[Figure 2.2] Import into Painter and begin with a base color.

2) I scan my sketch and open it in Painter to further work, refine, color, and finish it. I use a Wacom tablet while working in Painter. I start by choosing a middle tone — a blue — and add it as a base color to the sky and water using the Pens, Flat Color Brush. See Figure 2.2.

[Figure 2.3] Use Pens, Flat Color to fill in

background colors.

3) At this time I am more concerned with adding a ground color to every part of the image; I am not concerned with dimensionality at this point. So in Figure 2.3, I use the same Flat Color Brush to add background colors to the mountain and castle, filling these areas with flat colors.

I usually work on the entire canvas at the same time, especially at the start and before going on to the details. I work on the ground, sky, foreground, midground, and background simultaneously. I don’t like to finish one particular area first. This technique helps me build harmony throughout.

[Figure 2.4] Use color to create mood and add

dimensionality.

4) At this stage, I am working to build up the image in various areas, layer by layer, and now want to achieve some dimensionality. During this process, I use various pens along the way with solid, flat strokes, such as Flat Color and Round Tip Pen 10. I play around with the opacity at times and work to create the mood I am after by carefully deciding on a basic ground color for every part of the image. See Figure 2.4.

I build up my image layer by layer, in the same manner that I would for a real oil painting (on canvas). This approach helps me achieve a solid, rich-looking surface with body and volume.

[Figure 2.5] Begin adding details.

5) I begin adding basic details using Pens, Flat Color for more solid strokes and covering. In Figure 2.5, I add a winding path, which was not in my initial sketch, on the main mountain. It is a major need and a visually interesting choice. This also lends visual significance to the main point of focus: the castle. I create clouds around the moon using Artists’ Oils, Dry Brush for my initial swirling shapes; right now their placement is the most important thing for me. I also add ripples in the water using a flat pen brush in a new layer and, for now, just a random suggestion of ripples according to the light.

I would like to suggest that all beginners who want to give digital painting a shot should read and learn about art in general. Besides becoming proficient with the tools and brushes that digital art software offers, you’ll have basic knowledge about the elements of art. No tool can make a nice composition for you, tweak a weak arrangement of things, or fix a boring color scheme — you must know about these elements already to produce a solid and convincing piece of artwork. Elements such as composition, focus, depth, perspective, light, tone, color, drama, and mood are crucial to consider when developing your image. You need a combination of tools and a strong know-how of art.

6) Now it’s time to make this image much more focused and defined. I start finishing the loose parts, always keeping in mind the light source, which is the moon at the back. Major areas become silhouettes, with light rimming their edges and the parts that would receive straight light from the moon being fully lit. Those areas that fall in a direct line with the moon I make even brighter.