When making digital paintings, I like to start out with a messy, rough version of the drawing. In this rough version, I’ve worked out the overall composition and colors, but just need to ‘clean it up’ to bring it to a finished level. I start by blending the colors with a technique that I call ‘sculpting with color.’ Basically, that means that the colors I need are already there, and all I need to do is use the eyedropper shortcut to smooth out and clean up the painting. A general tip for blending in a semi-realistic style is to have a mix of soft blending and hard shadows, which helps emphasize the shapes without over-blending.
