Adding highlights to skin digital art can be a tricky process, but if done correctly, it can add a great deal of depth and realism to your artwork. Highlights can be used to bring out the texture of the skin and create a more three-dimensional look.
There are many techniques that you can use when adding highlights to your digital artwork.
Using Brushes
Using brushes is one of the easiest ways to add highlights to digital art. You can use a variety of brushes with different textures and strength settings to paint in subtle or more intense highlights depending on what look you are trying to achieve.
A soft round brush with low opacity is good for creating subtle highlights, while a stronger brush with higher opacity will give stronger more defined highlights. It’s also important to remember that the direction of your brush strokes should follow the contours of the skin for a realistic look.
Selective Colorization
Another way to add highlights is through selective colorization. This technique involves selecting areas that you want highlighted and then adjusting the hue, saturation, and brightness levels until you get your desired results.
This method is great for adding subtle highlights without making drastic changes to the overall image. It’s also important not to overdo it with this technique as too much colorization can make the image look unnatural.
Overlaying
You can also use overlays as a way of adding highlights to digital art. Overlays are images or textures that you can place over an existing image and adjust their opacity until you get your desired effect.
Overlays provide an easy way of creating subtle lighting effects on skin without having to do any extensive painting or colorizing. Conclusion:
Adding highlights to digital art can be daunting at first, but with practice, it becomes easier and more natural looking with time. The best way will depend on what kind of effect you are trying to achieve, but using brushes, selective colorization, and overlays are all popular methods for adding realistic looking highlights to skin digital art.