Photoshop Paint Charismatic Character Art

Character designer Aleksey Baydakov reveals his colourful rendering process as he depicts a unique circus partnership.

The ImagineFX team saw my sketch of a well-matched circus duo and asked me to develop the art for their cover. I really like these cartoon characters and was happy to render them in colour. I love it when the form and details of my characters convey their mood and charisma.

I do all my work in Photoshop. In this workshop, I’ll explain my usual process of working on the rendering of characters in colour. I’ll show key techniques and principles that guide me, and reveal how I use photo textures. I don’t employ a large number of brushes, but I try to sculpt forms through my brushstrokes, just as in traditional painting. The strokes are visible if you study the art closely, but the render looks smooth at a distance. It took me some time to perfect this technique, but now I use it to speed up my painting process. And I like the effect it produces.

It’s crucial to observe the phasing, and go from simple forms to complex details. It’s also important to establish all the details during the sketch stage, otherwise you may run into trouble later on. Of course, I’m inconsistent and make mistakes, but that’s just part of the fun! Let’s see how I create these performers, who are clearly at the top of their game…

1 Adjusting and improving the original sketch

Because I’m working from a finished sketch and it’s been some time since I drew it, this is an opportunity to take a fresh look at it and make some small adjustments. I clarify the lines, then turn the image into a silhouette to assess the expressiveness of the forms and counter shapes.

2 Starting with simple shapes