How to Paint With the Lasso Tool

[@TuscEclipse]

That intro was the greatest I've ever seen.

[@SquishsJourney]

ikr

[@Harukariin]

ikr

[@funtlickerシ]

ikr

[@TheBroly200]

You are one of those artists that can make a painting of a seemingly mundane object look really thrilling. Like when you were painting that dink on top of the pumpkin, I was feeling a rise of adrenaline, like yeahh that edge variation and nice texture read is looking awesome. As a lassobro myself (a digital cowboy?), I'll be studying this video closely and repeatedly.

[@Vyloka]

Very important rule of thumb, if you cant make basic mundane shapes and objects look interesting, how do you expect to make anatomy or full landscapes look interesting? Gotta start small

[@cantycanvas4150]

Digital cowboy! I’m gonna steal that one 🙂

[@rebecaft]

Nice

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Wait, someone left a negative comment on an art tutorial about something arbitrary and kind of bizarre? Thats CRAZY, never seen that before 🤔

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Awesome demo btw, loving the vids!

[@HiroshiArtist]

An interesting tip, if you press crtl+H while it is selected, the selection becomes invisible, so these dotted lines do not obstruct the view and the selection remains the same

[@SentinalSlice]

I wish my I pad program had that feature.

[@ola-ut2fj]

@@SentinalSlice what app do you use? procreate has a similar feature where you can change the opacity of selection and make it completely invisible

[@jyotishj7582]

If we select Ctrl+H , I am getting Brightness/Contrast not hide oprion of lasso

[@DaeJM88]

​@@jyotishj7582 go and assign View>Extras back to Ctrl + H or any other Ctrl + of F key U w want.

[@voltsm_]

ignored this video the first time it was recommended to me because i really hate that "clean" look you were talking about and the lasso tool usually is the culprit of that. but it came on my auto play while i was playing and rly liked it! ty for all the tips!

[@etheriousjackal5577]

It's crazy how so much of your actions and strokes seem completely random but makes so much sense in the full context of the final piece. Like for example the way you shaded the stem makes complete sense but when you were doing it, I was really wondering what was going on.

[@luminentarchive]

All this time I've been going back and forth between my darks and my lights to try and get a crisp edge... A new tool has been added to my arsenal today... I will be forever grateful.

[@pbonnie6051]

This is one of the things i struggle a lot with, growing up i wanted my art to look very digital, like the others, and now i want more of a painty feeling to them and i'm slowly unlearning a lot of things i've learnt in the past, what you've emphasized about the layers is going to help a lot for me in the future and i will definitely try to add that in my compositions, plus watching you implement colours in your art the way you do has given me a few ideas on how i want to add things in my own art. Make it more interesting too - thank you !

[@thewanderer2120]

This is the literal lesson I've been searching for. This isn't just about the lasso tool this is about refining colors and how to shade organic shapes properly.

[@supervillainvoldemort]

I'm usually very skeptical with art tutorials on KZbin because of the abundance of amateur work but when I saw those warcraft posters and headed straight to your instagram, I knew I was gonna learn some real shit. Went to this video thinking I'll learn more lasso techniques but actually ended up becoming more confident on moving my palette value and hue around more.

[@itsmeloart]

I'm tackling the fundamentals right now so i'll definitely be checking your guide :D

[@terrifict5218]

One of the things thats prevented me from really getting into digital art is this sort of layer "gridlock" that you talk about. I also realized that while I like the look of clean art with flat colors and cell shading I actually hate making it 😅 So your videos are exactly what I need. I wish you posted more often, but I understand that you're probably busy with other projects. I just wanted to let you know your videos are appreciated 👍

[@BarKeegan]

I’ve seen a lot of artists use the lasso/ pen tool to block in flat colour for raster work; I’ve always used the pen tool myself in Illustrator and Affinity Designer for a similar approach

[@os8631]

Couldn't of been a better time to hear this advice, as was just riding the high of "lasso and soft brush"

[@ELTABULLO]

Have

[@shiggydiggy6847]

Lasso tools is especially important if you like to use soft edged brushes like airbrush a lot. It's really handy for creating and maintaining hard edges. Another think I like to do is freehand selecting and doing a reverse circular gradient for creating quick round shading on a form.

[@emmiechilelli9255]

I'm quite new with digital art and struggling a bit I asked a SUPER, EXTREMELY TALENTED artist friend of mine some advices, and he sent me this video AMAZING help, thank you so much!!! I'm sure this will help my progress a lot! Have a nice week!!! ❤❤

[@selina8348]

hands down my favourite artist right now, loving all the knowledge you provide us

[@maxencerobard751]

The LOR background slaps, would love to see all the pieces u made for the game!

[@ForrestImel]

I actually had like 10 minutes recorded of me talking about my LoR work at the beginning of this video but cut it and decided to push it to a different video since it wasn't really relevant to this specific video. I will definitely go over my LoR work in a future video :)

[@HelixHexal]

I'm glad youtube recommended this to me. Same for me, I kinda dislike having my art feels too clean, great advice btw.

[@Jules_Pew]

I only dabble in digital painting, but this has been useful as I used to spend ages outlining the whole bit. Just focusing down on the bit to be painted has been illuminating. Cheers Forrest - teaching an old dog new tricks.

[@namba3886]

casually putting out some of the cleanest art content in the scene of watching while eating oatmeal rn

[@epicmickey716]

I just made some oatmeal rn too

[@Mirabelle479]

no fking way i was eating oatmeal 1 hour ago 😦

[@NoHealNeeded]

thank you for the educational video, i personally would be interested in the fully opaque brushe guide

[@thepeculiarmaple]

This is a game changer! I haven't thought of doing it this way before. I cant wait to try this out!

[@noobartist3762]

Spooky is by far my favourite artist right now.

[@jjjay0w0]

love youre not gatekeeping your techniques, I learned a lot. also please paint the whole thing, its cute

[@狐火]

Thank you so much for teaching us this valuable info- even though we might not have all the necessary information that comes with using lasso and airbrush tool it's still extremely valuable because it adds at least some information on how beginners/intermediates can start painting in a different way that they haven't considered. I hope you make more videos on color theory and specifically how to prevent a painting from looking muddy, I know it's probably something to do with value rather than color but it would be a nice addition - given I haven't looked at your other videos yet but I will! You have awesome art advice!! I hope you keep making videos they help alot with art block/feeling down on ones self, at the risk of sounding redundant thank you! And don't listen to those comments that are mean about the intros they're just sour grapes

[@ThedGrill]

I love the video! Absolutly nice to see how you work. For me it took awhile to realize I dont have to be super perfect with the lassotool. I often use it to create leaf like shapes to add more details my paintings ;D

[@CorinneIsIn]

This is great! I never fully understood the power of the lasso tool until watching this.

[@SulaMoon]

Forrest! I didn't know you had a channel, what a gem of a video! Cheers from a fellow Crimson Dagger of old

[@gabrielcarvajal5666]

Hi Forrest! I just wanna say that you inspired me to start painting, thank you!

[@ForrestImel]

Good luck :)

[@DavidEdwards-e6m]

Painting, lol

[@ehyzen]

@@DavidEdwards-e6m yes painting. whats wrong

[@MariGuriVT]

I never really understood how to use the lasso tool this way, even though I’ve seen this method used by several artists. I feel like this video was the first time I finally understand! I’ll try and learn how to implement it someday in the future!!

[@Standing1Last]

Super Dope man. I'm trying to getting into painting and thought about abusing the lasso tool, but seeing how you use makes a lot of sense. Thank you for sharing.

[@violet9840]

This guide is actually one of the most helpful I have come across so far! great stuff, thank you

[@The_JINX]

Every video you post is great! Thanks for providing useful information and for making it easy to understand :D

[@12stormy13]

I would like to see your whole process if you would paint the rest of this piece and upload it. I think it would be interesting to see you apply the lasso tool and other such techniques throughout the drawing

[@nouhotdagnogo3582]

😂❤🎉 Love it ! Thanks for the knowledge :) and we want the character full painted :)

[@maryamol._.]

The intro is everything

[@sethlynchart]

Nailed it out of the park man! Amazing video, need more in my life!

[@kayfoxii]

Brother every video you drop is a banger, one of my new favorite art youtubers for sure. I've been feeling that "trapped by layers" and "digital look" about my work that was causing unhappiness, and you voiced the thoughts in my brain in a more clear way hahaha. Thanks again for sharing what you do! I don't think I left a comment on that one, but also hearing about your personal art journey and being able to relate to some of that brought me some relief as well. It means a lot that you take the time to make this stuff! :D

[@0_h1t3]

you've just given me more power, thank you, i'll be sure to use it wisely.

[@nika_cm]

you’re such a good speaker and a good artist, great video!

[@Wendy-sr2ew]

Thanks for the tutorial Forrest. Very helpful for a beginner like me

[@sanjaux]

Tip for others watching, if you want, you can also blur the selection from the lasso tool a bit so it's not so sharp!

[@Calvlath]

Dude, Torn from the Heavens again LMAOOOO. Makes me crack up every time 😂

[@Ame-jt2yf]

broooooo, just continuee doing vids, but dont tire up yourself probablyy, ur so much an inspirationn, thankss

[@alisondorantes-garcia5751]

I love spooky so much. This was a great vid, thanks!

[@Omegawerewolfx]

Thank you for this video, I found it interesting and useful. I was also waiting for you to break out into a weather report at any moment. It was exciting as I anxiously waited to see if you would give us a forecast. Thumbs up!

[@Doubleaa500]

This reminds me of cel shading, but also using a white shalk on black or charcoal on white paper by being able to have a crisp border of shading in traditional drawing!!

[@conradruizph]

This is really helpful, thank you, Sir

[@safe4547]

1:40 minutes in and I just want to say the intro of this video was PERFECT it made me laugh but all the info I need to know was said there. nice!

[@Ziialan]

Ah, yes, fellow lasso tool painter! Let's goooo

[@muffinconsumer4431]

This is like literally a dark art

[@CosmicAnew]

Think you can teach about proportions? The way you drew legs here is really cool!

[@tallerdelgato]

Great work, I like your workflow and how you explain things.

[@khalil1310]

you are phenomenal man, thank you so much for this content

[@kevin_horticulture]

Very cool, Forrest. Keep it up.

[@Nafoxy_art]

This was exactly what I needed

[@federicomatteoverde8636]

Nice stuff! Thank you! 🙌

[@gerryhopkins3856]

I would love if u can do this painting demo in gumroad along with the brush you use, cause i really like the technique in here and would love to know the whole process

[@jonmoore7387]

dont let people effect u, carry on great advice x

[@Misutoslope]

Looks great. Would love to see the complete painting, even if just time lapsed

[@larimw]

Thank you for this, it was really helpful :) I liked the pumpkin character and seeing Spooky made my day haha

[@HazedShaman]

I've only seen two of your videos, so far. I don't find the intro annoying its fun.

[@Haruyuki_Art]

Awesome work😀

[@rikajans]

The sketch is so cool!

[@AlejandroQuiceno-dq6rh]

You're the yotube goat, please keep posting videos like this 💯

[@juanchinpanchin]

Just when i need it, thanks ☺

[@mearilatus7618]

Could you make a video about "how to paint with the layer modes" maybe?

[@SnowMew]

Haha the whole intro is a mood for sure. Great how to vid!~

[@TheMoonlight1711]

i've only been through 6 minutes of the video and he's already managed to make it look rendered

[@minhucnguyen8075]

OMG u are backkk ❤‍🔥

[@BarKeegan]

You have a really good knowledge of light and colour, did you learn that through tutorials over the years or books?

[@ForrestImel]

A little bit of both. I learned a lot from James Gurney's Color and Light and Andrew Loomis' Creative Illustration. Also Mike Azevedo has a good gumroad video talking about color that stuck with me and Dorian Iten's webinars on light and form.

[@atari5177]

just watched 1 second of it and i just want to say hello too

[@suu1998]

this was very helpful. I rely on layers too much and I hate how stiff it makes my art look

[@beanerjeffreys9667]

Wow really great work! Do you have any shading and shape design tips?

[@ForrestImel]

I actually have a whole video on how I think about rendering: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpK5qpWrj9iNqZY

[@milkdromeda7.041]

8:37 i def thought they said "no place for the IRS" 😂😂

[@SnowMew]

Your full fundamentals bundle is only 20 bucks?! I thought it was gonna be hundreds. That's such a good deal~

[@ritam2802]

This was such a helpful tip, I really enjoy clean looking art and this technique elevated my workflow a lot! Can I ask what brush you used at the beginning to block in your basic shapes? Been looking for something like that.

[@ForrestImel]

If you're talking about the initial paint stuff done that was just with photoshop's standard soft brush. The one with the more unique shape is one I found from a brush pack a long time ago and don't remember what it's called haha, but I'll try to get my brushes on gumroad here soon!

[@ritam2802]

@@ForrestImel Yeah that's the one, will keep my eye on those brushes then!

[@taco2422]

love the intro , amazing video

[@tripplejaz]

Curious to know how this workflow impacts paintings with more complex backgrounds. I really like getting to a single layer as fast as possible in my paintings so I don't have to mess with layers. Painting on a single layer feels so liberating. I grew up in the time of Deviantart tutorials (2006ish) and standard workflow back then was to separate EVERY color on its own layer. Actually a legitimate waste of time. I don't even do that for professional work anymore.

[@tooncraft3d]

Great video man, TY. Love your cute dog :)

[@JacobJanerka]

Great video dude

[@Evergreys_game]

Fabulous! How can I get your brushes?

[@ForrestImel]

I will try to get my brushes up on gumroad here soon, but they will be free to download :)

[@noramagaly]

Hello! Thanks for teaching this tool. What program you are using?

[@ForrestImel]

All of this is being done in Photoshop

[@meandidraws]

Good video! Do you recommend beginner painters to use only one layer to learn as well?

[@Raexai]

Awesome❤❤❤

[@apolimeow]

Never realised how uncomfortable drawing was for me until I started drawing with the lasso and realised I don’t care about my art being smooth or clean! It’s all about emotion and metaphors!! My art has never felt more free :]

[@Peter_White]

I would be really happy for a brush with that Hard and soft side… I'm looking for those brushes for like 3 years now and still can't find a normal one.

[@Peter_White]

I tried to recreate it in photo shop, but it never turned out how I wanted

[@ForrestImel]

I'll try to get my brushes onto gumroad here soon

[@Peter_White]

​@@ForrestImel nice. It woukd be really great. I saw so many digital artists use this kind of brush [left is soft like air brush and the right is kike a hard round] like marc brunet and the others.

[@rafahye1]

nice video ❤❤

[@pedromonteiro9846]

your intros are cool

[@Cmattalk]

Thanks again for another great vid!

[@Raveress_Moss]

Something I noticed is you don't use the color picker. I suppose that helps you with color variation

[@rosar.4293]

Please finish painting and upload a demo! :D

[@floralcaribou]

I second this!!

[@RedIsACrepe]

Woahh

[@VishalNamani]

Great

[@nessi294]

do the intros with your dog :> also nice tips! (and your intro is great, dw about it)

[@uhmmmFU]

I really didn't want to be the 70th comment, but someone had to do it. Cool video.

[@poszy6]

Okey. I have 2 questions which are like bothered me for years now. In every LoL spalsh art there is a place at which I am like, okey I could do this. This is at a point where they have the base colors all separated on layers and added the basic shadows with masks and multiply soft brushed layers. But then I have 2 questions. 1st when I try to do cool looking forms based on my sketch, the edge of them are somehow turn out wonky. Not smooth but wobbley. And the 2nd is how do you add so much details? I sware Splash arts like stylized hyper realistic stuff, which should be opposits but somehow not. I do not understand how their skin is so smooth and subtle and I do not get the ability effects in the pictures. How do they do it???? I mean drawing like Lux's ult in the basic splash art or Gwen's weapon. HOW??? What kind of layer effect is this? Yeah. Anyway loving your videos, they are so straigth forward

[@ForrestImel]

I can't say for certain about the wobbly edges of forms without seeing but if you mean your selections aren't as smooth or straight as you'd like I recommend just learning to be comfortable painting outside of your selection or your locked layers to refine your edge control. But again, not positive that's what you are referring to. As for details, I think I'll have to do a video on this eventually because detail is a common misconception with splash art I think. Yes, they are detailed, but the detail is more of a mastery of detail and rest and knowing what areas to render and what areas to not render. It's a difficult skill to grasp and so most artists will just assume they paint everything with this super refined level of detail and it actually makes your image look really stiff and hard to read. So I think my recommendation is to not focus so much on where to add detail but focus more on where you can let there be no detail and it still looks normal. Normally that would be areas of heavy ambient occlusion and areas where a form is turning away from the camera or a light source.

[@hugoruix_yt995]

bro really made a veigar skin and thought we wouldnt notice

[@williammclean6594]

When you're working for a studio or something, don't they require you to like separate everything on layers? Would they still allow you to like do a painterly layer like this or do they want like everything Super clean on a bunch of different layers? so it's easy to make corrections