Corel Painter Master - Daniel Conway

Name: Daniel Conway Occupation/Profession: Illustrator/Concept Artist/Matte Painter Employer: id Software/SplashDamage Location: London, UK Hobbies: Writing, Gardening, Hiking, Landscaping, History, Sculpture URL: www.artofconway.com

Biography

How long have you been in this profession?
Not very long actually, I've only been in the games industry for the past 8 months now. Before that I was doing contract work for Universal Records as an album cover artist.

How did you get started?
I started about 5 years ago after looking around online art forums and then discovering a handy device known as a Wacom tablet. Before I got into digital painting I'd never actually painted before, colour just wasn't something I could get into for some reason.

How long have you used Painter?
About 4 years now.

What are your top five favourite Painter features?
5. Sumie Brushes
4. Pencils
3: Canvas Rotation
2. Artists' Oils
1. Undo

What are the Painter features that allow you to distinguish your art?
Probably the blending tools, they are unparralled. Without them I doubt I could blend my colours so well.

How do you feel about Painter?
Couldnt be happier, I seem to find knew features every time I use it.

Technique

	1. I generally start roughing out shapes with base colours using a simple out brush, this stage is all about composition.
	2. Still using an oil brush I begin to add a few simple details and even some basic lighting, check out that funky fish tail.
	3. I start to add some quick water droplets, just planning out where they should go within the empty black void. I also start to draw out the water surface with the pencil tool.
	4. Adding more water and refining the fish, I also begin to detail some of hair underwater with the pencil tool.
	5. A lot more detail to the water, including reflections and refractions. The blending tools were used to smooth out the colours on the water surface to give it a nice smooth liquid look.
	6. And after a while the section is now finally complete.