You can view the Fungus textures below, and can download the full sized textures at the bottom of this page.

You can access this freebie and hundreds more in your Designer Toolkit area. Access the area below:

Enter Your Email:

In this advanced design lesson you will learn how to photo manipulate a dark image of a devil woman.

You will master various photo manipulation techniques such as portrait/photo retouching, manipulating a natural landscape, creating a dark cloudy atmosphere, digital painting, image blending, multiple adjustments, advanced masking and many more.

There’s a ton of actionable, professional tips to learn in this lesson, so let’s get started!

Final Image

As always, this is the final image that we’ll be creating:

Step 1

Create a new document with size about 1500×1000 px and fill with any colors you like (I use black). Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+N to make a new layer and choose G to active Gradient Tool. I use Radial Gradient with colors # 021335 and #20446c:

Step 2

Open sky stock. I use Retangular Marquee Tool to make a selection on sky part then use Move Tool (V) to drag it into our black canvas, resize (Cmd/Ctrl+T) and change the mode to Soft Light 100%:

Step 3

I use an adjustment layer with Clipping Mask to desaturate the sky. Go to New Layer-New Adjustment Layer-Hue/Saturation:

Step 4

Extract model and place her at the middle section of our image after resizing:

Step 5

There are something I don’t want on her face so I make a new layer (Clipping Mask) and use Clone Tool (S) to remove it:

Step 6

I use some adjustment layers: Hue/Saturation, Photo Filter, Curves (Clipping Mask) to change color and brightness of model to be fit background:

Step 7

Open rock stock. I cut out the one on the right, place it behind the model. I want the rocks to have an evil look so I use Warp Tool to distort it to be sharper (Edit-Transform-Warp), remember to convert it to Smart Object before transforming. I set this layer under model one.

That’s the end of the preview!

• Join our FanExtra members community to access this full tutorial.
• Existing members can login here to access this tutorial.

In today’s design lesson we will create a fantastically textured flaming portrait.

You will learn how to convert a regular portrait photo into a heavily textured, fantasy outcome. Within the lesson you’ll master skin retouching, painting custom hair, advanced image blending, filter application and lighting effects.

Final Image

As always, this is the final image that we’ll be creating:

Step 1

For earlier steps of this tutorial we will do some retouching and give basic overall texture on the model. Here is the image we will create:

Step 2

Start by opening the model image in photoshop. We will resize the image first. To do this purpose, go to image > image size and set the size of the model image as follow:

Step 3

Duplicate the image by hitting the Ctrl+J. Invert the duplicate by hitting Ctrl+I.

Then, with the duplicate image still selected, go to layer > smart object > convert to smart object. This will change the image into a smart object layer indicated by a smart object indicator on lower right corner of the thumbnail.

Next set the blending of the duplicate to overlay at 100% opacity.

step 4

Now go to filter > other > high pass. Set the amount of the radius to 6.0 pixels.

With the duplicate layer still selected, click the layer mask icon in the bottom of the layer panel to give this layer a layer mask.

Step 5

With the duplicate layer still selected, click the layer mask icon in the bottom of the layer panel to give this layer a layer mask.

Then mask the areas around the eyes, lips, nose and hair of the model. Use a very soft brush set to 30-40 opacity to mask the areas.

Here is the result so far:

Step 6

As we can see the skin lost its natural texture because of the high pass effect. It looks very soft.

We will give back the texture for the skin. To do this, firstly hit Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E to stamp all the layers. This will create a single layer above all the other layers. I named this layer model. Convert this model layer into a smart object layer. Then go to filter > others > custom. Set this filter blending option to normal at 50-60% opacity.

Here is the result should be:

Step 7

Now go to layer > new adjustment layer > hue/saturation. Set this adjustment layer to multiply at 17% opacity :

Here is the result should look:

Step 8

In this step we will colorize the lips. Select the lips of the model as the following:

With the lips still in selection, go to layer > new adjustment layer > hue/saturation as follows:

Set this adjustment layer to normal blending at 60% opacity:

Duplicate the adjustment layer and set the duplicate to overlay blending at 45% opacity to get the result as the following:

Step 9

Hit Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E to stamp all the layers and create a new single layer on the topmost position in the layer panel. Select the model image of the stamp layer and clean out its background.

Step 10

Go to layer > new adjustment layers > hue/saturation. Make sure to give this adjustment layer a clipping mask. Set this layer to normal at 50 % opacity.

Give another hue/saturation layer with a clipping mask above the first one. Set this layer to normal at 100% opacity.

And this is the result should we have:

Step 11

Open the rock texture in the document. Place it above the two hue/saturation layers.

Create this texture layer a clipping mask and set its blending to overlay at 40-45 opacity.

Finally, fill the selection ( Shift+F5) with color of #873fa0.

Step 12

Then, go to filter and give this texture image high pass filter as follows:

Here is the result we should have now:

Finally, duplicate the texture layer and set the duplicate to soft light blending at 40% opacity. Here is the result:

Step 13

Open again the texture image in the document and place it above the other texture layers. Scale its size and locate it in the right part of the model’s face:

Create this texture layer a clipping mask and hide the unneeded parts by masking them.

Then, give this texture image high pass filter:

Set this texture layer to overlay at 100% opacity to get the result like the one here:

Duplicate the texture layer and set the duplicate to soft light blending at 100% opacity. Here is the result we should have now:

Step 14

In this step we will create some high light in the hair. Create a new layer by hitting Shift+Ctrl+N. Give this new layer a clipping mask, set its mode to overlay and fill it with 50% gray color:

Activate the dodge tool in the tool panel. Set the tool to highlight with opacity of 100%. Choose one of the hair brushes as the brush of the tool.

Now activate the pen tool. With the new layer still selected, create a curve path on the hair. Right click on the path to show the path command options. Choose stroke path and use the dodge tool as the tool to stoke. Make sure to check the simulate pressure

This is the result:

Do the same way to add more and more highlight on the hair.

After creating the desired highlight, duplicate the highlight layer and set the duplicate to soft light at 100% opacity to get the result as the one here:

Step 15

We are done with the model. Now we will proceed to create a background for the model. Create a new document with the following size:

Step 16

Fill the document ( Shift+F5 ) with black and paint a big soft white spot in the center of the document:

Step 17

Create a new layer and paint some pink color on this new layer.

Set this new layer to overlay at 80% opacity:

Step 18

Open the texture image in the document. Scale its size and locate it to fit the document:

Set the layer to multiply at 100% opacity and mask some part of the texture as indicated by the selection in the screenshot below. Here is the result we have:

Step 19

Now we will add some fire to the document. Firstly, cut out one of the flames from the flame image stock. Add the cut out to document. Set this flame layer to screen blending at 100% opacity.

Create color balance adjustment layer with a clipping mask above the flame layer:

This is the flame will look now:

Duplicate the flame layer and flip it horizontally to get the result like this one:

Step 20

Open the model to the document.

Step 21

Create a new document above the model. Create a clipping mask for this new layer. I named this layer white. Take the brush tool in the tool panel. Choose a very soft round brush set to about 10-20% opacity. With white color, paint some highlight on the model:

On different layers, paint more white highlight. To get the best result try to vary the blending of each layer among normal, screen and overlay.

Step 22

Create another new layer with a clipping mask above the white layer. On this new layer paint more highlight. Use the color of #fc5203 to give some reddish tone.

Step 23

Open again the rock texture in the document. Place this texture layer above the highlight layers.

Mask some part of the texture:

Duplicate the texture layer some times. Scale the sizes of the duplicates and arrange them in such way that they appear as the background for the overall scene. Mask unneeded parts of the duplicates. Set their opacities varied to 10-15% opacity normal blending.

Step 24

In this step we will alter the color of the model’s eyes. Go back to select the model layer. Select the one of the model’s eyes. Hit Ctrl+J to duplicate the eye. Then, move the duplicate to the top most position in the layer panel. Convert this eye layer into a smart object.

Now, with the eye layer still activated, go to image > adjustment > variations. Click more yellow option some times to give yellowish tone for the eye. Some more clicks on the more red option for the reddish tone. Finally, give few click on lighter option to give brighter tone. Click ok if we have find the best result.

Next, set the variation blending option to color dodge at 100% opacity.

Finally, set the eye layer to overlay at 100% opacity.

Do the same to alter the color for the other eye:

Step 25

Duplicate the texture image used in previous step 18. Move the duplicate to the top most position (above all the other layers) in the layer panel. Set this duplicate to overlay blending at 45% opacity. Mask a bit on the areas of the face and body. Use a very soft round brush at opacity of 20-30 %.

Duplicate the texture image one more time. Set this duplicate to overlay at 45% opacity. Mask almost the whole texture layer affecting the scene except the areas around the model’s stomach and lower part of the scene.

Step 26

In this step we will set overall color adjustment for the scene. To do this purpose, we will give the scene curve adjustment layer:

Set the curve to normal at 100% opacity. Duplicate the curve layer and set the duplicate to normal at 80% opacity:

Step 27

Create another new layer above the curve layers. With soft brush color paint some black color on the lower part of the scene:

Step 28

We should adjust the color of the model’s lip. To do this, make selection on the lips as we do in previous step 8. After creating the selection, give hue/saturation:

Set this hue/saturation to over lay at 100% opacity.

Duplicate the layer and set the duplicate to soft light at 75% opacity.

Step 29

In this step we will give more highlight to the eyes. Firstly, create a new layer and on this new layer create a square filled with black. Set this layer to color dodge.

Paint yellow lines on the lower eyelid. Here is the normal layer and the result in color dodge blended:

Duplicate the eyelid layer one time to get the brighter result.

Step 30

Again, create a new layer and make a black square on this new layer. Give this black square lens flare filter by going to filter > render > lens flare:

Set this layer to color dodge. Make sure to position the flare on the eyeball.

Add the same flare to the other eye.

Step 31

Again, create more new layer filled with black and set the layer to color dodge. Take the brush tool. Choose a very soft round brush set to 5-10% opacity. Paint some with color and yellow on the areas around the body. Here is the normal layer for our reference.

And this is the result in color dodge blending. Now we have some flame effect on the rock.

Step 32

We will give more light to the flame created in the step 31. To do this, create a new layer on which we create a square filled with a flare in it like the one in the previous step. Then, alter the shape of the square by warping it. Finally, place the altered flare where needed.

Set the layer to color dodge to get the result like the one here

Duplicate the flare layer as many as needed. Alter the shapes of the duplicates by warping them. Place each of them where needed:

And We’re Done!

You can view the final outcome below. I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial and would love to hear your feedback on the techniques and outcome.

Today we have another great freebie addition for our Designer Toolkit area.

The Toolkit is an area where we’ve compiled an ever growing collection of freebies to reward our loyal subscribers and readers. It’s one of the largest freebie areas in the design community and is packed with premium-quality items such as vectors, brushes, high-res textures and much more!

Today’s freebie is for all your print designers out there. Often times clients want a complete package for their designs, ranging from business cards to brochures, folders and letterheads. Mocking up your designs really lets your clients get a feel for how the finished product will look. Mockup templates are an incredibly quick and easy way to create professional mockups in minutes. Using smart objects in Photoshop, you can literally drag and drop in your design, and it will be fitted to the relevant mockup design, taking on the various lighting, perspective and shadows of that piece.

Today’s free templates include a variety of folder variations, including rounded/sharp inlays, and various perspectives/angles. They’re kindly provided by Company Folders

These templates are free to use on any personal and commercial projects. Redistribution is not allowed, but you can direct users to this page to download their own copy.

You can access this freebie and hundreds more in your Designer Toolkit area. Access the area below:

Enter Your Email:

You can view the Ghosts textures below, and can download the full sized textures at the bottom of this page.

You can access this freebie and hundreds more in your Designer Toolkit area. Access the area below:

Enter Your Email:

In today’s tutorial you’re going to learn something a little different.

We’re going to cover some incredibly practical, basic tips that you can apply in order to create your own cost-effective photo manipulations from scratch. Not everyone has access to professional photography studios, and today you’ll learn how you can product high-end looking results on a very limited budget.

This includes everything from correctly setting up a photo shoot, to moving into Photoshop and covering post-production essentials. You’ll work with lighting, detail removal, color correction and photo manipulation.

Final Image

As always, this is the final image that we’ll be creating:

Step 1: Organizing Your Photo Shoot

First of all we are going to need 2 light sources (when I say light source I mean anything that you can afford, from a single 150 watt halogen lamp to professional studio equipment). For this project I used:

- 2 x 150 watt halogen lamps
- A black canvas
- An mp3 player
- A headshet
- Cables

The next thing that you want to do is set up the scenery. The image below will help you understand what I mean.

As you can see we placed the “Light source 1” to the side of the model and the 2nd “light source” as a backlight. Now, if you have a decent DSL camera I suggest that you turn it to auto and take the shot. If you are a more advanced photographer you can switch to manual and use the parameters I used to take the photo.

F/5 , ISO 250, 1/50 s , Focal Length 18mm

And this is the result:

You can notice the yellow tones on the skin. That was caused due to the halogen lamps. On the next step we will fix the colors and add elements in order to achieve a more professional result.

Step 2: Fixing the background

In this step all we need to do is just paint the background with black color. Choose a nice soft black brush and start painting these areas

After you’re done use softly paint all the sides of the photo to create a vignette effect. Like this:

That’s the end of the preview!

• Join our FanExtra members community to access this full tutorial.
• Existing members can login here to access this tutorial.

In today’s design lesson we’re going to create a mysterious steampunk man and place him in a victorian looking setting.

You’ll learn a variety of useful photo manipulation techniques including:

• Blending multiple images correctly
• Working with masking and adjustment layers
• Applying textures
• Creating custom lighting effects
• ‘Bringing it all together’

Let’s get started!

Final Image

Here is the final outcome we’ll be creating:

Step 1

Open Photoshop and create a new file. Go to File -> New and input the following attributes

Step 2

Next, open the background stock image. You will need to rotate the image, go to Image -> Image Rotation -> 90 CCW.

After rotated, use the Quick Selection Tool and select the following part of the image

Then use the Move Tool and move the selected part to our new file. Name this new layer “Background”.

Step 3

Open the sky stock image, select a part of it like this

Move the selected part to our file, place it behind the “Background” layer and name it “Sky”.

Step 4

We will edit the sky a little bit by adding these following adjustments to the “Sky” layer.

Go to Layer -> New Adjustment Layer -> Brightness/Contrast.

Remember to check the box “Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask”

Adjust the Brightness/Contrast like this:

Brightness : -37
Contrast : 59

Go to Layer -> New Adjustment Layer -> Black&White and adjust it like this

Add the following Curves layer (Layer -> New Adjustment Layer -> Curves)

Here is what we got after the adjustments

Step 5

Let’s edit the background a little bit. Add these following adjustment layers (which can be found all in Layer -> New Adjustment Layer) to the “Background” layer.

Don’t forget to check the box “Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask”

Brightness/Contrast

Brightness : -119
Contrast : -13

Levels

Hue/Saturation

Saturation : -36
Lightness : -72

Photo Filter
Color : #ffc53b
Density : 12%

And we will have this as the result

Step 6

Add Layer Masks to the adjustment layers

Layer mask on Brightness/Contrast

Layer mask on Hue/Saturation

And here’s what we get

Step 7

We will create light source on the light street for the image’s main light. Create a new layer above the “Background” layer, name it “Len Flare” and fill it with Black.

Go to Filter -> Render -> Len Flare

We will have a raw len flare, switch the blend mode to “Color Dodge” to remove the black background then place the len flare on the street light.

Add the following adjustment layers to the “Len Flare” layer

Hue/Saturation
Hue : 42
Saturation : 42
Lightness : +20

Levels

And another Hue/Saturation

Saturation : -69
Lightness: +19

Layer mask on the Len Flare layer

And we will have this shining light street

Step 9

We will add an extra glowing light by create a new layer, use a round soft white brush and click on the image to draw a single soft round shape.

Go to Blending Option of the layer and adjust:

Outer Glow

Blend Mode : Screen
Color : #e4b526
Spread : 0%
Size : 109 px
Range : 71%

Color Overlay : change the color to #fff1c6

Place the glowing light on the street light

Step 10

Create a new Gradient Map adjustment layer on top of all layer.

Blend Mode : Soft Light
Opacity : 69%
Fill : 67%

Layer mask on Gradient Map layer

And we’re done with the background!

Step 11

Open the model stock image, extract the model and place it on our file, name it “Model”

We need to create a shadow for the model.

Duplicate the Model layer, fill the duplicated layer with black color.

Go to Image -> Transform -> Distort or simply hit Ctrl + T and choose Distort to manipulate the shadow.

Go to Filter -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur
Radius : 4.0 px

We will have the following result

Step 12

Select the Model layer, go to Blending Option and add the Inner Shadow.

Blend Mode : Multiply

Distance : 4px
Size : 27px

As you can see the glowing blue edge of the model has been gradually reduced by using Inner Shadow.

Step 13

Apply following adjustment layers for the model

Hue/Saturation

Saturation : -41
Lightness : -4

Brightness/Contrast

Brightness : -15
Contrast : 23

Gradient Map

Blend Mode : Soft Light
Opacity : 73%

Photo Filter

Here’s the result

Step 14

Open the Machine Box stock image, extract then place it on the model

Resize it to fit the back of the model

Apply following adjustment layers

Brightness/Contrast

Brightness : -32
Contrast : -22

Curves

Photo Filter :

change the color #b2711c
Density : 68%

Gradient Map

Blend Mode : Soft Light
Opacity : 73%
Fill : 73%

We will have the following result

Step 15

Open 2 tentacle stock images and extract their following part

Place the tentacles under Machine Box layer. Duplicate and transform them like this

Select all the tentacle layers and go to Layer -> Group Layer (or Ctrl + G) to store them into a group, name the group “Tentacles”.

Step 16

Add the following adjustment layers to the Tentacles Group we just created

Brightness/Contrast

Hue/Saturation

Blend Mode : Overlay
Opacity : 85%

Gradient Map

Blend Mode : Soft Light
Opacity : 73%

The result should look like this

Step 17

Time to add some sparks! Open the Lightning brush, create a new layer and start placing lightning all around the tentacles. Remember to put each lightning on different layers. Resize, transform the lightning as your will.

Erase some part of the lightning on the tentacles.

Apply following Blending Option to all lightning layers. You can do this fast by applying to one layer, then right click on it and choose Copy Layer Style, right click on other layers and choose Paste Layer Style

Blend Mode : Screen
Opacity : 100%
Color : #1f7aea
Size : 6px
Range : 32%

The result should look like this:

Step 18

Create a new layer, use soft white brush and draw like this

Apply Outer Glow effect in Blending Option

Blend Mode : Screen
Opacity : 47%
Noise : 10%
Color : #3da7ce
Size : 122px
Range : 72%

We will have a glowing blue lightning effect like this

Step 19

Open and place the Snow Texture into the image. Change the blend mode to Screen, Opacity 48%

Apply layer mask to the Snow layer

Duplicate the Snow layer, move it down to the bottom a little bit.

Opacity : 66%
Flow : 72%

We will have more snow at the bottom of the image

Step 20

We will create some fog by create a new layer. Remember to set the Foreground Color to White and Background Color to Black before continue.

Go to Filter -> Render -> Cloud

Change the blend mode to Screen, Opacity 20%, Fill 29%

Step 21

We are almost done! The ground still need more shadow so create a new layer, use soft round brush with black color and paint the ground like this

Layer mask on shadow layer

Change the Blend Mode to Soft Light and we should have a nice shadow ground

Duplicate the Shadow layer to increase the effect

Step 22

Now we just need to add some final retouch for the image. Apply these adjustment layers on top of all layers.

Gradient Map 1

Blend Mode : Soft Light
Opacity : 48%
Fill : 65%

Gradient Map 2

Blend Mode : Soft Light
Opacity : 37%
Fill : 40%

Curves

Selective Color

Hue/Saturation

Blend Mode : Linear Dodge (Add)
Opacity : 54%
Fill : 70%

Layer mask on Hue/Saturation

Color Balance

And we’re done!

I hope you guys enjoy the tutorial. I would love to hear your feedback on the techniques and outcome.

You can view the Water Rock textures below, and can download the full sized textures at the bottom of this page.

You can access this freebie and hundreds more in your Designer Toolkit area. Access the area below:

Enter Your Email:

In this tutorial we are going to create a sacred resting place of an ancient mask, where light is focused from above the mask.

With this tutorial we are going to cover topics like.

- Texture and surface manipulation in Photoshop.
- Blending multiple images correctly and non-destructively
- Creating natural depth with custom shadows.
- Creating artificial Depth Of Field (DOF).
- Dramatic Color Correction using adjustment layers.

Final Outcome:

As always, this is the final image that we’ll be creating:

Step 1

Create a new canvas in Photoshop with dimensions Width=2560 and Height=1440. Then import the image of concrete texture on to the working area.

Step 2

In this step we are going to create a rock table in the scene.

1) Import the image of the rock table and place it in the scene as shown.

2) Create a new layer and paint the black bokeh along the sides of the scene as shown.

3) Now create a new layer and paint the dark shadows around the stone table as shown.

4) Create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to the stone table and set the Saturation level to -48.

5) Then by using the Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer set the brightness of the stone table to -40.

6) Pop up the dark shadows of the stone table by increasing the Gamma Correction Level to 0.75 using the Exposure adjustment layer.

Step 3

In this step we are going to work on adding few more textured details to the background.

1) Import the image of rock texture on to the canvas and erase the texture as shown using the Eraser Tool (E) leaving the details on the top of the scene.

2) By using the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer reduce the Saturation level of the rock texture to -40.

Step 4

In this step we are going to place the mask in the scene and blend it with the lighting of the scene.

1) Import the image of the mask and place it on the rock table as shown.

2) Using the soft round brush paint the dark shadows on the mask as shown.

3) Create an Exposure adjustment layer to the mask and set the Gamma Correction level to 0.75.

4) Now reduce the Brightness of the mask to -13 using the Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer.

Step 5

In this step we are going to place the Mayan’s Calendar behind the mask.

1) Import the image of the Mayan’s Calendar on to the canvas, and place it behind the mask as shown.

That’s the end of the preview!

• Join our FanExtra members community to access this full tutorial.
• Existing members can login here to access this tutorial.

Today we have an expert lesson for you in digital painting. It’s very important for an artist to be familiar with human anatomy. Even if you’re not a regular digital painter, digital painting and drawing techniques can come in handy for tweaking photo manipulation work, adding depth to illustrations and understanding light and shadow.

There are a lot of books that can help you in this topic, but they’re usually created for medical students and seem to be too complicated for the rest of us. I’ll show you how to paint an anatomically correct arm – one of hardest parts to learn – without any specialist knowledge.

Let’s get started!

Final Image

As always, this is the final image that we’ll be creating:

Step 1

This is the first and the most important step. Look at the template below. You don’t need to know the names of all these muscles – you’re an artist, not a doctor. Look at your right arm, touch it and try to locate all the muscles (muscle simullations, actually) you can see. Check how they interact with each other, how they change their positions when you turn your forearm. Take your time, you shouldn’t go further before you’ve fully understood it.

Step 2

Are you sure you understood it? Ok, now we can start drawing. Create a new file in big resolution and fill it with some dark background. Choose a pose you want to draw and build it with some simple shapes on a new layer. You can use any tool you want, but I suggest Pencil Tool – it’s great for defining the shapes.

It’s time to test your knowledge in practice. Quickly draw the muscles using the template and your own arm as references. You can use the colors if you find it helpful, just remember to create a black sketch afterwards. Forget the hand – it’s not what we’re learning now.

Here’s the sketch without colors. Messy, isn’t it? But it’s totally ok, we will need it just for a while.

Step 3

Create a new layer and draw the outline of the arm using general skin color. Make it quite solid.

Use Magic Wand Tool (W) to select everything outside of the arm, then go to Select > Modify > Contract and pick a few pixels. Now you can fill the inside of the arm with Paint Bucket Tool (G).

Move the sketch above the “body” layer and change its Opacity to 10%. Now, with this layer selected, use Ctrl + Alt + G shortcut (Clipping Mask) to fit the sketch into the base. You’ll use this shortcut after creating every new layer above (try to create a new layer for every sub-step, it may help you to fix something).

Step 4

Create a new layer (remember about Clipping Mask!) and define the edges of the muscles again. Pencil Tool still works great for it.

Now, draw basic shadows on the arm. They don’t need to be perfectly accurate, but try to guess them.

Use a lighter, more saturated color to blend the shadows into the skin. Still, rough effect is intentional.

Come back to darker color to define the edges again. Be precise now.

Step 5

Grab a fully soft Brush with low Flow (20-30%) and basic skin color. Now, use it carefully, filling the spaces between the dark edges. This way you’ll emboss the muscles.

Change color to darker shade and use the same Brush to cover the dark edges and blend it more.

Grab the basic color again to blend the skin even more. Be careful, leave as much roughness as possible. Draw lines rather than areas.

Now, back to darker color – add some shadows again.

Step 6

Change your Brush to hard one and lighten some parts with light color. Be subtle, paint the lights with quick clicks.

Use black to add some shadows in the opposite of lighted parts. Again, do it softly (even if the Brush is hard).

Look for the areas that need more skin and cover them with colors picked from around. Don’t cover them all at once with big color splashes, use thick lines again.

Step 7

Time to add even more lights. Use basic skin color (not the lightest one we’ve used!) and paint a thin stroke at the edge of the forearm. Then, paint some blobs of color next to it, leaving a border of darker color between them. Do the same with the arm, just don’t make the stroke so sharp anywhere else.

You can now draw some veins, picking the colors individually. Don’t make them too detailed, they’re just details themselves.

Step 8

This is very subtle trick (you may not even see the difference, but there is one, I swear!). Grab a soft Brush and paint very, very subtle blobs of colors in selected areas. Don’t go too far on this, or it will give unnatural effect.

Check if there are any areas still needing shadows. If you find them, you know what to do!

Create a new layer with Overlay as Blending Mode. Now you can use white to add some lights without losing colors or defined edges.

Step 9

Create a new layer, change the Brush Mode to Dissolve and paint some white spots with it. This will fake the skin pores.

Change the layer’s Blending Mode to Overlay and lower the Opacity until the pores are barely visible.

Step 10

If you think the arm is too pale, you can add some tan to it. Just create a new layer filled with orange…

…and change it’s Blending Mode to Overlay. Then move the Opacity slider to adjust the color’s strength.

And We’re Done!

Congratulations on making it this far! You now know how to digital paint an arm using anatomy basics and lighting/textures techniques.

If you enjoyed this tutorial we’d love to hear your feedback in the comments section below.