Ancient Temple painting - Photo bashing tips

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In this series, Trent Kaniuga showcases techniques for illustration, and how to do photobash, or use photos to save time in your illustration. These are both a document of the artist's journey, and drawing exercises, and techniques that can improve your ability to illustrate form, anatomy, composition, and brush economy in this series of Drawing lessons.

[@zelyaine3563]

"The cheapest way to make a mountain... is to STEAL a mountain!" LOL!

[@whitecunt6903]

"It's free real estate"

[@ryanfuxa6738]

Finally a pro that gets it. I went to art school for 3 and a half years and they taught me nothing, took my GI Bill, and left me in a heap of debt with no education.

[@daviedood2503]

I'd sue man. 😂

[@thelthrythquezada8397]

Wait what? You used the GI and still owed? I just juiced them on my art deg and kept it moving. I am sorry to hear that my brother!

[@ryanfuxa6738]

It got turned around. There was a huge lawsuit and they dropped the amount I owed a few months ago. Sent me a check in the mail for a little over 400 bucks with a letter that more or less said thanks for playing. Apparently I don't owe anything anymore but that check didn't cover anywhere near the amount they took from me and I still get calls from loan sharks from time to time claiming I owe them money. 7 years of my life gone and I still didn't even get enough money out of it to go back to school. I'd like to at least attend community college. Oh well. SMH 😒

[@zondwhomlovesjesus8444]

May God bless you bro

[@othmaneanimation2636]

A famous storyboarder photobashes characters too. He gets the poses, traces over and then adds the elements that match the scene (yes he can draw). There's nothing wrong with photobashing for bgs, textures, even shape design. Anything to get the job done.

[@journalsfromdavid]

wish i could do it

[@AshleyTheSwift]

"I'm not putting a line down" - less than a minute later, painting a bridge from scratch

[@anazec8056]

you sure did put a line down with that name Jesus christ

[@johndeggendorf7826]

Awesome! A friend of mine made a small fortune just doing photo montage. That’s an art form in itself. And even when we make original art “from imagination” we’re drawing from a lifetime of cobweb covered images stored somewhere in our brain. Bashing, man! Thanks, Trent, for passing on some very smart experience.

[@Dash49]

I really liked your technique of using the photos as a sketch, it's almost like a quick collage without the mess. When I first discovered photo bashing, it was used in so many professional areas and my skill level was quite low with photoshop at the time so it limited my thinking. It's a great way to get over that mental barrier as you mentioned. This video really helped boost my confidence and I'm going to try a photo bash this week. Thanks Trent!

[@nellyurdapilleta8932]

I think you're a perfect example of how far can one person go with their own art and studies being self-taught. Your perspective of art schools is full of truth as well; overall, amazing video!

[@ahmedshakib3883]

Fake it till you make it, I love your thinking, subscribed and a fan , you remind me of Kevin Smith.

[@tengkuadam1399]

He DOES sound like Kevin Smith

[@christiank4199]

Thank you so much for this video! First: I never would think this would have been based on several photos you've put together. But to me the most important part: you just speak out of my soul... This barricade you talk about in the beginning is indeed something which keeps me away from getting active. This state just sucks. Its like having actingenergy within - but one just cannot realease it. At 6:34 you said something which completely made me understand and losen the knot within. Who would ever know, that you "faked" this picture you created? Only you. It made me understand: Only oneself calls it "faking". Due to the "ethical barrier" you spoke about. If there wouldnt be this barrier - would you still call it "faking"? We only see the surface of everything - whats behind the curtain... stays mostly hidden. So again: Thank you very very much. This even was some sort of psychological treatment...

[@vyzetta]

Great video! never realized how powerful photo-bashing can be. Has an awesome aesthetic to it.

[@lunasky5264]

Wow my perspective of this medium has changed, I feel like I gained not only inspiration but actual value and knowledge from this ty and great job 👏

[@nickwaldinger9032]

Sound like an energentic Andy Bernard in this video, keep 'em coming! Very helpful and informative.

[@DarkGloComics]

TRENT!! Broham, I am 41, and I read Creed when I was 19. I was in LA drawing comics, and I was in awe, but hated that you were 16. I felt so behind. LOL I moved on to music in 2004, but always had comics in my heart [I drew, inked, and colored my KZbin avatar.]. You just flooded my mind with all the memories from College. Subbed, Liked, and SHARED!

[@ozzyamdraws2297]

This blew my mind. I’ve never considered you could do this with photos, I never even would have known how.

[@adee4370]

If something isn't working, I cover it in snow (: Great tutorial mate! Showing that photo bashing can be truly unique and time saving! I'm subscribing now!!

[@longearl09]

Your brand of humor agrees with me a great deal. The art ain't half bad either, lol. Great work sir, thanks for sharing the magic.

[@TearThatRedFlagDown]

I'm so grateful for channels like this and people who post tutorials in Gumroad, it's so much cheaper than school but you learn way more from it so if you're not in a situation like me where you might wanna work abroad (some countries like Japan require you to have a Bachelor's degree to be illegible for a work VISA) then just don't go to school for it because school is actually way more of a hindrance to your growth and you'll get by working whatever job and learning art in your free time from channels like this and Gumroad tutorials. I learn more from KZbin channels like this alone than I do from school, not even counting the tutorials I've bought on Gumroad which even when combined were cheaper than the bi-monthly amount I have to pay to school.

[@Nocturnalcookie]

Sassy Trent to the max at the start xD, thanks for the great video! It's pretty hard to accept photo-bashing, but the results really are fantastic.

[@troymcguire3593]

Thanks for your content Trent! Great video.

[@jamiemorgan3649]

This guy's work is incredible

[@EmeralDQueenTV]

I'm always been the same way would not go further than what my mind was told to do, but now you have turn me into the Dark Side LOL!!! Thanks for all the wonderful tips, so pumped to start making my concept art!!!!!

[@cloggedaorta]

lol, Trent getting all street like when the video's about "stealing" through photos.Way to go man :) Amazing process and result.

[@steveyoungwork]

Rock on Trent! Great stuff, love your work process videos, keep up the good work!

[@sar19]

its 2.20 and i probably should sleep, but trent uploaded a video sooooo... greetings from austria

[@haroldacandlandiv8743]

just bought your box set vol. 2, my first gum road purchase... I'm "unboxing" it now and just thought I'd drop you a line and say thank you.

[@seanodanielsart]

we just talked about this! Luv it man. Keep it up. Good seeing you today!

[@filleis6374]

Dude great work and a great discussion and breakdown of photobashing

[@milhouse777]

Awesome video as usual Trent!

[@Cms40]

Wow he drew like a little bit and made this. I want to do this.

[@ss-oq9pc]

This is amazing. I hope you go even more into photo bashing in the future.

[@MizukiTheUnderPro]

Photo Bashing is awesome. I use Photos from MMA fights or even Pro wrestling as Basic for Fight scenes to get the angle right. I really recommend it if you don't plan to spend a hour just to get the anatomy right.

[@VaxillianPrime]

I've never seen anything like this done before and I have to say... wow that's amazing!

[@carolynmccully6712]

I lLOL'd at the holiday photos comment. Thanks for the video.

[@largominus2011]

I love your videos, thank you so much for sharing with us ^^

[@bjwalters8385]

Great video, I can't wait to see if you use this to jumpstart another adventure for Mao.

[@irishman6414]

Another great video! I've never used photos this way. Generally if I do I'll trace it quickly just to get the basic shape of whatever I'm drawing and then throw it away, or keep it for color reference.

[@elholandesvolador8614]

The cheapest way to make a mountain is to steal a mountain. wise words bro. subscribed

[@tonyberrigan8347]

Thanks for the great video Trent!

[@komodobastard2796]

hi trent, this was great to listen to while workin. nice one!

[@ChroniclerEnigma]

So awesome! I use photos in my art alot. I worry often that peopl will call me out saying I'm cheating, but so far it hasn't happened yet. But when I do use photos, its usually for drawing angles or perspectives I've not drawn before. I hope I learn the secret soon, or short cuts. There's not enough time in the day to draw sometimes. e--e Digital art has been teaching me a thing... I upload speedpaints maybe other people can learn a thing from my stumbling around.

[@PatrizzaEatsApizza]

Photobashing is not cheating. There is no cheating in art except plagiarism.

[@jovanbanks5277]

And what part of snatching a bunch of other people's photos merging them together and calling them a painting is not plagiarism.

[@witchy4486]

I mean yeah it is technically plagiarism LOL....generally though, the artists don't sell the work itself because it is not their own. It is generally only used for design purposes for a game like a concept for a model or a sprite.

[@alexmehler6765]

witchy thats not true , theres a line between plagiarism and sampling ... in music you can even take a sample from music of the superstars .. as long as you bend, warp, cut, modify it enough its legit ... if you copy the whole melody and just add a new text its plagiarism though ., but what i wanna say the rules/laws are very loose and if you modify something beyond recognistion its actually not plagiarism by law

[@GeoBrd]

I like this. I like you, very Austin Kleon way of thinking. I'm going to have to challenge myself with some photobashing soon.

[@exhileris4k857]

Bruh just looking at it makes me scream splash art!😲

[@zimizi]

The cheapest way to make a mountain is to steal a mountain hahah thanks that made my day

[@LolixBelle]

Thanks,I just started to be interested in concept art and my main problem are backgrounds, this helps a lot, but my only program is procreate, can’t afford photoshop yet but honestly procreate works well for me.

[@thelthrythquezada8397]

Trent have you done this on the Sketch? Sketchbook Autodesk

[@AtrusDesign]

Really nice, and you are really skilled, but this time I find not very striking the contrast between the very detailed background, thanks to the photos, and the poor detailed foreground. The blending between drawing and photos is too obvious. The overall design and composition of the scene is awesome.

[@lesocra4706]

he wanted to archieve that tho xD

[@Masterpg2007]

Yeah, he literally said that at 5:42

[@Bee_Mavrick]

Can you get trouble for using any photo or is there a limit on what you use?

[@HelgaJacobsFreelancer]

Awesome! Wish I could learn how to do this.

[@northernfreelance5788]

Wow man amazing. Can you do a normal speed one, to see what your actually doing? thanks. Doesnt have to be a whole picture, just a sample. I know it would take quite some time to render a full one.

[@ShruthiLakshminarayana]

This is cool, thank you ❣️

[@leoniesketches]

Thank you for sharing tips and knowledge. It is really useful information for beginner like me :).... it’s awesome

[@Groovingforwardatx]

Hi I do blender and im looking for ways to incorporate 3d models into painting inphotoshop, I also do photography so I wanna merge it into multimedia driven concept art. I love your channel! Subscribed

[@acarstg2646]

loved the vid, subscribed :)

[@devilichus]

Even in a photobashing video You couldn’t hold yourself from drawing didn’t you man lol. It is super cool that you can turn everything even photos to your own kung-fu style man.

[@mrwhitey2027]

Welp... I'm not really sure if I want to do anymore concept art 😅 I like paiting and photo bashing dosnt sound so great

[@JYoseiPiano]

Hey Trent, just wondering what medium you use for your awesome digital art? :)

[@JaliousArt]

Over 2 years late, but he uses photoshop!

[@demetrifrost2546]

Fantastic video~ thank you

[@Babygorl1209]

This was amazing. Thanks!

[@tillmanminter2]

In 10 years of consuming content on KZbin, I’ve never subscribed to a channel as quickly as I did here. If you ever need an intern or help w/ anything creative let me know! Personal assistant, butler, apprentice, literal slave, etc. Genuinely just trying to get some experience under my belt, the door’s always open!

[@OnceApollo]

Hey trent, i know this video is kind of old so you may not get to it, but a question about environmental design. When painting a concept for environments is a picture like this enought to get the idea across to the level designer? both 2d and 3d?

[@cascade5843]

Thank you so much for the advices!

[@pillowzzzbox3466]

yeah about art school..yeah I feel like I wasted my money and loans to go to a 2 yr college and still to this day nothing in my field and had no idea or was taught this in my school and I took an animation class. it wasn't what I expected. this is the kinda thing I'd love to do and I feel like there's so much that was not taught about Photos hop in my school too. gum road is great. .wish I could afford some of the tutorial videos. soon. I have an old version of photoshop..new ones are expensive..could I create something like this in another program?

[@TrentKaniuga]

You can use Sketchbook Pro to photobash as well, but I havent done a video about how to do that yet. Also... any pursuit of knowledge and passion is NEVER a waste of time or money. Think of the connections youve made, and the opportunity to see the world a different way as a lesson well learned. Try to see the value in it, even if it means that you learned NOT to do something. You'll be happier about all if it in the end if you do:)

[@pillowzzzbox3466]

Trent Kaniuga ty so much for your reply and advice. I appreciate it. well the school I wanted was full sail..that was my dream school but I couldnt afford it. still cant. but that's ok. So it is safe to say I did invest in my dream but it went left. 😕 However I've been getting back into learning all this stuff and even invest my time to learn more of human anatomy for concept drawings and this comic book idea I had for years but never knew where to start. now I do. I have Adobe cs2..and Sketchbook pro 6.2 already so these 2 are fairly great for me to have. I had corel..but I don't think it was the full version. didn't get it really. but I'm still learning how to illustrate my characters..coloring and blending. .adding shadows in photos hop is a bit difficult for me. but hopefully soon I will invest more and buy one those instruction videos from gumroad. can't wait and ty. please do a video if you can on photo bashing in sketchbook pro. I had no clue you could. or if not I'll find it. 😄😉👍✌💪

[@EarnestCreations]

Educational, made me laugh for real (it's been years since I dont have to fake laughing!) and it lasts 12:12. Just perfect!

[@mahailiaXoXo]

hey there! love the work! any chance of a detailed tut?

[@ShiatsuPT]

awesome awesome stuff man!

[@leyko2169]

Finally ! Thank you Master

[@PrimordialStrange]

I have got a problem in perspective drawing, correcting color values to give the object a 3d effect and finding stock photos to my original idea to deliver a final artwork. Can you suggest something?

[@knuckledancerny9595]

Bro! You're a @#$%^& KING!!! Lol, thank you for this vid!

[@mintgreen5614]

ok now: how do i do that without selling a piece of my soul to our adobe overlords every month?

[@Gleamiarts]

You can use Krita. It's a free art programme and has most Photoshop features. Edit: also if you want to photobash over 3D models, you can use Sketch up and/or Blender. They are both free

[@scottpilgrim8017]

torrent

[@twinkelry2410]

Gleamiarts sketchup ain’t free man 😔 would be happy if it was.

[@adrianpedraza8612]

Steal them shit nigga you have the people's permission

[@mrexotics3308]

"buy it" wink wonk wink wonk..

[@gdk870]

Greetings Trent, may i humbly request that you Please make a short tutorial series (2-6 hours long) on using photo-bashing to create character and environment concepts. Wherein you describe all the (Photoshop/Sketchbook) tools that you're using in the process at the time. I think it would be a praised series among some of us indie game developers. Thank you for reading. Cheers

[@TrentKaniuga]

Hey Godfrey. It's a good suggestion. I personally don't work that way usually. I use very few photos in my character designs. But it is a process which many concept artists use. I will add it to my list of possible future workshops though. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@raspoutinrasp2511]

thx so much dude awesome vid

[@ID347r4]

Man you draw like Feng Zhu! ;)

[@utahevan]

Do you have non timelapse tutorials on doing this?

[@GTKreations]

I've never been able to get over my "ethical block" to photobash

[@pioni8635]

Great work as always :). Sometimes I´m thinking how far is it ok to use photos. Some times feels like it´s ok to photo bash environments but then it´s not ok to use photos for character and sometimes I wonder why is that... Anyway this is just feeling what I have. I many times use photos for backgrounds to see if idea works. I think it´s speed up process so much :) (Sorry about English)

[@getthatfun]

Trent, what was the total time to complete this photobash?

[@z7zyn]

Any chance of this being put in your gumroad box set? Real-time?

[@457Deniz457]

I love this Vid. Ty ! :)

[@seth-blank]

What software do you use

[@InitialANSR]

Subscribed!!

[@mattiaskarlsson9302]

I'm curious, how does copyright work when you photobash? I'm a basher but don't really draw anything beyond a sketch, I just try to cut and paste photos into a cohesive whole. I'd like to do what you just did - record myself bashing and put it on KZbin - but I worry about someone seeing their pictures used without permission and having the video taken down.

[@and5138]

No one gonna strike a copyright at you if you make your painting transformative with photobashing. Trent in his video use many rocks photos and combine all of them to make a new different one and add a little bit painting on it, so it became different (different than its source photo) and transformative.

[@Iad83]

I've been teaching myself everything I can for digital illustration. I've come far, but damn I haven't begun to do anything with photobashing o_o;

[@daviedood2503]

Well I mean technically even PAINTING a mountain is taking from someone. You SAW one or two here and there and remembered what it looked like. So we're ALL taking $hit from somewhere. Nature is a very giving entity man. 😂 👌

[@t3du]

How many layers did you use for this????

[@TrentKaniuga]

probably 100+

[@darkanice7]

how is the legality? does someone know that? for commercial use, how much must be changed?

[@TrentKaniuga]

Thomas Eibl I go by the rule of making it unrecognizable. Even if you say the pieces, you’d never guess that it was used here.

[@northernfreelance5788]

You have a subscriber

[@dndallasta]

Yo, Trent. Kinda cool to see you work in a different way than your usual straight-drawing techniques. Most people use photos to add texture to basic block-outs, so it was pretty clever to go the other way and use photos as a jumping off point at the start. The painting turned out pretty cool. It has Kaniuga written all over it even if some parts look a bit less naturalistic than your usual work. Lemme ask you, though, how often do you use photobashing nowadays for your professional work and how much of a speed bump have you found using this kind of technique has given you in, say, a rough percentage versus just painting everything like you do the Hearthstone cards?

[@TrentKaniuga]

I never use this technique. This was the first time in over a decade that I used photos in this way. But I may start to use them more for my illustrated work. I wouldnt use them in hearthstone art, because they tend to want a very painted feel.

[@TheBobimkd123]

NICE

[@pulsetone]

With the lens of knowing what AI art is outputing, some comment are very grimm"Who got that kind of time? [...]lots of detail i don't think people have the time to draw [...] What's important to game dev is to make on the cheap"

[@ruyodrgn]

Love your stuff man, never heard of Gumroad though. I use udemy, they are very good for art courses and tons more, I'm learning to program and do game design from there for pocket change lol.

[@TrentKaniuga]

Yes, I just started learning game maker through Udemy. I'd like to have some of my own art tutorials on there as well, but I'm not as structured as some of the other instructors.

[@ruyodrgn]

Yea I get your point but most artists from what I have seen just want a working curriculum, I pretty sure with just a layout you could make a great lesson plan and bring in a bunch of people interested in your art style.

[@fredgerd5811]

Aren't there a bunch of legal things with this sort of approach? To me tracking down all the photographers to get (and possibly purchase) permissions for use seems like a heck of alot more trouble than just painting it.

[@oh-totoro]

Once you've altered an image to the extent they have been in this video, you no longer need permission.

[@PIEDol]

I'm pretty sure that only applies if you use the entirety of an image, or a significant portion of it un-edited. Here he just used pictures of locations rather than original works, and even then he highly modified them, so I don't think there'd be any legal stuff involved here.

[@fredgerd5811]

I'm pretty sure its a legal grey area actually. IDK, I always learned to avoid relying on fair use whenever possible. If its non-comercial work of course it doesn't matter but I could see problems arising if a photographer can clearly identify any part of their photo in something used in a triple A game. But I assume Trent knows what he's doing so, IDK. Just not a risk I'd take personally.

[@keithtarrier4558]

A common but wrong misconception. In the USA at least, it is illegal to use any of the photo without permission for paid work. Does not matter how much you edit it... Kind of like.. if you steal car, and then use the parts in 30 different cars... it is still illegal. Even if you paint them... even if you melt the metal down and make a saucepan... still illegal... hence the reason we now have digital property rights. However.... most people lack the money to take you to court. Most people probably won't see their photo used like this... most people will never EVER know you used their photos... such is life. If you do make HUGE $$$ from using someones photos... it might be nice to give them some... but then how would you explain you stole it first... There are A LOT of free, and legal places to get stock photos. Deviant art for example has many people uploading free images. Pixabay has awesome photos. Many governments have a HUGE pool of photos anyone can use, often historical but also modern, especially from the military (not just military photo but locations too etc).

[@shubhammishra7922]

Ireally love what you do ,.i can learn more with your gum road videos but i cant afford it. please upload full video of Photoshop cheats, humble request from you!

[@TrentKaniuga]

lol.

[@Salamaleikum80]

Are there any online courses that teach this way of concept art? I don't have the time to learn to draw right now, but I would be willing to learn this.

[@captainskyfall9419]

self taught..? how long have you been drawing?

[@omgitswill5494]

since he was a kid. Pretty sure he works for blizzard as well

[@elementz89uk17]

The cheapest way to make a mountain is steal a mountain! haha

[@SWAGmoogley]

What software are you using?

[@TrentKaniuga]

This piece was done in photoshop.

[@al7osane]

niiiiiiiiiiiceeeeeeeee

[@derwentalia]

industry demands fast & cheap which has a spill-over effect on artists which = photo-bashing. its like junk food. hand drawing/painting is like natural organic food. classical era of drawing and the cg-era of drawing. im not saying photo bashing isnt useful, or that the end result cant be amazing.... (its basically collage/decoupage in digital format). just saying that its use and technique make it in many ways objectively inferior to classical art. not in a snobby way, but ivan albright spent ten years on one section of his dorian grey painting; it wasnt just a merch job, it was a philosophy about life which deepened and enriched the relationship the artists had with their tools in a way that i am not sure is possible with photo bashing. that being said, there is an argument to be made that the transition is reflective of a cultural change overall in society and its kinda hard to argue against change.

[@alexmehler6765]

most artists who do it that way die of hunger though

[@derwentalia]

most artists from before the 1980s died before they got really famous, before their work generated wealth (for others, obviously). im not saying photo-bashing is intrinsically wrong, im saying that it falls along the lines of decorative art and not necessarily "fine art", ie art done for the sake of art itself versus art made for money/a living. maybe you could even describe it as decorative fine art. i think (and i know this from my own personal experience as an intentionally non-commercial artist) that commercializing the creative impulse has a way of changing it. theres something ineffable about artistic creation that should be elevated beyond the banality of commerce and monetization. intention & context counts for a lot and the underlying premises for why we do art shifts. i resented monetizing my art so i stopped. now i paint/draw when i feel like it and give my stuff away to friends/family or add it to my portfolio as NFS. i make money for eating in other ways.

[@mateuszfilipek5507]

Hi, what's the program you're using? I don't recognize it.

[@nishimalik7465]

Photoshop

[@TheGhettochamp]

@3:00 so deep.