Since I’ve started broadcasting on Ustream, I’ve received quite a few questions regarding software, hardware, and how-to of a Ustream show. If you are an artist and are curious about joining the live stream scene, here’s a quick overview of my own setup and techniques.

I hope this helps! I would love to see lots more of you start your own shows. Paste a link in the comments if you do. And let me know if you have additional questions.

What is Ustream?

Ustream is a web service that allows you to easily stream live video over the internet. The site has been used to stream a variety of content such as news broadcasts, concerts, podcasts, or sporting events. In my case, I draw and paint.

How do you set up a Ustream account? Does it cost anything?

Go to Ustream.tv and click “Sign Up” at the top of the page. Fill in the info, and you’re done! All you need is an email address. It’s all free. You will need to create an account in order to create a show or chat in the chat rooms.

How do you start a Ustream show?

Once you have a Ustream account, click on the “Create a Show” link in your dashboard. Come up with a cool name, and you’re set to broadcast.

Why do you Ustream?

I stream mostly for the company (all of you!) and to help me stay on task every day (it really helps to know you are being watched while you work!).

Originally, the Ustream channel was more of an extension of my video podcast. Over time, I found the live format to be quite different and enjoyable. While most episodes are recorded, I highly encourage you to come and watch the show live when you can. The experience is different than the podcasts – much slower-paced and improvisational – plus the interactive quality is pretty cool. I love chatting with you all.

Where do you set your camera?

My webcam sits right in front of me on the desk while I work. If the painting I am working on is bigger in size, I have to prop the camera up higher on a pile of books or something, and set it off to the side, in order to fit the whole piece of art in view. But I like the up-close-and-personal look, so I try to keep my sketches pretty small so you can see them.

What kind of webcam do you use?

A Logitech QuickCam E 3500. Found it at Wal-Mart for $30 or so.

What kind of headset do you have?

A Logitech ClearChat Comfort USB. If you’re on a Mac, you have to get a USB mic of some kind.

How do you broadcast your computer screen?

You have to use a piece of software called CamTwist. Open the program and select Desktop under your Video Sources. When you open Ustream to broadcast, you would then select CamTwist as your video source. More about CamTwist.

Technically, you don’t need CamTwist if you are not broadcasting your desktop and are just working with a webcam. However, CamTwist can also be used to put various effects onto your webcam video. For example, I also use it to put the image overlay of my web address onto my stream.

How do you broadcast?

First, plug in your camera and headset (and open CamTwist if you are broadcasting your desktop). Then go to Ustream, log in, and click the Broadcast Now button. Select your video and audio sources, then hit the Start Broadcast button.

For further technical questions, I highly recommend reading through Ustream’s help center. They cover a lot of common issues.

Does Ustream slow down Photoshop/Illustrator when you are broadcasting?

Yes, a little bit. My computer can handle it well enough though. If you experience troubles, you may have to lower your video/audio quality settings in the Ustream broadcast window.

What are your favorite Ustream shows?

Here are a few:

Otis Frampton Live – A comics guy. Works both digitally and traditionally with marker and the occasional watercolor.

Chris Oatley – A highly motivated and inspirational guy who works in comics and animation development. He doesn’t broadcast too often, but when he does it’s swell. And you must subscribe to his podcast.

Melissa Findley – A fantasy artist who works mostly in Painter. She is very good at discussing her work and taking questions as she is painting.

Stephen Silver – Relatively new to Ustream, but I’m excited to see where his show goes. He is a highly motivational artist and character design pro.

Bobby Chiu – Also pretty new to Ustream, but I’ve been following his work for a while. This guy’s a digital painting genius and dispenses great advice left and right. Keep a look out for his broadcasts.

You can also go to my profile on Ustream at ustream.tv/danidraws, and click on “Following” to see more folks I am bookmarking on Ustream.

What is that brush/pen/paper you use on your broadcasts?

I have a full blog post on the subject. Links and pictures galore here!

Where can I view your previously recorded broadcasts?

You have to go to the Ustream site. Go to my profile page at ustream.tv/danidraws and click on “Archived Videos”.

Are there other live streaming sites besides Ustream?

Sure. I haven’t used any of them, so I can’t vouch for them, but here are a few I’ve heard about: Stickam, Justin.tv, livestream.com, Qik

Any tips for artists who want to start their own live stream?

• Have a regular schedule. It makes it easier for the audience to find you and get established. At the very least, have a Twitter account or something that helps keep people up to date about your broadcasts.

• Use sound. Some artists like to broadcast without talking. I have found it a lot easier, and better for the audience, if you do. It’s scary at first, but I encourage you to try it.

• Watch other Ustreaming artists. See what you like or don’t like. Interact with other artists and publicize your own show if appropriate.

Related posts:

• The Artcast Network
• Photoshop: Textures and Brushes

I recently dedicated a couple Ustream shows to Photoshop brushes and textures. I love to take questions and chat during my shows, but these two episodes are the only broadcasts where I set out to actually teach specific lessons. So, I am putting them here in a blog post so they are easy to find and access.

Forgive my mumbling and bumbling; I don’t speak as well as I write. But these live shows were great because the viewers asked some really good questions that I wouldn’t have been able to think of on my own. I hope you find them extra informative to the stuff I’ve already posted here on the blog.

If you have a question or suggestion for a future Ustream lesson, go ahead and send me a note. I will post any plans for special broadcasts on the Dani Draws Live page (or you can keep track of me on Twitter). Please stop by next time and have your questions ready!

Texture Demo

Photoshop Brush Demo

Also, here is a list of tutorials that outline many of the concepts I try to explain in the Ustream videos.

• Texture: How to Make Better Art with Jelly Beans
• Make Your Own Photoshop Brushes
• Not Your Typical Round Brush
• Which Brushes Do I Use Most Often?
• Five Ways to Create Textures Completely in Photoshop

Related posts:

• DaniDraws Video: iPad Painting Demo
• Ustream Questions Answered
• The Artcast Network

When speaking about artists’ websites, an art director recently made a comment that caught my attention – he is annoyed when he can’t view them on his iPhone.

The comment was half-joke, half-serious, but it brought up an important point. You never know what potential clients are out there, and what they are using to view your work.

And so I went home and made an iPhone version of my web portfolio.

Why make an iPhone website? Is it necessary?

No, I don’t think every artist should go and make an iPhone portfolio right this minute. Quite frankly, I don’t expect a lot of visitors to my mobile site. However, I DO think artists should keep these ideas in mind. The use of iPhones and other mobile phones is on the rise, and artists should always be thinking of ways to make it easier for clients to access their work. At the very least, avoid flash and multi-media rich websites that don’t work on mobile platforms.

It was a fun experiment and it didn’t take long to create at all. I know it will make at least one art director happy, so that alone is worth it.

So if you have the know-how and a little bit of time, I say it’s worth the extra bit of effort. It might not matter to most of your clients – but it might mean the world to the few who happen to be on an iPhone.

Here is an in-depth review of how I put the site together.

Setup

Get a Subdomain

You need a place to house the mobile version of your site. The easiest way to do this is to set up a subdomain like iphone.example.com or example.com/mobile or m.example.com. Use something catchy and easy to remember. Don’t use anything too long that would be hard to type on tiny phone keyboards. My site’s address is danijones.com/mobile.

Designing the Page

Move Things Around

On a standard computer, most displays are horizontally oriented. So, most of the time it is best to organize your website content in several columns. On my standard website, for example, I have my thumbnails on one side of the page, and the main image on the other.

On an iPhone however, the display is vertical most of the time. Sure, you could turn the phone around so it is horizontal, but the screen is so small that the usual multiple-column way of navigating becomes a hassle.

For my mobile portfolio, I have organized all my content into one-column pages. The portfolio images are stacked one after the other so they are easy to see and scroll through.

Resizing

Now, if you simply place all of your text and images on a page, it’s a lot easier to navigate, but it’s still not ideal. Text still looks really small and the page is too zoomed out.

To fix this, it is best to define the width of all your content. If you are familiar with basic html, you can use tables. If you like CSS, you can use div tags. The resolution of an iPhone screen is 320×480, so I set the width of all my content at 300 px.

Then I changed the size of all my portfolio images to a uniform width to make them as large as possible on the screen.

Zoom

Now, your page is easy to navigate, but if you view the page on an iPhone, it will look like a big page with a skinny column going down the center. To fix this, you have to insert some code into the page header that will tell the browser to automatically zoom into the main content when viewing from an iPhone.

The iPhone reads a specific meta tag called “viewport” to do this. This is what the code looks like:

<meta name="viewport" content="width=320" />

Insert this anywhere between your <head> tags in the html code, and the iPhone browser will automatically zoom in to a viewing window of 320 pixels wide.

Content

Contact Information

As always, make sure you make your contact info easy to find. On an iPhone, there are also a few other considerations:

• If you list an email address, make sure you hotlink it using a “mailto” link. That way, the user can start composing an email right on the phone.
• Also, if you type out a phone number, use the standard format – e.g. 1 (234) 456-7890. The iPhone will automatically detect the number and create a link. Users can just click the number to call you. Cool, huh?

Multimedia

• Make sure all your graphics are optimized for the web and not too hefty. You want the website to load fast, especially if your iPhone visitors are on a slower cellular network.
• If you include any type of video, use formats that are compatible on the iPhone. Basically, this means either Quicktime or YouTube.
• Flash is not supported on the iPhone, so don’t use it. In fact, I would rather artists not use Flash EVER for websites, but I digress…

Extra Features

Create a Webclip Icon

There is a feature on the iPhone that will allow users to bookmark websites right onto the iPhone homepage, like an app. Normally, the icon for this bookmark is just a screenshot of the site, but you can go the extra step and make your own icon.

1. Create a png image that is 57×57 pixels in size. Note that you don’t need to add any special effects to make it look “button-like” because the iPhone will do that for you automatically.
2. Name that image apple-touch-icon.png.
3. Upload the image to the root folder of your site.

That’s it! The iPhone will automatically detect the image and use it as the webclip icon.

Redirect Your iPhone Visitors

Remember to include a link to your mobile site on your standard website, and vice versa, so your visitors can switch back and forth according to their needs.

It is possible to simply redirect the iPhone browser to the mobile site using code. There are several Javascript and PHP solutions out there. I happened to use a piece of code I found on this site: http://www.ebaspace.com/2008/08/04/iphone-seo/

Just insert the code into the header of your standard site, and the browser will redirect the user to the mobile site automatically.

I would use this solution with caution. As a rule in web design, it is generally not a good idea to “force” your users to do anything – e.g. resize windows, pop-up links, etc. Also, my standard website is slightly different than the mobile site and has more content, so I don’t want to trap my iPhone visitors on my mobile site.

There is probably a code solution out there, but I don’t know it. I came up with a simple workaround though:

I duplicated my main page – index.html – and named it “home.html”. On the home.html page, I deleted the iPhone redirect script. I then changed all the site links that are meant to point to the opening page (index.html) and directed them to the home.html file. The result – iPhone visitors who visit “danijones.com” are automatically taken to the mobile site, yet I can still link back to the full site and the visitor won’t accidentally get redirected again.

**

That’s it! If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, go ahead and navigate to danijones.com to see the working site.

Please leave any questions or comments if you have any. Have fun!

Related posts:

• Why I Share

This is the second part in a series of tutorials. You can read part one here.

When creating a spot illustration, I often create the overall vignette shape first, before I add any other colors or details. To do this, I make a clipping mask layer.

Also check out one of my older posts, Using Masks to Create a Spot Illustration, which reviews some similar methods and ideas I will use here.

Creating a Clipping Mask Layer

You need to create a layer that contains the overall shape, texture, and opacity of the illustration. A different method may work better for different images. You can paint on a layer directly, draw a geometric shape, or use the selection tools. For this illustration where I’m starting with a specific sketch, this is the easiest way I know how to do it:

First, I take my sketch layer (see part 1), duplicate it, and place it underneath the first sketch layer. Then, with the transparency locked, I fill it with a color.

I started by duplicating the sketch layer because I find it is easier this way to create an accurate vignette shape. To complete it, I unlock the transparency and fill in the rest of the shape. The sketch creates some messiness, but this will be fixed later.

Now, I make this layer a clipping mask layer. You do this by going to the layers palette and Opt+clicking in between the two layers. The layer on top ends up being masked by the layer below, meaning anything you draw on the top layer will only affect the opaque pixels on the mask layer.

Why Use a Clipping Mask?

Clipping masks are very handy if you want to retain certain shapes or textures, but want to be able to keep things like color and line drawings on separate layers. Now that I have created my basic shape, I can create new layers, color, and edit, and the overall vignette will be retained. And if I want to edit the shape at all, I need only to fix this one layer.

In this particular illustration’s case, you can see I clipped the sketch layer to the shape I just made. Now, if I paint or erase on this shape, it will appear to affect the sketch as well.

And if I add a new layer and clip it as well, I can paint my basic colors under my sketch and not worry about going outside the lines.

I can further edit my vignette shape at any time by painting or erasing on the clipping mask layer. For example, I can clean up the messy sketch marks…

…change the shape altogether…

…or bring it back again…

Some tips about clipping masks:

• You can have more than one layer “linked” to the clipping mask layer. For example, separate layers for the line and the color.
• The clipping mask layer can have varying opacities and textures. Any transparency will be retained. This is useful if you have a shape that is more subtle or sketchy.

  

• You can unclip layers at any time just by Opt+clicking between the layers. Undoing the clipping mask will reveal everything you painted “outside the lines”. You can redo the clipping mask again just by Opt-clicking once more.

  

Now, I can finish my illustration and paint it like a normal painting using whatever method and however many layers I choose. But from here on out, I no longer have to worry about the overall shape, thanks to my clipping mask.

I created this illustration in a uStream broadcast earlier this month. You can view the archived video here.

I will be creating a series of posts explaining the making of this illustration in-depth. For part 1, here is how I prepared my line drawing for painting in Photoshop.

FYI, I’ve reviewed some techniques about preparing line drawings in a former post here. Many of those techniques will be used again.

About the Sketch

I used a simple ballpoint pen drawing for this painting. Because my style is more painterly, the quality of my sketches can vary from simple and clean, to very very rough. This type of sketch is about as refined as I get. I placed the sketch on its own layer in a new Photoshop document.

Preparing the Line Drawing

1. Adjust the levels (Image > Adjustments > Levels) to up the contrast between the black pen and white paper. This sketch in particular didn’t take a lot of adjustment because the pen was already pretty bold.

   

2. Select the sketch layer and copy it.

3. Go to the Channels palette (Window > Channels). Create a new channel by clicking the button at the bottom. This results in a solid black channel with the default name “Alpha 1″. Paste the sketch here.

   

4. Go back to the Layers palette and click on the sketch layer to select it. Now go to Select > Load Selection. In the channel drop-down menu, select Alpha 1 (the channel you just created) and click OK.

   

5. All of the whites on your sketch layer should now be selected. Push Delete. Deselect the selection. Your layer is now just black line and transparency.

   

6. After doing this, the line drawing tends to look too light. To fix this, lock the transparency of the layer and fill it with black.

   

   Or you could use any other color for that matter.

   

   In fact, if you keep the transparency locked, you can paint and color on the line at your leisure, which is the main reason I like this technique.

7. 

Now, of course there are other ways to get rid of the “whites” in a line drawing. You could set the layer to Multiply, for example. However, this is the best method to use if you plan to experiment a lot with the color of the line drawing.

Related posts:

• Photoshop: Textures and Brushes
• DaniDraws Video: iPad Painting Demo
• Ustream Questions Answered

You work hours and hours on a digital painting. You render in tons of details, play with the values, and fuss with color until it is just right. You finally get it about perfect. And then you go to print it…

If, for you, this story ends in disaster this article is for you.

Let me start by saying that I am not an expert on this subject. Printing can get complicated and messy, and terms like ICC profiles, color spaces, and monitor calibration can really make your head spin. For the most part, I leave these things for the professional printing arena. In my own work and in this article, I try to keep things simple – creating good quality prints to display, promote, or sell without them looking stupid.

The Problem with Monitors

Your print is NEVER going to look exactly like what you see on-screen. You are translating light into pigment, for goodness’ sake.

To add to that, every computer monitor is different. Your painting could very well change colors from one machine to the next. That is a just a fact that digital artists and designers have to deal with, and I myself have learned not to be so picky and unhappy if my artwork doesn’t look “just right” from place to place.

I work on two different computers regularly, and the way they each display colors is noticeably different. Rather than painstakingly adjust each monitor so that they match (which is probably an impossible task anyway) I just remain aware of the difference and keep it in mind as I paint. In fact, this has become quite useful; if I can adjust the image enough so it looks ok on both monitors, I know it will probably look good on just about any monitor, and will likely print better too. If you have the means to view your digital work on multiple monitors, do so.

For printing, there is little to do except learn the quirks of your display and style of painting. This is a trial and error process that you can’t really avoid, but it becomes increasingly easier each time you print. For example, I know my own artwork tends to print very dark, so I lighten all my images before printing. I’ve also learned to paint with brighter colors, which has cut time in the long run while also making my art look better.

Choosing Printers and Ink

The most popular brand of printer for artists by far is Epson, especially the “Stylus Photo” models. These printers have long been used by photographers and are known for their high print quality and print endurance. You can get great results from other models and brands too; I happily used a Canon printer for several years. Just research, read reviews, and find a printer that will work within your budget and needs.

The ink in your printer will also affect your print quality in terms of both color and longevity. Printers will come with either dye-based or pigment-based ink. Dyes tend to print brighter; pigments are typically duller, but last longer. Most inkjet printers are dye-based. Some Epson photo printers, however, use pigment-based ink. Recent research and technologies have made the differences between the two types more slim, but be aware of this if you are trying to print bright colors.

Use the Right Paper

Your paper is one of THE most important factors in determining the quality of the print, probably even more than the type of printer you use. Regular paper or cardstock will not do. You must use “photo” or “fine art” paper. These papers will have a special coating on them that will prevent the ink from soaking through the paper, resulting in brighter colors.

I prefer heavyweight matte photo paper for art prints. Epson makes a good matte paper. I personally use Staples brand paper because it is cheaper, and feels thicker than Epson. If you require something fancier, there are also many “fine art” papers available with different textures, weights, and durability.

Settings and Maintenance

If you regularly have trouble with ugly lines, smudges, or color shifts in your prints, you may have to check your print settings. Make sure the options in your printer software/driver match the quality, type of paper, and color requirements of your print. With my printer for example, I must set it to the highest quality setting and change the media to “Premium Presentation Paper Matte” or else it will print with jagged lines going through the image. Many good pieces of paper were ruined before I discovered this simple fix.

Also run regular maintenance on your printer – clean the heads, align, calibrate, and keep the cartridges full.

Modes: RGB vs. CMYK

A digital color image will be in either RGB or CMYK mode. Which should be used when printing at home? RGB.

This might be considered strange logic, as printing and ink are described in terms of CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black). However, desktop inkjet printers are designed to work best with RGB files because that is what the typical consumer is used to. In fact, if you try to print a CMYK image, the results can be waaayyy off. CMYK mode is mostly beneficial for professional printing presses because they use very specific processes and inks that are different than a home inkjet.

When I paint digitally, it’s always in RGB mode. In addition to the advantage of print accuracy, it is easier to work with RGB color on a monitor, the file sizes are smaller, and they display well on the web. I only worry about converting to CMYK later if I’m sending the file to a publisher or commercial press.

Update: You should be aware that specific color profiles can also affect your color accuracy. For example, there are two popular RGB modes: sRGB and Adobe RGB. This article explains their differences well (long story short, sRGB for web, Adobe RGB for print). Personally, I have never paid much attention to this before. After some digging, I figured out that I have been working in sRGB mode all along, which I will probably not change because it is working just fine for me.

I haven’t read all that much about color profiles before writing this article, so I am still unfamiliar with a lot of it. I think most artists can get away using the basic tips in this article (after all, I’ve been getting by without knowledge of color profiles for years), but if you still have issues, this could do the trick.

At the very least, I hope I just saved you from hours of frustration and wasted paper. Still, this is definitely an area I can learn more about. If you have any other tips, experiences, or questions to share, please let me know in the comments.

When you paint digitally, one of the most intimidating tasks can be choosing colors. On a traditional palette, you might have 6-12 tubes of paint to work with, but on the computer there are millions of colors available. How do you work with options like that?

Here is how I have tackled this problem.

Choices

When you install and load Photoshop for the first time, the first tool you see for controlling your color is the Color window, which features a series of sliders showing either RGB or CMYK settings.

Personally, this thing confuses the heck out of me.

There is also the Swatches palette (which can be opened via Window > Swatches). This window can be quite handy, and you can customize it to feature whatever variety of colors you want.

In the end however, this can be as limiting as picking crayons out of a box.

One could also click on the foreground/background swatches. Doing so brings up the Color Picker, which allows you to choose from a whole spectrum of colors in a way that is organized and makes sense. I know lots of artists pick colors this way.

However, I personally think this interface is a bit overwhelming, and also a bit frustrating if you want to recreate the same colors over and over again. Plus I don’t like the extra step of clicking on the foreground swatch just to adjust the color by a little bit.

How I Pick My Colors

In the default Photoshop interface, the Swatch palette is usually buried underneath the Color palette, or vice versa. The first thing I do when I rearrange my workspace is open both these windows and place them next to each other. While I’m painting, I use both of these tools constantly and need to be able to access them easily.

You’ll notice that the Swatches I use are just the Photoshop defaults. On rare occasions, I will play with other palettes and color schemes, but this is the state I leave it in for the majority of the time. The only difference is just a few colors I added on the end because I use them a lot in my personal style of painting.

In the Color palette, I will always change the settings of the sliders. If you click the flyout menu in the corner, there is an option to change them to HSB. This stands for Hue, Saturation, and Brightness. These settings are a lot easier for me to use than RGB or CMYK settings because as a painter, I always think of my color in terms of its hue, saturation, and brightness. So, picking and adjusting colors this way is the more natural way to go.

Now, with these two windows open and adjusted, I am ready to paint! I pick a color from the swatches, adjust it slightly with the HSB sliders, and start painting. I like how the swatches give me a set number of colors to work from, while the HSB sliders allow for endless variation. Pick, adjust, paint. It’s a very logical process for me that transitions well from the traditional methods of choosing and mixing colors on a palette.

Of course, these are just my personal preferences. You may find a better way that works for you. The point is, be sure to find a way to organize all those millions of colors on your computer so that you can paint more easily and efficiently.

Related posts:

• Photoshop: Textures and Brushes

In my latest experiment, I recently opened up an account on a site called Zazzle, which allows you to order custom products featuring your own artwork. So far, I’ve been having a lot of fun experimenting with creating some simple, graphic characters for some t-shirts. Here is a little behind-the-scenes look into the making of this cute bat character.

This is my rough doodle, which isn’t much bigger than a thumbnail sketch. Isn’t he cute?

I am going with a simple, cartoon style for these illustrations. So to start, I placed my sketch in Illustrator and used the brush tool to ink my drawing with a clean bold line. I’ve reviewed this process in some earlier tutorials here and here.

After inking, I copied and pasted the drawing into a Photoshop document, with the line on its own layer. On a separate layer underneath, I put in some simple color. I used a normal hard-edged round brush with the Opacity Dynamics turned off so I would get 100% solid color.

To give the illustration a grungy, weathered look, I copied and pasted a texture into a new channel (by the way, I have previously posted this texture for download here). You can open the Channels palette under Window > Channels. Then, I clicked the “Load Channel as a Selection” button in the bottom of the window.

Going back to the Layers palette, I grouped the line and color layers together. With the group selected, I then clicked the “Add Layer Mask” button to apply the texture to the illustration.

As a result, the picture is transparent in the black areas of the texture. I changed my background color to something darker, to simulate how it would look on the t-shirt.

I added a glow by selecting the area around the bat and painting using a heavily textured brush on a new layer.

Here is the finished product:

And a close-up of the paint and texture effects:

Using this method, I can create a nice PNG file that I can use on any color shirt or background I like. The transparency will allow whatever color to show through the textured surface.

So far, I’ve created a series of Halloween-themed shirts. They’ve been really fun to make and I hope to experiment even more – there are lots of other products on Zazzle to play with, from shoes to mugs and even skateboards. I haven’t gotten to see at any physical products yet, but I plan on ordering a few shirts for myself. I’m excited to see how they turn out! Check out Zazzle.com if you would like to do some experimenting of your own.

I have also made the Halloween shirts available to the public if you’d like to order one of these for yourself. Just browse to Zazzle.com/DaniDraws. Enjoy!

Have fun, and Happy Drawing!

I like creating new textures, and I’ve written about how to use them in digital paintings before. Most of the time, making textures involves getting out some scrap mat board or bits of paper, and just going to town with some acrylic paint, gesso, and modeling paste.

I think of it as play time, because anything goes. You can spray, drip, or even fingerpaint. You’re not worried about creating anything concrete or beautiful; you’re just setting out to find what kinds of things you can do with your tools and to stretch your limits a bit.

This can be a really useful exercise for traditional painters, because 1) you can use whatever textures and effects you create for future paintings, and 2) you learn a lot about the materials you are working with.

Well, I think digital painters need a little play time too.

So, here are five exercises I’ve come up with to help inspire you to play with your digital paint. And the best part is you don’t have to worry about cleaning up the mess afterwards.

1. Brush and Paint

You can create a texture just by painting some random brushstrokes onto your canvas. The problem with doing this digitally, however, is that the brushstrokes start to look a little monotonous after awhile. The key to doing this right is to play with the brush settings while you are painting.

Take a look at your Brush palette (If it is not open, go to the Window > Brushes). There are lots of different settings to play around with. Open a new document, paint some random brushstrokes, change a few brush settings, then paint some more. You can create some really great stuff just by layering on different colors and effects.

Here are some of my favorite settings to play with:

• Brush Size – Make sure to change this once in awhile to add variety to your strokes.

• Opacity – Lowering this will help you see the different layers of paint better.

• Scattering – If you move this up and down while you are painting, you can create some cool effects.

• Roundness and Angle – This is a great way to add variety to your brush shape, without having to switch to a different brush altogether.

• Texture – Change the texture itself or play around with the Scale slider.

• The Brush Itself – Don’t just use one brush. Pick a new one once in while.

2. The Wave Filter

Filters can be difficult to manage because they can start to look really “digital” really fast. Again, the key is to play around with the settings a lot and experimenting.

1. Start with a blank document. I like to start off by filling the background with a dark color.

   

2. Create a new layer. Choose a new color and scribble on a few lines.

   

3. Go to the Filter menu and go down to Distort. Select the Wave filter.

4. A new menu will open up with lots of sliders and options. Play around with these to get an idea of what they do. When you are done, click OK.

   

5. Make another scribble and run the Wave filter again.

6. Continue repeating this process. You’ll want to change the filter settings each time by moving the sliders around. This is to keep it as random as possible. Here are some other factors that will help with this:

Switch to a new color once in awhile.

Run the filter multiple times by pressing Command-F. This repeats the last filter you ran with the same settings. Don’t do this too many times, because then the texture starts to look a little too automated.

Create new layers and run the Wave filter on them too. Try using different layer modes like Overlay or Color Burn to create new effects.



7. When you’re done, you can flatten your image and save to use later. Sometimes, after playing around so much, my colors start to look a little too confusing and clash too much, so I’ll often tone down the color or make them monochromatic first.

3. Liquify Tool

1. Create a new document. Fill your Background with a color.

   

2. Create a new layer and scribble a few colors onto it.

   

3. Go to the Filter menu and find Liquify.

4. A new interface will pop up. The liquefy tools are on the left side of the screen. You can push things around, twirl them, bloat them, pinch them – play around and see what you prefer. I like to simply use the “warp” tool to create an effect that’s kinda like the wave filter, but with much more control over the direction and movement of the waves.

   

4. Bevel and Emboss

I use this method to create a gessoed board-like effect. It also has a lot of other great uses.

1. Open and new document and fill the Background layer with a color.

2. Create a new layer. In the Layers palette, click the Effects button and choose Bevel and Emboss.

   

3. Change the Technique option to Chisel Soft, and Lower the Size to about 1-3 pixels. Click OK.

4. Pick a brush (a custom or textured brush works best) and paint on your new layer using the same color as the background. You will see that the Bevel/Emboss gives your brushstrokes a three-dimensional quality.

   

5. Slowly build up your texture. If it starts to become overworked and the texture starts to “flatten,” create a new layer, apply the Bevel/Emboss effect to it, and continue painting. Since you will be doing this often, I find it easier to create a Layer Style (Window > Styles) so I can easily apply the Bevel/Emboss effect over and over again.

   

6. When you are done, flatten your image.

5. Patterns

You can quickly add a little visual interest into your illustration by making your own patterns for clothing, wallpaper, furniture, and other elements in your painting.

1. Open a new document. Create a new layer.

2. Draw any object or design. Do NOT touch any of the edges of your canvas.

   

3. Go to the Filter menu and scroll all the way down to Other. Select Offset.

4. In the new dialogue box, at the bottom under “Undefined Areas,” make sure the option “Wrap Around” is selected. Now, move the sliders around until you can see the “holes” in your pattern, and click OK.

   

5. Continue drawing your pattern. Again, do not cross the outside edges of your document. If needed, rerun the Offset filter (you can use the shortcut Command+F), and continue to fill in your pattern until you can no longer see any blank spots.

6. Throw away the background layer.

   

7. Select All (Select > All or Command+A), then go to Edit > Define Pattern. Give your pattern a name, then click OK to save it to your Pattern library.

   

8. To see your new pattern, create a new document, go to Edit > Fill, change the Use drop-down menu to pattern, and then find your pattern under Custom Pattern.

   

Now go play!

Did you like this tutorial? Have anything to add? Leave your feedback on this post at DaniDraws.com.

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Here’s a guide to drawing a variety of different emotions, moods, and characters.

Tips for Drawing Facial Expressions

The Most Important Features

1. The Eyes – Probably the most important feature for evoking a clear emotion. Utilize the eyelids and eyebrows to create your effect.
2. The Cheeks – The way they squash and stretch will affect the look and position of the eyes.
3. The Mouth – The shape of the mouth is also very important. It affects how the cheeks move and the shape of the entire face.

Additional Tips

• Note that when you move the shape and position of one feature, it affects everything else. Nothing stands completely on its own.
• For a stronger drawing and character, really push the expression. Instead of simply drawing a happy person, draw one that is ecstatic; instead of drawing an angry person, draw a furious one.
• Have a mirror nearby. When I’m trying to nail down an expression, I often find my own face making weird movements unconsciously. It can make for good reference.

Facial Expressions Chart

 

Happy	Ecstatic	Content	Sad	Depressed
Embarrassed	Nervous	Angry	Furious	Devious
Bored	Annoyed	Surprised	Tired	Exhausted
Disgusted	Something Stinks	Are You Kidding Me?	Hyper	Grumpy
Proud	Cute	Snob	Brat	Evil
Sneeze	Sour	Talking	Shouting	Laughing
Excited	Twitterpated	Smile!	Fake Smile	Wink
Asleep	Shut Tight	Kiss	Scared	Terrified
Studly	Tough	Intimidating	Stoic	Intense
Goofy	Serious	Thinking	Supermodel	Confused

Download a PDF version here.

Feel free to leave additional tips, comments, links, and info by commenting on this post at DaniDraws.com.