Photoshop Tutorial: How to Digitally Paint a Colorful Warrior Angel

This tutorial will go through the steps to paint an angel.

It goes into the detailed brushes, colors, and paint brushes to use. Basic portrait painting techniques covered including painting hair, skin, and facial features.

Program Used: Photoshop 7

End result:

Author:

Views: 8788

Score: 7.78 / 10

Author earned: $15

Practice tutorial

Step 1

Open a new project 15 x 20 inches at 300 pixels/inch.

Step 2

Make a new layer Outline.

Step 3

Start with a basic sketch of an angel using color #2F1406 (opaque, 20 pixel hard-edged brush). It may be helpful to use a stock image, but in this case I am not using one.

Step 4

Make a new layer, skin.

Step 5

Block in the skin area with color #FFECD1 (opaque, 90 pixel hard-edged brush).

Step 6

Begin adding shadows to her skin with color #B59064 (15% opacity, 100 pixel soft-edged brush, you will use this same brush through step 11).

Step 7

Darken the shadows with color #9C674A.

Step 8

Add blush to her skin with color #FF9C8C.

Step 9

Begin blocking in her face with color #D39A72.

Step 10

Continue to define her features with color #875939.

Step 11

Finish defining with color #422511.

Step 12

Fill in the iris with color #422511 (45% opacity, 15 pixel soft-edged brush). Concentrate the color to outline the iris and shadow the top.

Step 13

Fill in the whites of the eyes with color #ECDBCE (50% opacity soft-edged brush)

Step 14

Highlight the whites of the eyes with color #FEF6F0 (same brush).

Step 15

Fill in her waterline with color #CBB097 (25% opacity).

Step 16

Paint her pupils with black (#000000).

Step 17

Shadow the irises with color #160900 (25% opacity).

Step 18

Use the dodge tool on highlights mode (15% exposure) to highlight the iris.

Step 19

Use color #FFF7F3 (45% opacity, 15 pixel soft-edged brush) to highlight the iris.

Step 20

Draw eyelashes with color #FFFFFF (45% opacity, 9 pixel hard-edged brush).

Step 21

Fill the lips with color #DEAE94 (opaque, soft-edged brush).

Step 22

Paint the shadows on the lips with color #9C433A (40% opacity, 40 pixel soft-edged brush).

Step 23

Paint a reflection of fire in her eyes with color #FF6600 (25% opacity, 15 pixel hard-edged brush).

Step 24

Make a new layer, hair.

Step 25

Block in the hair with color #331100 (opaque, 100 pixel hard-edged brush).

Step 26

Make another layer, hair 2 above the skin layer.

Step 27

Use the same color and brush to paint strands around her face.

Step 28

Erase the outline of her hair.

Step 29

Begin giving her a black eye on the skin layer by using the burn tool (highlights mode, 22% exposure).

Step 30

Finish off her black eye with the burn tool on shadows mode (same exposure).

Step 31

Use the burn tool on the same settings to bruise her jaw and wrist.

Step 32

Using color #6D2A18 ( 30% opacity, 30 pixel soft-edged brush) on a temporary layer and draw a crescent scar across her right eyebrow. Draw another scar across her left cheek and over her chin.

Step 33

Go to Image → Adjustments → Hue/Saturation and change the color. Check the “colorize” box.
Set the Hue to 23, Saturation to 95, and the Lightness to +77.

Merge the layer back down onto the skin.

Step 34

On the hair 2 layer, block in the shadows in the hair with color #120600 (30% opacity, 75 pixel soft-edged brush).

Step 35

Highlight her hair with color #AC3800 (same brush).

Step 36

Highlight the middle of the strands with color #AC3800 (15% opacity, 20 pixel soft-edged brush).

Step 37

Add a shine to the strands with the dodge tool (52% exposure), highlights mode.

Step 38

Make a new layer, clothing.

Step 39

Block in her dress with color #48008C (opaque, 150 pixel hard-edged brush)

Step 40

Paint the shadows on her dress with color #1A0032 (35% opacity, 230 pixel soft-edged brush).

Step 41

Highlight the dress with color #A662E6 (30% opacity, 150 pixel soft-edged brush).

Step 42

Block in her belt and sandals with color #4A1F00 (opaque, 75 pixel hard-edged brush).

Step 43

Add shadows to her sandals using the burn tool.

Step 44

Highlight the sandals with color #825230 (same brush).

Step 45

Highlight her belt with color #DC9D30 (15% opacity, 40 pixel soft-edged brush). Make a string of squares go horizontally across the belt.

Erase the parts of the outline that are under her dress, feet, and head.

Step 46

Apply a Texturizer filter to the clothing layer. Set the texture to Sandstone, the scaling to 136%, Relief to 4, and light direction to Top.

Step 47

Highlight the belt with the dodge tool (15% exposure, soft-edged brush).

Step 48

Draw two sets of small circles on the top and bottom of the belt with color #512502 (opaque, hard-edged brush).

Step 49

Highlight the circles with color #D7952A (30% opacity, 30 pixel soft-edged brush).

Step 50

Add shadows beneath the circles with the burn tool (highlights mode, 20% exposure).

Step 51

Erase the parts of the outline that have been blocked in and move the outline up above the Clothing layer.

Step 52

On the Background layer fill the area of her dress beneath the sword with color #20033D (opaque).

Step 53

Make a new layer, chain mail above the clothing layer.

Step 54

Paint the chain mail in small overlapping circles with color #4E1C00 (opaque, 20 pixel hard-edged brush). Make the circles more elliptical along the edges of the armor.

Step 55

Erase the outline under the mail.

Step 56

Use the burn tool (shadows mode, 20% exposure, 60 pixel soft-edged brush) to darken the inside of each loop.

Step 57

Highlight the left side of the chain mail with the dodge tool (midtones mode, 31% exposure, 125 pixel soft-edged brush).

Step 58

Make a new layer, belt above the chain mail.

Step 59

Draw a second belt crossing over the first by copying steps 42, 45, and 47-50.

Step 60

Block in a curved dagger sheath on her second belt with color #251407 (opaque, hard-edged brush).

Step 61

Add shadows to the dagger sheath with color #0D0601 (30% opacity, 80 pixel soft-edged brush).

Step 62

Highlight the sheath with color #54331A (same brush).

Step 63

Use the burn tool (6% opacity, 20 pixel hard-edged brush) and draw swirling patterns across the sheath.

Step 64

Highlight the swirls with color #2D190A (30% opacity, 70 pixel soft-edged brush).

Step 65

Add a shadow beneath the sheath on the belt with the burn tool (previous settings).

Step 66

On the belt layer block in the handle of the dagger with color #1F1F1F (opaque, 13 pixel hard-edged brush).

Step 67

Highlight the handle of the dagger with color #816370 (30% opacity, 100 pixel soft-edged brush).

Step 68

Highlight the dagger hilt with the dodge tool (midtones mode, 30% exposure).

Step 69

Use the burn tool (midtones mode, 20% exposure, 60 pixel soft-edged brush) to deepen the shadows.

Step 70

Block in the dagger blade with color #737373 (opaque, hard-edged brush).

Step 71

Highlight the blade with color #D5D2E5 (35% opacity, 60 pixel soft-edged brush).

Step 72

Shadow the blade with color #333650 (same brush).

Step 73

Highlight the blade using the dodge tool on highlights mode (9% exposure).

Step 74

On the chain mail layer repeat steps 54-57 and complete her chain mail skirt.

Step 75

Make a new layer, wings.

Step 76

Block in the two wings with color #C49F82 (opaque, 150 pixel hard-edged brush).

Step 77

Outline the feathers of her wings with color #8B674B (30% opacity, 150 pixel soft-edged brush).

Step 78

Use the same brush and colors to add shadows to the feathers.

Step 79

Using a 435 pixel soft-edged brush, highlight the wings with color #FFEEE1 (9% opacity).

Step 80

Use the eraser tool to soften the edges of her wings.

Step 81

Darken the shadows with the burn tool (midtones mode, 30% exposure).

Step 82

Highlight her chain mail again with the dodge tool (shadows mode, 30% exposure).

Step 83

On the belt layer, block in the sword blade with color #A5A1A0 and the hilt with color #1C1A1A (opaque, hard-edged brush).

Step 84

Use the burn tool (midtones mode, 25% exposure) to add shadows to the sword hilt and blade.

Step 85

Highlight the blade and hilt with the dodge tool (previous settings).

Step 86

Delete the outline layer.

Step 87

On the Background , apply a gradient with colors #090A35 and #00000D (lighter color on bottom, darker on top).

Step 88

And you and Done!

Final Results

2 Comments:

scratzilla1 says:

author, this is a great tutorial. THANKS for sharing.

I will take a copy of this tutorial and see what i can learn from it.

My main fav of your tutorial is the fact you took the time to include ALL of the colours.
bushes and the settings. For new artists, like me who wish to learn how to paint digitally these are some of the most mysterious parts of the artistic creation.

I can not draw for nuts, but I learnt in the cartoon comp how to create line art from stock photos, so i guess this would work for practice.

(204 days ago)

scratzilla1 says:

author, this is a great tutorial. THANKS for sharing.

I will take a copy of this tutorial and see what i can learn from it.

My main fav of your tutorial is the fact you took the time to include ALL of the colours.
bushes and the settings. For new artists, like me who wish to learn how to paint digitally these are some of the most mysterious parts of the artistic creation.

I can not draw for nuts, but I learnt in the cartoon comp how to create line art from stock photos, so i guess this would work for practice.

(204 days ago)

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