The other month I was playing around with another Halloween themed photoshop so here’s my beginner level tutorial:

Step 1: If you’re going to do a portrait start with a mirror or a photo for reference. This will make everything easier. Because lets face it, you’re hopped up on caffeine and your memory has never been that great to begin with. What’s your composition going to be? I chose a ‘comin at ya’ face shot for this one for intimidation purposes. Start with a neutral background and blob out your basic forms. This is the easiest part, just keep dabbing. You’re just playing around until you find something you like. I decided to make my skin tones pale/greyish, ‘cuz that’s in right now.

Step 2: Start refining your image. This is going to take a while. Keep at it. Start adding some more detail and highlights to the skin, as well as building up the rest of your image. This is basic stuff so it’s really the easiest part. No major consequences at this stage, keep playing. Squint at the image and imagine its finished. Does it have enough in there to keep you interested? If not think about introducing some new features. Remember sharks, mermaids and Unicorns are fun, but don’t go there unless you’re completely out of other ideas. You know what else looks cool? Fire! Let’s go there.

Step 3: Ok, now we’re getting somewhere. The smoothing and refinements are coming along, so now start focusing on skin texture and shines. Sell it! Also start adding depth and light to the background. Think about the remaining parts of your composition and play with the elements. The hard work is almost over so relax, this is the easiest part of the piece. Maybe throw some new features into the mix. I decided to add some facial glowy things at this stage. That’s always a good idea.

Step 4: This is it. The final stretch. Make those facial elements glow and shimmer. Throw in some drippy blood. Everybody loves that. Sell the eyes and refine the beard hair. Don’t skimp on the detail, it’s all coming together, this is the most fun and easy part of the piece! Are you done? are you happy with it? If not, throw in some glowing orbs for good measure! Good job!

Tags: Halloween,Nadir Balan,painting,Photoshop,PS Tutorial,Tutorial
Categories: Nadir Balan, Photoshop Tutorial
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Although I don’t usually worry about coloring my artwork I do, on occasion, enjoy splashing around the old virtual paintbrush and have, again on occasion, tried to look up a new technique or tip from a tutorial. I find it entertaining that much like the old ‘how to draw’ instruction booklets from my childhood, these new online photoshop tutorials are pretty useless if you’re not capable of doing most of the work already. I remember having a ‘How to draw dinosaurs’ booklet as a kid and it was all: Step 1: Draw a circle, Step 2: draw a smaller circle, Step 3: connect the two circles with an oval, Step 4: draw a Brontosaurus. (Ask me to draw a brontosaurus one day. I’m really good.)

Anyway, despite all this I somehow managed to learn how to draw, paint, sculpt, count and fly. So to show my process of doing a little photoshop dabbling I figured I’d make my own cliche photoshop tutorial.

Step 1: Start with a drawing, doodle, or scribble. But really, a drawing would be best, because this is the most important part, you want to establish your basic composition and tone.

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Step 2: Build off of your drawing by slapping on some color. This is the most important step, you are establishing your color palette. For this piece my inspiration was Lady Elaine Fairchilde from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhoo. Usually building color up from the background first is the best method. Building front to back (like I did with the elephant below) is the advanced difficulty method, sometimes called the ‘why aren’t these colors working?!’ method.

Step 3: Finish up by smoothing rough areas and clarifying your piece. Pay attention to detail because this is the most important step, the final product! Add flair and SFX as necessary. OK, Congratulations, you’re finished!

Categories: Cyborg Elephants, Nadir Balan, Photoshop Tutorial, painting, robot, sketch
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