Digital art tutorial - How to paint seashells step by step
Last weekend I spent some time at the beach here in Holland and I found some wonderful seashells. I decided to take some home and make a little digital painting. In this digital art tutorial I'll be showing you how to paint seashells with digital painting software and (preferably) a drawing tablet.
STEP 1 - Make a sketch
The first step is to make a sketch! Keep it nice and loose and don't get lost in te details. You will get rid of this sketch later on.
STEP 2 - Base color
Once you've made the sketch, add a new layer beneath the sketch and start painting the base colors. Just like the sketch, keep this nice and loose. You will paint over this later, cleaning it up.
STEP 3 - Adding color variation and defining the shape
Lower the opacity of the sketch layer and start painting on a new layer above it. Slowly build up the contrast and the details. You can use an overlay layer to add color variation and screen and multiply layers to paint the shadows and highlights.
STEP 4 - Drop shadow and detailing
Make a new layer beneath the other layers. Paint a drop shadow, I prefer using a soft edged brush for this. Keep working on the little details until you're satisfied.
Wanna paint seashells too?! Be sure to show me your final result and tag me in your post.
Here's a little recap of the steps taken...
Or just watch the video!
Have fun practicing and be sure to share your work once you're done!
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