How to digitally draw/paint a realistic Dragon in Photoshop

Name: How to digitally draw/paint a realistic Dragon in Photoshop
Rating: 4.6 (90 reviews)

(Creature Concept art and illustration)

Highest Rated

Created byChris Scalf

Last updated 4/2018

English

What you'll learn

Students will understand the need for basic form underneath creature design, as well as learning how to do extremely detailed textures, as well as learn how it is affected by light and shadows.

Course content

1 section • 28 lectures • 5h 7m total length

Introduction2:00
Drawing a dragon head (form and inspiration)11:07
The Body Form (2 legs)12:51
The Body Form (4 legs)14:09
Loosely sketching the basic Dragon Shape/Form.9:21
Adjusting the shape, adding loose detail12:31
Adding detail (the face)12:55
Adding detail (tone, add some to background)14:51
Begin to add some color...9:59
Add detail to lower jaw...11:56
Liquify face; add detail to horns/spikes...6:55
Add teeth; zoom out, create ambiguous background shapes...11:00
Adjusting the head; Adding detail to the body...12:56
More head detail; detailing the neck...6:49
More neck detail; color...7:27
More neck detail/color- continuing down to the body.6:45
Begin detailing the rest of the body; more color adjustments...14:44
More detail to the body; background...12:32
Revising the background...14:28
Add detail to new background...9:04
More detail to background (mists, blue sky, mountains); Dragon detail...15:38
Adjust Dragon proportions; add more detail...11:49
Zoom in, tighten detail...8:47
Tightening, adding more detail...12:21
Zoom in, tighten teeth, snout detail...14:55
Tighter detail to background...11:46
Tighten background detail while simplifying layers and composing foreground-first, using a 3x4 storyboard grid to handle multiple dragon poses, and pursue painterly, fast, non-photoreal shading in Photoshop.
Tighter background detail cont'd...7:30
Master tighter background detail for a realistic dragon scene in Photoshop, using textured rocks, trees, and mist, with eyedropper color sampling and deliberate texture.
Final details.10:21

Requirements

Must have a basic understanding of Photoshop and be able to use a graphics tablet (i.e. Wacom Intuos, Cintiq, etc)

Description

Learn my techniques for creating dragons digitally in photoshop by using real photos of an alligator. I begin by taking you though my process and inspiration on how (and why) I draw my dragons the way I do. (Inspirations from the past combined with modern studies of anatomy in dinosaurs and real animals.) The actual painting itself is a new frontier for me, as I challenge myself to go another level beyond the typical way that I have always illustrated dragons up until now. Not only do I explore intricate detail for both the creature and this surroundings, I also stumble a bit with a few things (such as the background) and show you how I recover from that.

Who this course is for:

People who want to learn how to become stronger at creating creatures digitally for concept art, illustration, and even animation.