Loish
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PROCESS VIDEO // dark mode - part II
🕑 Added 2025-05-23 09:02:02 +0000 UTCHere's part 2 of my process for my dark mode painting! Part one just got posted - check out the feed to see it. This painting is intended as a companion piece to my light mode painting.
Here’s some information about this process video:
It has been sped up by 200%, so 2 times the original speed.
This painting session took me about 6 hours and 15 minutes, split up into multiple sessions.
I edited the process into three parts. This is part two of three!
I mostly used the hard round brush from my own brush set to paint this. I also used a lot of brush & smudge combinations to paint and then soften edges.
This is painted in Adobe Photoshop. You can replicate a similar workflow in Procreate, with the exception of the gradient tool and the number of layers used!
I wasn't able to record the entire process, unfortunately - but I did record 90% of the process, so this is the whole thing minus the last hour or so of rendering.
Here are some helpful resources that can help understand this process in more detail:
Soft & hard edges with the lasso tool: This is a technique I use a lot in this video - except rather than using a large noisy brush, I use the smudge tool to soften the edges. This tutorial runs you through how I gradually layer shapes to get this semi-translucent effect.
Creating interesting & flowy shapes: This tutorial is all about how I combine different types of shapes to create a sense of movement in my image.
ADDING COLOR TO GREYSCALE
I usually don’t really like starting in greyscale and slowly adding color, because it’s really difficult to get the colors to feel vibrant and unified. I feel like greyscale can cause the highlights and shadows to become really muted. However, I do think it works when you keep your colors muted and just add some vibrant accent colors. I feel like greyscale and pink/warm tones are a great combination - and that’s something I explore at this stage of the painting. I also add a little bit of blue tones to the dark mode spirit, because I want her to have elements of a computer screen, which tend to have a bluish glow.
THROWING AWAY THE SPIRIT
By the end of this process video, I’ve worked on a version of the dark mode spirit that I end up getting rid of. I put a ton of work into it, but I had to conclude that it just didn’t have the right vibe. It wasn’t obvious enough that she was emerging from the phone, and stylistically it was just too much of a departure from the original idea. The girl looked way too happy and comfortable, where she should look hypnotized. I also wanted the spirit to be like a twin to the light mode spirit from the original drawing. I did create some shapes and colors that I really liked, so I could use that as a jumping off point for the new version - which I start working on in the final video, which is coming right up!
Comments
Loish
oh wow, that's a lot of attention to detail! don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about those more technical aspects - always happy to make a tutorial or resource about it!
Loish
hey michael! I learned pretty much everything on my own. we did do some photoshop classes in college, where i learned about masks. but aside from a few handy tricks, 99% of what i know is self-taught!
Michael H
Back to finish watch Part 2.☕️. I’ll often slow playback speed down to minimum ( or stop the video ) to try and catch/see what information is being displayed on the pop up screens as you make adjustments. Lots!! of note taking.👍🏻.
Michael H
Loish, did you ever take classes/have instruction about using Photoshop? Or did you learn everything you know about Photoshop on your own over time?
