'Ocean Shores'

'Ocean Shores'

digital painting; Software: Art Rage, Painter 12, Photoshop

Experimenting with digital mixed media (watercolors, gouache, pastels) and using various software for brushes, etc

(Click on the image to view a larger version)

(Detail view - click to see larger image)

I struggled with this one.. started out wanting to do a 'digital watercolor' -- went back and forth using various brushes in Painter 12 (Real Watercolor brushes, digital watercolors) -- wasn't getting the look and feel that i wanted (colors were dark, had trouble controlling the transparent strokes and how they build up); So, i switched over to Art Rage and tried a few attempts -- got ok results, but still not really happy with the look.

I think it's mainly due to the fact that my 'style' is more opaque.. i enjoy building up layers/colors and digital 'pigment' -- so i decided to switch my intentions and create a 'digital mixed media' approach.

I created initial layers of pure watercolor (using Painter 12 and the Real Watercolor brushes); I then dried the canvas and used the 'splatter wet and dry' brushes -- to create texture; The file was then saved as a .PSD, to preserve the layers and imported into Art Rage, where i used various tools (watercolors, palette knifes and even Stencils (for texture); The piece was again saved as a .PSD and brought into Photoshop -- where i have collected some great brushes (for creating 'noise/texture') and i applied a few final layers of texture, adjusting the transparency of each layer/brush as i went.

Looking at the final result, i'm fairly pleased.. there are things i see that i want to change, but after working on this for nearly a week, i wanted to finish it/publish it and move on to the next one!

I hope to create a few more in this style.. and then determine from there if i want to pursue a 'series' in this style or go back to my 'usual style' (more to come!).

-cg