Techniques

Techniques 
Watercolour and Digital Paintings

These are the techniques I will be using throughout my work. First of all, I will be using watercolours traditionally to create scenes and characters, and then transferring them digitally to manipulate and add to them on the computer. I will also use digital painting to create characters to go into the scenes, to give an example of how I want our game to look.

Watercolour Painting
Traditional Painting using Watercolours
http://www.watercolorpaintingandprojects.com/techniques/more-and-effects.html

First of all, I put some research into finding out the best techniques I could use in creating environments. The use of different brushes and techniques can create different looks on the image. Firstly, the dry brush technique (Fig 1)  is used to give a rough look, using a dried brush to slightly dab the colour on the paper. This can be used for wood textures and grass. The salt technique (Fig 2) may also be useful in creating trees, using a pinch of salt while the colours are drying can give the effect of leaves on a tree. The sponge technique (Fig 3) is also used to create a look of trees, with an everyday household sponge, dabbing a small amount of colour onto the painting with give a unique 'splatter' look.

Fig 1

 Fig 2

 Fig 3

Digital Painting

Digitally Painting using Photoshop

After studying the first stage of my artwork, I needed to look into the best way to create my images digitally. Using Photoshop, I will be transferring my traditional images onto a new layer. Using a mixture of brightness and contrast as well as colour adjustments, I can fit my painting into this new digital layer. Using a set of watercolour brushes (Fig 2), or a soft edged brush (Fig 1) I can add onto the original image if I need to, editing any faults I can see. From this I can add new layers to add in characters and extras, using a mixture of brushes to create a solid look for the characters. 

 Fig 1

 Fig 2