Plum blossoms are a subject that is widely loved by painters, especially in traditional Chinese painting creations. Let's learn how to use Photoshop to draw the Chinese painting effect of plum blossoms. The tools used are: brush tool, pen tool, burn tool, dodge tool, text tool, etc. Among them, setting the Chinese painting brush is the focus and difficulty in this example.
Let’s take a look at the final renderings first:
1. Open the Photoshop software, execute the menu: "File"/"New" (shortcut key Ctrl+N), open the new file dialog box, set the size to A4, resolution: 300 pixels, color mode: RGB, as shown in Figure 1:
Figure 1
2. Execute the menu: "Layer"/"New"/"Layer" (shortcut key Shift+Ctrl+N), create a new layer and name it: Sketch; select the brush tool and adjust the brush size using the left and right bracket keys. Use the brush tool to outline a sketch, as shown in Figure 2:
Figure 2
3. Execute the menu: "Layer"/"New"/"Layer" (shortcut key Shift+Ctrl+N), create a new layer and name it: Main Branch, as shown in Figure 3:
Figure 3
4. Select the brush tool in the toolbox (shortcut key B), then press F5 to open the brush settings panel, select the brush tip shape, select the brush shown at 1 in Figure 4, and set the angle to 0 degrees and the roundness to 100%, spacing 5%; then check Shape Dynamics, Double Brush, Smooth, and then set the properties of the double brush. Select the brush shown at 2 in Figure 4, set the diameter to 1038 pixels, and the spacing to 81%. The spread is 0% and the quantity is 2.
Figure 4
5. Use the left and right bracket keys to adjust the brush size, set the foreground color to black, and drag the mouse on the main branch layer to draw the thickest trunk part, as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5
6. In order to distinguish the hierarchical relationship of branches, execute the menu: "Layer"/"New"/"Layer" (shortcut key Shift+Ctrl+N), create a new layer and name it: twigs; then select the tool box Free Pen Tool (shortcut key P), as shown in Figure 6:
Figure 6
7. Use the Free Pen Tool (shortcut key P) on the twig layer to draw the path of the twigs with reference to the sketch (you can hide the sketch and display it only when necessary, as shown below to hide the sketch), and then draw anywhere on the canvas Right-click the mouse on the position to pop up the drop-down menu and select the stroke path, as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7
8. Select Pencil in the drop-down list of the pop-up Stroke Path dialog box, click OK or press the Enter key to get the effect as shown in Figure 8:
Figure 8
9. Use the free pen tool (shortcut key) to complete the description of the twigs according to the sketch, then execute the menu: "Layer"/"New"/"Layer" (shortcut key Shift+Ctrl+N), create a new layer and name it It is: plum blossom outline, as shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9
10. On the plum blossom outline layer, use the pen tool (shortcut key P) to draw the shape of the flowers and buds according to the sketch, as shown in Figure 10:
Figure 10
11. Execute the menu: "Layer"/"New"/"Layer" (shortcut key Shift+Ctrl+N), create a new layer and name it: flower receptacle and plum branch moss; select the brush tool in the toolbox (shortcut key Shift+Ctrl+N) Key B), right-click on the canvas to pop up the brush selector, select the sharp-angle brush, combine the left and right bracket keys, and adjust the size of the brush while painting the flower receptacle and moss. The effect is shown in Figure 11.
Figure 11
12. Execute the menu: "Layer"/"New"/"Layer" (shortcut key Shift+Ctrl+N), create a new layer and name it: Flower Color; drag the flower color layer and place it on the main branch Under the dry layer, select the brush tool in the toolbox (shortcut key B), right-click on the canvas to pop up the brush picker, select the soft-angle brush, then set the foreground color to red, and combine the left and right bracket keys as needed Adjust the brush size and paint the flower color on the flower color layer, as shown in Figure 12.
Figure 12
13. Select the burn tool and dodge tool in the toolbox (shortcut key O), deepen the inner parts of the petals on the flower color layer, and dodge the edges of the flowers. Pay attention to the gaps between each flower. The level changes, that is, the changes in depth between each flower. Do not draw each flower with the same depth, as shown in Figure 13.
Figure 13
14. Execute the menu: "Layer"/"New"/"Layer" (shortcut key Shift+Ctrl+N), create a new layer and name it: Huaxin; select the brush tool in the tool box (shortcut key B), Open the foreground color settings palette and select yellow as the center color, as shown in Figure 14.
Figure 14