Chapter 1 - Goblin

Page 04 | By Andrei Pervukhin

Chapter 2 - Fairy
Page 10 | By Nykolai Aleksander

Chapter 3 - Siren
Page 26 | By Min Yum

Chapter 4 - Troll
Page 30 | By Simon Dominic Brewer

Chapter 5 - Huli Jing

Page 40 | By Jason Wei Che Juan

Chapter 6 - Ogre
Page 46 | By Richard Tilbury
You can find the free brushes in the
resources folder that accompanies this
eBook.
 - Free Brushes

chapter one goblin

Chapter 1
Painting Creatures From
Folklore: Chapter 1 - Goblin
Software Used: Photoshop

Hello everyone! When tackling a project such

as this one I first think about the composition
as a whole. What will the goblin look like? And
what kind of environment will he be in? For this
project I decided to keep away from the typical
J.R.R.Tolken goblin and make something that
looked original and was closer to the description
we are given in folklore. In folklore a goblin
or the kobold is the spirit of the mines. He is
constantly knocking on the rails and scaring the
miners. A lot of characters based on goblins
don’t seem to reflect this.
stage, like I am, but don’t worry too much about Next it’s time to look at color. For this, add an

With this idea in mind, it’s time to start creating the finer details (Fig.01). old fashioned fantasy looking lamp and some

our image. We’re going to begin painting in light and glow on a separate layer. Use layer

black and white because it helps to set out the For the next step we’re going to use the guide modes to find which light looks best (Soft light,

composition, light and design. It also helps us called “golden section”. This shows the centre Overlay, Color). Fig.03 – 04 show a couple of

to imagine what the final piece is going to look of the image and helps us to identify where the the layer modes that I’m trying out. I think Fig.04

like. You can use some textured brushes at this main focus of the viewer will be (Fig.02). looks the best, so let’s go with that one.

www.3dtotal.com page 5 Chapter 1

 Chapter 1
After establishing the light, we want to start
working on detailing the head of the goblin. I
find that working on the head of a character
will often set the tone for the rest of the image
(Fig.05 – 08).

With the head detailed, it’s now time look at

the clothing of the goblin. Start by refining the
design of his clothing and accessories and
then continue to detail the clothing, always
remembering the importance of the light.
Continue to consider this as we move on to
working on the hammer on his shoulder (Fig.09
– 11). For each of these stages it’s a good idea
to work on a new layer, adding one on top of
the other. To start with I’m drawing on a normal
layer, then after that I start drawing on a new
soft light layer, then normal again, then Overlay
again. Scroll through the layer modes to find
which works best for your image.

Next comes the lantern. You can see the layers

and settings I’ve chosen in Fig.12. Create the

www.3dtotal.com page 6 Chapter 1

Chapter 1

lamp in black-white, then on top of this add two To create the light from the lamp, paint in two In the next step we’re going to carefully cut the
layers - I’m using Overlay and Color. On these layers of “hard light” under the lamp. Then goblin from the background and move it to a
layers then add a Create Clipping Mask layer create a layer mask for a few corrections and new layer so that we can start thinking about the
“Lamp” and then paint the lamp. alterations (Fig.13). background. I’m going to paint the background

www.3dtotal.com page 7 Chapter 1

 Chapter 1
and then add some textures from 3DTotal’s
texture library (http://freetextures.3dtotal.com).
You can see where I’ve added the photographs
and the effect this has in Fig.14 – 15.

Let’s increase the atmosphere of the image by

adding some smoke (Fig.16).

Once happy with the overall picture, it’s time to

string together all the layers from the top. In the
resulting layer, use the filter Sharpen > Smart
Sharpen as this will give the completed image a
precise look.

To finish, create a new layer and fill it with a

gray color (in the table color picker I’m using
the parameter B: 50%). Then add Noise > Add

Noise (amount: 400%) and use the filter Stylize

> Diffuse, with the parameters of the layer set to
Soft Light and Opacity: 15%. Finally, on the top,
use Curves to correct the color slightly.

And with that it’s done!

Andrei Pervukhin
For more from this artist visit:
http://pervandr.deviantart.com/gallery/
Or contact them at:
[email protected]

www.3dtotal.com page 8 Chapter 1

- Free Brushes

chapter two fairy

Chapter 2

Painting Creatures From

that fell victim to the spell of Faerie art, such as artist’s point of view is just great, because it
Folklore: Chapter 2 - Fairy Henry Fuseli and William Blake - even before means we can do as we please.
Software used: Photoshop the Victorian era where the craze really took
hold. Some of you who know my work will wonder
The moment we set foot into the world of why I was asked to shed some light on how to
Mythology and Folklore, one of the first One thing most of these have in common, paint them, as I myself am a self-proclaimed and
creatures that has a tendency to pop its head though, is that the Faeries were portrayed as avid Faerie avoider (if not hater). Someone’s
out of the often not so metaphorical woodwork human looking (although Froud is known to idea of a joke, no doubt, or psychological
are the Faeries - or one of their numerous have introduced some truly cruel and gruesome warfare - the jury is still out on that. In any
relatives, from Elves via Pixies to Faes and back looking Elves into our minds). But what is about case, you’ll have to deal with my idea of these
again. The artists who have captured them are Faeries that seems to fascinate people? Where creatures, whether you like it or not.
just as numerous, from traditional greats such does all this come from? Or more to the point,
as the Godfather of Faerie Art, the one and only where do Faeries come from? (Fig.01). So let’s find out what that idea is, and have a
Brian Froud, to digital Glamour Faerie queens look at how to paint these elusive things, making
such as Linda Bergkvist. We can go back in All this sounds rather botched up to me, “too use of Photoshop and our trusty Wacom tablet.
time, too, and look at some of the old masters many cooks” and all that jazz, which from an

www.3dtotal.com page 11 Chapter 2

 Chapter 2
Nature’s Law 1. Faeries are never seen (no “but”, Period!) what. To be able to somewhat identify with a
Unlike Murphy’s Law, this does not mean you 2. We all know that feeling of being watched, fictitious creature is what makes us like them.
will probably tread on a Faerie if you stop even though we know we are alone And now let’s take a look at insects, or more
looking for them. It just means we have to start 3. We all know how some inanimate objects specifically the Praying Mantis (Fig.02). Yes,
seeing the world with different eyes. There seem to have a mind of their own. that’s my fingers in the picture, and that’s a fully
will be no gorgeous gowns or glitter - no self- grown female Green Mantis.
respecting Faerie would be seen dead wearing So now, let’s take a step back from the tacky
such cumbersome and camouflage-defeating postcard racks in New Age shops around the The green Praying Mantis is, however, by far
things. No. We will take a hint from nature and world, and instead use our imagination for a the most boring looking one. If you Google the
transfer the concept of its perfection onto its moment. Ghost Mantis, the Dead Leaf Mantis, or the
supposed guardians (or devils, depending which Orchid Mantis, you get the idea why I am so
side you come down on). This is simpler than Let’s stick with a humanoid figure for starters. keen on using this insect in our search for the
you may think. Let’s have a look at the list of Why? Because familiarity is good, no matter “ideal” Faerie: They really are quite something
things to consider: special.

Anyway, this particular Faerie would reside

in or around orchids, nowhere else. I could
give you tree faeries (separated into bark
and leaf faeries, of course), water faeries,
grass faeries, stone faeries or sand faeries,
but I figured the Orchid Faerie would be
more interesting to look at, as well as
marginally dangerous. Certainly not the type
you’d want to subject your pet gerbil to.

But designing one and ignoring all the

others would be no good, not for any
tutorial, or to get a point across.

If the Orchid Faerie is the link to something

reminiscent of the past and nature, what
about our modern world? Surely, with the
technological advance of mankind, Faeries
adapted too into the kind that crashes our
hard drives, or stalls our car batteries. You
get the idea. You’d not want to annoy it,
because it will, without a doubt, delete
your address book or leak your number to
telemarketers. The Mobile Phone Faerie
has several cousins, and sometimes I
wonder if they switch residence when
given the chance (and a USB cable).

Let’s keep it simple - we want to focus

on the Faeries, everything else is
just extras. We need a phone (my

www.3dtotal.com page 12 Chapter 2

Chapter 2
BlackBerry seemed good for this),
and some orchids, and of course
the Faeries. You can see I added
a book as well; that’s just me being
facetious, seeing that I already
have a certain book in mind to
feature in the piece (Fig.03). Of
course, the sketch is on a separate
layer, to make it easier for us to
paint underneath it. Filling the
background with a color rather
than leaving it white helps set the
mood and also aids in getting the
colors right once we start to block
them in.

We’re going to stick with the

background for now, as I think a nice chunky brush and plop some color on the phone and book on separate layers, which
it’ll be beneficial to the Faeries. If we start with background of the canvas (Fig.04). I didn’t do this time round - it’ll make it a bit
painting them, we will be very limited later in harder for me later to refine certain parts of the
choice of colors for the background (remember, Even though this already looks quite neat, it background, but that’s okay. You may, however,
we want them to sort of blend in). So let’s grab really isn’t. I normally paint props such as the

www.3dtotal.com page 13 Chapter 2

 Chapter 2
want to paint such items on
separate layers.

For the orchids, I do add a

separate layer and lay their
colors down just as I did with
the background. There’s many
different species of orchids, not
just white and pink, so when
painting these beautifully deadly
flowers, have a look around online
for some inspiration. (Fig.05) Fun
complimentary colors make the
image pop.

Before I continue to refine the

background more to set the
scene for our dear creatures, I
want to get some base texture
into it. Now, we can do this in
several ways, like with texture
brushes, or - as I choose to do
here - with a texture image.

You can find royalty free photo

textures in 3DTotal.com’s
texture library, or just go and
take your own. I had taken
some pictures of a patch of
grass a while ago, so I’ll be
using one of them to work into
the background (Fig.06).

Drag the photo over to your

painting and resize it so it
covers all the bits you want
covered. Then erase the parts
that overlap the props (which
wouldn’t be the case if you
had your props on separate
layers). To make it blend a bit
better with the painting, we
can apply a filter such as the
Median Filter (Fig.07).

And to make the grass

texture blend in we simply

www.3dtotal.com page 14 Chapter 2

Chapter 2
set the layer to Soft Light, and reduce its
Opacity a little if needed (Fig.08). There,
looks much better already!

We now turn our attention back to the

Orchids. Using a softer round brush than
before, loosely refine the petals and stems.
To blend the colors somewhat, we use the
Smudge tool with a textured brush tip, with
Angle Jitter set to 50%, Scatter to around
5% and Opacity to Pen Pressure. These
settings stop it from looking smeary, and
give you an even blending of colors.

We also add another texture photo here

beneath them (Fig.09) and do what we
did before with the grass to make it work
(Fig.10).

Giving nature a break, let’s have a look

at the phone. First work it over with
a standard round hard edged brush -
seriously, no fuzzy here! It’s a plastic
and metal object, and they just don’t
have fuzzy edges. Once the keys look
as we want them to, we can start to
think about adding the key faces. Using
the Type tool, choose a font that is
similar to the one on the actual phone,
and type out everything we see. The
next part is horrendously tedious, but
worth it: Rasterize the type (Layer >

Rasterize > Type) so we can actually work with

it as we need to. After that, cut out the individual
letters and symbols and place them onto the
keys, not forgetting to adjust their perspective
(Edit > Transform)… fun!

When you can finally can say it’s done, we

can look at making the symbols that were not
available in type, such as the arrows. Luck has
it that these are available as default shapes, so
we can take the Custom Shape tool, then select
the arrows we need from the little menu at the
top. Once again, to properly work with these

www.3dtotal.com page 15 Chapter 2

 Chapter 2
Shapes once we have them all we need to
rasterize them (Layer > Rasterize > Shape).
The BlackBerry Logo and the green and
red receiver buttons get painted (Fig.11).

And we’re almost there with the keys! To

really make the lettering work within the
painting, we need to blur them slightly. So
go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and
adjust the settings to your liking, then hit
OK (Fig.12).

Now let’s get the book fixed up. I

personally find it easiest to just use the
default round Paint brush with Size Jitter
and Opacity set to Pen Pressure to paint
the illusion of pages and pull the edges
of the cover into focus. It’s a straight
forward thing, really. To blend certain
sections, we use the Smudge tool again
(Fig.13).

With this out of the way, we can look at

the rest of the picture again, and give it
equal attention - because it needs it.

I’m not happy with the high saturation

of the Orchids, so I desaturate them
a little bit. Easiest way to do that is to
go into Image > Adjust > Desaturate,
then Edit > Fade Desaturate. Also,
I am not keen on the positioning of
them, so I move them about a bit
until I think it looks fine. I also move
one of the flowers further out and
extend the stem to give the Faerie
that will sit on it more space. I also
add the shadows that the Orchids
would throw on the stones beneath
them, and heavily refine the stones
themselves, first with a hard round
brush for sharp edges, and then
with a couple of custom brushes to
bring out the texture.

And then I add the text on the

book using the Type tool again,

www.3dtotal.com page 16 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

proceeding as before, rasterizing and adjusting

its position and perspective, as well as blurring
it slightly.

You may also notice I’ve changed the Orchid

Faerie sketch slightly - the first one was just…
you know, cartoony and bad (Fig.14).

Now that the background is at a nice level

of quality, we can move on to the Orchid
Faerie. As we want the creature to be nicely
camouflaged, we’re going to use a similar color
palette for it as we used for the immediate
surroundings: the orchids, grass and stone.
Rather than picking colors from the painting with
the Eyedropper tool, let’s take a screenshot
of the image and crop it to that portion of the
picture instead (Fig.15).

Now we go into the Filter menu, go to Blur

and choose the Radial Blur. Essentially, we’re
going to mix ourselves a palette - the fast way
(Fig.16). The result is something very usable
(Fig.17).

www.3dtotal.com page 17 Chapter 2

 Chapter 2
The reason I’m taking this
route is because picking
the colors directly from the
painting won’t give us enough
color variation - as in, the
Faerie would have the very
same colors as the flowers
she happens to sit on, which
is not too beneficial - for the
Faerie, or us. Camouflage
= good. No chance of
blending in with slightly
differently shaded orchids
from the same family = bad.
You get the idea.

So let’s get started by

blocking in the main colors
we want to use. We add a
new Layer for the Faerie of
course and, using the plain may want to work things like this out in a new famous “yucky” stage (where things just look
round brush with Opacity set to Pen Pressure, sketch before continuing. I have the (bad?) habit not as great as you would like them to), it’s also
get to work (Fig.18). of changing my mind halfway through a painting the stage where you can play around a lot until
about certain aspects of it, and no doubt this you get something worth taking further. Many
At this point I realize I’m not really happy with won’t be the only time in this tutorial you’ll see artists do this with thumbnail sketches, or line
the pose, especially the arms, so I fix that and me go “Uh, nah…”. sketches, which is not a bad idea to be honest. I
then continue refining the Faerie’s overall color should think about taking that up…
before even contemplating going into any kind of So now that I’m kind of happy with what I’ve
detail (Fig.19). If you’re not that confident about got, I set about refining the light and shadow, Next up, let’s refine the face a little (Fig.20) to
just changing a pose at a moment’s notice, you and add the first details. Aside from being the get a better idea of what we’re looking at.

www.3dtotal.com page 18 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I spoke too soon about being happy with what I’ve got, as here’s another down and makes things look very pasty, use a darker shade variation of
pose change. It’s the last one, promise! Of course, we continue to refine the color from the surface the shadow will be on. In this case, I used a
the overall appearance of the Faerie (Fig.21). You may notice a vague burnt orange on the yellow petal of the orchid at the top for the shadow
texture on its skin, which was done with a chunky rough speckled brush, under the arms, a slightly lighter orange for the one the leg crosses over,
with Angle Jitter set to 50%, and Opacity and Flow set to Pen Pressure. and a deep purple red for the shadow that grounds the left foot claw.
This texture won’t be very visible by the time we’re finished with it all, but it
may still shine through here and there and add an extra amount of… well, Once we are satisfied with how the Faerie looks - the pose, expression,
texture and depth. some hint of details, etc. - we can look at adding more colors.

Here’s a little tip for adding the shadows of the Faerie (or in fact anything The reason why I personally prefer to start off with a more muted palette
else you’re painting): rather than using black, which really dulls everything is it’s easier to build up to vivid and varied colors than toning them down
again, especially when working with red, orange and purple pinks - these
can get oversaturated very quickly. And right now, I am not sure yet just
how “in your face” I want this to be.

First of all, let’s adjust the contrast slightly. I prefer doing this by using
Levels, rather than Contrast (Image > Adjust > Levels), but whatever you
use is really up to you (Fig.22).

Now, to get some inspiration for patterns, we can again look at various
insects, such as caterpillars or beetles, as well as amphibians (especially
some of the tropical frogs which are stunning). But really, anything goes -
it’s a Faerie!

A good way of adding patterns and texture is with a custom brush, be

it by stamping the texture/pattern on, or using the brush like a normal
paintbrush - it all depends on what you want to see in the end. Always do
this on a separate Layer, so you can adjust it or delete it if you don’t like it
(Fig.23).

www.3dtotal.com page 19 Chapter 2

 Chapter 2
I add a more contrasting pattern in bright I’m pretty happy with the Faerie now, but
orange/red on the lower legs with a different there’s still something missing: Wings.
custom brush, and accentuate it with yellow No Faerie is complete without them (or
around the edges to make it stand out a bit so we’ve been made to believe). Actually,
more (Fig.24). This whole process is a “trial and I’m adding them in because the wings
error” thing - sometimes it works out straight are what draws many people to these
away, sometimes it doesn’t, so just play around creatures in paintings, and also what many
and see what you think looks good, and what people seem to really have a problem with
you like. painting. I have stumbled across decent

enough Faerie paintings where the wings were

just so cumbersome and weighty, that I could
have used them to successfully swat the Faeries,
a lot of times.

So let’s take a look at what goes, and what

doesn’t, in relation to the Faerie in this painting.
It’s obviously a small creature, and one would
imagine quite fast, too. The fact that it’s based
primarily on insects rules out feathered wings
(really, those are reserved for birds and Angels).

We can also rule out the stereotypical butterfly

wings, as these too are too heavy and dense
looking. Besides, the word “tacky” springs to
mind again. What we want here is something
light and transparent. Think Dragonfly, or well,
Mantis. If you check the latter up online again,
you will find some stunning examples of their
wings, and what they use them for, namely not
just flying, exactly what we want here really.

Sketching the wings on a new Layer works

best, with a small round brush with Size
and Opacity set to Pen Pressure (Fig.25).
Remember not forget the wing(s) that will be
somewhat obscured behind the Faerie, or else
it will fly in perpetual circles.

The first thing I do after that is attack the

sketch lines with the Smudge Tool (same
settings as previously described) (Fig.26).

www.3dtotal.com page 20 Chapter 2

Chapter 2
Using the round Paint brush with no Size Jitter, and Opacity and Flow set to Pen
Pressure, as well as manually reduced to something around about 40%, I fill the
wings in and erase the bits sticking out over the lines with a soft edged eraser.
Use a new Layer which you can merge with the line sketch Layer once done -
that way you can change the Opacity if you wish (Fig.27).

Now that we have a basic transparent set of colored wings, we can work out the
details. When doing this kind of work, I personally like to use separate Layers
for the details I add to have more control over adjustments, which can come in
very handy when painting transparent things that you wish to keep looking as
transparent as possible. Duplicating Layers and playing with Layer Modes can
have some great results (Fig.28)!

You may have noticed that I removed the obscured set of wings while working
on the ones in full view. That’s because there is no need to paint the other set,
as we can just duplicate the one we’ve got once we finish it, and then adjust the
perspective to work with the slightly different angle (Fig.29). If you have lots of
Layers for your wings that cannot be merged (some Layer Modes do not like
merging unless you have a solid colored layer to merge them with), put all the
wing Layers into a Layer Set and duplicate that, rather than all the separate
Layers.

With the wings done, we move on to the second Faerie. First of all, I want to
change this one, as it’s way too “Romeo and Juliette” for me. Turning the whole
“corrupting files” over in my head, I figured why not use that here. Can you guess
what the Phone Faerie just did (Fig.30)?

Before going any further with the arm, let’s see about making the screen come to
life with a fuzzy brush in an almost white color. I employ the Noise Filter to make
it a bit more convincing, then duplicate the Layer and set it to Overlay (Fig.31).

Happy with that, I go back to the arm and refine it, using various shades of
electric blue and turquoise (Fig.32).

www.3dtotal.com page 21 Chapter 2

 Chapter 2
Now we just need to make it work where it and now all evidence has to be deleted.
pops out of the screen. Also, it would be nice
to make that Faerie a little bit more… sci-fi. To add the delete confirmation info on the
Let’s take down the opacity of it to make it screen (Fig.36), I just used the Shape tool and
more transparent, like a hologram (Fig.33), selected the Rounded Rectangle, rasterized
then duplicate the layer and set it to Overlay the shape (Layer > Rasterize > Shape), then
(Fig.34), and to make it a little brighter, we added the white border by using the Layer
can adjust the Levels of the original arm Styles (Layer > Layer Styles > Stroke…) and the
Layer until we have something we like shadow, also with Layer Styles. I did the same
(Fig.35). for the blue “OK” button then added the text.
After merging the layers, I adjusted the position
Of course, we will have to add some of the info box to match the perspective of the
reflective glow on the phone and screen, and gently erased parts of it to blend
surroundings, but we will do that in a little in better. Some slight blurring and then adding
while. First I would like to continue with Noise helps!
what the little guy actually did in the phone.
Well, let some photos disappear, of course. Righty…
Most likely our Orchid Faerie accidentally
got caught on camera as the reader of the Now that we have all the major elements done,
book took some pictures of the Orchids, let’s concentrate on the loose ends that need
tying up. First, I reduce the
Opacity of the book’s title, as
it seems a bit too much. I also
notice that there is a distinct
“gap” right in the middle of the
picture, an invisible line drawn
between Orchid and Phone. To
close that gap a little and make
the image work better, I grab
the Orchids with the Faerie

www.3dtotal.com page 22 Chapter 2

Chapter 2
there, and using the Median Filter and also the Blur tool make them
blend in with the already existing texture. I also add another photo
texture behind the Orchids, and layer it with a brush texture (Fig.39).

Great! I think that’s pretty much it on the active painting side of things,
and it’s time to look at the very last overall adjustments.

I’ve started the habit of making a copy of my work (Image > Duplicate),
so if I don’t like what I do in the end, I can re-open the original file and
start over.

The first thing I tend to do is individual Levels adjustment to either even

out the contrast, or to pop out certain parts of the image. After that, I
flatten the image (Layer > Flatten) to once more adjust the Levels, and
also to play with the Variations (Image > Adjustments > Variations).
These are all very subtle adjustments, but often have a great impact
(Fig.40).

Now it’s time for the reflective blue glow I mentioned earlier around
the Phone Faerie’s arm. For this, I add a new Layer and set it to
Linear Glow, then take a fuzzy round brush, pick a bright blue,
and carefully paint the light. Duplicating the Layer and setting it to
Overlay, and then adjusting the Opacity of both Layers will give you
some nice results. - I don’t want the glow too strong, just a hint. If
you want it stronger, remember to add some actual highlights to the
items closest to the glow. I put a little on the Orchid Faerie’s face
and hands (rather, claws) for subtle effect, as that lifts its face off the
book in the background (Fig.41).

I add another Layer set to Overlay and, picking a warm yellow/

orange color, I carefully light the Orchid Faerie and everything that

and nudge them further to the left (Fig.37). Linking all the affected
Layers before doing that is advisable here, as it saves you having to
shift them individually. Then I crop the canvas, using the Cropping
tool, and also resize the Orchids and Faerie a little, making them
bigger (Fig.38).

Next up, add some more details to the background. Where the
Phone Faerie’s arm is, I blur the bits behind it, as whatever is behind
it would probably not be as clear but rather like looking through a
frosted or smudgy glass.

I also want to add a little more detail to the grass. Using a custom
brush that looks and acts a bit like a palette knife, with Size and
Opacity set to Pen Pressure, I randomly paint grass stalks here and

www.3dtotal.com page 23 Chapter 2

is not within reach of the blue glow. The result
should be visible, but not over the top, just
enough to really pop the Orchids and Faerie as
the main attraction in the painting (Fig.42).

We flatten the image again, and adjust the

Levels one last time if needs be.

We’re pretty much done now, but to really finish

off the painting, we may want to consider adding
some focal blurring. It’s easiest at this stage to
do this by hand with the Blur tool. But carefully,
as it’s quickly overdone, and we want to avoid
that. We want everything still clearly visible.
Just soften the edges of some of the things that
would be slightly out of focus.

And there we have it!

Happily Ever After

So, it is possible to paint these creatures without
glitter or the token butterfly wings… and even
if you’re a fan of the classical Fae, there were
hopefully still some things that you found useful.

Now go and get your pins and glass jars ready,

and catch yourselves some Faeries. Happy
Hunting!

Nykolai Aleksander
For more from this artist visit:
http://www.admemento.com/
Or contact them at:
[email protected]

- Free Brushes
chapter three siren
Chapter 3
Painting Creatures From
Folklore: Chapter 3 - Siren
Software used: Photoshop

Introduction
I sometimes start a picture without a strong idea
in mind, especially with subjects I haven’t dealt
with before, and it quickly leads to a research
session for a small collection of reference
images. Because of this my process usually
begins with research. I think it’s important to
prepare right at the start rather than late in the
day as it can save so much time and trouble
later on. Good research can also lead to ideas
and inspiration as well as help you get all the
facts right about your subject matter. It turns
out that my initial ideas about sirens were
slightly incorrect when I began my research.
I’ve always pictured them more like monsters,
ready for battle but they were usually described
as a beautiful seductive bird-like women or like
mermaids luring men to the sea.

In this workshop I am going to share my process

of creating a painting from sketch to the finished
piece, as well as share some of the tips and
methods I frequently use in Photoshop.

Sketch for me. I cleaned up the sketch a little here with

I started by roughly sketching out some ideas some minor anatomy details and took a mental
as small thumbnails. When doing thumbnails note of how the background would be painted
I usually try to arrange the elements whilst (Fig.02).
focussing on composition. I also avoid focusing
on details at this stage; I just roughly put down Blocking in
the ideas and see if they work visually (Fig.01). Using some big textured brushes, I blocked in
some background colors. There’s something
Refining sketch about using strong contrasting colors that adds
I decided to go for the mermaid look for my to a piece of art and this is no exception. I
Siren. I like to try something new with every went for orange and blue. I was feeling a bit
piece of artwork I do, and since I’ve never drawn adventurous and went with a very bold orange,
a mermaid creature this was an obvious choice hoping I could offset this with cool lighting on the

www.3dtotal.com page 27 Chapter 3

 Chapter 3
character against the warm orange background
(Fig.03).

Defining the figure

I next established the lighting. I tried to keep it
subtle by using a slight spotlight from top left.
I also adjusted her skin tone to help her stand
out from the background. At this stage I also
roughed out the overall form of the figure and
the rock (Fig.04).

Rendering
With all the elements in the right places, the
rendering begins. This process is probably
the most time consuming part. I usually start
with the focal point, in this case the figure. My
workspace in Photoshop usually consists of two
document windows. One zoomed out at around
25% and the other with a close up view so that I
can work on the details and check how it works
overall in the other window. Digital painting has
the advantage of being able to zoom in, but
also at the same time it can lead to overworking
an area which may lead to inconsistency
throughout the image. Opening up another
window can be done by going to Windows >
Arrange > New Window for xxxx.psd (Fig.05).

Adding details
I started adding the details and worked on the
features like her face. I tend to avoid using
textured brushes at this stage as they don’t give
you finer controls. Blending with a low Opacity
brush can often lead to muted colors as you are
painting over semi transparent colors over and

over again. It’s good to select the original color shadow starts, shown here with a red arrow
again once in a while to bring back the original (Fig.07). This area is darkest because of the
colors. Another method I use is Overlay brush reflected/diffuse lighting in the shadow region.
blending modes to put back some of those One thing I do tend to do is accentuate this area
vibrant colors that were lost during the blending with more saturated colors, usually from the
(Fig.06). warm colors in the surrounding environment.
This works really well with rounded forms but
Rendering Form also with edge of the shadows. A soft edged
If you’ve tried rendering a simple sphere or brush with Overlay Blending mode does the job
cylinder, you may have heard of the term “core well (Fig.07).
shadow”. This refers to the region where the

www.3dtotal.com page 28 Chapter 3

Chapter 3
Tidying up periodically flip the canvas when I’m working
After many hours working on the image the to see if anything looks odd. One of the things
painting was almost done. I added more detail I focused on was the fact that I wanted to keep
and a warm orange outline around the figure the background simple and not conflicting with
to help differentiate her from the background. I the main focal point of the image (Fig.08).
looked out for any inconsistent brush strokes
which can happen when working on a detailed Corrections
image. I also got rid of unnecessary details There were couple of things in the image that
especially in the background texture. Flipping didn’t seem quite right. The head of the figure
the canvas horizontally is a simple and easy seemed a little too small and the tail felt a bit
method to check for any obvious mistakes; I unnatural. A quick adjustment of the head fixed

the proportion issue, but the tail needed a bit

more work, particularly with the way it rested
on the rock. Also it needed more highlights to
suggest a shiny texture (Fig.09).

Finishing up
After adding the final touches and a couple
of colour adjustment layers, the painting is
wrapped up. I am satisfied with the overall
feel of the image and the fact that I haven’t
completely lost all of the bold colours I begun
with (Fig.10).

Min Yum
For more from this artist visit:
http://www.minart.net/
Or contact them at:
[email protected]

www.3dtotal.com page 29 Chapter 3

chapter four troll
Chapter 4
Painting Creatures From
Folklore: Chapter 4 - Troll
Software used: ArtRage Studio Pro & Painter

One of the most recognizable characters in

folklore is the troll, yet ironically they come
in all shapes and sizes. Whilst some trolls
are depicted as huge and hulking, others are
described as being similar to normal folk,
distinguishable from humans only by their
clothing and habits. Troll tales originate primarily
from Scandinavia, although England and
Scotland also have a small troll tradition.

For this painting I’ve decided to paint a portrait

rather than an action scene, and to set it a forest
environment. A portrait approach will result in a
more formal character depiction, but will allow
for full focus on the character. My troll will be
an important personage in the troll community
and hence will be dressed more elaborately
than his peers. That doesn’t mean his clothing
will be pristine however, as the forest can be a
messy place and trolls aren’t renowned for their
cleanliness. In terms of weapons I’m going to The process is very quick as these characters point way off canvas to the left. My troll will be
give my troll a huge, oaken staff that doubles as are not intended for display, rather as a decision large, maybe eight feet tall, and therefore I want
a club. Trolls tend to make use of the resources aid and a catalyst for the creative process. I use to give the impression that he is looming over
around them so I think a basic, natural weapon the default Pencil and canvas in ArtRage. I find the viewer. Rendering the troll against these
like a club is more fitting to a forest setting the rough feel closely mimics using a real pencil. perspective lines will help in this respect.
than a sword or a magical item. To complete Using these concepts as a guide I choose the
this image I’ll be using ArtRage Studio Pro and third character as the one I want to develop. I make the outline sketch onto a new layer.
Painter 11. I’ll do the concepts and sketching With this in mind I move on to the actual image. This stage is designed to give a basic, clean
in ArtRage and move on to Painter for the indication of all the main elements of my
coloring and final detail. Either package would Line Work character. His clothing is composed of a rag-
be sufficient to complete the entire project, My final image needs to be 2480x3425 pixels at tag combination of layered clothing, which will
but ArtRage’s strengths are in sketching, and 300dpi. However, because I won’t be painting have different textures in the final image. The
Painter’s strengths in detailing. fine detail until later on there’s no point working
with such a large canvas initially. Therefore
Quick Concepts still in ArtRage, I create a small canvas with
It’s often a good idea to knock out some initial the same aspect ratio as the spec for my final
sketches before beginning the main work. I image. I load my concept sketch as a reference
actually did this step before I made the decision so I have a constant on-screen guide as to what
to create the forest troll portrait as I described. I want to achieve (Fig.02).

For this piece I create half a dozen sketches, Next I create a new layer and draw a few rough
each depicting a different type of troll (Fig.01). perspective lines to an imaginary vanishing

www.3dtotal.com page 31 Chapter 4

 Chapter 4
skulls around his waist reinforce the idea that
he’s a big fella as well as an unpleasant one.
When I’ve finished the line drawing I hold Alt
+ H (Option + H on a Mac) to view the image
mirrored. This helps to identify any anatomical
or perspective problems.

Sketch Detail
I increase the size of my canvas to about half
the intended final dimensions. This will allow for
more detail to be laid down. To compensate for
this I also increase my pencil Nib Size to around
200%. I reduce the Opacity of my line work layer
to 30% and create a third layer on top. Using
the low opacity line work as a guide, I create a
detailed sketch of my character (Fig.03).

Clean Up
The first two layers – the perspective lines
and the line work sketch – have served their

purpose, so I delete them. This leaves me with

the detailed sketch on a single layer (Fig.04). I
save this as a PSD file because the next time I
work on it I’ll be using Painter.

Build a Color Palette

When painting, I find it very helpful to work from
a pre-created color palette – a Color Set. This
doesn’t mean I’ll be choosing every single color

www.3dtotal.com page 32 Chapter 4

Chapter 4
from this palette, but it will act as the primary
selection tool.

To create the Color Set I first open a blank

canvas in Painter. As in the actual painting
stage it’s a good idea not to use pure white as
the background as it can be overwhelming and
make it difficult to distinguish darker colors. I
use my Artists’ Oils brush to make a sequence
of splodges representing the main elements that
will be in my image – bright yellows for the sky;
deep browns, oranges and grays for clothing
material; mid-saturation, mid-valued pinks for
the skin tone and white for the hair. When I’m
happy that those colors will take care of most
of my requirements, I click the Create Color Set
From Mixer Palette option. This generates a
256-color Color Set palette, which I save as a Load the PSD into Painter I choose a simple background, which acts as
PCS file (Fig.05). Because ArtRage processes paint in a different an anchor for the character whilst providing a
manner to Painter, PSDs that have been hint of his natural environment. I will be painting
exported from ArtRage usually have a number the background in low-contrast hues so that the
of extra layers. I load the PSD into Painter and main figure stands out (Fig.07).
see that there are two blank layers and a paper
layer in addition to the canvas and sketch layer Upsize the Image
(Fig.06). In this instance I remove both blank I’m ready to begin the final painting process so
layers and the paper layer, although if you prefer I upsize my image to its working dimensions
the paper layer color to the canvas color you using Canvas > Resize (make sure Constrain
may want to simply remove the two blank layers File Size is not ticked). I actually size it
and drop the paper layer to the canvas. to dimensions greater than the specified
2480x3425 pixels, so that I have more scope for
Underpainting adding fine detail where needed. Because I am
On the canvas I use my “Underpainting” Artists’ careful to maintain the aspect ratio I’ll be able
Oils brush to lay down a very quick, very rough to resize to the exact specification when the
approximation of the colors I’ll be using. This is painting is complete (Fig.08).
simply to act as a guide to the proper painting.
Beginning Painting
Before I start painting I drop the sketch layer
to the canvas so that the image is completely
flat (in terms of layers). I select the Artists’ Oils
brush and begin adding rough detail to the troll,
starting with the head and face. Because the
expression of the troll is important, I work using
a relatively small brush, about 10 pixels, with the
zoom set at 100% (Fig.09).

www.3dtotal.com page 33 Chapter 4

 Chapter 4

Use the Largest Brush possible

When painting larger areas, especially at this
stage, it’s a good rule of thumb to use the
biggest brush possible. So instead of using
the 10-pixel width brush on the ogre’s exposed
arms, or flowing cloak, I increase the size to
15 or 20 pixels (Fig.10). Of course, as detail
increases, the size of the brush will decrease.

Using Lighting and Texture

Understanding the ways different materials react
to light is key to creating a believable image.
Here I combine a number of different materials
to form the troll’s garb, ranging from dull drapery
to the thick, calloused, fur-lined leather covering
his shoulders. I depict the leather as having
more surface variation of Hue, Saturation and slightly more Specularity (Fig.11). Even more Rough Background Detail
Value than the thin material of his robe, and also Specularity is present on his skin, on the skulls To finish off the rough detail work I move on

around his waist, and also on the monstrous to the background. I increase my brush size

staff he’s leaning on, as a result of the wood to around 30 pixels for this stage. In order to

being worn smooth over time. depict bark on the tree I cross horizontal and
vertical bark textures so that the tree’s bulk is
evident in three dimensions and it doesn’t look
flat. By easing up on the pen pressure I can
blend certain areas so that the texture doesn’t
overpower the main character. I also darken the
area under the troll’s feet. This is to anchor the
character with the background. If I didn’t do this
the character would look pasted and it would
flatten the image (Fig.12).

Painting Leaves
Selecting low saturation colors from my palette,
I dab at the ground plane, creating flecks that,

www.3dtotal.com page 34 Chapter 4

Chapter 4
from a distance, resemble leaves. I’ll be refining
these shapes later on. At the moment it’s
sufficient that these leafy shapes remind me of
leaves and are roughly the right color (Fig.13).

Using Colour Variability

I’m about to begin the fine detail stage and this
involves using the Round brush. One neat trick
to improve the painterly appearance of detail is
to use the Color Variability settings. I select In
HSV from the pull-down (this stands for Hue,
Saturation, Value). I then set the sliders to H:
4%, S: 1%, V: 1%. This means that every time
I make a mark with the brush, the color hue
that I’ve chosen will change randomly within a
4% tolerance of my original color choice. In the
same way, the Saturation and Value will change
randomly within a 1% tolerance. It’s a good
idea to play around with these settings to see
which suits you best (Fig.14). A word of warning
here. Painter 11 has a bug whereby these
settings can spontaneously reset to 0. For this
reason I keep the Color Variability panel on my
workspace and check it every so often.

Detailed Texturing
With my small, Round brush set to between 5
and 12 pixels, I move over the character and
boost the detail level. Because our troll is a
forest dweller, and likely a bit of a thug too, I add
a few areas of scuffing, staining and dirt on his
clothes (Fig.15).

The Hands
The troll’s hands, resting on top of his staff, are
an integral part of this piece, and they need to
look just right to make the piece believable. That

means particular attention needs to be paid to is wrapped around the head of the staff. The
the light and shadow, which, broadly speaking, shadows are therefore placed to be consistent
define the form (Fig.16). Here we can see the with our light source. Where the fingers of
troll’s left hand is covering his right, which in turn the right hand grip the wood I use a slightly

www.3dtotal.com page 35 Chapter 4

 Chapter 4
desaturated highlight to simulate reflected light
from the environment. This helps to give solidity
to the hand. A light pressure on the pen will
blend paint on the canvas. I use this feature to
help stop the texture becoming too “scratchy”.

Resize the Skulls

I notice that the skulls on the left appear smaller
than they should, even taking in account the
slight perspective we have going on. I select
them roughly using the Polygonal Selection tool,
then hit CTRL / cmd C to copy the contents.
I remove the selection area using CTRL /
cmd - D and paste the skulls into a new layer
using CTRL / cmd - V. Using the Edit > Free graduated yet textured blends between light for the shadow. Lastly, I add a bit of dark paint
Transform menu option I enlarge the selection and shadow. To obtain a high degree of control to his knee to represent dirt and scuff marks.
object whilst holding down SHIFT to maintain over your pen sensitivity you should experiment
the aspect ratio (Fig.17). Lastly I choose Edit > with different settings in both your tablet settings Wood Texture
Transform > Commit Transformation and drop application and via your Edit > Preferences > If you’re not careful the wood texture can easily
the selection to the canvas. I also neaten the Brush Tracking menu option in Painter. end up looking like skin or cloth. To avoid this I
edges a little so it blends with the image. use darker, more saturated colors for the wood
Scarred Skin base color (Fig.20). I add desaturated specular
Robe Material It’s safe to assume this troll has had a hard highlights sparingly to the staff to simulate old,
To paint the orange robe material I enlarge life, so the skin around his knees and shins worn wood. Placing some of the bright highlights
the Round brush to between 10 and 20 pixels. will be scarred and pockmarked (Fig.19). With directly onto the dark areas make it appear as
Varying the pen pressure is key in this painting light brushstrokes I make a few dark lines and if the wood itself is dark, rather than in shadow.
process. In the dark shadows I press quite dots on the skin. To make them appear etched This is a useful method of distinguishing dark
hard so the dark paint is applied “thickly” whilst into the skin I make very faint highlights on the coloration from shadowed areas, especially on
elsewhere I’ll ease up on the pressure so that edges, especially the lower edges being that our shiny or slimy items.
the paint is more opaque and bleeds more light source is above. As a general rule, if the
readily with existing colors (Fig.18). highlight is on the side of the blemish furthest Autumn Leaves
from the light source it appears like a groove; I use the Artists’ Oils brush to further define the
When applying almost no pressure the brush if it’s on the side nearest the light source it leaves on the ground. At this stage I concentrate
behaves more like a blender and helps to create appears like a bump, and of course vice-versa on getting the colors right and I leave the

www.3dtotal.com page 36 Chapter 4

Chapter 4

shapes quite rough. I use a selection of lighter, leaves at the periphery of the piece, to create main character. Keeping it loose, and still
desaturated colors for the leaves themselves exaggerated focus on the main character. I don’t using the Artists’ Oils brush, I dab in darker
and dab deep purples and black at their use overlays or layers to achieve this effect, lines which run vertically up the tree trunk. At
periphery, to suggest the shadow and dark earth rather choose the appropriate color for each leaf irregular intervals I sketch small, rough arcs
beneath (Fig.21). and take advantage of the blending function of perpendicular to these lines to give the subtle
the brush (Blend increases as Pen Pressure appearance of bulk. This helps gives the trunk a

Focus decreases). I also want the troll to appear like 3D appearance and avoids the “stage set” look

When painting the leaves it’s easy to get he’s standing on the ground, not floating in front (Fig.23).

caught up painting one leaf after another and of it. For this I darken the area below him and

forget the overall image. If you’re not careful to his right, to simulate shadow. Again, I try and Final Detail – Leaves
this can flatten the image due to each leaf pick the correct color from the palette or color I’m almost finished now so I move around the

being basically the same value and saturation. wheel rather than using layers. You’ll see here painting adding some final detail with the Round

Zooming out from time to time helps you see that I’ve also flipped the image, which I do from brush. I don’t want to refine the leaves too

how your leaves are becoming part of the time to time to check composition and anatomy. much so I just spend a few minutes tweaking

scene. Here, I want the leaves in the immediate the brush strokes into more leafy shapes. I

foreground to be larger, brighter and more Tree Bark don’t obsess over each leaf because it’s more

colorful than those at the side of the troll, For the tree and the rest of the background important to suggest the impression of leaves

or behind him (Fig.22). I also fade out the I’m careful to use only low saturation colors rather than to painstakingly render each one
of mid- to high-value. This is to give a sense (Fig.24). I also extend the length of the troll’s
of depth and so they don’t compete with the cloak a little, for aesthetic value if not modesty.

www.3dtotal.com page 37 Chapter 4

 Chapter 4

Final Detail – Tree shadowed areas and use the Artists’ Oils brush And that completes the picture. During this
Using the Round brush I refine some of the tree to dab in a low value ochre color (Fig.27). tutorial Painter has been creating backups of the
detail – the fungus and area of discolored bark file every time I’ve saved (Edit > Preferences >
especially. The level of detail remains much Resize and Save General – tick Create Backup on Save), which
less than that of the main character, so that If you recall from Fig.08, the image dimensions I do regularly. I also backed up my files onto a
the background does not compete for attention I’ve been working with are larger than the separate disk at the end of every day I worked
(Fig.25). specified print size. To obtain the print-spec on the project, using free backup software. For

image I save a copy of the main image and the sake of a minute or two per day this can

A Bit of Texture using Canvas > Resize, set the dimensions save a lot of hassle!

As a final touch I choose the Artists’ Canvas accordingly. Because the large image is the
Paper from the Paper palette (Window > Library same aspect ratio as the intended smaller one it I hope you found this tutorial useful and thanks

Palette > Papers) and using the Round brush isn’t distorted. for reading.

at a large size, dab in a few textures in the

corners of the image, just to make it a bit more
interesting (Fig.26). As far as I can tell the
image is pretty much finished. However, I set
it aside for a few days so I can come back to
it with a fresh perspective before I do the final
submission. Time allowing, it’s always a good
idea to take a break before formally declaring a
piece complete, otherwise there’s a danger of
getting “too close” to it and allowing familiarity to
mask its flaws.

Final Tweaks
When I look at it next I see that the rear hanging
edge of the troll’s cloak appears too dark,
drawing the eye into an unintentional – and
somewhat undesirable – focus. I zoom into the

www.3dtotal.com page 38 Chapter 4

 Simon Dominic
For more information please visit:
http://www.painterly.co.uk
Or contact them at:
[email protected]
chapter five huli jing
Chapter 5
Painting Creatures From
Folklore: Chapter 5 - Huli Jing
Software used: ArtRage Studio Pro & Painter

China has a lot of its own folklore which includes

songs and tales that tell stories of history,
human nature, or love. Here is the story about
Daji and King Zhou of Shang in 1047 BC.
Daji was a favorite concubine of King Zhou of
Shang. She is a classic example of how beauty
can cause the downfall of an empire or dynasty
in Chinese culture. She is portrayed as an evil
fox spirit in the Chinese novel Fengshen Yanyi
which is translated as The Investiture of the
Gods or The Creation of the Gods, also known
as Fengshen Bang. I am always building my
own small library of books and keep them by
my side. Wikipedia or online search engines like
Google or Bing are very good resource, but be
aware that there are still tons of resource which
you cannot find online.

Strong initial sketches make the whole

processes much easier, so establishing a good
sketch from the beginning is way more efficient
than fixing problems later. Some people thought
one of the biggest benefits of digital paintings is
the Undo button, but I feel that is not true. Do it
right from the beginning, why do you want to do

it wrong, undo it, and do it again and again? It In the story, King Zhou (in his later years) drinks,
is the same as traditional painting. It is always has sex, lacks morals, and ignores all the affairs
good to start heading in the right direction, so of the people. After thinking about these words,
you can just keep developing the image until is some faces start to appear in my mind, so I
completed. focused on the faces and tried to capture the
expression on them and play with values for the
The first stage is to define the characters. In composition.
this case it is based on existing characters so
research is very important, but don’t let the Strong contrast and value are two major things
story restrict the illustration and imagination, it I use to design everything. I also found some
is always good to add a little personal flavor to Western Zhou Dynasty 1046–771 BC pictures
it. In this illustration I could have illustrated an for design reference. Human anatomy is always
event, but I wanted to focus on the characters a big topic when people talk about art, and that
themselves, so the key to the whole process is is why people spend years and years learning
character design (Fig.01 – 02). it. There is no short-cut, the only way is to

www.3dtotal.com page 41 Chapter 5

 Chapter 5
study it and do more life drawing sessions. Skin
rendering is another big topic, and Fig.03 shows
a crop image of the skin in different stages. The
trick is simple, more color. I rarely put in one
solid color in a painting. Skin has more color
than any other surface or materials because it
is so complex. One thing I do find is usually the
dark value has higher saturation. Another thing
is changing the hue and saturation will change
the value also. I usually try to keep the value the
same which should mean as long as we keep
the value the same, potentially we can fill in
almost any color.

When it comes to backgrounds there are two

things that define 3D space. One is perspective,
and one is value. Again the quick way to design and separate those into different layers which National Park in Washington State. I spent
it is using rough brush strokes with value and can help my process later. about 8 hours painting water. I find painting
flow. I also introduce fox spirits into the paintings water is very similar to drapes and fabric
at this point (Fig.04). At this point I try to define Next it is all about the water. I looked at some because the surface is smooth (Fig.05). I
the elements in the background and foreground, photos of the ocean which I took in Olympic also think that the perspective of the waves is

www.3dtotal.com page 42 Chapter 5

Chapter 5

www.3dtotal.com page 43 Chapter 5

 Chapter 5

important for this scene, once we nail down the empty space (Fig.06). This is extremely time When painting a complex scene with more
waves the water will looks good. The further consuming and the more you understand than one character in it the foreground and
away the waves are the smaller and flatter they lighting and the forms of objects the better you background can be very difficult. The difficulty
look. can do it. Painting still life and human figures is not the single subject or single character. It
will improve your rendering skills. At this point is the balance of everything. It is like a balance
A quick lighting test on the characters will give I decided the background and the moon were game, when we do too much on one side, we
me an idea of what the moon light looks like. over emphasized and I decided to take the need to decide to take it out or add more to the
The collapsed building is a good way to show moon out (Fig.07). Also at this point I start other side. I changed the skin tones so that
the empire falling and represent war. Color to tackle the contrast and value of the water. Daji would be the first to be seen, and I also
started to kick in to the painting, and since this Adding a couple more interesting structures in changed each individual element slightly to lead
is not a happy story and it is not a happy ending the far background will also help the painting the viewer’s eye a bit more (Fig.08). Detail is
for them, a cool color tone will suit the painting. I have more depth. Using the Overlay and Soft another thing that needs to be addressed. When
simply use “soft light” layer in Photoshop for the Light layer again and again is like glazing in painting on a computer we zoom in and out
initial color. traditional media. The more layers you apply to often and sometimes this will make us lose the
the painting, the richer color it will look. Again, sense of detail, and makes us over detail certain
This stage is all about rendering and adding as long as we keep the value the same, we can areas. You can balance this out with careful use
more details to the smaller areas to fill the put in almost any color we want. of the smudge tool.

Even in a complex scene made up of small

objects, the keys are design, composition,
balance, value, and perspective. Each part
should be addressed, and to master it you must
study and practice it. I hope you enjoyed this
tutorial (Fig.09).

Jason Wei Che Juan

For more information please visit:
http://jasonjart.blogspot.com
http://www.jasonjuan.com
Or contact them at:
[email protected]

www.3dtotal.com page 44 Chapter 5

chapter six ogre
Chapter 6
Painting Creatures From
Folklore: Chapter 6 - Ogre
Software used: Photoshop

Introduction
An ogre is described in literature as a humanoid
monster that is large, hideous and preys
on human beings. They often have a large
head and strong body, appear hairy, and are
disgusting, brutal and closely related to trolls.
The word “ogre” has its origin in French but they
have featured in mythology, folklore and fiction Fig.01 shows a series of grayscale portraits contrast, versions 5 and 6 looked more realistic,
alike. done using a Standard Hard Round brush. but had a distinct caveman quality which wasn’t
The notion that ogres are meant to feed on what I was after.
When you research the topic you discover a humans was a trait that struck me as their most
broad range of depictions from various cultures fearsome aspect and so I drew some faces with Although sketch 1 was not really along the
and time periods, all of which look very different. their mouths open. A gaping mouth showing right lines I actually liked the mouth partly
I knew that my version should look hideous and a set of gnarled teeth seemed appropriate to open and so did a couple of variations on this.
although I imagined him to be a creature to fear, emphasize their cruel intent. As mentioned I liked the small eyes in version 4 but his face
I also felt he should be somewhat unintelligent – earlier, ogres have also been described as looked somehow kinder than some of the
more brawn than brains, so to speak. being hairy and so I added a beard to several other versions. His features looked softer by
versions. comparison and almost evoked the quality of a
Thumbnail Sketches gentle giant. I decided to make the face overtly
I had a vision in my mind of a monster that Having reviewed each of them I decided that asymmetrical and with more distorted features
should certainly look frightening and have giant version 1 reminded me of Rasputin and so was (7). This sketch certainly seemed to encapsulate
proportions, but I could not picture his face not suitable. I liked his eyes and furrowed brow a quality I was after and was the version I
which was the crucial aspect in portraying his but, ultimately, he looked too human. Numbers decided to settle on.
character. As a result I decided to create some 2 and 3 had less human proportions but seemed
thumbnail sketches to explore his appearance. too stylized, almost leaning towards cartoons. In Blocking In
With the decision made on which face to use I
started to block in a rough composition. At this
stage I was unsure about what I was going to
paint, but I imagined the ogre emerging from the
shadows towards an unsuspecting foreground
character. To have him creeping up on a
potential victim was a way of injecting a sense
of tension into the image and helping the viewer
feel a sense of danger.

Fig.02 shows the initial stages in which the

ogre is set within a dark backdrop. I considered
having him inside a building or house but then
felt he should be much larger. I thought about
predatory animals such as tigers and lions and
how they stalk humans who have ventured from

www.3dtotal.com page 47 Chapter 6

 Chapter 6

settlements and villages. This gave me the idea At this stage the face now looked a little too Fig.07 shows the newly altered composition with
of a creature that would wait within the cover of bright compared to the previous version; the ogre occupying a more balanced position
a forest and snatch anyone straying too near however I knew I could tone this down later in the frame. I also decided to make the darker
the tree line. In this way I could keep him partly and so I deliberately left the ogre on a separate band in front of the forest into a pond or area of
concealed in shadows. layer. flood water. It made an interesting feature that
separated the forest from the foreground.
I added in some trees using a couple of custom Composition
brushes, which you can see in Fig.03. I used The ogre was very central in the composition The next stage was to re-scale the ogre and
a variation of the same brush to paint both the and so needed to be addressed as the distance integrate him into the background. Fig.08 shows
trunks and the foliage. either side of his head was similar with respect his new position. I experimented by having him
to the canvas boundary. This doesn’t make for a leaning out behind some cover, watching the
Using the same brush I started to add in some particularly dynamic composition and so I opted goat, possibly waiting to rush out and grab it!
definition to the foreground as well as adding to extend the canvas as opposed to moving
some volume to the trunks (Fig.04). the character. I added a section down the right The smaller scale certainly helped the
hand edge as I preferred the idea of more space composition, but his leaning posture looked a

Adding Color devoted to the forest. little awkward. I tried having him stand upright,

I added another layer that would be used as

the initial color scheme. This layer is set to
Overlay blending mode, which means whatever
color is applied maintains the tonal range of the
layer below. Fig.05 shows the color layer set to
Normal mode in the bottom left and the resultant
effect when it is set to Overlay (main image).
I started to paint some detail into the ogre’s
face as well as also adding a goat into the
foreground, which would become the focus of
his attention and also a focal point in the scene
(Fig.06).

www.3dtotal.com page 48 Chapter 6

Chapter 6
but with a slight tilt of his head to suggest he is
tracking the movement of the goat (Fig.09). This
seemed like a much more satisfactory solution,
although having referred once again to my
thumbnails I realised his face was losing some
of the qualities I liked in version 7. Using this as
a guide I re-painted the features to make them
match more closely.

At this stage I had only three layers in my PSD

file: the goat, the ogre and the rest of the scene.
I wanted to add warmth to the sunlight that was
falling across the foreground section and so I
first duplicated the scene layer and then went
to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance and
increased the red and yellow values by around
+14 (Fig.10).

I then used the Eraser tool to restrict the warmer

values to the foreground and to the tree trunks,
which can by compared in Fig.08 – Fig.09.

Adjustment Layers
Although the ogre is sheltered by the forest
I thought it would add drama to have some The Curves adjustment layer was used to add (inset). On the right you can see the Curves
dappled sunlight cast across his body through a shadow to the left side of the character, which adjustment and the mask below this (in red),
the tree canopy. To do this I created two new faces away from the light. In Fig.11 you can see which restricts the shadow to the left side of his
adjustment layers: Curves and Color Balance. the ogre before this is applied in the bottom left torso and arm.

www.3dtotal.com page 49 Chapter 6

 Chapter 6
The Curves adjustment is used to darken the
entire character and then, by using black to
paint into the mask (red area), it is possible
to control which parts of the image are left
unaffected.

The Color Balance adjustment layer is used to

create the warm sunlight cast across his body
(Fig.12). Here you can see that the ogre has
been color tinted with more yellow and red and
a slight amount of green (+8). The grayscale
image shows the Layer Mask with the black
areas being used to add to the mask and thus
hide the color adjustment. You will notice that
the area of white on the right side of the face
reveals the mask and creates a highlight (ringed
in red). The final result of both layers can be
seen in the lower left (inset).

The Layer structure now looks like Fig.13 with

the two adjustment layers at the top of the
palette.

Final Refinements
I wanted the ogre to look imposing and have
a powerful stature, but I was starting to see
a resemblance to the Hulk and so scaled his
waist and shoulders in a bit. I used Image >
Adjustments > Color Balance to cool down the
color by adding some blue and green to reflect
the forest shade (Fig.14). I then duplicated the
character layer, added some highlights across
his right shoulder (1) and also darkened his
left side (2). I finished by using a Soft Eraser to
bring back some subtle highlights down his left
arm (3).

I wanted the forest to appear denser and so

added some extra leaves along the right hand
side of the image (see image 2 in Fig.15).
This helped make the clearing where the ogre
is situated appear more like a cave entrance.
To help make this area recede further into
the picture plane I painted in a new layer to
represent sunlight streaming across from the
upper right. Image 3 shows the layer set to
Normal Blending mode using a lemon yellow

www.3dtotal.com page 50 Chapter 6

Chapter 6

and then the consequent result when set to

Overlay (image 4).

Once I had added some sunlight catching the

canopy in the upper right, I imagined some
beams of light falling onto the foreground. To
create these I made a rectangular selection
area that stretched from the upper right towards
the goat (see Fig.16). Once done I changed
the foreground color to a pale yellow 6and then
applied a Foreground to Transparent Gradient,
dragging from the upper right down.

I then used a Soft Eraser to create some streaks

and break up the consistency somewhat. Here
is the finished version (Fig.17).

www.3dtotal.com page 51 Chapter 6

Richard Tilbury
For more from this artist visit:
http://www.richardtilburyart.com
Or contact them at:
[email protected]
 3DTOTAL.COM
Visit 3DTotal.com to see our full range of training products

This eBook series will be split over six separate chapters, all sharing the common theme of a fantasy inspired
medieval scene. Each will be undertaken by a different artist and draw upon a wealth of experience and skills
perfected over years of industry practice. The authors will discuss their approach to digital /concept painting,
the tools and brushes they employ and treat us to a valuable look into their artistic process. The six installments
will cover a different environment each chapter based upon the medieval theme and encompass a multitude of
professional tips and techniques.

Original Author: 3DTotal.com Ltd | Platform: Photoshop, ArtRage & Painter | Format: DOWNLOAD ONLY PDF
 3DTOTAL.COM
Visit 3DTotal.com to see our full range of training products

Futuristic cities and landscapes dominate digital art. They form the backdrop of countless films and videogames
and give artists an opportunity to explore the boundaries of their imagination. This is more than just a design
based eBook though as each tutorial is filled with advice and tips that could help any artist develop and grow.
This tutorial series is made up of six chapters, each tackled by a different artist, will be exploring the ways to
design and paint cities of the future. Each artist will draw upon years of experience to demonstrate techniques
and methods for creating original designs in a step by step way that can help any digital artist.

Original Author: 3DTotal.com Ltd | Platform: Photoshop | Format: DOWNLOAD ONLY PDF
 3DTOTAL.COM
Visit 3DTotal.com to see our full range of training products

This eBook tutorial series will revolve around the use of 3d as a starting point for digital painting. In particular we
will explore the value of Google SketchUp, a free program enabling users to quickly build 3d environments using
a set of intuitive tools.

As a 3d package SketchUp is easy to learn and does not require hours of training and as an artist wishing to draw
complicated scenes, this approach can prove a valuable starting point for producing a template on which to paint
over.

Original Author: 3DTotal.com Ltd | Platform: Google SketchUp & Photoshop | Format: DOWNLOAD ONLY PDF
 3DTOTAL.COM
Visit 3DTotal.com to see our full range of training products

This eBook series will be split over six separate chapters all of which will be dedicated to painting monsters
suited to a range of habitats spanning jungle and aquatic to mountainous and subterranean. Each will be
covered by a different author who will discuss their approach to digital /concept painting, the tools and brushes
they employ and how to create a final image. We shall gain an insight into the thought processes of each of our
industry professionals and the ways in which they develop an idea from concept sketches through to a finished
work.

Original Author: 3DTotal.com Ltd | Platform: Photoshop & Painter | Format: DOWNLOAD ONLY PDF
 3DTOTAL.COM
Visit 3DTotal.com to see our full range of training products

This mammoth 161 page eBook is an extremely detailed exploration of the techniques and design approaches
behind creating epic and lavish digital artwork relating to the theme of Space and Science Fiction.The series is
divided into three main categories; Planets & Starfields, Transport and Environments and spans across 12 in
depth chapters in total. The tutorials on offer cover a multitude of techniques and useful tips and tricks to
painting all aspects of space and deals with the tools in Photoshop used to create such effects.

Tutorial by: C M Wong | Platform: Photoshop | Format: DOWNLOAD ONLY PDF | Pages: 161