How to Paint With the Lasso Tool

This video covers a common question I get about my process as well as goes over some general tips for painting more efficiently. I think I'll do some more videos in the future talking more about painting efficiency, in particular going over painting with fully opaque brushes as an exercise.
As always, let me know if there are any other videos or content you'd like to see from me! I have a few more ideas kicking around in my head, but the more suggestions I see from you all helps keep me motivated. Thanks for all of the support everyone!
🎨 Links:
✦ Twitter - / forrestimel
✦ Twitch - / forrestimel
✦ Website - forrestimel.com/
✦ Instagram - / forrest_i
✦ Gumroad - forrestimel.gumroad.com/
Music Credit: Bensound, Pixabay

[@KassTrole]

That intro was the greatest I've ever seen.

[@bargombit]

ikr

[@Harukariin]

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

[@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

[@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!

[@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!

[@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.

[@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.

[@melo9796]

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

[@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.

[@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 👍

[@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 !

[@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

[@SulaMoon]

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

[@sethlynchart]

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

[@thepeculiarmaple]

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

[@The_JINX]

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

[@selina8348]

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

[@violet9840]

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

[@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!

[@khalil1310]

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

[@PseudoWounds]

Great technique, thanks for sharing! also nice Shaman King poster!

[@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

[@nika_cm]

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

[@Ame-jt2yf]

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

[@TallerdelGato]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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 :)

[@alisondorantes-garcia5751]

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

[@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

[@nouhotdagnogo3582]

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

[@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

[@larimw]

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

[@0_h1t3]

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

[@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

[@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!!

[@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.

[@Nafoxy_art]

This was exactly what I needed

[@JixelD]

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

[@Calvlath]

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

[@NoHealNeeded]

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

[@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!!! ❤❤

[@noobartist3762]

Spooky is by far my favourite artist right now.

[@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 😦

[@conradruizph]

This is really helpful, thank you, Sir

[@cdewx5749]

Very cool, Forrest. Keep it up.

[@tofuman7555]

The sketch is so cool!

[@SnowMew]

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

[@CorinneIsIn]

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

[@HelixHexal]

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

[@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

[@federicomatteoverde8636]

Nice stuff! Thank you! 🙌

[@AlejandroQuiceno-dq6rh]

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

[@minhucnguyen8075]

OMG u are backkk ❤‍🔥

[@Haruyuki_Art]

Awesome work😀

[@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!!

[@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!

[@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!

[@JacobJanerka]

Great video dude

[@juanchinpanchin]

Just when i need it, thanks ☺

[@taco2422]

love the intro , amazing video

[@Misutoslope]

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

[@gabrielcarvajal5666]

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

[@ForrestImel]

Good luck :)

[@user-fu4iw5dx3f]

Painting, lol

[@ehyzen]

@@user-fu4iw5dx3f yes painting. whats wrong

[@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

[@muffinconsumer4431]

This is like literally a dark art

[@jonmoore7387]

dont let people effect u, carry on great advice x

[@tooncraft3d]

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

[@HazedShaman]

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

[@user-hw8hj7fu9j]

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

[@Ziialan]

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

[@TheMoonlight1711]

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

[@Raexai]

Awesome❤❤❤

[@mearilatus7618]

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

[@atari5177]

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

[@nessi294]

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

[@Cmattalk]

Thanks again for another great vid!

[@suu1998]

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

[@rafahye1]

nice video ❤❤

[@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~

[@VishalNamani]

Great

[@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.

[@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!

[@meandidraws]

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

[@uhmmmFU]

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

[@pedromonteiro9846]

your intros are cool

[@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 :]

[@hugoruix_yt995]

bro really made a veigar skin and thought we wouldnt notice

[@RedIsACrepe]

Woahh

[@mollofistraye5164]

i would LOVE to see the rest of the painting painted, this has been helpful in understanding where i wanna take my digital art and also i wanna see the cute punpkin rendered >u

[@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.

[@kirbybie]

SPOOKY AWWW

[@danart941]

Do u have ur brush set available for ppl to use online?

[@figbloppa7183]

Amazing intro

[@maryue1068]

please do the video about chroma!

[@Firlii12DP]

I think I need to practice making clean line 1st before I can use the lasso tool like you do.. ;w;)

[@STFUppercut69]

I do wanna see a full painting process for the little Pumpkin guy ;_; Speaking of which, if you haven't seen the movie "Trick 'r Treat", you should. It's a great Halloween horror movie featuring a funny little pumpkin killer boy. But yeah, this lasso tool approach is something I wanna git gud at for sure. I've become a slave to a bajillion layers unfortunately and now I'm looking for ways to get away from that style of painting and be more loose. But at the same time painting with just one layer also feels way too limiting. So I'll have to experiment more with your technique. Any advice on how to best practice getting better at this style of painting? Doing movie still studies with the lasso tool only to master it and then smoothing out the sharp lines?

[@ForrestImel]

I have seen Trick R Treat, it's on at least once a year around Halloween in my house haha. As for getting better at this technique I think there are all sorts of ways to experiment, I find working on a study of some simple object from photo reference is a good way to practice since you aren't using any of your brain for design or idea generation so everything you do can just be dedicated to thinking about process and technique.

[@rosar.4293]

Please finish painting and upload a demo! :D

[@floralcaribou2449]

I second this!!

[@noramagaly]

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

[@ForrestImel]

All of this is being done in Photoshop