Discover the process of creating abstract digital art using multiple artboards and different techniques. Learn how to use brush tools, change color and opacity, add texture with brush tips, and blend layers to achieve unique visual effects.
Key Insights
- The article explains the step-by-step process of creating abstract art on digital artboards. The process includes adding layers, selecting and testing brush tips, changing foreground color and opacity, and testing effects on smaller artboards before applying them to larger ones.
- The text offers guidance on how to add texture to artboards, including the selection of textured brush tips and the adjustment of brush settings such as spacing and opacity. The author also demonstrates how to use an Eyedropper tool to sample and change colors.
- The article further provides insights on how to blend layers to create different effects. This includes hiding layers temporarily to assess visual impact, hovering over different blend modes to preview the results, and selecting the preferred mode to finalize the artwork.
Note: These materials offer prospective students a preview of how our classes are structured. Students enrolled in this course will receive access to the full set of materials, including video lectures, project-based assignments, and instructor feedback.
In this video, we will be continuing to add to Artboard 1. Currently, this file is set up to have three large artboards and five small artboards. This provides an opportunity to create multiple large artboards while using the smaller ones to test different brush tips, colors, and techniques.
This video serves as an example of how I might fill out Artboard 1 with abstract art and techniques. So, let us begin. I will begin by clicking on Artboard 1 and adding another layer.
I will title this layer “Textured Corners” by double-clicking and typing “Textured Corners, ” then pressing ENTER. Next, I will find a brush tip that adds some texture to the open borders. I will go to the Brush Tool, located in the same gallery as the Mixer Brush Tool, by clicking and holding, then selecting Brush Tool.
I will then toggle the Brush Settings panel and select an appropriate brush tip. I will choose this one, and let us see what it currently looks like. If I click and drag, I cannot currently see anything.
This is because I still have the Textured Corners artboard highlighted. Instead, I will go back to Artboard 5 and select the Brush Tips artboard that covers Artboard 5. If I click, I can get a good feel for what this brush might look like. The first thing I would like to change is the color.
I do not really like this yellow. So, I will go back to the Tools Bar, select the Foreground color, and change it. I will choose a darker blue and click OK.
Next, I want to change the opacity so that it is not too bold. I will click on the dropdown slider and drag it to about 43%. Clicking on Artboard 5, I can preview the result, and I think it will match well with the blue corners.
Next, I will scroll up in my file view and click on Artboard 1, selecting the Textured Corners layer. If I click and drag, we can begin to see the effect. I like the appearance of this, and I will go over this corner multiple times to give it some varied texture.
In addition, I will scroll up and then hold CTRL while scrolling down with the mouse to adjust my view. I will do the same thing in the other corner—first painting a large area, then layering additional strokes to deepen the color in the corners. Next, let us add a bit of texture to the remaining corners.
I will also change my brush head. I will choose a different brush because I prefer its texture. In addition, I will reduce the spacing slightly and lower the opacity further.
I will double-click and type in 20. Next, let us change the color from this dark purple-blue to a shade of green. To select a color resembling green, I can use the Eyedropper Tool.
The Eyedropper Tool is located in the Tools Bar, and it allows us to sample the color that the cursor is hovering over. Therefore, if I click in the green area, my Foreground color will change to green. If I click in the blue, it will change to blue.
I will click in the green, and while this is a good starting point, I would like to adjust it slightly. I will open the Foreground color and darken it a bit, then click OK. With the Foreground color set, I will return to the Brush Tool, which still has the preferred brush tip selected.
I will increase the brush size to about 120 pixels and press ENTER to close the window. Next, I will begin dragging to apply the color. Each time I click, I apply a darker green over the existing low-opacity strokes.
I would like this corner to be very dark, so I will click and drag several times. I will repeat the process in the opposite corner, blending slightly into the center area. I will do the same on the other side as well.
Now, we can see that we have added a bit of texture in each corner. The final change I would like to make is blending some of these layers together. There are a couple of ways to do this.
The first is to adjust the blend mode as you create the layer. The second is to go to the Layers Panel, select the layer you want to blend, and choose how it should interact with the image. For example, I will return to the Green Layer.
I will temporarily hide it to view the layers underneath. Now, I will go to the Blend Mode menu above the Layers Panel. If I hover over the different blend modes, I can preview how each mode will affect the image.
There are many different blend options. I will simply select the one I prefer. I think I like the “Screen” blend mode, so I will choose it by clicking.
To revert it, I simply click “Screen” again and change it back to “Normal.” I will now switch it back to “Screen.” Next, let us blend the Textured Corners layer.
I can select the Textured Corners layer, then navigate to the Blend Mode menu and explore different options. I like how the “Divide” mode looks, so I will select “Divide.” Although the final result uses different colors than I originally planned, I like the appearance it provides.
It gives a very light, airy effect, so I will leave it as is. As we zoom out, we can see that we have multiple artboards in this file. I would encourage you to explore your creativity using Artboards 1,2, and 3 to create three different abstract compositions.
In the next video, we will begin adjusting photos. See you there!