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A lot of times an idea will strike my head, a very unique design combining different elements and inspirations. In order to not lose this, I sketch it right away. It does not have to be perfect; it can be very loose. The goal is to sketch the important bits, the details that will make the concept stand out, and define it. If you’re not satisfied, make a few thumbs, because the first idea will not always be the best choice. Here, you can see I did a sketch that is heavily influenced by dinosaur anatomy.

On the second image I went a little crazy than I usually do and decided to change some ideas, and add more detail. I wanted the head to better match the body. Also, keep in mind that if you want your concept to have a world of its own you need to grasp perspective. I already marked where the horizon is. This also adds a lot of believability, that the creature exists in space and is not about to fall over itself. If you’re not too familiar with placing subjects on ground or space, you might want to start with a perspective drawing first. Tip: It is extremely important to study anatomy. This adds realism and believability into your creations.

Time to expand the canvas. Depending on the foundation sketch, I’ll start in different ways. One of these ways is creating a new layer and changing the mode to “Multiply”. This allows one to color over the sketch without ruining it provided the sketch is in black. Multiply is a mode that makes everything darker, so black will not be affected since it is the darkest color. I like to start with color, some artists start with grayscale. This is completely fine, as grayscale helps to lay out the tonal range, block out planes and shapes. They also help to keep in track of values. If you don’t want to start with grays, but want to keep in track of the values, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue and Saturation, and toggle the Saturation to the right. Now you have a layer to show you the value keys. You can turn it on and off.

Here are examples of some brushes I use often. You can download them from the net or create them by going to the Brush settings tab. Scattering is great for filling in big areas quick; it’s also great for clouds when using a softer brush. The Hard Round brush can be used for many purposes, like a pencil for cross hatching, creating detail and texture, or blocking. You can adjust the opacity and flow of the brush to however suit you. There are also texture brushes, but do not let them do all the work for you. Doing so makes it very obvious. The key is to refine.

For this image, I will be using the Hard Round Opacity brush to blend my colors. The hard round brush will be used for detailing. The soft round brush will be used for glow effects and darkening the clouds. Random texture brushes are used to get the texture effects

How do I choose my colors? I like my colors to contrast by using a complementary color scheme, achromatic colors or warm vs. cool. I also like to use saturated colors. Study the behavior of colors and their interactions. The best way to do this is by using traditional paint. Computer generated colors behave quite differently but can share the same concept.

Some artists prefer to start with the shading and blocking of objects. I do too, but I also like to set up the light sources right away, to get a sense of atmosphere and lighting. This also indicates to me the direction of the light source and how shading/shadows will be affected. The blue stream is going to be the secondary light source. The concept I’m laying down here is that the creature is following this blue stream as a guide, because the planet is quickly becoming engulfed into darkness. This is not planet Earth. You can say the movie “Pitch Black” is an inspiration here.

All I’m doing here is refining the sky and background, and adding a sense of perspective. The farther the distance, the cooler and lighter colors become. The foreground is the most detailed and darkest part of the image, because it is closest to us. We can see detail more clearly than from a distance. I also intensified the sun with a brush set to Color Dodge. When making natural backgrounds, it’s great to have a reference photo at hand or simply Google some images. You can also look outside, and check out the clouds. References are everywhere.

Brush modes are great for enhancing effects. My top favorite is the Color Dodge mode, and Screen mode. Color dodge and screen work together great. Color dodge makes colors intense and vibrant, great for a strong sunset. Screen makes a less intense shine. When creating special effects with these modes, a soft round brush is very effective.

I start coloring in the creature and place some lighting. For the glows on its appendages, I used a separate layer set to Color Dodge to test what I want. You can also see I made the background darker with a large soft round brush set to Multiply. I want a Deep Sea creature effect, where you see the silhouette of a crustacean or Medusae, illuminated by beautiful bioluminescence. I’m not aiming for a complete silhouette, just darker tones. Darkening this creature will prevent it from being our primary focus; therefore I bend the rules a little later. It’s not bad to bend some rules as long as you know what you’re doing.

You do not have to do this, but I like to merge the sketch layer with the colored background. Painting in one layer prevents that “floating” look when painting a subject on another layer. I began to add more color and highlights to the creature, as well as painting over the lines. Tip: do not work on one area (i.e. the Head) for so long. You will overwork and over detail that one specific area. You’ll tire yourself, not wanting to dedicate that same amount of effort to the rest of the image. Keep working loosely on every area.

Sometimes, I like to keep my work loose and sketchy. This time, I want the work to look more finished, so I keep refining and bring out the other different details of the body.

Notice I added white to the background to give better distance. I also gave the clouds a more random look and softened their blending with a little smudging. Never over-do this the Smudge tool otherwise you will get tacky results. The blue stream effects are enhanced by using a soft round brush set to Color Dodge and Screen. When applying, do not leave the results as it is. That will give a cheap look. Use the eye dropper tool to pick the colors you get from Color Dodge, and refine the look. I used a hard round brush to get the sharp, crisp details. Do not forget the blue lighting will affect the surrounding ground.

Let’s make the creature’s skin colors more interesting. I used a small amount of yellow and light green to get an interesting skin effect. Some blue set to Screen and Color Dodge were added to the blue stream. The details are starting to be noticeable now.

Now for the fun part. I applied more color to the creature and to the background. For the little details and texture, I used texture brushes (some made by me, others downloaded from the net). I also used the Hard Round brush, in a small size (i.e.,for the skin creases on the creature).

The Chalk brush is excellent for the ground and rocks—it’s sharp and textured. Get to know your brushes, and use them wisely. The background is looking less intense as I do not want it to be my primary focus. To do this, you can desaturate using the Sponge tool, or use white with low opacity. Do this on a separate layer to avoid making an unrecoverable error. If you want to tweak the colors, saturation and brightness/darkness all together, use the Hue and Saturation layer. It can be edited, or just duplicate the layer if you want one for keeping track of values, and the other for editing. There are many other adjustment options available.

More work was done on the background and the creature. Move around the canvas and do not stick with one area to work on. You will get bored and frustrated. The creature’s lighting effects and counter lighting is enhanced by a soft round brush in Color Dodge and Screen mode. Remember, do not over-do this. Do not attempt to do this in one go; always refine. I’ve also added more darkness to the right. As I’m going through this image, I’m either sticking with an idea, or changing something. I’ll keep doing this back and forth until I get the result I want.

I’ve enhanced the clouds, adding more detail with the Hard Round opacity brush. I also lit up the horizon to give further distance. The right side of the canvas is darker, covering the end of the tail and allowing the bioluminescence to take effect. Another big change is making the creature our primary focus by bending the rules. Normally, before the bright sun, you’ll see silhouette figures. If you want the sunlight to be the primary focus, that’s fine; but I want the creature to be my focus.

The beast and the background was looking a bit plain. To spice things up, I textured the background after refining it further and textured the creature. By lighting up the creature’s skin with a lighter color, I go a little crazy with a speckle texture brush The beast has a slew of new details as well. The blue stream of rocks and ground beneath its feet also gets the texture treatment. For the fog effect, I created my own cloudy brush with scattering properties.

I’ve added glowing specks and lines on its armor, and the spinal plates adds more color and an intriqueing look. I’m nearly done and just adding some final touches, based on what I think is needed and applying some feedback from friends and loved ones. It’s always great to ask for feedback. Often, artists get too used to the image they’re working on, hence missing on flaws.

I changed the eye color to blue since I felt there was too much green surrounding the eye. I wanted it to stand out. Added more fog effects and tweaked with some background details. At this point, you can dramatically change the colors, saturation, brightness or darkness..I, however, did not do any of these. Sometimes, I just like a natural, finished look. You are free to choose what you want, whether it be realistic, fantasy, cartoon, photorealism- anything. I hope this tutorial was helpful. Get out there and enjoy creating art, with your new found knowledge!