Noise Filter
Being usually used in the end, this tool can be very useful if you are looking for an extra texturing and a "final touch", especially if the figure involved is a human being or animal. Unlike a custom brush or a texture extracted directly from a photograph, the Noise Filter is able to create color variations in the painting, offering a "pixelated" look that can be visually interesting especially if you're dealing with a photorealistic painting. Its application process can be explained using the image below as an example, initially without the filter:
First, flatten your image on Layer > Flatten Image and duplicate it. Click on the duplicated layer to select it, go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and set Amount to 8%.
Then, on the same layer, open the window Gaussian Blur in Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and select Radius to 0,5 pixel.
Finally, adjust the layer's opacity according to the intensity of grain you want your image to have – for a subtle effect, the number can varies between 30 to 60% depending on the image size.
Flatten your image again and you will have this as the final result:
For the outcome of the Noise Filter be the best possible is recommended that you apply it at the end of the whole process of your work or, at least, at a relatively advanced stage of it, where most of the details are already defined and set out clearly – this way the filter's uniformity is maintained and you don't run the risk of ending up with a partially grainy picture.
Background
The background of a painting may differ depending on the element for which you want to direct the viewer's attention. Detailed and complex environments are generally portrayed when working in a landscape or in characters that appear in a secondary way of drawing – otherwise, if your painting is primarily a portrait, simple backgrounds are perhaps the best option for the viewer's attention be directed to the main element of your picture, which can be a human being, an animal, an object, etc. Backgrounds can range from something abstract to figurative on a portrait but, regardless of the choice, almost always the forms presented are simple and light to the viewer's attention not be diverted.
In Live Water, I choose an abstract and simple background, relatively quick to complete. Creating a new layer, I first sketched the whole shape with a hard round edge brush, then gradually putting colors, shapes and textures with a custom brush, the second and last used in this work.
Final Details and Comments
After finalizing the background I also have added some last minute details and textures, as little glows in the character's "hair" (a process that I couldn't, unfortunately, record on video), just in order to enrich a little more the picture and give a finishing touch. Now, finally, the image can be considered done!
In the end, I hope this tutorial/making of has helped you in some way and added something to your knowledge in digital painting! Thank you very much to CGArena for this amazing opportunity and you, for reading this step-by-step.
If you have any question, please feel free to drop me an email to schmyntt@gmail.com :)
About the Artist - My name is Karin Schmyntt and I live in Brazil, I’ve been interested in drawing since my childhood but, in spite of it, I
always wanted to do Medicine when I grew up. Then, few years ago, I discovered digital painting – firstly in
Photoshop – and it changed, totally, my perception and opinion of what should I really do. Today I want to
be an illustrator, and I always try to grow up in the area doing works and paying attention to the critiques I
receive.
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