Moonstruck

Halloween is drawing closer! Recently I’ve been creating some cute artwork with the Halloween-theme and having some fun with digital painting. Quite a wide range of interesting textures and light effects could be played around with in the Procreate app. And who wanted to volunteer as model for this experiment? Little One of course! She asked if she could dress as a witch, and how could we refuse? So along we went with it!

Drawing the Witch

On a square white background, I began painting Little One with my usual Medium Airbrush which gives a solid and even coverage. Seperate layers are assigned for each area and shape to make it easier when altering any particular bit becomes necessary. Once I was happy with how she looked, I introduced details and texture such as a green neon pen from the Lights brush for the eyes and hair streaks. Glitter Sketch Pen from the Gold Rush brushes range was further used for the eyelashes. By clip masking the collar of the robe, I filled in some polka dots with White Dot Patterns brush. And then the broom! For that straw-like appearance, I went for Diluted Busted Rake among Jason’s Watercolor Brushes. A straight line for the handle is made possible by pressing and holding the pencil. That was then filled in with some glitter. So far so cute!

The Moon

Although I was happy with how Little One looked, I wanted to tilt the position of her head slightly. And here is why working in layers is so handy. First, the layers pertaining to head were merged together from which I was able to reposition it without disturbing the rest of her. Now that’s much better! So what to do with the background? A moon made sense as the scene is supposed to be night time, and I felt it looked better on the right hand side. The broom gets in the way though so what did I do? After having merged all the layers relating to the Little One, broom included, I flipped it vertically so the broom is on the left-hand side. I also expanded and repositioned her to improve the composition. Then the background color was switched to a cobalt blue with a moon introduced. Again this moon is a seperate layer from the subject.

Lighten Up!

And now some glitter and sparkles! First I sprinkled the ground with some Glitter Confetti from the Gold Rush brushes range. Some stamps in a darker blue shade was also incorporated though not looking too visible as I later discovered. Next the fun part: the sparkles on her hat! Here a variety of brushes were experimented with. Schrill Art makes some good ones for this including Dotty Blush, Stardust and FIne Grit. I also went for some glitter from the Gold Rush Range. At the time, I thought I could consider this completed and left it as it was until I came back to it a week later and decided more could be done. I further realized also that more could be done about the sparkles.

A Week Later…

Firstly, I went for the background. Rather than introduce another subject I thought of something inanimate like clouds and stars. Then with the Halloween theme in mind, spider webs suddenly came to mind. One was then doodled in with the Procreate Pencil in white which turned out to be too overpowering. I then experimented with the Blending Mode and opted for Overlay which resulted in a transparent appearance. Liked that and hence began duplicating them one after the other and for each changed the shape or flipped them around. Now we’re talking! And next the sparkles! It took quite a few attempts and trial and error till I got it right. I realized that the problem was the gap between the moon and Little One. FInding the right brush and applying in the correct position was a challenge too, but eventually I discovered Stardust Cloud in the Gold Rush Range; first with gold but then switched the Blending Mode to Light, and finally everything fell into place. And now that’s much better! Now I’m loving this misty dusty appearance, as if Little One is moonstruck…

Another exciting go at digital painting! I love discovering ways in getting a painting to be as visually effective as possible, especially as it’s almost Halloween and soon after will be Christmas when that would come in handy. More practice of course is needed but I am enjoying learning and experimenting. Looking forward to more! And now, how adorable and stunning does Little One look in her witch’s costume and glowing green eyes? Too kawaii to be even scary!