Tutorial - Bloodmare - 2

Right, on with Part 2 :-
Step Three – Details
Okay, now we’ve got the Base Colours down, it’s time to add some details. These are features and characteristics on the BloodMare’s body that are not yet affected by light and tone. In this case it’s the lighter colours on its torso, arms and legs, also the blood on the jaws and armour, and finally the raw wounds where the metal plates are digging into the flesh (yum!)

Step Four – First Level Lighting
This is probably the most important step in the whole process, and we really start to see the painting taking shape. This is where I add the first layers of light onto the creature. The light is coming in from the top left, and I’ve opted for lighter, warmer colours. I’ve set the brush tool to a mid-level Opacity so I can build up colour on the muscles and contours. I’m still blocking in the lighting with a brush size of between 30 – 60 pixels, I’m intentionally not getting specific about the fine detail, that comes over in later steps. At this stage it’s most important to get depth across in the painting.
The BloodMare was also looking very stark on the white background, so I’ve added a basic dark background to off set the contrast. It’s okay for now, but I may change it as I go along. (For Photoshop users, I achieved the mottled effect by using Scattering in the brush tool features, adding Shape Dynamics, and Other Dynamics. - I don’t usually go in much for fancy brush presets, but this one is pretty useful. – The brush Opacity was also set to about 45% or so).