Draw a beautiful sky. Colorful gray shades highlight the brightest parts of the picture

Today we will talk about how to draw clouds with a pencil. It’s difficult, I’ll say right away, but the result is worth the effort and time. I will tell you how to convey emotions in a picture, and of course I will show you step by step using one example. Let's take this picture: Cloud - unexplained phenomenon, originating from smoke and dust, creating the atmosphere on planet Earth and in the souls of people. How can the atmosphere influence people's souls? Well, for example:

Rain clouds make you sad;
Cumulonimbus - waiting;
Layered gray or white - calm;
Layered foggy - melancholy;
Cirrostratus - hope;
Fluffy - peace on the planet;
Tough and clumsy - the galaxy is in danger;
Blue, yellow color– joy, childhood;
Dark, blue, gray- a harbinger of something bad;

Color and shape convey the emotions of the artist, the emotions of the painting. Be extremely careful when depicting clouds in your painting. The author's vision does not always coincide with the vision of mere mortals. Hence it turns out: the artist sees it this way. What I described above are my personal associations with clouds. Perhaps you have a different opinion. This is fine. I wanted to show youth, calmness, gentleness and serenity in the picture. I hope you will see all this in the lesson:

How to draw clouds with a pencil step by step

Step one. Let's draw a horizon line, using circles we will show the clouds, the girl and in the background a forest, a lighthouse, and islands.
Step two. Using smaller circles we will show fluffy clouds. Let's draw the girl and the background in more detail.
Step three. Now slowly draw the clouds with light strokes. Let's add vegetation in the background and seagulls in the foreground.
Step four. We add shadows using shading for realism and create beauty.
If you don't succeed the first time, don't worry. Worth trying again! Better yet, attach your work under this article and comment on the work of other readers. Let's look for mistakes together and fix them! And try to portray it again.

First of all, you need to choose realistic colors for the sky. So super-bright acid colors immediately go to the side.

Secondly, think about the weather.

If the sky is clear and changes from deep blue to light blue on the horizon, then there is not enough steam in the air and it will be impossible to find any fluffy air clouds. Only clear, well-defined clouds are possible here.

And vice versa, if the sky is almost uniform in color (with a slight smooth transition between two colors - dark and light), there is a high probability of observing fluffy clouds scattered across the sky. And this is exactly what we want!

Click on the picture to view the image in full size and 100% quality.

So we have clear skies. But what does it take to get those damn clouds?

I'm sure you could paint them with a regular round brush, but I'll tell you my method. And of course I have two special brushes:

Small cloud "islands"

GIMP users download

So, let's begin! For this cloud I'm using a light yellow color: why not white? Because it looks better with blue, and because the sunlight hits it.

Then we begin to form a cloud: its shape resembles Dr. Slump’s poop.

Then I reduce the size of the brush and go over the area where it falls again more light. This is much better, although it is still far from ideal.

We work on the remaining zones of the cloud, adding density and volume to it: let it take on its shape (whatever it may be)!
As you can see, my cloud is made up of three components, and all of them are already shaded.
Imagine that this is a mountain of balls, and illuminate those areas where the light should fall.

Make the brush smaller again and in the shadow area paint small clouds that seem to break away from the overall mass.
In fact, clouds have a very variable shape, and it would not be surprising if there was a small island floating somewhere near a large cloud.

Change your brush and add some smoke near the light-lit clouds.

Finally, blur out a light smoky layer of clouds in some places. They look so unnatural!
I use the same brush for this that I used to paint the base of the cloud.

Here are the clouds I got as a result of trying to draw step by step.

Did new series stages of drawing clouds. This time I specifically sat down to draw a work that will serve for demonstration purposes and will try to tell what and how I do while drawing clouds.

I want to say right away that big influence The quality of work is influenced by such important things as experience and practice. With a lot of practice, solutions to questions and problems are often found on their own. With experience comes confidence and courage in drawing, the belief that you can achieve what needs to be depicted.

Perhaps, and most likely, without experience in drawing clouds, and I have drawn enough of them, I would not have been able to draw a version of the landscape that pleases me using this lesson. You just need to draw and enjoy your achievements, which will give you new strength and the desire to move on.

About the tools

Brush

I used this brush 99% of the time. I have it the same everywhere here.

Enabled dependence of transparency on the degree of pen pressure tablet. I hope you have a tablet, because without it you won’t be able to draw on a computer) In the picture above it is marked with a red circle.

The size of the brush does not change depending on the degree of pressure. All.

Hotkeys

1. F– I switch Photoshop to a mode where you can drag the canvas with the “Hand” tool, even though it’s not to scale. Try pressing F and dragging the canvas by clicking on it and holding down Spacebar. If it doesn't work, click again.

It’s a small thing, but it helps to pull the canvas onto the surface next to the layers panel, and not behind it.

2. Space. I think you know, by holding down the space bar, a quick hand appears, with which you can again pull the canvas. I use it all the time

3. On the buttons W And S prescribed enlargement and reduction of the hand. In I described how to do this.

4. Alt– by holding this button, the brush goes into eyedropper mode and when you poke it on the canvas, the new selected color is selected. A very important button. My entire technique for drawing clouds is based on it.

Technique

In the demo picture below I will try to demonstrate exactly how I use it.

For simplicity, 2 colors. The color of the sky and clouds. As a rule, I start with a couple of colors and add the rest later. Same thing in this demo lesson.

1. I drew a cloud.

2. Using the eyedropper (Alt) to select the color of the sky, I begin to draw jagged edges, creating random smears with different pen pressure and, accordingly, transparency.

3. Again I select the neighboring color and outline the edges with a different color. Thus, by adjusting the shape, it turns out interesting effect cloud liveliness and airiness.

1. Initial form

It was described above how the initial shape of the cloud is drawn. The subsequent stages of drawing in the same way are just a different color and shade.

2. Add a new shade

I love yellow light color. I'll add it. I will outline the edges of the cloud, mostly to the left, signaling that the sun is falling on them from the left.

You can and should do more with shade. I limited myself to 3 so as not to complicate the lesson.

3. Adding light to the clouds

I like to add layers of color to the illuminated and not-so-lit areas of the painting by changing the blending mode. IN in this case It's set to "Hard Light". I will always try everything before I decide. I press blending mode in the layers panel and scroll with the up/down buttons on the keyboard, observing the effect. If it gets tired, I leave it.

Here I wanted to achieve the illumination and color of the cloud.

4. Outlining the new light superimposed by the previous mixed layer.

Basic technology I outline the transitions from one color to another and create sharp boundaries in some places and smooth ones in others.

5. More information, getting rid of empty areas.

Often at a certain stage of drawing, when you already have something and don’t know where to move next, 3 things save you.

1. Flip the canvas horizontally.

Image – Rotate Image – Flip canvas horizontally. The closer eye begins to perceive the picture, noticing the shoals that were blurred during prolonged work.

2. Convert to black and white.

Why is this needed? When the picture is black and white, it is easy to determine whether the picture is of interest. If there are only shades of gray or too light/dark, then this picture is difficult to perceive. Need to so that in the picture there are also light And dark And average plots.

I create a new layer and fill it monochromatic color(Black, grey, white) key combination Ctrl + Backspace and change the blending mode to Chroma(Color). Thus, the canvas is painted in black and white color. This change can be disabled by turning off the layer's visibility.

3. Empty areas

The presence of even areas of the same color is also a negative point, which passes off your work as a flaw, moving further and further from a true illustration describing something real or plausible. Well, what if it's cloudless blue sky, then you should make it gradient.

More light

And I added another light smudged spot on a new layer with the “Brightness” blending mode. All these adjustments were made as a result of analyzing what happens, what you like and what you don’t like, so I think you understand that it makes no sense to repeat the process point by point. You will get one thing differently, you will like another more than I do.

I will say that the main thing is to feel local victories in your paintings and drawings. If there are successes, even small ones, it moves you and mainly gives you hope for more greater success in future.

Good luck and success in drawing!

What will you create

Do you also sometimes admire the incredible beauty of the sky? In this tutorial I'll show you how to draw beautiful, realistic clouds using Adobe Photoshop.

I'll teach you how to create cumulus, cirrus and thunderclouds using different brushes. Along the way, I'll share my favorite tools and techniques for creating incredible, realistic effects.

Looking for image sources? These drawings, for example, were inspired by Envato's amazing collections of clouds. You can search for quality stock images here.

How to work with almost any cloud image

Many people are against using image sources because they fear that this approach will lead to laziness. However, this view is a little outdated.

We absolutely need to understand what we see!

Most of what we draw imitates existing objects. And for this lesson it is important to understand that in your drawing you can imitate general atmosphere or composition of any photograph. Try to recreate some special moments that you can also change to create your own effect.

I'll be using a few stock images from Envato Elements. You can also look for your own sources if you feel the need.

I didn't rely too much on the first image, while the other two helped me create different color and lighting schemes. This is another reason to keep stock images on hand.

Organize your workplace

Now you need to organize your workplace so that it is convenient for you to look at the source.

Click Window>Arrange>2-UpVertical(Window > Arrange > 2 Up, Vertical).

This solution is very convenient if you prefer to keep the source in a separate file: it will help you better study the photo for realistic details.

Now let's draw!

1. How to draw a regular cumulus cloud

Step 1

Let's start with the background!

In Photoshop, create a new document that is 900 by 450 pixels and 300 pixels per inch. Small documents are good for practice.

Click on the background layer to create a new one. Then add a layer style Gradient Overlay(Gradient Overlay, type - linear) sky blue (using the following shades: #b3d0dd, #90dcff and #68c1f0) with the following settings:

Translator's note: In the screenshot of the layer style settings: Blending mode - Normal, Opacity - 100%, checkbox in the Align to layer column, Angle - 95 degrees, Scale - 81%.

Here's what happens:

To complete the following steps, you will need a graphics tablet.

Then, using a large round soft brush, paint a soft blue dot(colors #3a6997) - this will be a shadow, and the cloud will stand out well against its background.

Step 2

On a new layer:

Using a hard round brush (100% Hardness(hardness) and Opacity(opacity)) draw a cloud shape using #adb7c0 color. Start with a simple shape before moving on to more complex ones.

Start placing light shadows on the cloud.

Make a new layer a clipping mask to the original layer and change its blending mode to Multiply(Multiplication). Use the same color as before to paint the shadows on the cloud, and a clipping mask will help keep the shadows where you want them.

Start painting with a brush at 100% Hardness and Opacity, then gradually lower both values as you soften the shadow.

Translator's note: The names of the layers in the screenshot from top to bottom: (clipping mask layer) 0% Hardness, (clipping mask layer) 100% Hardness, cloud, shadow, Layer 0 (background layer with Gradient Overlay layer style)

Step 3

Create the main texture.

Using the brushes from the previous set, paint light, curved vertices on the cloud. Use white and light gray (#94a8bc) to start creating your lighting scheme right away.

Translator's note: the author uses the brushes “Wet gouache” and “ Quick strokes Acrylic" from the set offered to her, measuring 80 and 175 pixels, respectively.

Add some of blue color from the background, and then merge the clipping masks layers and the original cloud shape.

I used Fast Acrylic and Wet Gouache brushes for this step.

Lightly erase hard edges with a tool eraser(Eraser) (E) with 20-40% opacity.

Step 4

Now that we have a good foundation, we can move on!

As before, start drawing more shadows on the cloud. Zoom in to 200% to draw in the texture lines, this will add extra depth. Check that the option is enabled PenPressureforOpacity(Using pressure to determine opacity).

Switch to a hard round brush with pressure adjustment from the standard brush set. Use it to work on small areas where the cloud merges with the sky.

Clouds have pockets of light and shadow (see below), so further plan out the areas where you want to create depth and movement. Add some gray flecks for a realistic transition.

Step 5

Let the cloud evolve naturally. Return to your sources periodically, but don't let them distract you.

Using a soft round brush with 0% opacity, surround the cloud with a soft mist.

Step 6

Let's adjust the colors using adjustment layers.

First, add a new adjustment layer GradientMap(gradient map) light blue (#c6cbd4 and #b4cbdc), change the blending mode to ColorBurn(Darkening the base).

Create a new adjustment layer Levels(Levels) with settings as in the screenshot below. This will add the definition that is needed for this look.

Step 7

Now that we have achieved the required intensity, we can move on to drawing the details. First, let's balance the sky.

A quick way to paint the sky is to simply use a new layer. Paint on it with a soft round brush using a light blue color.

Change the opacity constantly and don't worry if it looks sloppy!

A soft brush is best for cirrus clouds, but a hard edge will help highlight the details.

Continue working on the background, adding small clouds somewhere in the distance. Create a sense of depth by drawing clouds of fog around the cloud.

Step 8

Now that we have the colors we want, we can focus on the finishing touches.

Add new layers and try to paint swirls on them using brushes various forms. Switch to brush Chalk(Chalk) to add realism to your clouds - the extra texture will instantly make them look more alive and real.

Finally, add a touch of yellow to show the impact. sunlight on the cloud and sky.

And here is the final image!