Archive for 2011

One of the most common questions that people ask is how do you blend in Photoshop? The technique Daarken uses for blending in Photoshop is done simply through varying the pressure on the tablet and from color picking new values. Daarken takes you through the process of blending the planes that were created in the…

Breaking an organic complex form down into shapes can help you understand what the different planes are doing and how they create form. Daarken takes you through the process of doing a study from an Asaro head and explains how planes can help you create paintings from your imagination. Update – I just want to…

Update – Buy it now! Hey all! I am excited to announce that I have a new full length tutorial coming out on 1.9.12. It has been about nine months since I came out with the Sci-Fi Environment Design tutorial, so it was about time to finally put together a new tutorial. Not only has…

Many people have been purchasing the Fujitsu ST5112 lately, so I wanted to give a new stylus a try since the default stylus is a little small. Someone suggested that I try out the Axiotron Studio Pen. I think it is a great stylus and is very similar to the normal Intuos stylus. It also…

Foundations always begin with analysis of form. Analysis of form is usually just a fancy term for a still life drawing class. Learning how to render objects can teach you how to create form and to understand light and how it interacts with objects. The purpose of this tutorial isn’t to learn how to create…

Value is an important part to the painting process. Having good contrast can help your illustration succeed, so it is important to practice value scales. Value scales will help you see and produce a full range of values that you can use in your painting or drawing. Remember, every color has a value, so learning…

Being able to draw accurately from life requires you to be able to correctly observe whatever it is you are looking at. Are you really seeing the object, or are you just looking at it? Daarken shows you a technique that will force you to really see what you are looking at. You may think…

Now that we have gone over brushes and some of the basics of using Photoshop, we can finally start drawing. Again, starting with the basics is a key part to becoming a professional illustration. Without these building blocks your ability to draw and paint will suffer and quite possibly take you longer to progress as…

Earlier this week Daarken showed how to setup the workspace and shortcuts for the Fujitsu ST5112. In this tutorial you will be able to see a short painting demonstration using Photoshop CS2 on the Fujitsu ST5112. Also, don’t forget about investing in some screen protectors to protect against scratches and general wear and tear from…

Many people have been asking about the Fujitsu ST5112 tablet pc, so Daarken created this over the shoulder video showing how he uses the ST5112 and how he works around the absence of a keyboard. In the next tutorial Daarken will do a quick demo on the ST5112 so that people can see how the…