Season’s Greetings to all of my fans out there. Thanks so much for your comments and support to my page and my designs. This week I incorporated some Photoshop video integration to create the .GIF File you see below. The layered technology of Photoshop made it extremely easy to build. The stock was available here.
Season’s Greeting From the Mountain Snowman!
The Design Process
This design was painted using brushes I purchased from @TrentKaniuga located from his store at Trent Kaniuga (gumroad.com) . The entire design took about four hours all together. Using separate layers I was able to create the illusion of depth by making adjustments to contrast and brightness. A nice glow layer with the brightness turned all the way up was used for the fine highlights. I think this added a nice haunted appeal to the whole piece overall.
Most of my time was spent blending the colors together until I found a nice selection. By keeping the color selection simple, I reduced the complexity of the shading process. Had there been more colors, there would have been more to balance….and it would have taken a lot longer I’m sure to get the desired results.
The simple red scarf provides just enough of an added focal point since that’s the only other color there really. It makes the eyes jump to it and then over to the moon.
What Do You Think?
I’d really like to see your comments and questions. If there is something you’d like me to create, drop a comment and let me know. I’d love the challenge. By the way, I am very new to Photoshop. I’ve used Clip Studio Paint forever but it never hurts to learn something new. Another shout out to all the artists who create YouTube videos because that’s how I learn the best!
My 2017 – 2020 Portfolio is here. It has been a great three years of drawing and sharing with all of my friends, followers, and clients I’ve worked with. Hopefully it has been just as great for all of you as well. I’ve compiled my favorite works and compiled them into a portfolio located at https://artofjeffreyhunt.com. Here you’ll see my categorically organized designs in a very clean viewing format with the help of Adobe software.
The Concept Art Idea Book is still available here on Amazon.com. This book is meant for either the amateur or the professional. Everyone runs into roadblocks when they create. This work is a presentation of my creative processes highlighting how I bring my creations to life. It is meant to provide inspiration to those who need and information for those who want it. While this does not discuss how to use specific software functions, it does describe process that can be used whatever digital software you chose to use.
Pick up my newest eBook on Amazon today!
I wish everyone a happy holiday and a happy New Year as we move into 2021!
Pilgrim in the Woods visiting a Thanksgiving Dinner near you.
Pilgrim in the woods is visiting a Thanksgiving dinner near you. Halloween is over but are all the spooks really gone? The ghosts aren’t screeching and the werewolves aren’t yelping but the woods is not empty of danger.
The Pilgrim
How is it this pilgrim is here and what does he want? It’s been many long years since the Puritans first came to America and shared the first Thanksgiving. Was someone left behind or is this would be wanderer plagued with unfinished business? Time will tell when the truth is finally uncovered. I could write horror stories all year round. My goal this year is to come up with a horror idea that ties in with every major holiday. I don’t know if I will ever write a full story or not but ideas are where more ideas come from. Let me know if you have any special requests out there.
About this Design
I hope you are all enjoying my latest design. Please let me know what you think by commenting on this post or dropping a note through a form.
I used 13 different layers to design this scene. I didn’t start with a pencil sketch. In fact, I clicked on the oil paint tool and went right to work painting out the scene. The scene background was painted with the oil paint flat brush tool. The digital oils provided a nice blending affect to build the background just like playing with Play dough. I alternated shades and used the blending tool as well to get the lighting effect I wanted.
Tips and Tricks
Below are some screenshots of layers that I used. The first one is a 33% opacity layer that I drew the trees on in the distance along with some shrubs. I used a very light brown within the pallet that I was working with. This effect created some of the white noise that comes with designing wooded areas. A G-Pent was all I needed to design the trees. A darker bleed tool brush was used for the shrubs. I like to keep things murky and then pull the details out.
Background
This next section is of just the trees themselves. See how they are on their own layer? I can manipulate the depth of the piece easier this way and control the highlights and shadows without creating digital mud. Using the selection tool helps to keep the overspray from going out of control. I still have a little. Through color discipline practice, it becomes easier to paint in this fashion. The airbrush highlight and shadow tools create nice textures on the tree. I selected where the light was coming from and then I just stayed consistent until I got the trees completed. Additional texture was created by using a darker pencil to enhance the bark.
Foreground Trees
As I go over each part of the tree, I can slowly pull out the natural texture of the tree along with other minor details such as the roots and growth defects in the tree that make it look more interesting.
I used the ink pen tool to design the Pilgrim and then I sketched out lightly what I wanted and then filled it in. I already knew that I was going to use a silhouette so I didn’t worry about every detail with the character. Extra grass created the mired affect. The woodlands known to be wet.
The Pilgrim Design
I used the polygon line tool to detail the parts of his outfit that I felt viewers would need to see to understand he is a pilgrim. I used Google to find a some good ideas for what I wanted the pilgrim to look like. Again, not a lot of serious detail required. Using my G-Pen with white pigment, I colored in some wrinkles and added some buttons. If I did my job well enough, you can tell that it’s a pilgrim.
Some additional details I added were the sun beams shining through. The line tool is awesome to get this detail. I changed the opacity on the beams so they look more transparent and played around with the color. True yellow just wasn’t covering it.
I designed the bridge with just blocks of grey matter that I blended together. I used references for this too because I just couldn’t picture the bridge the way I wanted in my head alone.
Summary
That is all for tonight. If I left some things out that you may want to know more of, please ask. I am always happy to help everyone out. Also check out my book. You can find it here. Amazon Prime holders can get it for free. It is available in hard copy and E-book format. The book has a lot of these types of tutorials designed to help you come up with design ideas.
