 100% Opacity/Fill, and go
over the details with a standard Soft brush using a
light blue hue to create additional glow.15
CREATE CONTRAST AND SATURATION
If desired, use a Brightness/Contrast
adjustment layer to boost the contrast and a Hue/
Saturation adjustment layer to increase the
saturation to finalise the look of the image. Drag the
SSaturation slider until the colours pop to the desired
level, being careful not too oversaturate the tones.
Adding contrast and brightness by slightly moving
the sliders in the Brightness/Contrast dialogue
(starting with a small amount) can also help make
the colours appear more vibrant. Adjustment layers
can be edited any time if you decide the effect is too
strong or not strong enough!12
DRAW THE WHISKERS
Make long and smooth strokes using a
small standard Hard brush to paint the whiskers. Try
to do only a single pass to keep the lines fluid, and
use an Opacity of 80% or less for the brush to make
the whiskers look soft and semi translucent. This
often takes several tries to create natural organic flow
to the set of whiskers. Use Cmd/Ctrl+Z to quickly
undo undesirable strokes. Lastly, use an Overlay layer
set to 100% Opacity/Fill to add some glow effect by
painting light colours over the whiskers.TECHNIQUES PERFECT COLOURS AND LIGHTING