Painting Process - Menma from anohana 02
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Using blocks of color to paint the silhouette. It's easier for me to grab the structure.
Adjusted the composition
Start painting with lines
Trying to paint the umbrella. Seems painting ellipses is not a proper method
Decided to use an octagon for the umbrella. The polygon tool is the 3rd one below the pen tool.
Draw an octagon, copy & paste, change the second one's size Then the two octagons can be concentric.
Their perspective can be changed together by using the 'Free Transform' tool.
Three octagons are needed because an umbrella rib has two hinges.
The sketch is done.
Start doing the color sketch.
Starting from the background is easier for better controlling the mood of the whole painting.
Selected the character, filled solid color into a new layer.
Setting the character's color.
(I switched between painting the character and the background time to time. )
set a new layer to 'screen' mode to create the light.
Painting the shadows on a layer set to 'multiply'
Create a new layer of 'overlay' mode, Set it to a 'clipping mask' (by holding Alt and click between the two layers)
Select the shadowed region below, and change the color by painting on the overlayed layer.
Merged the layers after the adjustments, and adjust the 'tonal range' (a better tool than the 'brightness/contrast' tool in my opinion)
Adding the lights on the ground.
(didn't have the idea about how to paint the wet ground at this time point)
Adjusting the background's color and luminance.
Selected the region for the umbrella, filled in the region to have an idea of its effect.
Enter 'quick mask' to select part of the background, adjust the 'tonal range'.
Drawing some water drops on the umbrella.
Locked the transparent pixels on the sketch layer, then changed the lines' color.
I stopped here to search some references.
Found references of puddles, and analyzed how to paint them.
a puddle's characteristics are: the highlights around it, and the dark water in the middle.
Here I painted the highlight first.
Then painted the darker water in the middle, and the reflections in the water.
Adjust the ground's luminance. Darker ground gives a damp look.
Finished the color sketch. Starting to paint the details.
Opened a new window of the same picture for examing the balance of the whole picture.
Choose Window > Arrange > New Window For [Image File Name]
Pick up the background color, using a non-opaque brush to paint the transparency.
Trying to start painting the umbrella. (In fact I painted it wrong at this point)
The perspective should be the other way around.
Painting the easier shaft first on a separated layer.
Found that I've painted the perspective wrong at this point...
Struggled a bit and decided to later repaint the umbrella cover.
Examined the hydrangea's photos, found that the rim of the leaves are wavy.
So I painted the leaves left with waves.
Back to struggle with the umbrella.
Re-stroked the path for the umbrella.
Now the perspective is in the right way.
Preparing to paint the hydrangeas. Decided to make a brush myself.
Tried the new brush's effect around.
Used 'drop shadow' to trace the water drops.
Refine the water drops. Not too much details are needed because they are small.
Almost done. Doing some adjustments.
Draw the umbrella's shadow. (In fact I'm not very sure how it should look like. )
Finished. Thanks for watching :) �
