Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you today? I hope you're doing really well.

And I'm so pleased that you're here.

My name is Ms. Afzal, and I'll be your art teacher for this lesson.

I'm feeling very pleased about that because today we're looking at digital painting.

I wonder how familiar you are with this.

We're gonna be getting right into it.

Our lesson is called Digital Painting Techniques: Brushstroke and Beyond.

It comes from the unit of work Foundation Workshops: Developing Skills.

So if you are ready to develop your skills in digital painting, if you have some focus, energy, and enthusiasm, we'll begin our lesson.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can apply digital brush techniques, including opacity, flow, layering, and texture, to create expressive and realistic digital paintings.

We have some keywords in our lesson.

Let's go through them.

Opacity, flow, layering, and blending.

What do these keywords mean? Opacity is the transparency level of a digital brush or layer.

Flow, the rate at which paint is applied when a brushstroke is made.

Layering, building up visual effects by stacking elements in separate digital layers.

And blending, the technique of merging colors or tones smoothly.

These are our keywords: opacity, flow, layering, and blending.

Let's look out for them.

Let's listen out for them.

They will be coming up in our lesson today.

Our lesson is called Digital Painting Techniques: Brushstrokes and Beyond, and it has two learning cycles, digital brush tools and developing digital art techniques.

Let's begin by exploring digital brush tools.

Digital paintings are created using digital brushes.

How do you think digital brushes differ from traditional paint brushes? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

While we're here, pause for a moment longer and share with someone your impressions of this digitally created painting that we can see on the screen.

Thanks for sharing.

Digital brushes are powerful tools for artists.

They can mimic a range of traditional art materials like pastels, pencils, and paints, and they can be used to create custom textures like rocky mountains, flowing clouds, or luminous stars.

How artists use digital brushes influences how expressive these tools can be, and a lot can be achieved even with a few simple brushes.

We can see an example of a digital brush on the screen there.

Pause here and share with someone, have you seen one of these digital brushes before or used one? Thanks for sharing.

Brush settings can be changed to alter the appearance and effect of digital brushstrokes, including their opacity, flow, size, pressure sensitivity.

Opacity controls how transparent a brushstroke is.

Lower opacity makes marks lighter and more subtle, while high opacity creates bold, solid strokes.

When opacity is reduced, brushstrokes can be layered to gradually create depth and soft transitions.

Flow determines how much paint is applied with each stroke.

A low flow setting is like having a small amount of paint on a traditional brush, while a high flow setting carries a lot of paint, so it'll be instantly noticeable.

When flow is reduced, each brushstroke builds up color slowly and can allow for smooth blending.

Pause here and share with someone your impressions of the painting we can see on the screen.

What kind of flow of paint do you think has been applied? Thanks for sharing.

It seems to me like quite a high flow of paint has been used there.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What happens if the flow of a brush is set very low? Is it a, the brushstroke appears darker, b, the brushstroke builds up gradually, c, the colors automatically blend, d, the brush texture disappears.

Pause here while you decide, what happens if the flow of a brush is set very low? Well done if you selected answer b.

Indeed, if the flow of a brush is set very low, the brushstroke builds up gradually.

Changing the size of a brush allows you to cover larger or smaller areas of the canvas.

Adding a color wash to the background will benefit from using a larger brush, while adding smaller details will be easier with a smaller brush.

Use the zoom function to focus in on sections of a digital artwork, but remember to zoom out and view the whole artwork regularly.

Pressure sensitivity is a setting available for some tablets, stylus, and digital art software tools.

When applied to a brush, you can use different pressures whilst drawing to change the opacity, flow, or size of the brush to further mimic the effects of traditional materials.

Digital visual effects can be made by using different brush settings or by erasing and blending with them.

You can also apply different brush settings to the eraser and blend tool.

Erasing in this way can build textures into an artwork or layer.

Blending can be used to create smooth transitions between tones, colors, shapes, and layers.

Many artists experiment with digital art tools.

David Hockney has increasingly used digital tools to make art through his career.

In his vibrant landscape artworks, he shows how traditional mark-making effects can be simulated and extended digitally.

Tishk Barzanji is a digital painter inspired by architecture, surrealism, and texture.

His richly symbolic work show layering and the stylized ways that digital mark-making can be used.

And Vince Fraser combines illustration, photography, and layered textures through digital tools.

His work explores Afrofuturism and cultural identity through digital experimentation.

So these are just some of the many artists experimenting with digital art tools.

Pause here and share with someone, do you know of any other artists experimenting with digital art tools? Thanks for sharing.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which tool helps create smooth transitions between colors? Is it a, eraser, b, layer mask, c, blending, or d, zoom? Pause here while you decide, which tool helps create smooth transitions between colors? Well done if you selected answer c.

Indeed, it's blending that helps create smooth transitions between colors.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to create a digital sampler sheet of digital brush experiments.

You should explore different types of opacity, flow, and texture settings, label each example with the brush settings used, explore and build confidence through play.

So pause here while you have a go at this task.

Have fun and create a digital sampler sheet of digital brush experiments.

I'll see you when you're finished.

It's great to be back with you.

How did you get on with that task of creating a digital sampler sheet of digital brush experiments? You might have created something like this and said something like this.

Here's Laura.

"I experimented with different digital brush settings, mimicking textures for watercolor, acrylic, pastels, and graphite." And great to see those recordings of opacity and flow used each time.

And now we're onto our next learning cycle, developing digital art techniques.

Layers allow artists to separate parts of their work.

What do you think are the advantages of creating a digital work using layers? Pause here and share with someone, what do you think? Thanks for sharing.

Using layers makes it easier to edit and refine without disturbing other elements.

For example, one layer might hold the background, another the subject, and another the details.

This approach to making digital artworks makes the process more controlled and editing more flexible.

I wonder if you had some answers like these.

Blending merges any two visual elements together smoothly, such as tones, colors, shapes, and layers.

Blending can be used to create realistic transitions for skin tones, shadows, or skies.

Pause here and share with someone your impressions of the blending in this digital artwork.

Thanks for sharing.

Texture brushes can imitate surfaces like fabric, stone, glass, or fur.

They help digital artworks to feel tactile and expressive.

Pause here and share with someone your impressions of this artwork.

Thanks for sharing.

Layers, textures, and blending effects are commonly used by artists to create a range of explorative art forms. Toyin Ojih Odutola is known for highly textural portraiture using digital and traditional media, exploring identity and storytelling through layered, intricate mark-making.

Riva Lehrer is a painter and digital illustrator exploring identity, disability, and the body.

She uses layered, traditional, and digital media to develop textured mark-making effects in her work.

And Anthony Azekwoh is a digital painter who explores folklore, mythology, narrative, and expressive digital brushwork.

He uses texture, depth, vibrant color, and layered techniques in his digital compositions.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Why is layering important in digital painting? A, it separates elements for easier editing.

B, it makes files smaller for easier editing.

C, it automatically adds shadows when editing.

D, it saves the image as a JPEG after editing.

Pause here while you decide why is layering important in digital painting.

Well done if you selected answer a.

Indeed, layering is important in digital painting because it separates elements for easier editing.

Using digital brushes doesn't automatically make an artwork look realistic.

Realism depends on consideration of the elements, and principles of art, and a thoughtful use of settings and techniques, like layering or blending.

Pause here and share with someone your impressions of this painting.

Thanks for sharing.

How might you use brush settings and digital art techniques to create realistic textures in an artwork? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's hear some responses.

Here's Jacob.

"I could import a photo that features lots of different textures into digital art software, then use brush settings and layers to develop the photo into an artwork." And Sam, "I will edit and create my own brush settings and combinations to build a range of textures and effects which look realistic." Some great ideas.

Digital painting techniques include brush settings, layering, and blending can be used in a variety of ways, including refining, editing, or enhancing a photograph, developing illustrations for print and publication, tattoo artist mockups simulating the possible appearance of the design on the human body, mural paintings overlaid onto a building to show the design in situ to a possible client.

Can you think of any other ways in which the digital painting techniques, like layering and blending, can be used in different ways? Thanks for sharing.

Exploring the effects and textures that materials can create can lead artists to develop their works into different media.

Sophie Kahn works with 3D scanning and digital media, exploring imperfection and texture.

She uses her experience of disability to inform her exploration of fragmented forms. Delaine Le Bas explores installation, textiles, printed fabrics, and mixed media.

These works are often layered in material and meaning, exploring identity and cultural memory.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false.

Digital brushes cannot replicate the realistic effect of traditional brushes.

Pause here and decide, is this statement true or false? Well done if you said false.

And now I'd like you to say a little more about your answer.

Pause here while you do this.

Perhaps you said something like this.

Digital brushes can achieve similar effects to traditional brushes.

It depends on how the brush settings, layering, and blending are applied.

And now it's time for your next task.

I would like you to develop digital art techniques through creating a digital painting of an object.

You should choose an object which features textures that you could mimic through digital brush techniques, e.

g.

a leaf, feather, grass, clouds.

Paint your chosen object using at least three separate layers.

So pause here while you have a go at this task of developing your digital art techniques through creating a digital painting of an object.

Enjoy your task, and I'll see you when you're finished.

Great to be back with you.

How did you get on with that task of developing your digital art techniques through creating a digital painting of an object? You might have created something like this and said something like this.

"I started this digital painting by selecting a photo of a hummingbird and importing it into my digital art software.

I then created a background of earthy green and yellow colors that matched the photo using oil paint-style brushes." Pause here and share with someone your impressions of Jacob's leafy background that he has created digitally.

Thanks for sharing.

I think it's really highly effective.

And then, "Still using my photo reference, I then created a new layer for the branches and overlaid them onto the background colors." Pause here and share with someone your impressions of this next stage and this next layer of Jacob's digital painting.

Thanks for sharing.

"My third layer was for the hummingbird.

I carefully matched the colors to the photo reference and recreated the feather textures by building up brushstrokes gradually with a low opacity and flow setting." Great to use those tools.

"Finally, I brought all the layers together and blended the edges to make them look more natural.

I then used brightness and contrast adjustment settings to balance the final artwork.

Pause here and share with someone your impressions of Jacob's final outcome of this digital painting.

Thanks for sharing.

And now I'd like you to share your digital painting with someone and see if they can look carefully and take apart the layers, work out what was your background layer, what came next, and what was the final layer that you added on.

Pause here while you do this.

Thanks for having a go at that.

And I hope you enjoyed developing your digital art techniques through this task.

In our lesson, Digital Painting Techniques: Brushstrokes and Beyond, we've covered the following.

Digital brushes can mimic traditional media whilst offering flexibility and control.

Opacity and flow settings control subtlety and intensity of brushstrokes.

Brush customization can be used to express a personal artistic style.

Layering and blending allows digital artists to gradually build up elements and create smooth transitions between them.

Well done, everyone, for joining in with this lesson.

It was so great to explore digital painting techniques with you, to look at brushstrokes and all the different settings that we can play around with and customize.

It was great to look at layering and blending and building up those elements of our digital artwork to create hopefully something that you're feeling quite proud of.

I hope you've enjoyed this lesson.

I've really enjoyed teaching you.

I'm looking forward to seeing you at another art lesson soon.

Until then, stay creative.