Hi everyone!

 

I will share my gothic style illustration.

 

Steps:

 

1.- We will create grunge style brushes.

2.- We will make a sketch of the illustration.

3.- Paint the background and add noise.

4.- We will create the architecture.

5.- We will elaborate the main figure.

6.- Final touches.

We are going to use these grunge style brushes, they will add noise and the effect of dirt to the walls, also to the background.

Step 1: Brushes.

If you don't know how to create your own brushes, I'll give you a little tutorial. Open the image of the brush you want to create.

 

1.- If the background is white, you can remove it in "Edit - Convert Lightness to Opacity". In this way, only the black line will remain.

 

2.- Now, in the "Effect" - "Expression color" window, you will choose the "gray" option, so you can choose the color you want when you are ready to work on your illustration.

 

3.- Now you are going to select the image that you are going to convert into a brush. Now go to Edit - Material Registration - Image.

 

4.- Finally, go to the "Brushes" box and choose "Create SubTool". In the next window you can name the new "Brush", another window will open immediately, where you can experiment with the configuration of your brushes. You can modify them as your illustration requires.

 

Step 2: Scketch.

Now that our brushes are ready, let's start with the sketch. For this, I took Gothic architecture as a reference, which is characterized by the use of religious images and altars. I imagined an abandoned temple, frozen in time, mold has already seeped into the walls and a hole can be seen in the roof. For this, I use the brush that I created myself, rectangular in shape.

Thin Sketch. In this part, I opted to make the sketch thinner and outline it with the default pen. However, if you want, you can skip this step if you are used to working directly with stains.

 

*** Don't forget that visual references are important to enrich your work. Use photos, study how the lights and shadows work. Guide yourself with other artists and how they solved different problems. Find your own style.

 

Step 3: Background.

First, we apply the background color and with our new brushes we spread brush strokes everywhere. It does not have to be perfect, as they will be hidden as the illustration progresses. What we are looking for is to know where to place the lights and shadows and how they will affect our illustration.

With the art line serving as a reference, we began to work on our walls, as well as the outstanding elements. Remember, even if the environment is dark, the edges of the stones differ from the angles and walls. In this case, I like to work with rectangular tip brushes and add texture and noise with other brushes.

Step 4. Architecture.

Layers.

In the first layer I place the texture.

In the second the gradients to black.

In the third layer I start to work on the architecture.

 

In the fourth layer I am going to add the noise, dirt and rough strokes. Remember, not everything in nature is smooth. Here I tried not to use the Blur tool much, since I wanted to generate textures and an aging effect on the stones. Do not forget that the constructions are deteriorating due to the effect of small animals, such as spiders, that make holes in their walls.

 

A very tricky part of drawing backgrounds, specifically old-looking buildings, is adding depth. This will be achieved by darkening the area farthest from the light, however do not overdo it as there are times when the light comes to bounce off objects. In the same way, it takes into account that the old constructions were made from large and porous rocks, these in turn were connected to each other so the unions are evident; Again we will use our rectangular brush and with a grunge brush we will erase unevenly, emulating the porosity of the stone, adding dirt and rust.

 

Do not forget to pay attention to the stroke of the chisel, mark it, darken and highlight the edges.

 

A feature of religious architecture and sculpture is the vine leaf patterns, which decorate both the frames and the columns where the sculpture lies. In this case, to save time, I created two brushes to include in the architecture of my illustration. This will enhance it and make it look more real. Following the previous steps, I create the brush and adjust it so that it is as I need.

Once the line of my vine leaves is created in a new layer, I proceed to join the line with the stone, emulating the stone again, as well as the effect of lights and shadows.

Step 5: The main figure.

Although I have already drawn the thin line, I don't want it to be out of tune with the background, so I take the rectangular brush again and point out the black lines as shadows, I also experiment with the dark and light tones of the rock. We must not forget how the tones work on the face, hair and tunics. As a curious fact, in almost any statue that is in contact with inclement weather, not only do they tend to lose fragments or entire parts of their body, but also in the eye area a layer of suicide tends to form that resembles tears. which makes them look even more sinister. Experiment with the brushes that help you achieve this effect.

Step 6: Final touches.

Candles: In this case I added a few candles, I used "Gaussian Blur" to give the feeling of background and foreground, since our main figure is in the background and we want it to stand out.

Fog: There cannot be a sinister and gothic illustration without a mysterious environment thanks to the fog, both as the one on the floor and the one that can be seen in the hole in the ceiling.

 

Windows: Keep in mind that, a very important characteristic of Gothic architecture, is the use of Rosettes, windows that their predominant forms were circular.

To finish, I decided to use blue and green colors to convey the feeling of rarity and coldness, playing with the properties of the layer and adding shine, I managed to make the window shine to indicate that there is something out there, waiting for us, no place is safe .

And here my tutorial ends, I hope it has been helpful and motivates you to make your own illustrations with this style. Thanks for your attention. See you soon!

Descarga mis brushes:

 

Sorry, English is not my first language.