So this is a first for moi---but a handful of people have wanted to see a step by step account at how I color the way I do. The thing is---I'm probably the LEAST technical person when it comes to Photoshop. I don't know the ins and outs like many other talented deviants and artists. I really just approach it as a painting. As a matter of fact, I got into Photoshop years ago because I couldn't afford paint supplies

I should clarify, because truth be told, though---Photoshop is more a convenience, as I genuinely enjoy and often times prefer traditional paints/acrylics

Anyway---my approach is slightly different every time I digi paint. I like playing with different brushes, different mixes and so on. But one constant is the build up of color. Color on top of color while being careful of how the under paint will affect the color above it. Does that make sense? If it doesn't, well then allow me to clarify

Step 1 The Pencil Sketch. Originally this entry was supposed to fully detailed, inked, then painted traditionally with acrylics. Freelance work decided to pick in the last couple weeks---so I ended up not having ANY time to do all that. So I decided to do something rough---just to layout the main idea. The theme for me was motion, without over exaggerating the image with speed lines and blurs. Notice that Bianca has both eyes in this image---that won't last

I beefed up the levels, contrast and brightness. This'll keep my lines clear and sharp as I paint over them. If I was painting traditionally, I'd use a ball point pen and a Sharpie to for the same effect.

Step 2 Background. I knew from the word "go" that I'd be going for a warm feel across the whole piece. This is an extremely important part for me, as it sets up all the colors I plan to work with. Setting up these reds and some tertiary colors will bring more "pop" to the greens and blues I lay on top of these. The opacity for these colors is very low as it helps me establish the direction I'm trying to go in terms of color. As I said, here it's reds, so I work with that.

I also start building up subtle textures to softly bring out the ground that the characters are standing on. Using a different layer underneath the pencils helps ensure that the penciled lines are still in tact.

Step 3 Darks and Flats. Now this is where my method becomes unconventional. My flats aren't *really that flat. My goal here is to just throw "foundation colors" down. Meaning, these will mix with the red of the background because they are softly painted, and will also help me understand what colors to use above them. Basically, I let the colors fly and land without much scrutiny. I don't get anal about staying in the lines because I know where I'm going and I know the contours will be refined later.

For example, the monster on the right with the giant cleaver---his armor is dingy and worn, but this sets up the highlights that I will add later. I do the same to his cleaver, building up the grimy under textures. I imagined Bianca's sword handles to be tied, yet lacquered for grip, so I made them a bright red hue, as they are reflecting all that red light around her.

Also, this is the moment I decided to give Bianca her eyepatch look instead. I envisioned her one eye as having more sharpness and focus if it was all alone instead of having two. You'll see what I mean by the end of this. Right now, I just throw on a dark gray over her left eye, just to remind me that it'll be covered by the end.

Speaking of Bianca, notice that I laid out the color scheme of her hair from dark to light in a very flat way. This will be my guide for when I smooth it out later.

Once all the flats are done--I flatten my two layers into one yummy, artistic sandwich! YUMMY!!

Step 4 Very Soft Highlights. With a brush that's *maybe about 20-30% opacity (give or take), I wash over the dark areas and most of the peace. You'll notice that visually--it's a very small difference from the Step 3--yet it's still very important.

At this point, I also noticed that my detailing was making me lose sight of the lines that made of the left arm on the demon with the cleaver. So I added a soft overcoat to his armor, representing the reflected colors, while also being mindful to preserve the under painted textures.

Then I add the under paint of the demon's left arm. I wanted him to look greenish, but to also have a deep blue shadowy feel, while his highlights would be yellow. Keep in mind that all these colors are in there, whether they are all visible or not.

Step 5 Detailing Blue Demon. Now comes the meat and potatoes of the work---detailing. Usually when I'm traditionally painting, I'll work with one color at a time. So it I'm working on something that's dark blue in on corner of teh piece, I'll then proceed to color as many areas that share that same blue.

With digi paint you can be more lax because paint drying up isn't an issue, DUH just kidding---
Anyway...For this piece, I work in a counter-clockwise method. So my details will increase starting from the far left with the blue demon then work slightly down and around to the right, and back around the top towards the left again.

With the blue demon, I work up his cool colors, so all violets and blues---as well as tertiaries like gray browns and dark/burnt reds and oranges. I keep my colors fairly dark, but also give slight impressions of color ranging and highlighting. Again, these are like "post its" that will remind me of how I want to highlight this guy later. I add just a bit of sweeping blood spray, to show the motion of Bianca's blade having made a clean, visceral sweep. And of course, I detail his head and eyes as well. All the while remembering his textures as well as letting that red mix into my colors.

Step 6 Detailing Bianca and the Cleaver. These next two steps are similar, but I'll separate them to show specifics. In this step, I start to add detail to Bianca's pants. I'm cautious to observe how the pen stripes on her pants should bob and weave with the fabric as it creases and folds.

At this time, I also start adding definition to the cleaver of the demon on the right---making it look old and grungy, as if the demon NEVER cleans it,even after he has killed with it! This rendering will also give it the "weight" it needs to make it look more 3-dimensional. This includes the handle as well, as I start detailing that as well.

Step 7 Detailing Bianca Further. This step is more about the lady in charge. Now I take the time to bring out the rest of her body. I give her an arm band on her left arm that's made of a durable leather texture, as I figure this woman needs SOME form of protection on her arms.

Notice how I sweep out the reds in her hair as well. All according to the flats I laid out in Step 3. Next I start to detail the eyepatch(nope, I didn't forget about it!) and some of the finger guards of her swords as well.

Also notice that the actual blades are getting lost in the detailing. This is why I didn't stress them in the first place, because I knew this would result. The demon's cleaver is given another coat of detailing, just to refine the colors I threw on in the previous step.

Step 8 Detailing the Green Demon. Now it's time to shift to the right some more. I add another coat of the cyan/dark green mixture I created in my paint swatches and add it on top of the demon.

See the POP he has now? This is due to the under painting, as my opacity is never high when I digi paint. Red is a natural complement of green, and orange of cyan/blue. Since there are both red and orange hues that are very bright, the greens and blues above them have more flair! Now we just need to bring in some highlights for a stronger finish on his body.

The same idea is applied to the demon's armor. I start refining and DE-fining the texture of it. I went for a smoldered, speckled look---as if it's rough to the touch since it's never been properly cleaned or refurbished. This includes the cleaver, as I've added a few rust smudges to add that "old" look to the weapon.

At this point, I also smoothed out Bianca's skin, and smudged out the swords. Since the swords will be significantly brighter than Bianca's hair and the entire background, it's best to put them at the end, when all the darks are laid out.

Step 9 Detailing the Green Demon Further. This step, I focused more on the armor. I really wanted a very specific look that visualize small cuts, rust, scratches, and crud. Just an idea that this demon wears this suit every time he enters battle------------and he'll probably die in it

At this point, I also begin rounding out the detail how the armor is lit. I make sure there's a strong shadow at its back and high contrast at the edges. I also start defining my colors so that they follow a more distinct contour.

I remember looking at this demon and thinking--"that space to the top right is bothering the hell out of me!" So first, I add another coat of highlighted color on the demon's skin (a soft yellow and a tiny piece of green), then I add some color to plot out the demon's ponytail and knot. Just something simple so I won't forget to put it later.

The cleaver is also given another coat to help bring out the colors as well add some highlights. All the while, I make sure to stay along a soft sweep so that I don't lose that subtle notion of motion(---hehe, I rhymed)

Step 10 Detailing the Red Demon and Furthering the Green Demon. Now a start to visualize the red Demon in the distance---but first, I want to finalize this green bugger once and for all. I define all his darks and bring out his textures. My shading works along his musculature, so that it shows off his definition. I also added some skin spots, just for added detail. The demons should pad is also defined and detailed, added to its weight as well.

Now for the red demon. Since he's in teh distance, I want to keep him there visually as well. I use very soft dark colors to build him up 3-dimensionally. I keep them soft because if he has too much contrast, he will start to visually compete with the everyone in the foreground. Meaning, He gains visual attention because of his placing and because of the lights surrounding him---and I want to keep it that way!

At this point, I also start adding a soft fog that is illuminate by the ambient light of the battlefield. This fog helps smooth out the lower background, and also helps distinguish the red demon and his placement in the distance.

Step 11 Back to Bianca. Now a move back around my left and back to detailing Bianca. Here's where I refine her face, eye, eyepatch, and skin. All these colors have that "glow" that I was looking for, and it's all because of the under paints that are very softly bleeding through.

I start zooming in and really getting those details in her fingers, the swords' handles and all her shadows and darks, as well as the soft pinks and reds of her nose and cheeks. Remember, these are soft midtones that are gently highlighted, but that's it---NO MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS YET! I know that's the fun part but be patient. Trust me, it's worth it to build from the bottom up.

Step 12 Swords and Midtone White/Yellow Wash. Now that we have a good strong base of darks and background color---let's hit up those swords, starting with the one that is in the foreground defending(in her left arm).

Traditional painting wise--I would use two small pieces of drafting tape parallel to each other along the sword's finger guard. This would preserve a perfectly straight shape. Then I'd just paint in my details, remove the tape, and would get the EXACT same results.

In digi paint, you can pretty much cheat I just used the line tool and made its thickness at about 1. Then I made two lines---a gray one, and then a white one on top of it. Keep them very, very close to each other. Then I just blurred over them with a very soft/small brush. This visually mixes them, and also allows the white not to be lost along the blade. Why does that matter? Because when we finally highlight, we can do more with a mixed white than a solid gray and solid white. Does that make sense? Well, you'll see what I mean in the last highlighting stages to come.

The vertical sword in the background(in her right hand) is applied the same way as the foreground one, but with a much thicker line. This time, I painted in the whites because I have a distinct idea for the highlights and motion effects.

Next, I add another coat of white wash at VERY LOW opacity, just to saturate some of the darks that I feel are a bit TOO dark.

Step 13 Color Highlights Now I add some of the highlighted colors. I envisioned that the ground was smoldering and hot---so much so that some parts of it were glowing red. With that in mind, I had to do some red under lighting. The color is a very saturated hue, and will provide contours to the characters in the piece.

At the same time, I observe how the ambient light from the surrounding environment will affect the tops of the characters(their heads, faces and other parts). You can better see this in regards to the green demon's head, the blue demon's chest. Bianca's armband, her pants and a bit in the finger guards of her swords.

Step 14 Highlights And here we are, the icing on the proverbial cake! The highlights are where all the magic happens and what REALLY gives that............"spit shine" finish you're looking for. The piece and all the lights are brought out in a subtle, yet strong contrast. In this process, I DO NOT rely on the dodge tool and recommend you don't either. It can become to hot for some of the lighter colors, so use it sparingly. Me, I like to add actual color highlights. So if I want a green tint, I'll add a mix of white, yellow, and perhaps a very little reddish tint. (tint meaning "any color that is mixed with the color white") Then perhaps if I want a slightly more vibrant highlight, just a bit of the dodge tool. JUST A BIT, YOU HEAR ME?!

Anyway, the veins of the demons are also created in this step, giving them their menacing power and presence. I add some glowing highlights on the red demon's eyes and teeth, and create a sharo sheen on the edge of the green demon's cleaver to help establish a border between it and everything that is relatively separated from it (Bianca and the red demon for example).

And for one last kick, I add a very vibrant shine to Bianca's vertical sword. It enables me to show a soft motion between the severed demon head. Another important feature is that the rays that shoot towards the right help contain my composition, as they point to both the red demon and the green demon.

Speaking of the Green Demon---his pony tail is now in place

Step 15 Saturation So, we're pretty much all done-----but it still needs more POP, don't you think. I like my paintings to have a rich and vibrant look. I carefully add another wash over the entire piece. This time alternating between red and white. As I do so, I add some more color to certain areas---like more yellows to the green demon's face if I need to, etc.

The wash is important because now I have a more vibrant image. Notice how richer the piece is now!

Step 16 Finishing Touch So at this point, I alsways like to consider the possibility that I might end up printing an image for a convention or something. Even if I don't have a show coming up, I like getting this step out of the way when I'm all done because I'll forget to do it later. Since printed images are CMYK, they are usually darker then teh image on your screen. So I try to compensate just a bit by slightly increasing the overall levels. It may not look it, but it's actually a hair lighter than in the previous step.

Now it's ready for print! HOT DOG!



That's it in a nutshell. I'm glad I documented this---it was fun and interesting to see how I got my final result. I hope those of you out there who wanted to see a step by step analysis got there money's worth.

Holla