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When starting a background painting, I always begin with a rough sketch centered around a "big idea." For this piece, the concept is nature overgrowing mankind. It is a scene of nature versus man-made structures. I imagine an old mech or a power plant that has been abandoned. It is now covered in grass and moss. To add a narrative element, I include a bird discovering this ancient, overgrown situation.

The Sketching Phase

Keep your initial sketch loose. If the mood is hopeful, I plan for warm yellow tones. This means the light source is warm, so the shadows must be the opposite on the color wheel—cool tones.

When drawing organic subject matter, you must avoid parallel lines. Nature rarely creates perfect parallels. If one line goes down, the other should go up or curve differently. Parallel lines look unnatural and stiff.

There is a distinct beauty in traditional media. With digital painting, you can constantly undo. In traditional art, you must commit to your marks. Whether you cover a mistake or evolve it into something else, that mark remains part of the piece's history. It is important to practice both digital and traditional methods.

Materials and Tools

Everyone has their preferred tools. I use Isabey brushes. These are handmade, and the makers never cut the tips of the bristles. They form the shape while assembling the fibers. This creates a unique shape for every brush, allowing for more natural marks.

For paint, I use Sennelier heavy body acrylics. They mill every pigment to the same grain size, which prevents chunkiness. A major benefit of this brand is consistency in the finish. With other brands, some colors dry glossy while others dry matte. Sennelier dries with a consistent sheen, so you don't get distracting shiny spots on your canvas.

Heavy body acrylics are versatile. You can use them thickly like oil paint, or thin them down with water to behave like watercolor.

Color Theory and Palette Setup

My palette always includes a cool and warm version of every color, plus some neutral tones. We naturally see temperature shifts in nature based on the light source, so your palette must reflect that.

Mixing Browns and Darks

Since this piece features a lot of green vegetation, I "smuggle" reds into the mixture early on. Red is the opposite of green, so it naturally creates shadow tones.

You do not need to buy tubes of brown paint. You can create rich browns by mixing complementary colors:

• Purple and Yellow
• Green and Red
• Blue and Orange

If you need the darkest dark possible—blacker than black—mix Alizarin Crimson and Phthalo Green. This creates a deep, rich dark that still retains color vibrancy, unlike a flat tube black.

The Painting Process

Killing the White

The stark white of a blank canvas can be frightening. I prefer to put down a neutral tone or a brown wash immediately. This removes the intimidation factor and establishes a middle value to work from.

Visual Development and Storytelling

If you want to get into visual development, start with the foundations: perspective, color theory, and storyboarding. Once you have the technical skills, focus on storytelling. The old advice is true: tell what you know. Use your own rich inner world and experiences. If you try to mimic someone else's experience, it waters down your story.

The "Ugly Phase"

Every painting goes through an awkward stage where you struggle with it. You might not be sure what it wants to be. This is normal. Do not try to force the painting to conform rigidly to your initial plan. If you over-control it, the work will feel forced. Allow the painting to speak to you. If you are unsure about a specific area, leave it open and figure it out as you go.

Depth and Temperature

As you move toward the foreground, use warmer and darker colors. This makes objects pop forward. As you recede into the background, shift your colors to be cooler and lighter.

Finishing the Piece

As you approach the end, you must decide when to stop. The artist's ego often wants to keep working, but you must listen to the piece.

At this stage, ask yourself: Are you describing the light or the shadow?

• If the lighting is graphic and simple, keep the light areas flat.
• Put your details and texture inside the shadow shapes.

Use a bigger brush than you think you need. Small brushes encourage over-detailing. A larger brush keeps the work loose and painterly. Finally, add your darkest darks to carve out the deepest shadows and define the forms.

Painting is not just about mechanical skill; it is about learning to see better. You are observing how color interacts with objects. Keep an experimental mindset, and don't let the process become a job. Keep it fun.

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