Tutorial/speed painting - How I make markings (as well as design coats)

Hello, I hope you're having a great Monday! 🤎

Here comes a video tutorial...kind of? It is a mix between speed painting and a tutorial.
Anyway. You will follow along as I design a random foal coat and can read some notes about how I do my white markings as well as other coat related things during the video. You will most likely have to pause the video at some moments to read the text. But I'll write here as well what I'm talking about in the video (and maybe add some things Iforgot).

First of, I use photoshop to do my art/edits. So there is a big chance you might not be able to find similar functions in the program/app you use. I also make a new layer for almost everything I do (no ok but almost), and I use a clipping mask to the "base layer" from almost every new layer. I also use invert layers a lot. This means that if I paint over the inverted layer with white will whats in the layer appear, and if I paint over with black, will it disappear.

Designing coats for me is, if it is an offspring, 50% what the parents can genetic give, and 50% just go with the flow and what i feel like. I'm more or less never taking inspiration from real life horses. Only times I do take inspo from others so is it "story game horses" that i've got, or coats I design for others and they have suggestions.

Here comes the different parts of the video:

🤎 You can do anything from color picking the coat from a real horse, a coat color pallet, or like I do in the video, just picking one from the color tool when it comes to the base. As I more or less always do every new change on a new layer and make it into a clipping mask, can I change it as many times that I want, or just tweak the shade with layer adjustment later.

🤎 For the mane do I do it the same way as with the coat color, if the hair is in a color. But if the mane is going to be black or white, do I use an adjustment layer that makes it darker or brighter. In the video am I using levels, which I most of the times are.

🤎 And for the white markings. Well here's the thing...

I first of just use -> a black and white adjustment -> put it into screen mode -> drags up the red and yellow (because the base coat has just these two in it) to make it even brighter -> invert the layer, and....close my eyes.

Yup you read that right. This is how I make up new markings. I close my eyes and just draws. That way will the markings always comes out unique and not similar to anything else. Of course do I tweak them afterwards, especially if I don't like what I got. But sometimes do I tweak with closed or slightly closed eyes as well haha. Super wonky weird, but that is how I come up with them; I just go with the flow
I also use a hard brush to make the markings.

🤎 Now this is not something you've to do, and I don't all of the time myself, but it just is a nice touch to use a hair-ish brush to make the edges of the markings a bit less sharp (I actually use a brush I got from Cath 100 years ago, I love it!)
I both use it like I "add more" white, as well as I "remove" white from the adjustment layer, depending on where i'm working on the marking or what to say.

🤎 I both remove/fade away from the base coat layer, as well as uses different types of adjustment layers to make the eye pop more, as the eye will have the same coat as the base coat layer otherwise.

🤎 I paint the pink of the muzzle with a soft pink on a soft light layer mode in the video, but sometimes do I use color as the mode as well.

🤎 I also with low opacity/pressure on my brush make/remove/fade away the white marking layer slighly to make it less bright around the muzzle area to make certain parts of the muzzle pop more, like the dark areas.

🤎 I color the hooves same way as the muzzle.
The hooves color depends on if it have markings or not. The hooves can be anything from pink-ish to more beige (if the horse has leg markings). Hoof colors can also be different depending on the horse coat color. But for darker hooves do I use a black and white adjustment layer to make the hooves grey, then I sometimes goes in with a tint of color if it is needed.

🤎 I color pick from the legs and with the same brush I used to make the edges of the markings less sharp, do I add a bit of fur over the hoof. I then use the blending/smudge tool to blend out the edge just a tiny bit. I many times miss this or just ignores it tho, so it dose not happens all the time haha.

🤎 I use a black and white adjustment layer to make the dark around the legs (you can drag down the red color in the adjustment layer to make the b/w darker) and grey around the eyes and muzzle, as the horse is of bay base color. I'm either using low pressure/opacity on the brush when painting it on/over, or changing the opacity of the layer afterwards.

🤎 I use adjustment layers to make dapples as well. In the video am I using a levels adjustment layer, and I use the brushes from Cath!

🤎 To make sooty dapples do I often use different kinds of adjustment layers as well, but in the video, and what I often use, is a black and white adjustment layer and just drag down the red/yellow to make the b/w color darker (as the horse base coat have red and yellow in it). For the dapples once again, Cath's brushes.
I usually stamp instead of draw/paint with the dapple brushes between!

🤎 To make hoof markings do I just remove and draws in on existing adjustment layers that already I've on in the video. Somestimes do I add new adjustments layers however, like levels. I also smudge them out a bit with the smudge tool.

So there you have it! I hope it can be to any help.
Just write a comment if you've any question or drop them over at discord!

Video recording software: Bandicam 😎✌️
Video editing software: Coolcut
Music: lvymusic from Pixabay