In this tutorial, we will exercise on drawing rocks, stones, cliffs or anything made of stone. There are many ways to achieve this... I will just show you my favorite one. depending on their structure, rocks look very different. For this tutorial I decided to make sharp reefs in the water ... but you can use the same technique for anything stoney
Step 1:
First, we will start with a white canvas. Make a new layer and name it "outline". On this layer we'll draw the outline, the shadows and the texture of this rock! I use a soft brush to make a rough sketch of the rocks ... Make it simple, just a general idea of how the rocks will look.
Step 2:
Now I add some details. At this point it is smart to determine a light source! I have put the light source in the top-left corner, so the shadows should be visible on the bottom-right side of the rocks. Use a smaller and harder brush to make a few details on the rock. Use photo references for your painting if you have a hard time putting on details.
Step 3:
Continue with doodling, until you paint all of the rocks. Details are not important at this stage, we'll add them later!
Step 4:
Now we take a soft brush again, with the opacity set to about 15% and start the shading. Remember, the light is coming from the upper left corner so the shadows should be on the opposite side of the rocks!
Step 5:
When you are finished with the shading, use a smudge tool to smooth the surfaces. I use a hard round brush with about 40% strength!
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Step 6:
Keep smoothing until you feel satisfied with the result. You can even add details to the rock simply by using a smudge tool. But be careful not to blur the edges of the rock.
