Matt Hodel Tattoo: Background and Digital Painting

I have been switching over to a working digitally. I have already saved hours preparing for tattoo appointments by using the tools of digital drawing. It's kind of like replacing onion skin with a word processor.

My next goal is to recreate the feel of painting with Sketchbook Pro. When you reproduce original artwork, eventually it becomes digital. Starting with a piece of digital art gives you more freedom and control.

1. Here is a designed created in Sketchbook Pro.

2. Next I add a new texture layer above the original design. I set the layer to "multiply" The image still "looks" separate from the background.

3. I add another layer in between the texture and the image. I flood fill it with an 80% grey and set this layer to "screen".

4. The last layer I add is a flood fill color under the main design. This helps tint the paper texture.

With every step, play with the transparency to get the look you want. I still think that there are many ways to achieve a natural look. This is the process I'm using now.

Background and Digital Painting 27

Adding a Background to a Digital Painting