This tutorial is for my newest painting, Till Death Do Us Part, and it depicts a family of three (mum, dad and baby) being hunted by demon stalkers. The parents protect the baby with their lives, while the demon stalkers conjure dark magic using the skull of a fallen comrade as the source of power. The father counters the assault with his own magic, channelled through his sword.
This tutorial will take you from the sketch all the way to the finished painting. You should be fairly familiar with Photoshop and Painter for this tutorial, as some of the tips are exclusive to each software. However, the best way to learn from a painting tutorial is to not get hung up on the software details, but to understand the mentality and the approach of the artist.
Today’s software is highly competitive and often have similar tools; that’s why understanding how and why an artist uses a specific tool is more important than duplicating the tutorial step-by-step. Ideally, you should have some basic art foundation to attempt this tutorial – whether it’s from formal training or just time spent as a hobbyist.
You should also have a tablet suitable for digital painting, such as a Wacom Intuos or Graphire product, or their equivalent. Digital painting with a mouse is like cooking with a hammer – a special kind of punishment to test your tolerance for lack of efficiency and ergonomics. My motto is: gimme a tablet or nothing at all.
Today’s software is highly competitive and often have similar tools; that’s why understanding how and why an artist uses a specific tool is more important than duplicating the tutorial step-by-step. Ideally, you should have some basic art foundation to attempt this tutorial – whether it’s from formal training or just time spent as a hobbyist.
You should also have a tablet suitable for digital painting, such as a Wacom Intuos or Graphire product, or their equivalent. Digital painting with a mouse is like cooking with a hammer – a special kind of punishment to test your tolerance for lack of efficiency and ergonomics. My motto is: gimme a tablet or nothing at all.