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Intro

In this lesson, we will learn how to use the brush tools and various techniques to create freehand artwork in Adobe Photoshop. We'll move beyond editing photos and focus on drawing an authentic-looking chalk painting from scratch, covering tips for choosing brushes, creating texture, and building a landscape scene. This lesson uses Adobe Photoshop 7, but the methods apply to most versions of the software. This is lesson 202.

Transcript

Welcome to Photoshop 202 Intermediate Photoshop, brought to you by PhotoshopLearningZone.com. I am your instructor, Richard Rost.

In today's class, we are going to learn how to draw freehand using the brush tools and different techniques with the brushes. Most of our Photoshop classes have been based on touching up existing photos, working with digital photographs, or things you might have scanned in to make some edits.

Today, we are going to actually learn how to create new artwork. We are going to make an authentic-looking chalk painting, or at least as authentic-looking as we possibly can. There are lots of different brush techniques and different types of tricks and tips that we are going to learn to make our artwork look as authentic as possible.

Here is the first attempt at a sample that I went through when creating this class. It is a picture of a tree in the wilderness. We have some grass in the lake and a mountain. You can see the moon in the background with some clouds and some leaves. We will do something similar to this in today's class.

This is an example of chalk painting. It might not look great right there on your screen. If you go to the website for the class, which is at the bottom of the screen there, you will find the class website: PhotoshopLearningZone.com/courses/202. I put a high-res copy of my Photoshop drawing up there for today's class. You can take a look at it. It has the look and feel of authentic chalk painting. That is what we are going to try to do in today's class.

We have some different student files up there. Here is one example, the first one I did. You can see it is a little blurry, a little rough there. I went through and did it again. Here is my second attempt. It looks a little better. I added some other techniques and tricks to it. This is my best one. You can see it has a canvas. The background looks a little rough on the screen, but when you get a good close look at the high-res image, you will see it looks really good.

We have some other things in here, some different samples, and the moon image I use. We will go through these in class. These are all on the website.

As far as prerequisites go, I am going to assume that you have watched my Photoshop blog. I have watched my Photoshop 101 through 201 videos. There are four in total: 101, 102, 103, and 201. Before watching this class, I am not going to take the time to go over a lot of those topics. We did touch a little bit on using brushes and freehand drawing in previous classes. Today, I am going to assume that you are not familiar with the brush tools at all.

In class, I will be using Adobe Photoshop 7 and Windows XP. The tips, tricks, and techniques I am going to show you in today's class are pretty much universal to all versions of Photoshop. You should be fine whether you are using Elements or a newer version of Photoshop. Everything I am going to show you today is pretty much basic stuff as far as brush drawing goes.

You will get the most out of this class if you watch the lesson completely through, then play it again, going through it with Photoshop on your own. Watch the video, watch lesson 1, and watch everything that I do to get a feel for what I am doing. Then play it again, open Photoshop, and do it with me. That is the best way to learn using these videos.

Once again, the sample files and images are on the website at PhotoshopLearningZone.com/courses/202.

Quiz

Q1. What is the primary focus of this Photoshop 202 Intermediate class?
A. Touching up existing photographs
B. Working with scanned images
C. Creating new artwork using brush tools
D. Learning about Photoshop filters

Q2. What type of artwork will students attempt to create in this class?
A. Oil painting
B. Watercolor painting
C. Chalk painting
D. Pencil sketching

Q3. Which of the following techniques will be emphasized in this class?
A. Layer masking only
B. Blending modes exclusively
C. Various brush techniques for authentic artwork
D. 3D modeling tools

Q4. Where can students find the sample images and high-resolution artwork used in the class?
A. Included on a CD with the video
B. Embedded within the Photoshop software
C. On PhotoshopLearningZone.com, under courses 202
D. Sent by email after registration

Q5. What does the instructor suggest is the most effective way to learn from the video?
A. Read the textbook before watching
B. Watch the lesson all the way through, then repeat it while following along in Photoshop
C. Skip to the advanced lessons only
D. Only listen to the audio portion

Q6. Which previous classes does the instructor expect students to have completed before this one?
A. Photoshop 301 and 302 only
B. Only Photoshop 101
C. Photoshop 101 through 201
D. No prerequisites are required

Q7. Which versions of Photoshop are the brush techniques in this lesson compatible with?
A. Only Photoshop 7
B. Only Photoshop Elements
C. Most versions, including Elements and newer versions
D. Only the latest version

Q8. What is NOT a primary topic of this class?
A. Creating digital chalk paintings
B. Freehand drawing with brushes
C. Detailed instruction on topic covered in Photoshop 101
D. Tips and tricks for more authentic-looking artwork

Answers: 1-C; 2-C; 3-C; 4-C; 5-B; 6-C; 7-C; 8-C

DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks.

Summary

Today's video from Photoshop Learning Zone focuses on using brush tools to create freehand artwork in Photoshop. Most of the previous classes have concentrated on editing existing photos, making adjustments to digital images, or working with scanned materials. In this lesson, I am shifting the focus toward creating original artwork from scratch. Specifically, we will work on making a chalk painting that looks as realistic as possible given the tools Photoshop provides.

To start, I will walk you through a sample image I made for this course. The subject is a landscape featuring a tree next to a lake, some grass, a mountain, and a moon surrounded by clouds and foliage. Our project for this class will follow a similar style and utilize the same brush techniques so you can achieve a comparable result.

This course delves into the process of chalk painting in Photoshop. While the image might not look particularly impressive at first glance or on a low-resolution display, you can view a high-resolution version of my drawing on the course website. That version really captures the texture and look of authentic chalk on canvas, which is the effect we will aim for in this lesson.

Students will find several practice files on the website, including my initial attempts at the artwork. My first drawing is a bit blurry and rough, but as I applied more techniques and refined my approach, the subsequent versions looked better. The final sample even uses a textured canvas background, which has a convincing effect when seen in detail. All of these images, along with the moon graphic and other sample elements, are available on the website for you to use as references during practice.

Before jumping in, it is important to mention the prerequisites for this course. I recommend you go through my previous Photoshop tutorials: Photoshop 101, 102, 103, and 201. These earlier lessons covered some basic brush use and freehand drawing, but in today's session, I will assume you are new to brushes and cover everything you need to know.

Throughout this class, I use Adobe Photoshop 7 on a Windows XP system. However, the techniques I cover are relevant and will work in almost any version of Photoshop, including Elements and the newer releases. The brush fundamentals taught here are applicable across the software family.

For the best learning experience, I suggest you first watch the entire lesson to understand the process. After viewing, go through the video again, this time following along step by step in Photoshop yourself. Repeating the material while actively working in the program will help reinforce the skills.

All of the sample files and additional images you need for this class can be found on the course website at PhotoshopLearningZone.com, in the courses 202 section.

You can find a complete video tutorial with step-by-step instructions on everything discussed here on my website at the link below. Live long and prosper, my friends.

Topic List

Using the Brush Tool for Freehand Drawing
Selecting and Customizing Brush Types
Creating a Chalk Painting Effect
Layering Techniques for Artwork
Simulating Canvas Texture in Photoshop
Adding Realistic Grass, Trees, and Mountains
Drawing the Moon and Clouds
Blending and Smoothing Brush Strokes
Adjusting Opacity and Flow for Brushes
Building Up Layers for Depth and Detail