Photoshop painting technique. How to Draw a Fairy Tree in Adobe Photoshop

Drawing tools allow you to create and edit vector shapes. They make it easy to create various elements for web pages.

Create a new training file.

Click the left mouse button on the tool -shapes- on the toolbar, the tool selection window will open:

Here are the main shapes that we can use. Choose any and look at the options panel:

For any figure, you can choose:

• drawing mode:
  • shape layer. The shape is created on a separate layer. A shape layer consists of a fill layer that defines the color of the shape, and an associated vector mask that defines the boundaries of the shape. The shape's borders are a path that appears in the Paths tab of the Layers panel.
  
  
  • contours. This mode allows you to draw outlines of shapes that can be filled or stroked with an arbitrary color. Paths appear on the Paths tab of the Layers panel.
  
  
  • Pixel fill. When working in this mode, not vector, but raster images are created, which can be processed in the same way as any raster image
  
  
• style and color


• set parameters specific to this figure

Let's choose the first shape - a rectangle. On the panel, select the mode - layer-shape. Select a style by clicking on the triangle on the right.

Choose whichever you like. By the way, if you click on the triangle in the circle (on the right), you can select additional styles in the context menu that opens. If you do not want to use a style, then select a white square with a red line through it.

Now you can set the geometric parameters:

• Arbitrarily- as you draw, so be it.
• Square- when stretching the shape with the mouse, the width and height will always be the same.
• Specified size- you can set the width and height of the rectangle (in cm) and click on the canvas. A rectangle with the specified dimensions will appear.
• Set aspect ratio- you can set how many times the width will be less (or more) than the height. When stretching the figure, the proportion will be preserved.
• From the center- draws a rectangle from the center.
• Snap to pixels- rectangle edges snap to pixel borders.

Quite a useful tool for creating buttons and menus for your web pages, isn't it?

Draw rectangles with rounded corners

Let's select the second shape - a rectangle with rounded corners. On the panel, select the mode - the layer-shape, the corner radius - for example, 15 and the color (you can style it as you like). The geometric parameters are the same as for the rectangle.

Here's what I got with various combinations of radius and style.

Why not news blocks and menu buttons?

Draw circles

Let's choose the third figure - an ellipse. On the panel, select the mode - shape layer, color and style. The geometric parameters are the same as for a rectangle, with the only difference being that a circle can be chosen instead of a square. Select -arbitrary- and stretch the ellipse. If you want it to be a circle, then hold down the Shift key or select -circle- in the geometric parameters.

Here's what happened to me:

Draw polygons

Let's choose a shape - a polygon. On the panel, select the mode - layer-shape, the number of sides in the range from 3 to 100 (for example, 3 - for a triangle, 6 - for a hexagon), color and style. Consider the geometric parameters:

• Radius is the radius of the polygon.
• Smooth outer corners
• Star- with the checkbox unchecked, the polygon is convex, with the checkbox checked, the polygon is concave.
• Beam depth- if the polygon is concave, then its vertices, as it were, form rays. This parameter shows how much of the polygon's radius will be occupied by rays. The higher the %, the longer and sharper the rays.
• Smooth outer corners- with unchecked the corners are sharp; with a tick, the corners are rounded.

The first nonagon has a radius of 3 cm, the rest of the boxes are unchecked.

The second nonagon has a radius of 3 cm, the checkmark is -star-, the depth of the rays is 25%, the rest of the checkboxes are unchecked.

The third nonagon has a radius of 3 cm, the depth of the rays is 50%, all the checkboxes are checked.

All have a style applied.

Draw lines

Let's choose a figure - lines. On the panel, select the mode - layer-shape, line thickness (in pixels), color and style. Consider the geometric parameters:

If all the checkboxes are cleared, it will be just a line, the parameters set the arrows at the ends of this line.

• Start- arrow at the beginning of the line.
• End- arrow at the end of the line.
• Width- proportions of the arrow as a percentage of the line thickness (from 10% to 1000%).
• Length- proportions of the arrow as a percentage of the line thickness (from 10% to 5000%).
• Curvature- determines the degree of curvature of the widest part of the arrow in the place where it meets the line (from -50% to +50%).

The first line is unchecked, width - 500%, length - 1000%, thickness - 2 pixels.

The second line has everything the same, but there is a tick at -beginning- and curvature - 5%.

The third line has everything the same, but the -end- checkbox is ticked and the -beginning- checkbox is unchecked.

The fourth line has both checkboxes, width - 500%, length - 1000%, curvature - 15%, thickness - 5 pixels.

All have a style applied.

Draw arbitrary shapes

Let's choose a figure - an arbitrary figure. On the panel, select the mode - shape layer, color and style. The geometric parameters are the same as for a rectangle. But here there is a choice of the figure itself:

If you click on the triangle in the circle (on the right), you can select additional shapes in the context menu that opens.

Draw multiple shapes on one layer

The principle here is the same as with the rectangular selection tools (in the first lesson, we made a non-standard selection area using the tools on the options bar: add to selection, subtract from selection, etc.). The same tools are available in the Shapes Options bar.

For example, create a rectangle shape, now in the options bar click on the "add to shape area" icon, and now select an ellipse shape. Move the mouse cursor to the upper border of our rectangle, press the left mouse button and, without releasing, stretch the ellipse. It should look something like this:

If the ellipse is not stretched as you would like, you can fix it. To do this, take the tool -outline selection- on the toolbar:

Move the cursor to the border of the ellipse and, holding down the left mouse button, drag the ellipse where it should be. Using all these tools, you can draw shapes of varying complexity.

Save Shapes

Let's say we liked the last shape we created and want to use it in the future. To do this, you need to save it. For this menu Edit -> Define Custom Shape. Give a name to the new shape.

Now our shape has appeared in the drop-down panel for selecting arbitrary shapes.

This lesson is over. Next time we'll focus on paths and bitmaps.

Today, more and more people prefer to use digital technologies to create drawings, because this is not only a new, amazing way to create, but also a good way to earn money. Today we will show you how to draw in Adobe Photoshop, because it is the most popular, easy to learn and optimized drawing program.

Base

Many people believe that drawing in Photoshop without the basic knowledge of the artist is possible or easier, because you only need to capture the essence. In fact, this is not so, the principle of drawing in Photoshop is no different from drawing on paper. The same principles of building a composition, layouts of shadows, perspective and proportions. So it will be much easier for a person who can draw to master the basics of Photoshop.

Therefore, before you start learning, it would be good for you to comprehend the basics of drawing and learn the tools of Adobe Photoshop in order to understand its capabilities and not waste time looking for the tool you need.

Drawing in Photoshop with a mouse or a tablet?

Since not all users of Photoshop have a tablet, you will have to take the first steps in mastering computer graphics with a mouse. Drawing with it is much more difficult, because you cannot control the straightness of the line, the accuracy of the strokes and the many details that make up the drawing. It's worth trying anyway, because you might like it.

Many users sooner or later buy a tablet because of its maximum approximation to conventional drawing and because of the position of the hand. With him, she gets tired less.

Learning to draw in Photoshop

There are three possible ways to learn how to draw in Photoshop

• Full-time drawing courses in Adobe Photoshop. Its main plus is the help of the teacher, and the minus is the price.
• Online courses. Although their minus is also high cost, they will not force you to live on a strict schedule from study to study
• Video tutorials. The Internet is full of inexpensive and free video tutorials, you can choose any to your taste, and you can also watch some of them at the end of this article.

Basic Adobe Photoshop Tools

The main four tools are Brush, Eraser, Fill and Gradient

1. The brush is the main drawing tool. It's easy to use. Choose a brush and draw a line with it. True, if you look into the brush settings, it turns out that they come in different shapes, hardness and sizes.
2. With an eraser, you will remove the failed parts of the drawing you have drawn. It works on the same principle as a brush. It differs from it only in that it erases, but otherwise they even have similar settings.
3. Filling can be used to paint over the entire selected area.
4. The gradient between the fill areas creates a smooth transition. They have different shapes and directions.

Learn to draw a straight line in Photoshop

There are two ways to draw a straight line in Photoshop. A "line" software tool that draws a line at two endpoints. It is selected by the icon on the toolbar or the "U" button, you also control its thickness and size.

The second way is the brush tool, it also draws a line at two endpoints, but for this you have to hold down the Shift key.

Learning to draw a curved line

A curved line is either drawn by hand with a Brush or Pencil. Or they bend an already existing straight line with the help of tools. It does not require any knowledge and you can always try it in practice. Dare!

Video lessons

They provide very great opportunities for both professional artists and amateur artists. One of these programs is included in the Adobe package and is called "Photoshop". It is intended primarily for processing and retouching photographs, but it contains a rich set of tools and has an intuitive interface, and it will not be difficult to master it if you wish.

The question of how to draw in Photoshop involves at least two clarifying questions. What device are you planning to use? Mouse or graphics tablet? What type of files are you planning to create? Vector or raster?

question about drawing with mouse

In general, you can learn how to draw in Photoshop with a mouse in the full sense of the word only in one case. The mouse is suitable only for vector drawings. For raster painting, it can only really be used for the purpose of creating works in the spirit of abstractionism or cubism. Few people manage to draw clear, precise, complex and beautiful lines with a mouse.

In the event that you want to create, you need to use the Pen tool.

Using variants of this tool, you create points and lines, and then manipulate them so that they bend in the right direction, creating geometrically correct shapes. Then these shapes are filled with the desired color. The advantages of this method of drawing are that the drawing can be easily changed, corrected at any time (which is why vector graphics are so popular with animators), and also that it has almost nothing to do with the ability to draw "by hand".

It is using vector graphics tools that you can draw in Photoshop from scratch with the mouse in the full sense.

Using a graphics tablet

However, the possibilities of the program are far from exhausted, it offers many possibilities on how to draw. Photoshop has a whole range of tools for painting. A graphics tablet allows you to use them in their entirety. A lot of both beginners and professional artists purchase this device instead of looking for some tricky ways of how to draw in Photoshop with a mouse.

The tablet will allow you to draw clear lines, simulating drawing with different tools. Mastering the drawing technique will take some time, but it will pay off. You can adjust the degree of pressure of a pencil or felt-tip pen, as well as a variety of other instruments simulated by the program.

Brush

The basic tool for drawing in Photoshop are numerous brushes with a huge number of fine adjustments. In addition to the built-in brushes, you can create them yourself. In addition, you can find huge databases of brushes for every taste on the net.

Beginning of work

Before drawing lines in Photoshop, you need to create a new document and - preferably - a new layer. This always gives special advantages. Working with different layers will allow you to edit fragments of your drawing independently of each other, change the composition, remove failed lines without affecting the good ones, and without distorting the background.

So, in the "File" menu, click on the "New" line, in the window that opens, set the document parameters (size, color environment, etc.). The canvas has been created. Save the document.

In the "Layers" menu, click on the line "New" - "Layer". Set its parameters. By default, you will create a transparent layer on top of the background. You can delete, rotate, move or edit it at any time without affecting other layers.

Now select the brush tool. In the drop-down list, select its shape, adjust the size, stiffness. Set the color of future lines.

Now you can draw lines or spots. As you work, remember to save your document regularly.

If you are satisfied with the drawn fragment of the image and you would not like it to be spoiled during further manipulations, create a new layer and work in it. You can then merge both layers for further processing.

Fine brush settings

Before drawing in Photoshop, it is appropriate to study the brush settings, because the capabilities of the tool are in many ways a defining moment for the artist.

The "Brushes" palette will allow you to control the line, make it more alive.

You might like the following customization options.

"Dynamics of form". It allows you to make the line thicker or thinner depending on, for example, rotation or pressure.

"Texture". This setting is intended to simulate drawing on a canvas of a certain structure, and it can also be configured.

"Color Dynamics". You can adjust the brush so that the hue of the line changes and the drawing looks more natural.

"Wet edges". This option allows you to simulate painting with wet paint. True, it does not have additional settings, but works on the principle of "on / off." (you can only remove or tick the option).

There are other settings that will bring drawing in the program closer to natural.

Image editing

One of the reasons to wonder how to learn how to draw in Photoshop is the ability to quickly edit and “finish” the work, quickly transforming a draft into a clean one.

The advantages of drawing on a computer are well felt if you need to edit something in an already finished work that rarely lends itself to editing on paper or canvas.

1. Relatively easy editing of small and main lines of the image. Let's say it's quite easy to fix an already finished portrait without compromising the quality of the drawing.
2. Creation of multiple copies of the work, the ability to return to a certain stage of work.
3. Correction and radical change of composition. Often a compositional solution is found only after the work is ready. In this case, you need to either put up with the mistakes made, or redo the work again and again. In Photoshop, when working in layers, you can always not only change the composition, but also boldly experiment without spending your energy and precious time on it.
4. Correction and replacement of the background and texture.
5. Color correction.

The possibilities of the program are so great that, as a rule, everyone finds their own way of how to draw in Photoshop. Most often, an artist or designer uses a limited number of functions that are sufficient to achieve the main goals of the work.

Genre: Illustrations

In this lesson, I would like to explain to beginners (or people who "came" from other programs) the principles of working in Adobe Photoshop using the example of creating an ordinary portrait (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Long lesson.

1. Getting Started

So. Here we have the Photoshop window. A person who sees this for the first time, most often simply does not know where to start. I have highlighted the main tools with which to work in this program. 1. What causes problems for most beginners in using this program. A person just doesn't know how to mix colors when the brush goes in one solid bold color. To avoid hassle on this topic, we poke on the highlighted buttons. They are responsible for the pressure and intensity of the color. You can also play with opacity for ease of drawing. (Windows appear only if the "Brush" tool is active) 3. Brush tool. 4. Eraser. 6. Reference to point number three. In the window that appears when you click on the arrow, you can change the size of the brush and the brush itself. In the adjacent right window, you can change the brush settings. (Windows appear only if the "Brush" tool is active) 2. Everything is simple and clear here. Layers as they are. Create layer and delete layer. I must say right away that if you draw on the background, you will no longer be able to draw anything under it, since the background is filled with white by default, unlike the initial background in SAI, which, in principle, is transparent. 5. Sheet rotation, magnifier and palette. 7. Pipette. Do not think, it is not to steal colors from photos. It is called with the left alt key and thanks to it you can mix colors by applying layers of color on top of the base. Um. The tautology is obtained.

2. Pressure and color intensity

An example of how the buttons under the number 1 in the first paragraph work.

3. Sketch

To start drawing, be sure to create a new layer. Choose a brush that suits you. I drew a simple sketch portrait for the show.

4. Foundation

Let's create a second layer below the first. We put the main colors on it.

5. Shades

On the same layer on top, draw highlights, shadows, add different colors to make the picture look more voluminous and interesting.

6. Color mixing

Here we return to the use of a pipette and a brush. The principle is simple: press alt and smear. We press and smear. Many will tell you that nothing depends on the brush. So, in reality, this is not the case at all. Depending on the brush you choose, your subject will have different shapes and smoothness.

7. Shaping

If you are not tired of flipping through pictures similar to each other, then we continue. Create a new layer above the sketch. We begin to smear-smear-smear with color from above, until we achieve a pleasing result. The degree of development depends on your laziness and time `v`

8. About blending modes and clipping mask

We have come to the stage where we want to edit our work. But how? Let's figure it out. Photoshop has such a thing as blend modes. The blend mode button is right above the layers and defaults to "Normal". To open a window, you need to click on it with the left mouse button and select any mode by the same LMB click. In addition, there is such a thing in Photoshop as a clipping mask. It is called by right-clicking on the layer (In order not to accidentally turn part of the picture into a clipping mask, create a new layer and right-click on it). What does a clipping mask give us? In fact, this is an analogue of the "Attach layer", which SAI users are probably familiar with. The clipping mask limits the drawing area from the entire sheet to the one drawn on the previous layer. If you create a clipping mask above another clipping mask, they will affect the layer the first mask is attached to. That is, if we draw with an example of our portrait, then the mask will only affect the last layer, where we finalized the drawing. It doesn't work out well. However, without using masks, we will paint over all the layers below. Ouch! We covered the background!

9. Color highlights with blend modes

To emphasize special places in the picture, to show light or just to overlay a gradient on top for "pretty" we can use the same blending modes. In the picture, I marked the places where the light can fall. Create a new layer with the value "Soft light". Using the brush tool, apply white color to the selected places. Let for example I used a five-minute sketch, but even from it you can see that there is a certain feeling of volume and atmosphere.

10. Gradient and Blending Modes

Create a new layer with the value "Soft light". To use the gradient, you must select the button that is under the "Eraser" and draw a straight line on the picture. There are different types of gradients, but for now we'll only look at the default. If you did not select a gradient from the menu that automatically appears in the second upper panel and opens by clicking on the arrow, then the gradient will correspond to the colors of your palette. If your first color is pink and the other is blue, then your gradient will be pink-blue. The gradient can be only one, gradually dissolving, color. To change the structure and color of the gradient (for example, if you still chose a swatch from the menu), open the same menu of gradient swatches. The first two gradients correspond to the colors in your palette. The first is two-color, and the second is translucent. Draw a gradient line on the layer with the value "soft light". It seems that our drawing has become a little warmer =)

11. A little about curves

Hm. Let's draw a bunny. At some point, you decided that it turned out too pale. Don't worry, it can be fixed. In my case, the "Correction" window is located above the "Layers" window. If you do not have this window, left-click on the "Window" item in the very top panel and select the "Correction" item. You can choose any icon on the panel and experiment. For example, I'll take "Curves". Let's put a random value of our two points and our bunny will become much brighter! You can take more than two points on the curve, although you generally only need these two.

12. Last steps

And now, when our image is almost ready, we can edit the color to give the picture atmosphere, lightness, etc. etc. Playing with brightness and contrast. Create a new layer with a value of, let's say, "Soft light" and color the places you need `v` That's it! Our portrait is ready. P.S. Many thanks to Vornava for the corrections, hints and pointing out typos =)

If you don’t have the opportunity to spend at least a few years on thorough and painstaking drawing training, and then a detailed mastery of the editor’s capabilities, and you still want to draw ... Perhaps these tips for beginners will help you at least avoid mind-blowing pictures and save a lot of time in stepping on rake.

These tips arose quite spontaneously and unexpectedly. Recently, more and more often I have come across people who want to draw, but being at the very beginning of their journey, they sometimes make fatal mistakes that further affect their development. Of course, sooner or later, those who really set themselves the goal of learning how to draw quite tolerantly or even more, understand their mistakes, find the right solutions, read many books and articles. But this process can take much longer than we would like. And that is why I decided to write tips that would help to see or avoid some mistakes now, and not wait for an accident in a month or even a year, when the habit of drawing is already developed in this way and you don’t want to change anything, and the desire to draw would better terrorize the brain with displeasure.

These tips are for those who are just armed with a tablet. But perhaps those who already know how to draw a little will find something useful here. This is the first part of the tips, combining the most basic and the most-most-most.

I will say right away - you still need to learn the basics! But if you don't have the time or opportunity, then you have two options: don't draw at all, or learn as you go. If you chose the latter, feel free to read on.

Remember that everything that will be forbidden to you, of course, can be used, but you need to do this only when you understand what to do with it, otherwise the bumps from the rake will grow, and there will be no result.

TIP 1. Standard brushes in the form of grass, stars and other nonsense are evil for you for the next few months of communicating with a tablet and Photoshop.

This is evil, at least until you realize that you can do just fine without them. In the meantime, we strictly remember that the first months of your close communication with the tablet, your only brush should be ... a standard round hard brush. Okay, it can be square, rectangular, and, in general, no matter what shape. Solid. Not soft.

A soft brush is, of course, also useful, but for a start it is best to forget about it or, if you still encroach on it a little, do it in small doses and leave a hard brush as a priority for now. For a couple of years, I heard so many phrases like “if someone told me this,” that I was definitely convinced that this advice was correct. So - trust me! Or ... kill it. That's your business.

Many artists eventually make (or borrow from others) basic brushes for themselves. They usually have torn edges for better blending. But for you, all this is completely unnecessary now. Forget about all those brushes that are full on the Internet. Learn to master at least a little round rigid, and only then complicate it.

If the desire to use other brushes is too great - go to Photoshop and delete all the brushes except for the hard round one ... okay, and still soft, and forget all the known ways to create brushes. For a while, of course.

Do you urgently need grass, leaves and butterflies? So what's the deal? Draw!

TIP 2. Your first drawing or the next next one, if you have already drawn, should not be your favorite cat, dog, brother, sister, mom, dad, but ... tone stretching.

And .. no, not to train the pressure of the pen and the evenness of the lines, but in order to learn how to make smooth transitions. Most beginner artists suffer from the fact that they simply do not know how to mix colors and smooth planes. And, of course, the easiest and fastest solution is to use a soft brush, and this, in turn, leads to terrible results, which then lead especially faint-hearted artists to psychological trauma. Okay, the last one is a joke, but the fact remains. Therefore, before you start drawing, whether it is desirable or not, you definitely need to learn one simple but insanely useful technique.

So from this:

We'll get this:

So, the most optimal and successful way to mix colors and create a smooth transition is to use a hard brush, as it allows you to create many transitions and maintain the "clarity" of the picture, which gives it liveliness. A soft brush allows you to seemingly make smoother transitions:

But such smoothness is rarely beneficial. It is good for creating a general volume of the background, but whatever one may say, if you look closely, you can see that there is a feeling of blurring, and when this method is applied to a drawing, for example, a portrait of your sister, everything looks even worse.

It's up to you, of course, which option you like best and ideally you should be able to use both, but you need to know when you can use a soft brush and when you shouldn't. In the meantime, we still do not know this very well - the best option is to listen to smart aunts and uncles, whom I shake like a ripe tree, and do as they say.

So, let's start our stretching.

In order to make such a simple stretch, you need to arm yourself with a hard round brush. Personally, I prefer for the base brush to turn off the pressure reaction of the pen, which would determine the thickness of the line, but the reaction to transparency is just that. But this is already an amateur. With Photoshop settings, I believe, everyone can make friends if they are not too lazy. And I will talk about something else.

1. So, we take black and paint over half of our drawing with it. Well, or approximately the part that, in your opinion, will be ... a shadow.

2. Now we take and lower the Opacity and Flow parameters of the brush (they are located at the top of the menu) to about 40-50%. The lower the Opacity value, the more transparent our color will be, and if you draw a line, then the bottom color layer will also be visible through it. Essentially, Opacity can be compared to paint density. The higher the value, the higher the coverage. The Flow value determines the density of the "flow". Roughly speaking, by combining these two parameters, you can achieve different effects from the brush without getting into its other settings. But back to our sheep.

So, with the chosen black color, we paint over half the white color. Moreover, this must be done in one motion, without tearing off the pen. If you tear it off, then the previous stroke will cover the one already drawn and blending will occur where we do not need it. Now we take the new resulting color with a pipette and paint over half black with it. As a result, we will get something like this:

3. Next, we reduce the diameter of the brush, well, I think you understand why? And we take the resulting color on the left (on white) and paint it half white, and then do the same with black. And we get something like this:

4. I think it's clear what we do next? We start going from left to right or from right to left (whichever is more convenient for anyone) and, taking a color, paint over half of the neighboring one. Then we take the remaining piece of the unpainted color and paint over the next piece by half, and so on. In general, we actually did something like stretching.

It is crooked in places, but I did it solely as an example of technique.

5. Now we reduce the Opacity to 15-30% - it already depends on personal priorities, for example, I use within 20% usually or more if the pen pressure mode for the brush works, and we continue to do the same. Again and again. In general, this lesson is made solely for training. As a result of it, you yourself will figure out how best to create transitions. What pressure to choose, how to apply colors. And all this will only help to understand. You are unlikely to be perverted just like that, but sometimes this will be needed.

As a result, we will get something like this:

Once you figure out this simple task, I advise you to try to translate Opacity and Flow to pen pressure in the future. And learn to work that way. Firstly, this will at least reduce your time for constant distractions to change parameters, and secondly, you will learn how to more subtly manipulate pressure in the drawing process, which is already cool in itself!

Now let's discuss color stretching. Here everything is essentially the same. There are only two ways to stretch. More precisely, not so. The method is still the same, but the actions are slightly different and the result is .. different.

Option 1. Transition from one color to another, bypassing intermediate colors. This method is similar to a one-to-one b/w stretch.

However, it is not very good for cases where the colors are far apart on the color wheel. And, as you can see, the color at the mixing point “falls through” into gray, which is sometimes not very good for the picture and can lead to “dirt” in the future, but it can be convenient for the background, where the colors should be less saturated than the front plan.

Option 2. Transition from one color to another through intermediate colors in the color wheel. Here the essence is the same, but we add colors that are between our two main ones. I will not explain what a color wheel is and what an intermediate color means. Read color theory and you will find a lot of useful information. Over time, you will learn how to add several intermediate colors at once during the blending process. In fact, this is how drawing happens - by adding and mixing different colors. Discovered America, right? But now we will try to do it in a simple way so that you understand how it all works.

So, first we divide our drawing in half into Yellow and Purple. Then open the palette and take a color somewhere in the middle between these colors, and with Opacity 50% paint over half yellow and half purple. Voila and we get two intermediate colors.

And now the most interesting! Open the palette and go over the entire stretch with an eyedropper. First on the first, and then on the second. Really interesting? We are going through the same range, BUT in the second case, the colors are more saturated and brighter. And that's great, right? By adding an intermediate color, we made our stretch more lively and it was not difficult at all.

Keep this in mind and your drawings will immediately become more alive. This, of course, is difficult to implement right away, but over time you get the hang of it and everything will work out. The main thing to remember about this when you draw.

One aspiring artist asked me to make a video of the stretch because simple steps were not enough for him. He held a pen in his hands for the first time and never worked with Photoshop. I recorded a short video that shows how I did these stretches. It's very simple, but this kind of pen training is actually very useful, especially when working with color. It would be great if you set the Opacity and Flow to pen pressure when you run it. By the way, in this case, you do not have to lower these parameters very low. This can be seen on the video. I use 50% Opacity almost all the time.

TIP 3. Tool Finger (Smudge Tool) should be used extremely rarely and in no case for mixing colors!

Quite often, novice artists, not knowing that colors can be mixed thanks to Opacity and Flow, begin to mix, it would seem, the only available way - with the finger tool. And then it becomes so habitual that even remarks like “don’t use your finger”, “you can see that you used your finger”, “very blurry”, etc. can no longer force them to retrain. And the hedgehog, continuing to cry and prick, climbs again and again on the cactus, until a local crisis sets in and the person simply stops listening to what they say to him.

So, so that this does not happen, I say right away. We exclude the finger as such for the near future in general. It is convenient for them to do little tricks, correcting or distorting the lines. But they don't mix colors at all. Because the effect will be like ... right, like smearing paint with a finger.

As an example, here is a small picture. The circles are very small, but the essence should be clear. Of the people I interviewed, who are not connected with drawing and do not understand what and how they mixed, the majority settled on option 4 in attractiveness. Which, in fact, is true.

Figure 1. This is the color base. We have a circle, a cast shadow and light. In fact, we just have three spots that we need to mix.

Figure 2. As you can see, the result is not bad, but blurry. And with large image sizes, we get just one solid “soap”. This color mixing occurs when using a soft brush or when using a finger with soft brush settings. In the larger picture, you can see how the colors are mixed with your finger. As you can see, we just have a blurring of the line and there are practically no intermediate colors.

Figure 3. Everything is really bad here. I blended in this circle with my finger with a hard brush setting. Unfortunately, a lot of novice artists use this option and it's terrible, believe me. On the larger version, you can see how scary everything looks. Of course, many craftsmen manage to bring the use of the finger to perfection, but almost a few manage to make sure that the work does not give away the “finger effect”.

Picture 4 - well, here we mixed at different values ​​of Opacity with an ordinary hard brush. As you can see, the option looks more voluminous due to the fact that as a result of mixing we got a lot more shades and transitions. Well, of course, you can see what a strong difference and advantage this method has over others.

Summing up, I repeat - never do not use your finger to mix colors.

TIP 4. As much as you want to not learn color theory - you will have to do it sooner or later, but some rules just need to be learned right away.

So, having mastered the most important thing - mixing colors, we boldly go into battle and draw-draw-draw. Of course, we forget about color theory because there is a lot to read there, and indeed, why do we need it? Yeah ... And then, when, it would seem, we can already draw more or less pretty, we suddenly hear for ourselves “few colors”, “everything is monophonic”, “if the shadows are warm, then the light is cold”, “dirt” and so on Further. And we immediately fall into a stupor / panic / sadness / rejection (underline as necessary). After all, how is it! How so?? Yes, not so. We forgot about color theory. And it’s not for nothing that so much has been written about her.

I will not write here what has already been described hundreds of thousands of times. I advise you to type in the search "Color Theory" or "Fundamentals of Color Science" and read one full article. Of course, you won't remember anything the first time. Only the basis will be deposited in your head in the form of the fact that there is a color tone, lightness (tone), light, shadow, half-light, penumbra, reflexes, highlights, saturation, warm-coldness, well, and a small list.

Well, then you just need to learn very simple rules that you should remember and keep in mind every time you draw. And also remember that they are all interconnected! Over time, you will simply begin to apply them without thinking about the wording, but you will simply feel and know that it is necessary. Perhaps you will find your way to comprehend the theory of color. But while this is all ahead - just remember the following and it will be much easier for you.

Color change according to the shape of the object.

1. By lightness:
- Light color, moving away, darkens.

- A dark color, moving away, brightens.

2. By saturation: moving away, the color goes out in saturation, weakens.

3. According to heat and coldness:
- Cold colors, moving away, will warm up.

Warm colors, moving away, will get colder.

4. In the light, the color is lighter, in the shade - weaker and distributed over halftones.

5. By warmness - if you chose a warm light, then the shadows will be cold. If you chose cold light, the shadows will be warm.

6. The color in the shadow "lights up" by saturation. That is, it becomes more saturated.

These rules were very useful to me, since the simple phrase “the farther the subject, the lower the contrast on it” at one time led me into a stupor, but when I figured out the rules, I completely understood the essence of what was said. Needless to say, I didn't make the rules. They are taken from one excellent article about the Fundamentals of Color Science, where this issue is discussed at a very primitive level. I advise everyone to read it, but do not forget, in the future, be sure to familiarize yourself with the classic voluminous theoretical calculations.

Well, to make it clear for those who do not know how lightness and saturation change on the palette in Photoshop, I will give you such a picture that will help you navigate. With warm-cold, you need to act according to the circumstances and remember that blue and green are considered cold, and red and yellow are considered warm.

All? Well, practically yes. The main thing to remember is that color is deceiving. If you've read color theory, you'll understand what I'm talking about. For example, gray surrounded by red will look like blue, and brown surrounded by green colors will look like red, etc. So know the theory, but don't forget see what you are drawing.

TIP 5. Don't use the Burn and Dodge tools to create shadows and highlights.

So why is it bad to use Burn? The fact is that light and shadow, and, in fact, the very color of an object sometimes, under the influence of the environment, acquires a different shade, different from the base one. There are a lot of nuances regarding shadows, but we will talk about this with you later. Now we only need to know that Burn and Dodge are not a lifesaver and all they do is change the color saturation, while we also need changes in color and lightness, which we will not get at all with this option.

Let's look at an example of using Burn to create shadows and compare it with shadows created with a hard brush.

As an example, we use the already familiar ball (Fig. 2), which we obtained from Fig. 1 by mixing superimposed base colors. With the help of Burn, we strengthened the shadow, but the light was added with the help of Dodge (Fig. 3). Well, in the last picture (Fig. 4), we used additional colors for light and shadow, and also used a hard brush.

Now let's open the color palette and use an eyedropper to go through the primary colors of the ball obtained by the Burn and Dodge method.

And what do we see? And we see that the shadow has become more saturated, but that's all. The range of colors used is critically small. Such works are often called "fried" because they really look like drawings slightly fried in the oven. No "mention" of ambient lighting on our ball.

Now again, arm ourselves with an eyedropper and check our colors on the last, correct version.

As you can see, in the light we have seemingly completely invisible green colors, while the shadow has become more red. From the side, the ball looks much more saturated than before, but at the same time there is no feeling of friedness, because we tried to do it right. Not ideal, of course, but the essence should be more than clear.

Well, now let's digress from the balls and consider all the same, but on the example of a sketch that Sandlady kindly provided to us.

Figure 1. This is a basic sketch with color and chiaroscuro scattered around.

Figure 2. Deciding to show what happens when a soft brush is used, Sandlady carefully smoothed out all the transitions. As a result, we got a smooth, blemish-free skin. But if separately it still looks normal, then with a larger size and detail, we will get just soapy soap. All the flatness and texture resulting from the overlay of colors disappeared, and just spots of different colors formed. This is especially noticeable in comparison with Figure 4.

Figure 3. As is usually the case with beginner artists, the colors for light and shadow are most often taken according to the base. To show this, Sandlady deliberately reduced all the colors of the picture to one tone, and then used the Burn tool. As a result, the shadows were saturated, but due to the lack of additional colors, we got a fried Asian. You can't really call it appetizing. Rather painful.

Figure 4. Here Sandlady used a hard brush. Due to the many small facets that are obtained through a simple color mixing technique, the face looks textured and voluminous. To maintain and up the contrast, a bit of bright scarlet was added, which made it possible to intensify the shadows instead of using the Burn tool, and, I must say, the result greatly outperforms its neighbors.

Well, that's the end of the first five tips.

Summing up, I want to note that the examples given are illustrative, but not completely. On large canvases, all these subtleties become more noticeable. It's like if a small spot of dirt unpleasantly touches the eye, then a large spot simply spoils the whole work. Perhaps now that you know what exactly leads to the formation of “spots” in the drawings, you will make the right decision in choosing the tools for creating shadows and lights in your subsequent masterpieces.

Enjoy learning while drawing and don't forget that theory is still important! Find some time for her.

When copying a lesson to other resources, remember that you agree that the lesson should be posted as is. You are also required to indicate the source - that is, to establish a link to this resource.