ArtRage PAINT A PORTRAIT IN DIGITAL OILS

Phil Galloway guides you through his painting process, using ArtRage to create a loose, vibrant and painterly portrait

- Phil Galloway

In this workshop I’ll create a believable digital portrait using ArtRage, an affordable painting program that excels at recreating traditional media. I’ll take you through each step of my work process, from creating a new file and loading up a reference image, to sketching out ideas and thumbnails, making initial pencil drawings right through to blocking in and adding thick textured paint. I’ll also show you how to add some final digital flourishes before explaining how to save your finished work, ready for printing.

I paint digitally in pretty much the same way as I paint with real oils and acrylics, so hopefully the process won’t feel too alien if you come from a fine art background. The tutorial helps to show how the screen really does become a canvas before you.

The portrait is of a young man in a modern setting. I’ll keep my paint loose and choppy to create movement and interest while maintaining a vibrant feel, using real-world painting techniques.

1 Start by picking your subject matter

It can sometimes be a bit of a struggle to source royalty-free images that you’re allowed to draw. No need to worry, as with a bit a searching you can find a plethora of websites that have stock images ready for you to use. I like to use either Pixabay or Flickr Commons, which provide a vast array of great reference images.

2 Create a new file for your painting