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Daisies at Dawn

a tutorial by Leaftracker

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Notice: all artwork shown here is copyright(c) Suzanne Placek or their respective owners - no unauthorized use is permitted. Please contact the author for permissions or inquiries. Visit her blog at http://leaftracker.blogspot.com/

I was asked if I could make a demo to show how I create some of effects I use in my paintings. I am a very direct painter with a love of watercolor and that is what I am trying to duplicate here, that fresh, transparent feel of watercolor on paper. The tools in digital software do not really match what happens in natural media so I have had to adjust my thinking and methods to fit characteristics of digital media!  However, there is much that can be done using only the simplest of internal brushes.

The subject matter is going to be daisies, and I start by using the internal airbrush 200 with pale tints to cover the paper. At this point it is really just following my instincts, but these underlying colors will help unify the whole piece. I hardly ever do any sketching on floral pieces, I just jump in and see what happens.

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More of the same trying to strengthen the greens just a bit before I start with some brush work. tute-460_0001.jpg
I used the internal medium loaded oil brush with the default brush shape to build up the darks on which I will place the flowers.  I always set the speed setting to zero and adjust the brush size manually as needed.  After the darks were laid in, I softened some of the edges with a little more airbrush 200 and some airbrush spatter.  Finally, at the lower right, I used the internal effects brushes, smudge and smear,  to soften the bottom edge of the darkest leaf-like shapes.
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The next step is to begin building the depth of the painting by  first adding the flowers that will be in shadow.  I use the same medium loaded oil brush here, varying the color, brush size, opacity, bleed, and sometimes the step on each stroke. These flowers are painted not stamped, every petal is different in some way.
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Continuing with the medium loaded oil brush, I add more flowers...
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I add some smaller flowers to add depth and variety still using the same medium loaded oil brush.
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Here I start to add flowers that will not be in shadow and make some additions to strengthen the composition a bit.  I also begin to add a few pink-petaled flowers.  I am still using the same brush type with the same default shape.
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I add still more flowers and start to suggest some stems.   Using the internal blur brush, I soften the edges of some of the small flowers on the right side to make them a little less distinct and push them further back.
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When I feel that I have enough daisies, I begin to give form to the flower centers.  For some of the detail,  I switch to the internal oil fine liner brush with the default shape.
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I add some texture to the lighter passages with some yellow using the watercolor sponge dabs brush and a little airbrush spatter.   Then I add a few touches of dark red in the foliage using the sponge dabs brush.  Finally I tone down a couple of edges with the watercolor sponge smear brush.
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A touch more calligraphy to add a few more stems using the oil fine liner brush and it is done.

Daisies
                                at dawn


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Notice: all artwork shown here is copyright(c) Suzanne Placek or their respective owners - no unauthorized use is permitted. Please contact the author for permissions or inquiries. Visit her blog at http://leaftracker.blogspot.com/