This process was repeated to create the cliff and ruins on the opposite side of the final picture.
Parting Comments
Hopefully this has given some insight into how simply a landscape can be achieved digitally. Even though the process takes a little longer than the thirty minutes Bob Ross paints on TV, the methods are similar. All of the color theory, composition and color value attention is exactly the same as with traditional oil or acrylic painting. The only real trick is to get the digital tools to provide some of the same effects as physical brushes. The best way to do that is to experiment and try a few different things and constantly look at other art to see what types of techniques are being used. Maybe start with a small area and then move on from there, after you are satisfied with the results.
Also, don’t be in a rush to make everything a finished masterpiece. Even the greats like Michaelangelo would many times make a small study piece before tackling a larger work. For example, if you have trouble with shrubbery, look at some pictures of shrubs and paint a few. They don’t have to be composed, or even in color. But the exercise should show you how a shrub is constructed and how to simulate it with paint, digital or otherwise.
Value studies are sometimes more useful than anything else. A great exercise is to paint your landscapes using only three or five different shades of gray. If you can effectively simulate depth, distance, scale and atmosphere using only gray tones, realistic color pieces are much easier to produce. Study photos of landscapes and then convert them to Grayscale in Photoshop and notice how the values appear in the image. Things further away are less saturated and less detailed than things which are closer to the viewer. This really came home to me when I was digitally painting the pages of our comic book that was going to be printed in black and white. I was forced to work out all of the scenes in gray values since I had such a limited palette. This also offers you a chance to work solely on technique without having to think about color.
Feel free to visit my Epilogue page or our web site at MorganKeith Studios to see more work using this technique.
