Long long ago, I made tree paintings with acrylic on paper or canvas, but I want to learn how to do it digitally with a mouse.
My first attempts have been helpful as studies but not what I was aiming for.
I'm getting closer to a style that works for what I'm envisioning.
This doesn't really showing the stages, tho. From the last frame of the animation, imagine more growth and leaves.
Steps I'm Feeling Out:
- Create multiple layers. One of the great features of digital art for the artist is that we can work on multiple layers with no waiting for pieces to dry. Each layer represents a depth.
- Name each for the dominant thing expected to be at the layer's depth. Example: "trunk" and "fore-branches".
- Block out the shapes on the appropriate layer. This can be whole tree or only the trunk and dominant branches.
- Differ the main color(s) for each layer. If nothing else, this helps with checking if you're on the target layer, at least while there aren't too many details. But it can also help with creating a sense of depth on the final image.
- Add shadows and highlights. This helps defines the shapes (and can be done on separate layers if confidence is an issue).
- Set on to the fine details. Add and shift colors as needed,
I plan on revising this post when I'm further along. Maybe it will help someone.