PROCESS VIDEO // dark mode - part III

Here's part 3 of my process for my dark mode painting! Part one and two just got posted - check out the feed to see it. This painting is intended as a companion piece to my light mode painting. I didn't record the final hour of rendering, so unfortunately this stops right before the end, but I still think it's a pretty good representation of my process!

Here’s some information about this process video: 

• It has been sped up by 200%, so 2 times the original speed. 

• This painting session took me about 6 hours and 15 minutes, split up into multiple sessions.

• I edited the process into three parts. This is the final part!

• I mostly used the hard round brush from my own brush set to paint this. I also used a lot of brush & smudge combinations to paint and then soften edges. 

• This is painted in Adobe Photoshop. You can replicate a similar workflow in Procreate, with the exception of the gradient tool and the number of layers used! 

• I wasn't able to record the entire process, unfortunately - but I did record 90% of the process, so this is the whole thing minus the last hour or so of rendering.

Here are some helpful resources that can help understand this process in more detail: 

• Soft & hard edges with the lasso tool: This is a technique I use a lot in this video - except rather than using a large noisy brush, I use the smudge tool to soften the edges. This tutorial runs you through how I gradually layer shapes to get this semi-translucent effect. 

• Creating interesting & flowy shapes: This tutorial is all about how I combine different types of shapes to create a sense of movement in my image.

STARTING OVER

I was super bummed to have to start over on the dark mode spirit, but I was surprised by how easily it went once I got started. I think that’s because I had already tested out something that didn’t work, which makes it much easier for me to decide what does work. I also know that I want the drawing to resemble the Light mode spirit more, so I can use that as a template. I also make some changes to the girl’s pose and expression so that she appears more hypnotized / controlled by the spirit. Once I do this, I feel like the whole concept works so much better!

LAYERING DETAIL 

Once the foundation works well, it just becomes a question of gradually layering on detail. My technique of combining the lasso tool with the gradient allows me to continually layer on semi-translucent shapes of detail to get a 3-dimensional feeling. It’s a really great technique if you’re using photoshop - and with Procreate you can just use a soft brush instead of a gradient! Again, my tutorial on Soft & hard edges with the lasso tool walks you through the details of the workflow. 

Unfortunately I didn’t record the last hour or so of the process, but since this video brings it to 90% completion, I figure it still gives a good sense of my workflow! I hope you enjoyed it and as always, let me know if you have any questions 🖤