Make your digital art look like traditional analog paintings! This article will focus on painting flowers and plants.

Texture

One of the most distinct characteristics of analog art is the texture!

The canvas or paper and the paint can both create textures. We will need to replicate that in our digital painting.

Brush Texture

Clip Studio Paint features a large selection of brushes, many of which have texture built in (check the brush description or just try it to find out)

Below are several examples. CSPs default oil brushes have a canvas texture that is quite realistic.

You can adjust the texture to show up more or less in the sub tool details window.

You can also create texture with the brush by using your stroke pattern or a brush tip image with texture.

The painting below only features textures created with brushes.

Overlay Texture

Another way to add texture is by overlaying an image/using an image as the paper texture. With this method, your brush does not need to have a texture built in. Use any brush you like! You can also use a blender freely since it will not effect the texture.

Since we want our digital painting to have an analog appearance, we should use canvas or watercolor paper texture. Take your own photo or easily download an image from Clip Studio Assets.

The strength of the texture can be decreased by lowering the transparency slider on the layer. It can be increased by duplicating the layer or adjusting the layer mode.

You can also adjust the layer position to apply the texture selectively. In the cover painting I only applied the texture to the background.

There is a third option of course - combining overlay texture and brush texture. In many cases this can replicate analog painting quite well.

Painting Technique

Leaves and flower petals are usually either slightly concave or convex (NOT flat), meaning you'll need to approach them as you would a spherical object.

Think of concave objects like an empty bowl. The center will generally be darker because less light is making contact. I don't know how it translates in other languages, but in English you can remember it by thinking of the “cave” in “concave”.

I've painted an example (below, left)

Convex objects curve outward, just turn your empty bowl upside down.

Now the center will usually be lighter and the edges will be darker.

Example (below, right)

Most flowers and leaves are convex if the “front” of the plant is facing you.

It may not be necessary is every case, but for this close up painting I've shaded every individual petal and leaf. The overlay texture slightly degraded some of the darker colors so I duplicated those layers to correct it.

When painting long stems, branches, or vines it's important to make them look natural. Harsh curves or right angles should be avoided. Go with a smooth winding shape instead.

Still life is a common subject in analog painting, however you can use loose leaves or petals to provide some movement.

Leaving a few imperfections can actually help the analog look. When something is too perfect it can make it look even more digital.

It was really hard for me to do but I think it turned out great!

*Also notice my use of texture, the brush I used was made to look like a real oil paint stroke*

I hope you enjoyed this and the tips were helpful!