[1] Bucket and broom

I start by painting the broom.

I paint the twigs of the broom roughly, imagining them like tassels.

 

For the wooden bucket, I gradually paint the wooden grain and then paint the shadows.

I refer to photographs as I paint, focusing on getting a sense of the material, texture, and structure rather than copying the photograph exactly.

 

Partway through, I felt that the color of the bucket and the broom were too similar, so I selected [New Correction Layer] > [Hue/Saturation/Luminosity] over the broom bristles to decrease the saturation and increase the brightness. Then I changed the brown painting layer of the bucket to [Multiply] to differentiate the colors.

The lower part of the bucket is close to the surface of the water, so I use the [Eyedropper] tool to pick up the water color and paint reflective light on the bucket.

 

Hint:

You can create a [Tonal Correction Layer] from the [Layer] palette (or menu) by selecting [New Correction Layer]. You can use these layers to adjust the brightness, hue, saturation, and luminosity of lower layers.

The effect is not applied directly to the layer that has been painted on, so it is easy to change the effect later or return it to its original state.

 

A tonal correction layer applies to all layers below it. Use a layer folder if you want to apply the effect to a particular layer.

 

Similarly, you can directly change the brightness, hue, and saturation of layers by going to the [Edit] menu > [Tonal Correction].

You can use this method when you don’t want to return the layer to its previous state, or when you want to keep the number of layers low.

 

[2] Painting the water from the bucket

I paint the water spilling from the bucket.

I create a new layer above the bucket and first paint the silhouette using the “Fill Pen_QM”.

This silhouette is just for me to decide the shape, and I will erase it later.

 

I make another layer above the silhouette and use the “Sponge PH” brush to paint roughly, using the [Eyedropper] tool to pick up the water colors.

 

Although water is transparent, objects behind flowing water can’t be seen clearly, so I blur the shape of objects behind the water.

 

I use the “Sponge PH” brush to paint the edge of the water along the silhouette.

 

To make the water blend in with the overall piece, I change the layer to [Multiply] blending mode to adjust the colors.

I won’t use the silhouette layer again, so I hide it.

 

I paint the water flying up at the edge.

This will create the impression that water is flowing fast and splashing.

 

① I first paint the white silhouette of the splash, then ② paint the inside as if hollowing out the silhouette. To make the shape clearer, ③ I paint on the [Multiply] layer and darken the water around the splash.

 

For the bucket in the back, I paint on the same [Multiply] layer in the brown color of the bucket, then add white ripples.

 

[3] Painting other small objects

I paint the fish using the same technique of painting shadows first and then adjusting the shape with highlights.

If I paint blue shadows on the purple fish, the color will look dull, so I add bright pink reflective light to keep the colors looking fresh.

I also painted a simple scale texture around the highlights and reflective light to make the fish look more realistic.

 

Then I paint the last few objects.

 

The candlestick has the light from the candles, so I paint it a bit bright and focus on creating strong contrast on the metal parts.

For glass objects such as the flasks, adding only highlights would make them too pale and indistinct, so I also paint close to the highlights in a color slightly darker than the background.

 

Now I’ve finished painting all the small objects.