Sweep

Process gifs!! Because it was frequently asked, here it is finally!

My process is fairly straightforward, I always follow the same routine, I think it’s good to keep good habits in doing landscapes or else it’s too easy to get overwhelmed by all the different parts, layers and details etc…Gotta keep it simple~~

    - 1. First I always begin with doing tons of  thumbnails (less than 300 pixels each). Once I get an idea, I don’t jump directly into making the painting, nah I take my time laying my ideas on tiny thumbnails. Those are fast to make and will save me so much time in the long run. I try different views, try different colors, atmosphere, composition etc I’m just fooling around really, and at the end, there’s always one that will speak more to me.

   - 2. After choosing one thumbnail, I take few seconds to think how I will build up my painting, how I will place each components, how I will ‘layer’ it all. It’s good to have a plan and stay organized I think. It’s the color blocking time!!

As you can see in my process, I like to begin with the farthest object, and then little by little I make my way forward. Most of the time, the sky is the farthest object, so I begin with it. Then I add a new layer on top of the sky and place the stars for example. And then a new layer on top and I place the clouds. And so on and on, I build it up little by little. (even when I work on just one layer, I follow this process, it’s easier to touch up the background if something is amiss before adding the foreground and details)

  For this part, I don’t go into details yet, I just place my composition, I decide of the local colors, I use a big big brush, it’s really rough, but it’s a really important part. Once the big shapes are into place, once the balance looks good to me and the colors and values are alright, I can finally go to the next step.

   -3. Time to decide, where I want my light to come from, and so my shadows. Yeah nothing to explain here ^^’

   -4. Once I know my light and shadows, I start rendering, I go back to my color block layers, and add the details on them., I defines the shapes, add new things etc … I readjust colors to my liking, trying to fit the mood I’m aiming for. And really that’s it, it is the longest part.