Painting With Texture in Photoshop

I recently learned how to import my own gesso texture into Photoshop and paint with it (see previous post here for full image). Some of you Photoshop pros are now saying something like "well, duh", but for me it was a big step forward. It's also much easier than I thought it would be. I am working with Adobe CS4, so I don't know how closely the following applies with newer or older versions.
STEP ONE was to chose a gessoed masonite panel- the type I usually prepare for my oil and acrylic paintings. I took black acrylic paint and with a sponge, worked paint down into the textured surface. I wiped most of it back out with slightly damp paper towels so that the deep texture retained the paint but most of the high texture peaks were wiped clean. I then scanned this 8" x 10" panel on my flatbed scanner at 600 dpi.

detail of my gessoed texture

With this scan now open in Photoshop, I adjusted the levels to exaggerate the contrasts a bit, pushing the darks and lights further apart. Next, under the EDIT tab at the top of Photoshop, scroll down to DEFINE PATTERN and click it. A box will come up with a thumbnail of your new pattern and a prompt to name it. Click OK and your pattern is now saved in the textures section of your Brushes Palette. To paint with this new texture, simply open the brushes palette and check the texture box. Click the word TEXTURE and your current selected texture will show up. To the right of your texture thumbnail is a small arrow pointing down. Click it and the textures in this palette will pop open. Your newly scanned texture will be at the bottom of the list. Select it and you are ready to paint with it.

Things to keep in mind when painting with texture:
If you want your texture to echo exactly what you have scanned and mimic a real gessoed board, DO NOT CHANGE THE SCALE SLIDER after you begin to paint. If you do, the size of your texture will not be consistent across the canvas.
You can choose to paint either the highlights or the valleys of the texture by leaving it NORMAL or by selecting INVERT. Normal will paint the "high" points of the texture much as with drybrushing and if you select invert, the paint will fill in the low points of the texture and leave the high spots relatively paint free. I found this to be very effective when I wanted to "glaze the shadows" without killing my texture. Keep in mind that when switching back and forth between the two, it is easy to forget and you may end up painting your highlights in the depths and the shadows on the peaks of the texture. I decided that INVERT would be for darks and normal would be for lights, so I could keep it straight in my mind.
Also, the depth slider allows you to determine how prominent or subtle you want the texture to appear. I found I liked the texture depth at about 70-75%. Using the OTHER DYNAMICS setting in the brush palette also is incredibly useful in order to take full advantage of your Wacom tablet capabilities, as it allows for softness at the edge of brush strokes, but that is fodder for another post. I hope this makes sense. if you have any questions after having tried this out for size, just shoot me an email or comment.

Asleep At Sea

Last week I posted another piece from this Stormalong series and it just so happens that this weeks theme on Illustration Friday,  "asleep" also fits in with that group of paintings. In the story, Stormalong is so big, that there is no room for him to sleep on the ship. He is resigned to sleeping in (and filling up) the entire lifeboat which is pulled behind the ship. I have a thing for full moons and sunset colors, so it's no surprise I worked both things into this piece. I was also the model with my cooperative wive acting as photographer (she does that a lot- thanks babe!).

New Pochade Box

Last week I finally received my lovely new plein air painting box. Open Box M out of Cody Wyoming custom makes these boxes for artists all over the country. I have used this exact box before, borrowed from friend Rob Adamson and I loved it. It is carefully hand crafted out of quality hardwoods and is light yet very sturdy. All of the brass fittings and hardware are precision made specifically for these boxes.

All you need is a tripod to mount it on and you are ready to go. My box is the 11" x 14" pallette/panel holder, small enough to fit in a backpack. The color mixing area is just about right for painting outdoors as I generally work pretty small. Spring loaded rods hold your panel securely in place and can be adjusted to hold a piece approximately 18" wide if desired. I love the functionality as well as the look of this box and I can't wait to get out and break it in.

Angler Fish Goes Green- Color

Angler Fish Goes Green- 7" x 6" digital

A while ago I posted a drawing from my sketchbook of this eco-conscious angler fish. My initial intention was to paint it traditionally like my Cat-Fish and Dog-Fish pieces, but I decided to paint it in Photoshop instead. I give myself projects to create digitally in order for me to continue to improve and increase my digital skills. I learned something very helpful from my friend and fellow illustrator Will Terry about how to mimic my painting textures digitally. He coached me through creating a texture using the Define Pattern tool  under the Edit tab in Photoshop.

I know there are probably a few people out there saying "how in the world did you not know that?", but it was an important revelation for me and I think it will change the look of my digital work for the better. It allows me to use digital versions of my own painting textures to give my illustrations a more random and organic look. I'm pretty excited about it. If enough people are interested, I'll do a little step by step sometime to show you what I have learned. I'll be using this as a self promotional piece.

Quail Mama

A couple of weeks ago we discovered a by-product of last fall's neglectful yard clean up.  Tucked it into a corner behind the empty propane tank I have been meaning to swap out since barbecue season ended, I left a half used bag of mulch. 

Well, a resourceful mother quail has taken up residence in the leaves piled behind the bag and laid a baker's dozen of speckled eggs. I had noticed some comings and goings the last couple of weeks, but thought nothing of it since we always have quail in the yard. On closer inspection, I realized she was nesting back there and her dutiful hubby chirps at me from the nearby pine trees if I get too close. I am not sure how much time is left in the incubation period, but I'll try to get pictures of the little fuzzy chicks when they make their way into the world.

Bird watching previously on Life Needs Art

Sun Soaked Sailor

Stormalong Title page- 19" x 14" acrylic/mixed media

I did a series of paintings for a reading textbook illustrating the American folk tale Stormalong. It tells the tall tale of a giant baby that gets washed up on shore after a shipwreck. The town folk raise him into a giant sailing man and he has many far fetched adventures on the high seas, including a hair raising battle with a giant octopus on the ocean floor. This was a very fun project and included eight paintings. I'll post some of the others another time.

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

For those of you who entered the Life Needs Art blog birthday giveaway, the drawing was held this morning. The following individuals had luck on their side and were drawn from the hat (actually a paint encrusted Cool Whip container) and will receive autographed copies of my book The Touch of the Master's Hand.

Mike Blake
Chad Grohman
Spencer Harris

Thank you to all who entered and to all of you who check in on this blog on a regular basis. It has been a fun ride to this point and I hope the first year is only the beginning.

Last Chance to Win

Hey all my fellow blog followers! Tomorrow at midnight the Blog Birthday Giveaway drawing will close. Don't forget to enter for a chance at some cool prizes. The more entries, the more I am giving away. So far, odds are still pretty good for you, so why not throw your hat in the ring? First, you must be an official follower of Life Needs Art and then email me your name and username with the headline "Life Needs Art Giveaway". I'll slot you in the right category.

See more details here