Here, I wanted to show you how I created a speed painting of some clouds using only a Pastel brush and a Blender brush. By the way, don’t use pure blacks or whites, as this will only make your picture look dirty. Instead, try mixing colours, like dark blues or browns, which will work much better (Fig11).

Again, for this, I started by filling a background with base colours. For the last step, I added some rain effects on the left. As you can see, using just the Pastel brush you can make some really nice clouds (Fig12 -14).

Moving back to the Cold Sky image, when all the details were painted and the main object was placed on the picture, it was then time to do some colour correction work in Photoshop. I decided that I should use a more romantic colour, and so I added a touch of red (Fig15).

So, for this image (Fig15), I’ve simply adjusted the contrast and brightness a little, which I think is something that everyone should do, even if you think that the contrast is OK. Try setting it to a higher level and you will see just how your image starts to look better. I didn’t use the Crop tool for this image, but it’s a good way to change the composition of your piece, if you need to.

And finally, here is the finished piece (Fig16 - Final Image). I hope you have enjoyed and found this making of useful. Before I go, I would like to give you some final tips and advice which I have learned through the making of Cold Sky...

1. Don’t try doing small details right from the beginning. It’s the same principle as when painting with oils or acrylic: draw the whole picture first, and it will help you to draw from the soul of the image.

2. Don’t use pure blacks or whites! It will just make your picture dirty. Try mixing colours, such as dark blues or browns, and they will work much better.

3. If you are drawing moving objects, it’s important to remember that there must be space where the object is moving in to.

4. Always try to use tools that will help you to create the right composition, like the Layout Grid in Painter (Canvas > Compositions) which can help you to place your main objects correctly.

5. Using colour correction in Photoshop can help you if you used colour that isn’t quite suitable for the final image.

Thanks for taking the time to read this making of. I am always open to advice, suggestions and critiques, because I am still learning myself and wish to improve my skills, so I’d be happy if you dropped me a line or visited my portfolio: www.dreamlab.comgran.ru/~portfolio