The next assignment will be the animal portrait assignment. Digital artists will have to be able to paint a variety of subjects. When digital artists work on games, they will have to work on character designs and creature designs. For creatures, digital artists will have to learn to study and master painting a variety of animals. We are going to be painting an animal portrait. You will get to choose between a dog or a cat.
Below is a step by step process to create this animal portrait.
Below is a step by step process to create this animal portrait.
1. Sketch Phase: Lightly sketch out the outline of the animals. Use a harder brush to sketch the features of the face. Draw the face shape and map out the eyes, nose, and mouth.
2. Mapping out color: Create a new layer above the sketch layer. Select colors from your animal and place them where they are in the image. I would use a hard brush and not a brush that is see-through like the chalky brush I used. There isn't too much blending here, just laying out colors you use.
3. Blending: By lowering the opacity, I start to blend the colors together. I use the airbrush tool on a 25-30 percent opacity to blend the colors in areas of the fur. Other brushes can work just as well.
4. Texture, Fur, Details: I use the hard brush to create sharp hair like strokes on top of the cat. I define the features of the face and sharpen fur areas on the cheeks and the outer edge of the cat. Lastly, I drew the whiskers.
Here is a side by side comparison between the cat photo and the portrait! You won't be creating this cat, but instead, you will have the choice of 4 images provided below in the button links, There are 2 cats and 2 dogs. Copy the image in the link and paste it in a new canvas. You will have your photo reference and your painting next to each other side by side, just like with the environmental art.
Points: 30