My Brushes!
Added 2019-02-27 18:11:05 +0000 UTC
I am uploading the three brushes I use for almost all of my work. I found the source of the main brush here! However, that person modified it from the original. I have come across the middle brush in various packs, so again, not sure who the original creator is. The third, as far as I know, is one my best friend made (I got it from her brush set) so credit goes to her.
I do use a lot of grain brushes to add texture to my paintings, but they belong to Kyle Webster, along with half the mixer brushes I use. I can't seem to find the credit for the two Chinese mixer brushes I have though. 😔
My overall method is to use the main brush for the initial sketch and lay-in. I used to have specific sketch brushes, but now I just lower the size on the main one. I use that middle charcoal-like brush for smaller studies, shading figure drawings and if I need a medium texture for transitions. The third is the softest, and I use this for blending very hard edges, color washes and deposits. If you see a bright area of color in my paintings, I probably used that brush.
This dread wolf painting uses almost all of my brushes, including the mixer ones! Main brush throughout, middle charcoal on the edge where his neck meets his collar, soft brush for the reds of the eye, the blues and greens of the wolf's fur and Solas' red ears and nose (I always use this brush to flush skin!)
Anywhere you see a smeared or painterly brushstroke is almost always the mixer brushes. Here you can see it in the fur, the eyes and every soft edge or lost. I love how messy it looks, and without the mixer brushes (or even smudge tool) it is very hard to recreate in photoshop otherwise. The dotted texture, most visible around the back of Solas' head, is the canvas brushes I mentioned.
That should be it! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask below.
Comments
YOU'RE WELCOME!!! Ah, I forgot you asked about that too. I think though that building skin tones is less about the brushes used and more practicing from life and reference. I have learned a lot from master studies and I always have photos open while I paint. Everyone has different undertones to their skin of course and I always find that first, but there are so many subtle color shifts that help it look less flat. Greys, blues, greens, purples. It is really important to observe realistic reference so you can know the differences and similarities in all flesh tones. The value range changes, the amount of pigment and contrast changes too. Another helpful tip is the color zones of the face: <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/05/color-zones-of-face.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2008/05/color-zones-of-face.html</a> Of course this becomes less obvious as skin gets darker, and every 'zone' is going to shift depending on if the undertone is warm, cool or neutral. But everyone has blood under their skin, and if you know the areas that are closer to the surface (nose, ears, elbows, knees, fingers and toes) you will know where to place that warmth. Same goes for areas with a lack of blood, around bones, these have neutral and cool colors. I use these brushes in the same way for everything I paint, not just skin! So the main brush is for base colors, midtone and then hard shadows. This is my block-in brush, and I sort of carve shapes (for example the cheek bones) out with it. The charcoal is used the least of the three I would say, but in some paintings I use it quite a bit. Just depends on how I feel that day! The soft painterly brush is for those color washes; anywhere blood pools, warm edges between light and dark, eye color. TL;DR is to study from and keep reference close by, observe all flesh tones to find their differences and similarities. Contrast, color and value ranges will always vary, but we all have blood and bones under our skin and that changes how things appear on the surface. So think about the color shifts created by blood and a lack thereof, temperature (warm/cool), and the undertone. Oh, and be careful with highlights or light in general. It always appears far brighter than it actually is, same with the whites of the eye. That's the basics of how I paint skin, but I want to do a much larger post on this some day. Who knows when, but hopefully this helps you for now!
kingcholera
2019-02-27 21:20:04 +0000 UTCOOPS. Here, I uploaded the abr file instead. That should be only those three? They are in the same order as the picture above. 💚
kingcholera
2019-02-27 19:32:46 +0000 UTCHmmm so the TPL that you uploaded is ALL your brushes. What are the names of the three main ones you use above?
Nikki Jeske
2019-02-27 18:55:25 +0000 UTCTHANK YOUUUUUUU!!!! I'm gonna mess around with these and see what I come up with. I'd love your advice on how you build up colors for flesh-tones - Solas looks so good in this and I'm never able to get skin to look like skin. It's always flat OR really smudgy and doesn't look realistic. Maybe having a better grasp of what brushes can do will help me with this. Thank you Shai!!!
Nikki Jeske
2019-02-27 18:50:07 +0000 UTC
