If you have not downloaded my free photoshop hair brushes, do it before you begin this online painting tutorial because we will be using them for the fur on the cat.
Step 1
Open a new document in Photoshop 1500 pixels square. Choose as the background colour a medium grey. This makes it easier to sketch on and its also easier later to place a more detailed background behind your subject.
Make sure you have some good reference! Keep the reference in view as you paint. Whatever anyone says, an artist is only as good as their reference.
If you can’t work from life, take photos and use them.
Use a soft brush set at 90% opacity to sketch out the basic shapes of the cat.
Step 2
Add more detail to your sketch, marking in where all the basics are positioned. This is important as you will be using this layer as a reference when you are painting in the colour.
Try to break the subject down into basic shapes, spheres, boxes, cylinders and wedges. Drawing these lines helps you keep your work in perspective.
Step 3
In the layers menu, make a new layer. Select the new layer for painting, leaving the sketch layer visible behind.
Select a soft wide brush, about 55% opacity and check “wet edges” in the Brush options. Use this transparent brush to build up the light and dark colours gradually. Using your reference, sample the colours you want to use with the eyedropper tool. Keep going until your layer starts to look less opaque.
Step 4
Once you have the shape fairly well defined, you can switch off the sketch layer and just keep building up the light and dark areas. Take the time to notice where the light falls on your subject. Remember that the areas that are more built up with paint/colour will be the focal point of the work.
Step 5
Using the eraser tool, select one of the bristle brushes set to a 55% opacity. If you have Photoshop Cs5 you will not need to load custom brushes, just choose one of the bristle brushes from the brush palette. In soft sweeps, use the brush to blend the colours you have painted. Keep a special note of which direction the fur is growing on the cat and make sure you sweep your brush in the same direction. Keep working away on that until you have a soft, natural furry look.
Step 6
Create another new layer, and select it for painting. In the Brush palette, load brushes> Dry Brushes. Use a large, bristle dry brush set to 20% opacity to gently paint the top hairs of the cat. In most animals, these top hairs are lighter, and form a soft transparent layer above the thicker fur.
Use a fine brush with shape dynamics> size jitter set to Pen Pressure. If you don’t have a drawing tablet (and I strongly recommend you get one), this won’t make much difference, but if you do it will give you a wonderfully natural stroke.
And you are finished! Don’t worry too much about the finer details with this one, we are going for a soft look so keep your drawing loose and relaxed and have fun!