Digital Matte Painting: 1 Concept

1h 40mBeginner2013-07-29

Authors

David Mattingly

Matte Artist, Illustrator, Author, and Instructor

Course details

Learn to create new worlds, both fanciful and totally realistic, in our series on digital matte painting in Adobe Photoshop with David Mattingly, a matte artist for many groundbreaking motion pictures such as Tron and I, Robot. In this installment, he shows you how to set up your palettes and workspace, tone the underlying plate, create silhouettes in your background, and paint in light and other details. Plus, learn to paint waterfalls, smoke, and other elements that make for fascinating movie backdrops.

Learning objectives
Setting up your Photoshop workspace
Toning the plate with adjustment layers
Examining transfer modes
Finding the silhouette
Drawing internal forms
Creating a custom brush for clouds
Painting the sky

Skills covered

Digital PaintingPhotoshopAdobeAnimation and IllustrationDeep Dive (X:Y)

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Introduction
02 - Overview of the course
03 - Using the exercise files
04 - What is a matte painting

1. Starting Your Project

05 - Setting up your Photoshop workspace
06 - 16-bit color
07 - Prepping the plate
08 - Concept painting basics

2. Toning the Plate

09 - Extracting the hill
10 - Applying adjustment layers
11 - Examining transfer modes

3. Finding the Silhouette

12 - Silhouette - Rectangular forms
13 - Silhouette - Domes and towers

4. Light and Detail

14 - Finding the light side
15 - Drawing internal forms
16 - Crenellations
17 - Finding more details
18 - Creating a cloud custom brush

5. Rendering the Environment

19 - Painting the sky
20 - Bringing in the mountains
21 - Adding volcano smoke
22 - Adding waterfalls, lights, and the entryway
23 - Finishing the details

Conclusion

24 - Goodbye