Concept Art Exercise: How to Paint Lifelike Monsters

[@HazedShaman]

That monster big or small would be terrifying to ever come across. I really love the idea of it being a creature that could lunge its head at its victim. I also really love the design choice to do the geometric patterns to the scaley skin, superb video as per usual Hardy!

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks! Glad you like it

[@xuanxh]

I'm glad I found your channel. I've watched a few of your videos and so far I absolutely love watching your process. It seems so simple, to the point and straightforward, yet so difficult to properly execute without master skills and experience. I'm probably going to struggle a lot, but I am going to give this process a try!

[@sannteh3065]

You're an amazing person, thanks for sharing all of this worthy knowledge with us ❤

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks :) I'm glad this was helpful

[@rezonantsarachnids5351]

Of all your paintings i've seen, this one sticks out as my favourite. thank you immeasurably for the passion and tips you put into videos like this, i can say they have been truly helpful to me and no doubt countless other viewers

[@fowlerillus]

Oh awesome - thanks! I'm so glad you liked it. I really appreciate that.

[@leandroxavier8063]

Yeah... The carveout is not only good for mechanic parts... Organics turn out perfect! Excellent and masterful as always, Hardy. Thank you for sharing.

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks Leandro! Carveout is a concept artist's best friend :)

[@mayudrake00]

Wow, seeing your carveout method combined with the value first technique and how great this works together - I'll definitely give it a try! Great video and great challenge, can't wait to start! 😄

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks Jennifer! It's a really nice process for exploring shapes.

[@Gnarledwolf]

I'm fascinated by your technique of painting in the muscles then coating those with a layer of skin. That helps so much to see!

[@fowlerillus]

I'm glad to hear that! That really helps me figure all of the anatomy out and then knock it back to just subtle indications by the end.

[@0heck]

It's very much like watching someone sculpting in 2 dimensions. Very cool process.

[@RaptorsVevo]

This was genuinely so interesting to see. I've been wanting to figure out how to render realistic creatures in my art for some time, and never taken the plunge, but this seems so intuitive and fun to do. I may not take part in the challenge itself, but this has for sure inspired me to at least give the methods a try. Excellent video, looking forwards to seeing more method and technique breakdowns!

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks! I hope you really like the results you get.

[@alexsien5032]

Wow, this art is amazing! as a lover of art and biology myself, I find this video very informative and inspiring. I really love the rendering and can't believe this channel isn't more popular.

[@fowlerillus]

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the support. On our way! :)

[@ITS_JNPL]

I really like this so much. I just started doing digital art. I want to be able to express what's inside my head when i draw.

[@fowlerillus]

I identify with this 100% That's exactly what drove me towards a life with art :)

[@jamesbullo]

Heck yes! Excited for these.

[@fowlerillus]

Nice! I hope you dive in and join the challenge!

[@bonster101]

your shading is so good that it started to look like a 3d textureless render with the orange.

[@fowlerillus]

Oh cool! Thanks

[@fakename5881]

replying to an old comment, but this was my exact thought as i was watching the video

[@voacity]

I was wondering why this is the first I’m seeing of this! Posted 11 hours ago! Sick!

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks!

[@nudgeA7]

yea, this is frikkin tactical and the best video i watched from you, and totally inline with what i have been trying sofar, so i keep this on loop for a while;) tnx man, awesome ;), cyborgmonsters here we come:)

[@fowlerillus]

Haha. Enjoy! I'm glad this was helpful.

[@galactica4241]

hey hardy! your rendering of the muscles on the creature is so good! how did you master anatomy? are there any resources I could look for?

[@fowlerillus]

Weirdly, with monsters you can make a lot of it up and it ends up looking plausible. Most of it is just an abstraction of human anatomy which I have studied quite a bit. I use pinterest a lot for reference and inspiration and there are some great anatomical learning resources

[@corvidaeae]

First thought when I saw that thumbnail was vraal. Glad that made me click, this was a really cool video.

[@fowlerillus]

I definitely see the resemblance now! Glad you liked it :)

[@kurtisdiston4851]

thanks for making this so approachable.

[@fowlerillus]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@benjamindas0440]

Absolutely stunning design ❤️❤️

[@fowlerillus]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@TheodoreKalamov]

Hey Hardy! Would you apply this technique to more mechanical, hard surface objects as well? I think it's very helpful, but I'm not sure how well it translates to inorganic matter?

[@fowlerillus]

I have a somewhat different approach for hard surface designs but the multiply layer step at the end is the same. I would like to do some kind of machine/vehicle challenge in the future to go over those techniques.

[@AbhishekKumar-hq3di]

I loved your last week video on fast character design. It was very easy and fast but value painting is hard and it takes a lot of time. Also when should we do value painting and when we should do the fast designing technique like your last video?? Should we always do value painting when designing creatures??

[@AbhishekKumar-hq3di]

I never miss any of your videos ❤️😊

[@fowlerillus]

There is never really a rule - I guess it's a matter of style preference and what the end goal of the piece is. If it's pure concept/exploration, then I would go for something more quick and efficient like last week's character video. If it's something more promotional or a "hero shot" or something for an important asset, then I think a polished painting like this is more useful to a project. Great question!

[@AbhishekKumar-hq3di]

Aah I see now Thanks so much 😊 That was really very helpful!!

[@DeuceGenius]

Very cool monster

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks!

[@rathodmukendra8924]

Super cool technique for designing and rendering...I love this technique and I am going to give a try. Q- how to do the same for creature with hair and fur?

[@fowlerillus]

Glad you liked it! I usually start with a photo of fur set to soft light blending mode and then I paint over it.

[@JakeBode_]

This is where the fun begins

[@fowlerillus]

Right on!

[@felipebarriospulecio8290]

OMG 😱 amazing

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks!

[@Rhyxelz]

mesmerizing.

[@fowlerillus]

Aw thanks! Glad you enjoyed it

[@randyruedisueli7470]

Yes! I was waiting for this one. Click like, save for later lol.

[@fowlerillus]

Awesome! Nice monster paintings lately Randy! Your academy projects have been stellar

[@randyruedisueli7470]

@@fowlerillus thanks! Your classes are the reason for that!

[@randyruedisueli7470]

Can I submit one I’ve already done? Lol

[@RequiesAeternaGaming]

So, what is the point of the orange layer? What purpose does it serve for your process?

[@fowlerillus]

The orange color is pretty arbitrary - I just use it for the value steps. It could be a grey or white, I just like the way it pops against that dark cyan base that I always use. I end up converting the orange to a different color when switching from value to color phase. I don't even remember when I first started using that orange but it stuck for some reason :)

[@natashaglogy]

Hey I just discovered your channel! This is really interesting and useful. Never drew monsters or creatures before, I might give it a try

[@fowlerillus]

Welcome aboard!

[@skippythemagnificent8103]

Loved it really enjoyable video : )

[@fowlerillus]

Oh thanks! I really enjoyed this one.

[@skippythemagnificent8103]

@@fowlerillus The postive and negative space makes for a great design really eye catching. He .. she .. it, the it is almost begging to be modeled in 3D... :)

[@Snow-dj5im]

I'm honestly thinking of taking your beginners DPS Core course.... Can anyone recommend it... to be honest just watching these videos has got me sold

[@fowlerillus]

I'm sure you were looking for other students to give opinions, but if you ever have any questions, you can always reach me with the chat bug when you visit www.digitalpaintingstudio.com

[@Snow-dj5im]

@@fowlerillus Thank you so much for that, and thank you for taking the time to reply here, means a lot. I'll definitely be en-rolling that's for sure! :D

[@hashemieada4846]

may i ask what kind of a brush set do you use ?

[@fowlerillus]

For the shape design (and some of the painting steps later), I just use a diamond shaped brush with size set to pen pressure. It's something I made myself but it's pretty simple. For some reason, I prefer doing shape steps with a blocky brush. The painting is mostly just a standard round brush.

[@hashemieada4846]

@@fowlerillus thanks for the reply sir, am following your course on udemy, and by the time I finish I will definitely enrol in one of your classes . You are a unique tutor, you describe the entire process and workflow plz plz keep up the good work 🙏.

[@matrix_coding9050]

Ways enjoy your videos I hope growth fr yr channel

[@fowlerillus]

Much appreciated

[@VIII_Art]

I love your channel and your content truly amazing you always get me so inspired but just saying and pls don't take it the wrong way, am I the only one that thought in the black and white stage that the tail was the monsters yk sausage?

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks! Haha, that was entirely unintentional if so. I totally see what you might get that impression though - whoops!

[@Skyflakes05]

i wanna try this style of drawing out cos of your video! may i know what brush you use for the painting values part?

[@fowlerillus]

Almost entirely a soft round brush with brush size set to pen pressure.

[@siddharthakethu]

what the app youre using called

[@fowlerillus]

This is Photoshop. It's really great and the industry standard for digital painting so I highly recommend it.

[@TheDragonballz9876]

Does the painting have to be full body, or can they be a portrait?

[@fowlerillus]

Portrait works! The parameters are really flexible - cool monsters are all we're after here - the format, technique, type - all up to you!

[@TheDragonballz9876]

@@fowlerillus Okay, thanks!

[@Paradise07]

I love draw a monsters cuze it's easy for me to draws.. i made my Instagram account in yesterday and I will post my drawings there.. I hope you like my drawings🙆🏻‍♂️💟!!!

[@fowlerillus]

Can't wait to see them. Good luck!

[@lorddiobrando2158]

why he kinda curvy..

[@fowlerillus]

I always like the energy that comes out of those S shaped curves. It makes him look like he's moving a bit and not just frozen in place.

[@lordlem]

hey hardy! your rendering of the muscles on the creature is so good! how did you master anatomy? are there any resources I could look for?

[@fowlerillus]

Thanks! It has been a long journey and something I am always working on. Observation and always thinking of shapes is the best quick advise I can give. I may start adding some videos on this subject in the near future so I'm glad to hear you would be interested!