Adobe Photoshop is the premier creative software used by artists, photographers, graphic designers and anyone who wants to render digital artwork and images in a fast, efficient and easy manner. With Photoshop, you can let your imagination run wild, and using a Wacom graphics tablet together with Photoshop means digital painting can be simple and fun for everyone!
Layers
Layers are the key to effective painting in Photoshop. Try putting colors on separate layers, adjusting the opacity of layers to create easy color overlays or effects which simulate lens filters. Lock layers to ensure that you don't paint on the wrong layer, and adjust the opacity of layers as needed to perfect the look of your painting.
Layer blend modes also serve as a quick and easy way to apply an overall color adjustment to a layer above your painted layers, which simulates washes or filter effects. Layer selections are a handy way to apply an effect to only a selected area of your painting; try selecting a shape using the polygonal lasso tool, perhaps a facial detail or a background shape, then paint on that layer. Your brush strokes won't show up outside of the selection area, so you don't have to worry about messing up some other area of your painting, or you can concentrate your strokes to an exact area.
Watercolornew fill layer>pattern" and then select OK. This will apply a texture to your layer, and a dialog box will pop up that says "pattern fill." Click on the arrow to the right of the texture sample box, then click on the arrow in the top right corner of the new dialog box that opens up. From this menu, you can choose artist surfaces or any other surface you want to serve as the background texture for your painting. Remember to keep this layer below your painted layers, and lower the opacity of layers above the texture to make it shine through.
Portraiture and Landscapesadjustments>hue/saturation" and tweaking the levels of hue and saturation there.
Photos can also be traced by using overlying layers and the pen, or a small-size brush, tool. For a quick and easy painterly effect, apply a filter over your original photograph by going to "filter>artistic" and choose a look that suits your taste. A large screen will pop up that not only will show you the detail of the filter being applied over your original photo but will also allow you to go through the various filters and see what works best for you.
Don't be afraid to experiment in Photoshop, because fixing your mistakes is as easy as pressing "ctrl-z" or going to the history palette window and selecting a layer previous to the one on which you made a mistake.
