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How do I start a painting? First, I need anΒ idea. These can be inspired by something I see around me or how I am feeling at the moment. They can also come completely randomly. I like to carry my sketchbook around wherever I go so that I can doodle/jot things down as soon as I think of something (or else I will forget).

Here’s a sketch I did last week:

Sketch + Tablet

It’s not that great and there are lots of mistakes, but at least I got the basic idea down. Notice my ancient tablet. The tablet and pen USED to be white…now it’s kind of an off-white, beige color…and the grip coating is starting to peel off the pen. [Note to self: save money for a new tablet]

Then I scan my sketch and upload it into Photoshop. I actually don’t have a scanner, so I just take a picture with my phone. The quality sucks but it’s good enough to start with.

Screenshot

First, I block out the background colors to get a feel for the atmosphere and color scheme. Then I start working on the main figure/object and go from there!