Hey,
This tutorial has been requested by many members of this forum, so here it is. I've generalised it so that you won't have a problem using the same tutorial with Corel Photopaint and Adobe Photoshop.
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DIGITAL PAINT: HOW TO PAINT BIRDS
In this tutorial I will be telling you how to make birds similar to the blue ones I posted earlier. When you do something similar, replace the colours, brushes etc. that I mention below with the ones you want to use.
Preparation:
Brushes: First off, choose the brushes that you want to use for painting the birds. I chose a soft edged brush with size 5px and 3px for the various outlines and 7px and 10px for filling in small and large gaps respectively. You need not stick to these sizes, but reusing the same sized brush brings a sense of uniformity in the image.
Paint: Now that you're done choosing a brush, select the shades of the colour you wish to use. Once you select your colours, stick to them. Add the colours to your pallete so that you can access them easily. I used the following colours: white, very light blue (VLB), light blue (LB), medium blue (MB), dark blue (DB), black for the blue parts of the bird and light, medium and dark yellows (LY, MY and DY) for the belly. Make a note of the abbreviations as I will be using them in the rest of the tutorial.
Drawing the outlines: Fire up Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW and draw an outline for your bird. I did this from scratch on the PC, but a better way to do it is to draw the birds on a piece of paper, scan them into Illustrator and trace over the drawing. Fill the blue parts of the birds with the DB colour and fill the belly with the LY colour. This is the hardest part of the process, so once you get the drawing right, you won't have too much of a problem with the painting.
General Instructions:
- Read an entire paragraph before you begin to implement it.
- Decide the direction of the lighting on your birds before you begin painting.
- Create the following layers and arrange them in the given order (from uppermost to lowermost): Shadows, Light, DY, MY, LY, DB, VLB, LB, MB. Use only the respective layers for the respective colours, eg. use the DB layer for all the DB paint (unless I mention using the 'shadows' or 'light' layers.)
- Keep the following image open as a reference for the tutorial: http://img337.imageshack.us/my.php?image=birds2ma.jpg
Painting:
(Refer to the top-right bird for the following instructions.)
Wings and Tail (Refer to the right wing): This is the most difficult part of the painting. Start painting with MB colour and 7px soft edge brush from the bottom of the wing (i.e. the part close to the belly) and paint all the way up to a small distance from the tip of the wing. Do not paint the edges of the wing, leave a small border (about 3px). Now choose a 2-3px soft edge brush with DB colour and paint the outlines of your feathers from top to bottom of the wing, i.e. draw thin lines that curve along the curvature of the wing.
Next, choose the white colour and paint zig-zag and angular horizontal lines between the outlines you just drew. Draw such lines to cover the entire wing. Make sure to leave enough distance between the lines (about 30-40px). Choose the VLB colour and a 3-5px brush and paint below the white colour and along the same zig-zag lines. Repeat this process painting lines below each other in the following order: VLB, LB, MB, DB till the entire wing is covered. This will form the feathery paint job that completes the wing.
Face: Lets start with the eyes and beak. These should first be completely filled black. Then, using a 2-3 px brush and white colour, paint some white light reflecting off the bird's eyes and beak as shown. Paint this in the 'Light' layer. Now switch to the 'Shadows' layer and using a hard edge brush, paint black over the lower edge of the light on the birds' beak to differentiate the upper and lower beak. Switch back to a soft edge brush and paint a 2-3px border at the top edge of the eye and beak in case you have not left one and use the same brush to correct any flaws you might notice.
*NOTE1: You may also rub out excess white instead of painting black over it. *NOTE2: Use the same procedure to paint the legs of the bird.
Now that the eyes and beak are done, lets make the white part around the eyes. Using the white colour in the 'light' layer, outline the eyes. Now choose VLB and make another outline touching the white one. Connect the outlines of the two eyes with this colour using a biconcave connector. Repeat the same procedure using LB and MB eventually fading into the original DB colour of the face.
Belly: This is the easiest to paint. Select the DY colour and 10px brush and start painting the edge of the belly which is away from your light source. Paint that entire side with this colour. Then use the MY colour and paint the inner part adjoining the DY layer you just painted. Leave the original LY colour as is at the lit edge of the belly.
Shadows and Light: Add shadows and light to your creation in the respective layers. Make sure to keep in mind the direction of light and your light source. Reduce the opacity of these layers if you feel the lighting or shadows are too intense. It would be recommended to paint the light/shadows that you would make transparent on a separate layer instead of using the original 'Light' and 'Shadows' layers. It is not necessary to use white or black to make light and shadows; DB and VLB can also be used.
Smoothing out the edges: Create a new layer called 'Corrections'. Use this layer to paint over any flaws you might find in the painting.
This is a difficult procedure, so don't be discouraged or disheartened if you don't get it right the first time! Try again and eventually you will succeed in painting great looking birds!
-------------------------------------------
This concludes my tutorial. Please feel free to post your difficulties or queries regarding this tutorial.
Regards,
- Deathdart.
This tutorial has been requested by many members of this forum, so here it is. I've generalised it so that you won't have a problem using the same tutorial with Corel Photopaint and Adobe Photoshop.
-------------------------------------------
DIGITAL PAINT: HOW TO PAINT BIRDS
In this tutorial I will be telling you how to make birds similar to the blue ones I posted earlier. When you do something similar, replace the colours, brushes etc. that I mention below with the ones you want to use.
Preparation:
Brushes: First off, choose the brushes that you want to use for painting the birds. I chose a soft edged brush with size 5px and 3px for the various outlines and 7px and 10px for filling in small and large gaps respectively. You need not stick to these sizes, but reusing the same sized brush brings a sense of uniformity in the image.
Paint: Now that you're done choosing a brush, select the shades of the colour you wish to use. Once you select your colours, stick to them. Add the colours to your pallete so that you can access them easily. I used the following colours: white, very light blue (VLB), light blue (LB), medium blue (MB), dark blue (DB), black for the blue parts of the bird and light, medium and dark yellows (LY, MY and DY) for the belly. Make a note of the abbreviations as I will be using them in the rest of the tutorial.
Drawing the outlines: Fire up Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW and draw an outline for your bird. I did this from scratch on the PC, but a better way to do it is to draw the birds on a piece of paper, scan them into Illustrator and trace over the drawing. Fill the blue parts of the birds with the DB colour and fill the belly with the LY colour. This is the hardest part of the process, so once you get the drawing right, you won't have too much of a problem with the painting.
General Instructions:
- Read an entire paragraph before you begin to implement it.
- Decide the direction of the lighting on your birds before you begin painting.
- Create the following layers and arrange them in the given order (from uppermost to lowermost): Shadows, Light, DY, MY, LY, DB, VLB, LB, MB. Use only the respective layers for the respective colours, eg. use the DB layer for all the DB paint (unless I mention using the 'shadows' or 'light' layers.)
- Keep the following image open as a reference for the tutorial: http://img337.imageshack.us/my.php?image=birds2ma.jpg
Painting:
(Refer to the top-right bird for the following instructions.)
Wings and Tail (Refer to the right wing): This is the most difficult part of the painting. Start painting with MB colour and 7px soft edge brush from the bottom of the wing (i.e. the part close to the belly) and paint all the way up to a small distance from the tip of the wing. Do not paint the edges of the wing, leave a small border (about 3px). Now choose a 2-3px soft edge brush with DB colour and paint the outlines of your feathers from top to bottom of the wing, i.e. draw thin lines that curve along the curvature of the wing.
Next, choose the white colour and paint zig-zag and angular horizontal lines between the outlines you just drew. Draw such lines to cover the entire wing. Make sure to leave enough distance between the lines (about 30-40px). Choose the VLB colour and a 3-5px brush and paint below the white colour and along the same zig-zag lines. Repeat this process painting lines below each other in the following order: VLB, LB, MB, DB till the entire wing is covered. This will form the feathery paint job that completes the wing.
Face: Lets start with the eyes and beak. These should first be completely filled black. Then, using a 2-3 px brush and white colour, paint some white light reflecting off the bird's eyes and beak as shown. Paint this in the 'Light' layer. Now switch to the 'Shadows' layer and using a hard edge brush, paint black over the lower edge of the light on the birds' beak to differentiate the upper and lower beak. Switch back to a soft edge brush and paint a 2-3px border at the top edge of the eye and beak in case you have not left one and use the same brush to correct any flaws you might notice.
*NOTE1: You may also rub out excess white instead of painting black over it. *NOTE2: Use the same procedure to paint the legs of the bird.
Now that the eyes and beak are done, lets make the white part around the eyes. Using the white colour in the 'light' layer, outline the eyes. Now choose VLB and make another outline touching the white one. Connect the outlines of the two eyes with this colour using a biconcave connector. Repeat the same procedure using LB and MB eventually fading into the original DB colour of the face.
Belly: This is the easiest to paint. Select the DY colour and 10px brush and start painting the edge of the belly which is away from your light source. Paint that entire side with this colour. Then use the MY colour and paint the inner part adjoining the DY layer you just painted. Leave the original LY colour as is at the lit edge of the belly.
Shadows and Light: Add shadows and light to your creation in the respective layers. Make sure to keep in mind the direction of light and your light source. Reduce the opacity of these layers if you feel the lighting or shadows are too intense. It would be recommended to paint the light/shadows that you would make transparent on a separate layer instead of using the original 'Light' and 'Shadows' layers. It is not necessary to use white or black to make light and shadows; DB and VLB can also be used.
Smoothing out the edges: Create a new layer called 'Corrections'. Use this layer to paint over any flaws you might find in the painting.
This is a difficult procedure, so don't be discouraged or disheartened if you don't get it right the first time! Try again and eventually you will succeed in painting great looking birds!
-------------------------------------------
This concludes my tutorial. Please feel free to post your difficulties or queries regarding this tutorial.
Regards,
- Deathdart.
