Quick answer: This Photoshop digital painting tutorial follows a simple workflow: create a canvas at the right size, enable pen pressure in the brush settings, sketch on a low-opacity layer, block in values in grayscale or flat colors, add light and shadow with Multiply and Screen or Color Dodge layers, then merge and paint opaquely to refine, using the Mixer Brush or a soft round for blends. Finish with adjustment layers for color and contrast, flip the canvas to check errors, and export a copy for web or print.
Photoshop was built to edit photographs, which is why painting in it can feel awkward at first. The default brushes ignore pen pressure until you tell them otherwise, the interface is crowded with photo tools, and the program does not assume you want to paint at all.
Once it is configured, though, Photoshop is a capable painting environment, used widely in illustration, concept art and game studios. This tutorial walks through setup, the essential brush settings, a complete painting from blank canvas to finished image, and the shortcuts that make painting fluid. When you are ready for longer, project-based lessons, our collection of advanced digital painting tutorials and masterclasses picks up from here.
What You Need Before Starting
- Photoshop on Windows or macOS, or Photoshop on iPad (menus differ slightly; this tutorial follows the desktop version).
- A pressure-sensitive pen tablet or pen display. A mouse works for selections but makes painting very difficult.
- Your tablet driver installed and up to date, so Photoshop can read pressure and tilt.
- A reference image or a clear idea of what you want to paint. A simple landscape or still life is ideal for a first project.
Part 1: Set Up Photoshop for Painting
Step 1: Create a new document
Choose File > New. For practice, a canvas of about 3000 x 2000 pixels at 300 pixels per inch gives enough resolution to zoom and print at a moderate size without slowing most computers. Set Color Mode to RGB, 8-bit, and the background to white.
Step 2: Switch to the Painting workspace
Choose Window > Workspace > Painting. This brings forward the Brushes, Brush Settings, Color and Swatches panels and hides many photo panels. You can rearrange and save your own version later with New Workspace.
Step 3: Turn on pen pressure
Select the Brush tool (B) and a hard round brush. Open Window > Brush Settings.
- Click Shape Dynamics and set Size Jitter’s Control to Pen Pressure. Your lines will now taper when you press lightly.
- Click Transfer and set Opacity Jitter’s Control to Pen Pressure. Light pressure now gives lighter strokes.
- Optionally set a Minimum Diameter of 10 to 30 percent in Shape Dynamics, so lines never vanish completely.
The options bar at the top also has pressure buttons for opacity and size, which override the panel settings when switched on. If pressure seems not to work, check those buttons first.
Step 4: Set brush smoothing
The Smoothing value in the options bar stabilizes strokes. Around 10 to 30 percent helps clean line work; turn it to 0 for loose painting, since high smoothing adds lag.
Step 5: Build a small brush set
You do not need hundreds of brushes. Create or choose:
- Hard round with pressure opacity: for sketching, blocking in and most painting.
- Soft round: for gentle gradients, glows and atmosphere.
- Textured or chalk brush: for painterly edges and surfaces.
- Flat or square brush: for planes, architecture and blocky strokes.
Save each with your pressure settings via the Brushes panel menu so you do not have to reconfigure them.
Essential Shortcuts for Painting in Photoshop
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Brush / Eraser | B / E | B / E |
| Brush size smaller / larger | [ / ] | [ / ] |
| Eyedropper while painting | Hold Alt | Hold Option |
| Swap foreground and background colors | X | X |
| On-canvas color picker (HUD) | Alt + Shift + right-click | Control + Option + Command + click |
| Rotate view | Hold R and drag | Hold R and drag |
| Pan | Hold Spacebar | Hold Spacebar |
| Undo / step backward | Ctrl + Z | Command + Z |
| New layer | Ctrl + Shift + N | Command + Shift + N |
| Clipping mask | Ctrl + Alt + G | Command + Option + G |
| Free Transform | Ctrl + T | Command + T |
| Brush opacity | Number keys 1 to 0 (10% to 100%) | Number keys 1 to 0 |
Map undo and the eyedropper to your pen’s side buttons or tablet keys if your driver allows it. It keeps your hand on the pen.
Part 2: Paint a Complete Image Step by Step
The example here is a simple landscape at sunset, but the same stages apply to portraits, creatures or still lifes.
Step 6: Make value thumbnails
On a separate small canvas, around 800 x 500 pixels, paint four to six tiny compositions in three or four grays using a hard brush. Spend a couple of minutes on each. Pick the one with the clearest silhouette and strongest contrast at the focal point. This stage prevents the most common failure: a beautifully rendered painting with a weak composition.
Step 7: Sketch on a low-opacity layer
On your main canvas, create a new layer called “Sketch.” Draw the main shapes loosely with a hard round at small size. When done, lower the layer opacity to around 20 to 30 percent and keep it on top as a guide, or hide it once you are confident.
Step 8: Fill the background and block in values
Add a layer below the sketch called “Block-in.” Fill the canvas with a mid-tone gray or a colored ground (a muted orange works well for sunsets; select Edit > Fill or press Alt/Option + Backspace/Delete to fill with the foreground color). Then block in the big value shapes from your thumbnail: dark landforms, lighter sky, mid-value water. Work large and fast with a hard brush. Avoid detail.
Step 9: Add color
There are two common routes:
- Grayscale then color: paint the block-in in grays, then add a layer set to Color mode or Overlay mode on top and paint hues over the values. Follow up with a Gradient Map adjustment layer to quickly map darks and lights to a palette.
- Direct color: pick colors at the right value from the start. This is harder to judge but often gives richer results.
For a sunset, keep the sky warm near the horizon and cooler higher up, and give the shadowed landforms a cooler, slightly purple or blue cast.
Step 10: Establish light and shadow
Create a layer set to Multiply and clip it to the block-in (Ctrl/Command + Alt/Option + G). Paint shadow shapes in a muted cool color, adjusting opacity until the shadow values match your thumbnail. Then add a layer set to Screen, Linear Dodge (Add) or Color Dodge and paint the warm light hitting edges and the sun’s glow. Use these glow modes sparingly; they lift saturation quickly and can wash out the image.
Step 11: Merge and refine with opaque painting
Once the big decisions are made, merge the block-in, shadow and light layers (select them and press Ctrl/Command + E). Painting directly on one layer now gives you more control. Use the eyedropper constantly: pick a color between two areas and paint over the transition with a hard brush at reduced opacity. This builds painterly blends rather than smooth airbrushing.
Step 12: Use the Mixer Brush for blending
The Mixer Brush tool (grouped with the Brush tool; press Shift + B to cycle) behaves like wet paint, picking up color from the canvas as you stroke. In the options bar, try a preset like “Moist” or “Wet,” and lower the Mix and Load values for subtle blending. Turning on “Sample All Layers” lets it blend across layers. Use it in limited areas; overused, it creates a smeared look.
Step 13: Add texture and detail at the focal point
Switch to a textured brush for rocks, foliage and clouds. Detail the area where the eye should land: perhaps the sun’s reflection in the water or a small silhouetted figure. Keep the edges and contrast strongest there and softer elsewhere. Add a few sharp highlights on water ripples or rim-lit edges.
Step 14: Check the painting regularly
- Flip the canvas with Image > Image Rotation > Flip Canvas Horizontal. Errors in composition and perspective jump out. Assign it a custom shortcut through Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.
- Check values by adding a Black & White adjustment layer at the top and toggling it on and off.
- Zoom out to thumbnail size often. Window > Arrange > New Window for [file] opens a second, zoomed-out view of the same document that updates as you paint.
Step 15: Final color adjustments
Add adjustment layers at the top of the stack:
- Curves: deepen darks or lift highlights for punch.
- Color Balance or Selective Color: unify color temperature.
- Hue/Saturation: calm over-saturated areas.
- Gradient Map at low opacity, in Soft Light mode: a quick way to harmonize the whole image.
Adjustment layers are non-destructive. Lower their opacity or mask them to apply effects only where needed.
Step 16: Save and export
Save the layered master as a PSD. For sharing online, choose File > Export > Export As and save a JPEG or PNG at a web-friendly size, often 2000 pixels on the long side. For print, flatten a copy, convert to the profile your print lab specifies, and save as a TIFF.
Layer Organization That Saves Time
Paintings get messy fast. A light structure helps:
- Name layers as you create them (double-click the name).
- Group related layers with Ctrl/Command + G, such as “Sky,” “Water,” “Foreground.”
- Use clipping masks so shading stays inside base shapes.
- Use layer masks instead of erasing when you might want to restore an area later.
- Merge regularly once decisions are final, so you are not managing dozens of layers.
Common Problems When Painting in Photoshop
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No pressure sensitivity | Brush settings or driver issue | Set Shape Dynamics and Transfer to Pen Pressure; reinstall or update tablet driver; restart Photoshop |
| Strokes lag behind the pen | High Smoothing, huge canvas or brush spacing | Lower Smoothing; reduce canvas size; increase brush spacing slightly |
| Painting looks muddy | Over-blending, too many layer modes | Merge and repaint with opaque, chosen colors; reduce Mixer Brush use |
| Colors look dull after export | Color profile mismatch | Use sRGB when exporting for web |
| Painting on the wrong layer | Layer selection | Ctrl/Command + click the canvas with the Move tool’s auto-select, or check the Layers panel before painting |
| Cannot paint inside a selection | Wrong layer or locked layer | Check layer locks and that the selection is active on the target layer |
Tips for Taking Your Photoshop Painting Further
- Paint studies from master paintings to learn color and brush economy.
- Record actions for repetitive tasks such as creating a new painting document with your favorite layers.
- Use Liquify (Filter > Liquify) carefully to nudge proportions late in a painting.
- Try custom texture brushes made from scanned paper or photos (Edit > Define Brush Preset).
- Study structured courses. Guided programs can fast-track skills like anatomy and environment design; see our overview of the best courses for digital painting for options at different levels.
FAQs
Is Photoshop good for digital painting?
Yes. Although it began as a photo editor, Photoshop has a powerful brush engine, layer system and adjustment tools, and it is widely used in illustration and concept art.
How do I enable pen pressure in Photoshop?
Open Brush Settings, set Shape Dynamics > Size Jitter Control and Transfer > Opacity Jitter Control to Pen Pressure, and make sure your tablet driver is installed.
What canvas size should I use for digital painting in Photoshop?
Around 3000 x 2000 pixels at 300 ppi works well for practice. For print, size the canvas to the final print dimensions at about 300 ppi.
Which Photoshop brush is best for beginners?
A hard round brush with pressure-controlled opacity. It handles sketching, blocking in and blending via the eyedropper method.
How do I blend colors in Photoshop?
Pick an in-between color with the eyedropper and paint over the transition at low opacity, use a soft round brush for gentle gradients, or use the Mixer Brush for a wet-paint effect.
Can I paint in Photoshop with a mouse?
You can, but without pressure sensitivity strokes will lack variation and control. A basic pen tablet is a large improvement for painting.
Final Thoughts
This Photoshop digital painting tutorial covers a complete, repeatable process: configure pressure, plan with thumbnails, block in values, add color and light, merge and refine, then adjust and export. Repeat it on several small paintings before tackling large ones. To keep building with more complex lighting, character work and environment design, explore our list of the best digital painting tutorials for advanced artists.
