- Software: GIMP or other raster graphics editors
- Level: Intermediate
- Subject: Background Bushes
In this tutorial we will look at how we can do digital paintings of bushes, trees or similar thick vegetation, for the background of a painting composition. With this approach, you can even do the foreground, but you will definitely need to add more details – else it will remain blurry.
On your canvas, create a new layer and block out the bushes.
Use a rather low saturated color – as we are working on background here.
Of course, your painting will have other elements in the background like the ground and sky.
I used the shading techniques to quickly create some rough ground and sky.
Before we can proceed to work on the bushes, try imagining the areas of the bushes that are at varying distance from the viewer. With this in mind, we can give a guiding paint in terms of depth.
Take varying colors from light and slightly saturated color to dark and less saturated colors. For the front, I shifted the green to a bit towards yellow to give it a tropical mood.
We can now start giving rough details. Just use simple round brush. If you are using a tablet, you should turn on the pressure sensitivity to control the opacity. Use appropriate brush size.
You may need to choose a more darker color when you are trying to give hints of the shadows casted by the individual leaves. Also, pick the nearer lighter color to give faint highlights.
Remember that bushes are not flat and have volume. So, do not hesitate to go up and down the color value to show that depth.
Gradually work your way from far away bushes to the nearer bushes. As you come closer to the viewer, try to put in a bit of pattern in those strokes. Also, see that you give more and more contrast by using a range of values to render the leaves as you come to the foreground.
Work from far to near, when you work with vegetation, because overlapping them would make it much easier – else you will end up over-painting the details you drew earlier, and it looks unnatural.
When you are done with all the bushes, you are ready to move on to the remaining of the digital painting. Note that this will look a bit blurry, but that is fine as they are not the focus of your painting. Work on details only where it is required.
You may want to revisit the bushes, once you are done with the main subject of the painting when you need to give those minor details like shadows and special highlights if there is quite a bit of interaction between the subject and the vegetation.
If this article helped you and you would like to be updated on new posts, subscribe to KalaaLog.com feeds. Alternatively you can subscribe with email by entering it in the subscription form.
Tags: Intermediate, Painting, Tutorial
-
Thanks for the comment! I like your tutorials.
take care!
-
Hey Erin.
Thanks for dropping by. -
wow, that looks great. I suppose the trick is how it gets darker with distance.
-
Yes – it gets darker and lightly desaturated with distance.
Thanks for dropping by, imadoofus123.
-
hi i was just wondering if i could use the final picture on this page for my IT Graphics… it would really help me!
thanks -
Hi
I was just wondering if i could use the last image on this page (http://kalaalog.com/2007/09/23/how-to-paint-bushes-for-backgrounds/) for my IT Graphics?
I would edit it a bit of course, and use it with an image that i have already created…
this would really help me, as i am already quite far behind!!!
Thanks -
I guess Emmeline(beana), you commented twice when you saw your comment did not appear. Sorry about that but I get hundreds of spam comments, and it holds them on moderation queue.
Regarding use of the above graphics, they are under my copyright and I have given only artworks at Free Clipart for use in personal works.
Seems like you need it for a commercial purpose. So, please contact me with the details on use and we can arrange for a fee that would allow you to use the artwork.
-
Thanks for the tutorial. Now I can stop cloning bushes and do it myself.
8 comments
Comments feed for this article
Trackback link: http://kalaalog.com/2007/09/23/how-to-paint-bushes-for-backgrounds/trackback/