Design Integration Laboratory

Architecture 222, 410/510, & 610

Painting with Photoshop

Overview

These steps are based on the idea that you are recreating an already-existing image. However, once you have a feeling for how it goes, the same steps will apply to creating an image from your imagination.

Painting Step by Step

It is recommended that you save new versions of your painting file periodically during the process of developing your painting. As well as being good backup policy, this will allow you to easily back up and try again if a step gets a little out of control.

Be sure to take advantage of how selected areas can be used to mask off or isolate the effects of various painting and editing tools, especially as your painting gets more developed.

The image used for the example illustrations is a photograph by Donald Corner of one of the entries to Hilversum Town Hall, an early modern masterpiece in the Netherlands by Willem Dudok.

1) Start with an oversize canvas. Select a rectangular area in the middle of the canvas representing your actual painting and fill the rectangle with a neutral background color from your source image.

Using the Info floating window, activated with the Window menu, will help you select the rectangle representing your painting at an exact size.

2) Layout the perspective armature of the painting using lines in another neutral color.

• horizon line
• vanishing points
• basic armature of building scene (but leave out most partially-overlapping foreground elements)

Note: For a one-point perspective like this example, since the single vanishing point lies conveniently within the picture frame, the oversize canvas is not really necessary. But for a two point (or three point) perspective, where the vanishing points may be widely separated along the horizon line, the large canvas is a great convenience.
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3) Fill in the layout with solid colors.

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4) Critique and refine the perspective, size, and proportion of major elements.

It is important that these are correct before you start texturing and detailing the image.

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5) Crop the canvas to size, using the Crop tool.

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6) Add major foreground elements.

You may want to develop these elements in a helper canvas, and then copy and paste them into your main image.

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7) Optional -- Save Selections for tricky shapes you may need to rework repeatedly.

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8) Add gradients and textures.

• develop textures in a helper canvas, using pinting, filters, and effects.
• then select area to texture with Magic Wand tool, and "Paste Into"

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9) Add any remaining details.

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10) Enhance shade and shadow with Burn and Dodge.

Use the Option-Lasso method to help select any hard-edged polygonal shadow areas for darkening.

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11) Step back, critique and refine.

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12) Step back, critique and refine.

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Posted 95.10.05 KMM

Send e-mail: matthews@artifice.com