TutorPaint – Dark Studio Edition

Introduction — From photo to painting

The goal of this tutorial is to help you turn the original photo into a structured painting plan. On the left, you have the original photo, and on the right, the simplified version in X colors.

The process is broken down into 4 steps:

Step 1 — Sketching: clean outline of your subject.
Step 2 — Mixing Colors: recipe for each of the X colors based on 9 pigments.
Step 3 (optional) — Grisaille: paint volumes in 5 monochrome tones.
Step 4 — Colors: apply each color layer with clear shapes.

Original Photo

Photo in N colors

How it works

The goal of this tutorial is to help you turn the original photo into a structured painting plan. On the left, you have the original photo, and on the right, the simplified version in X colors.

The process is broken down into 4 steps:

Step 1 — Sketching: clean outline of your subject.
Step 2 — Mixing Colors: recipe for each of the X colors based on 9 pigments.
Step 3 (optional) — Grisaille: paint volumes in 5 monochrome tones.
Step 4 — Colors: apply each color layer with clear shapes.

Applying the sketch to the canvas : 3 possibilities

There are three simple ways to transfer the drawing onto your canvas:

From a printed sheet: trace the sketch using graphite paper (or rub graphite on the back of the print).
From a screen: display the sketch on a computer/tablet and trace directly (a mirrored view can help).
With a projector: project the sketch onto the canvas and draw the outlines at the right scale.

Applying the sketch to the canvas : 3 possibilities

There are three simple ways to transfer the drawing onto your canvas:

From a printed sheet: trace the sketch using graphite paper (or rub graphite on the back of the print).
From a screen: display the sketch on a computer/tablet and trace directly (a mirrored view can help).
With a projector: project the sketch onto the canvas and draw the outlines at the right scale.