This tutorial is a detailed, step by step walkthrough of my process in making a Sci-fi character concept / Illustration. This image was originally an assignment for a PC Gamer cover, which unfortunately never got used. The subject is a sexy Borg female. Since it was a cover assignment, I wanted to have some fun and do a little spoof on the famous Janet Jackson Rolling Stone cover.

This a very long and detailed workshop. It’s a also a Photoshop (PS) tour-de-force. Meaning, I wanted to pull out all the stops and use as much PS “tricks” and fx as possible. This is a special treat for those who want an insider look at how to leverage PS to quickly add a professional looking finish.

I often use this same approach for creating concept art, and the techniques can also be applied to texture mapping. There’s a lot of content here, and we’ve got a lot to talk about, so let’s get right into it.

Step 1: Rough sketch

Since I already had an idea for the pose in mind, I go ahead and start sketching the figure. To draw, I use my trusty hard round brush and a cool 50% gray with a slight green hue. At this stage, I also start to design the areas of machine parts and roughly define machine details.

Step 2: Adding Tone

1. I drop the opacity of the drawing layer to about 75%.

2. I fill a layer beneath the drawing with a middle gray (50% gray) that has a touch of cool green (about 3% saturation).

3. I add a first pass of shadow using a Multiply layer. A 50% gray is enough to give a nice transparent wash of tone.

This approach is similar to using gray markers on paper. Adding a bit of color to the gray tone will help us later on when we start the coloring process.

Step 3: Redefine the drawing

I come back in and re-establish the drawing to give some structure. I also start to add details like facial features and machine parts. This gives me a road map and sets me up nicely for the tonal rendering.

Step 4: Begin Tonal Render

Up to this point, I was working with layers and transparencies, now it’s time to go opaque. First, I want to define the extremities of the value range. I do that by:

1. Taking a dark green-gray mixture (almost going to black) and punching in the darkest areas.

2. I take a cool-green white mixture (almost going to white) and punch in the areas of brightest light and highlights.

I start with the head because I want the head to be the primary focal point. This is generally good practice for character pieces. Having such high contrast areas around the head will really help to draw the eye there. Working this way also gives me a benchmark, or guide for the rest of the tonal render.

Step 5: Tonal Render cont.

Satisfied with the head I work my way down to the body and then the arms. As I work, I’m constantly referring to the head (focal point), to help me add the right balance of detail and polish throughout the piece.

Step 6: Polishing the tonal render

Again, starting with our focal point, I add a final layer of polish to our tonal render:

1. I define the tech around the eyepiece, arms and hands. Since her face is the focal point of the image, the eyes will be the focal point of the face. I also want to follow the old Illustrator’s rule and give the hands extra attention as well.

2. I refine the edges. I generally work with a firm brush first and then come back in with a hard opaque brush to get some nice crisp edges. I use hard edges like values and punch them in to define form and add nice contrast.

My main areas of focus are the edges of her flesh, especially her arms, face and chest. Taking the time to refine edges gives our character a higher level of polish and detail.

Even though I’m using Photoshop, I always come back to my experience with traditional media and solid fundamentals. Fundamentals carry over to any medium, and this an example of how they apply to digital.

Step 7: Tonal Render Final

Once the figure is complete, I address the background. Using a textural brush, I play with the values and add some texture to the background. My focus here is to ground our character and make the overall image cohesive. I also continue to refine edges and define the silhouette of the figure.

I sharpen the edges of the contour and push the contrast to make the figure “pop” off the background. Finally, I make a slight rotation of the image, adjust the canvas size and our tonal render is complete. Now we can move on to color.

A close-up of the finished tonal render.

Step 8: Color

1. I create a palette using a cool green as our primary local color.

2. I take an Overlay layer above our tonal render and fill it with a desaturated mixture of our cool green.

Because our tonal render had a bit of saturation, it will create a mix closer to our intended color. This is one drawback of using blending modes to colorize art. It can be tricky to control how the colors turn out.

Step 9: Color cont.

Having defined our base local color, I start bringing up the saturation. First, I start with the greens. Then, I paint in warm reds for flesh and in areas of the machine parts. I also punch up the saturation in the eyes and face to really draw the eye to the face and give me a nice contrast of color.

I continue to build saturation slowly by adding glazes of color. I add and refine color until I reach a balance of warms and greens; gray and saturated areas.

Step 10: Contrast and background

Satisfied with the color, I want to push the contrast. I add touches of dodge using a desaturated gray-green. I want to give the illusion of a bright spotlight from above so I push the highlights of the planes facing up, especially the forehead, cheek, arms and breasts. I also push the brightness of the negative space around the head.

Next, I make an opaque layer and continue to punch in whites and refine edges. I also continue finesse edges. My goal is to create a nice play between the hard edges of machine parts and softer edges of the flesh.

Step 11: Adjust the canvas and composition

Since this was I cover assignment, I adjust the composition and canvas size to include space for the logo at the top of the page. I also refine details in her arm and eyepiece. Essentially, my color render is complete and I can now begin to add materials.

Step 12: Adding “Bling”

“Bling” is my nickname for material overlays and Photoshop fx. Material overlays give digital pieces a nice touch of polish and it’s really quick and easy to do. If it’s done right, it gives your pieces some nice eye-catching pop (or “bling”) without a lot of effort.

1. First I take a pre-made Borg machine texture and begin to overlay it over the machine parts.

2. Then I take a pre-made vein texture sheet and overlay it over the flesh.

In this case I play with several blending modes until I settle on “Screen” mode. Each blending mode, gives a unique effect, so I always take some time and have fun experimenting.

Detail shots of the first material pass. It’s still very subtle but adds a nice layer of detail. Since materials are so easy to do, it’s easy to get carried away. Materials can add a nice layer of polish, but it comes second to the foundation of the piece, which is solid drawing and good design.

Step 13: Adding “Bling” to the background

Well, it works so nice on the figure, let’s add some bling to the background. For this background, I experimented like crazy. Using another pre-made Borg machine texture, I used several different blending modes and PS fx to get the final result:

1. I adjust the levels and contrast of the texture.

2. I overlay the texture sheet using “negative” mode.

3. I duplicate the same texture layer and overlay it as “linear dodge”.

4. I brush out the areas around the figure using alpha masks.

Since this is a character piece, I don’t want the background to be too busy or noisy. I drop the opacity of the background texture to make it more of a subtle touch. I want to focus to still be on the character and I always believe in giving the viewer’s eyes plenty of space to rest.

Step 14: Dodge

Speaking of rest for the eye, I decide to remove the vein texture overlay and to paint the flesh details by hand. This came from stepping back away from the piece and taking some time to do research on Borg skin. Don’t be afraid to step away from your piece and get a fresh perspective.

1. l also add another layer of dodge and keep pushing the contrast. Again, starting with the head and the planes facing up I use a de-saturated greeny-gray to paint in dodge to really give the illusion of overhead spotlight on our figure. The hotspot created by the dodge was a nice happy accident.

2. Then I add dodge to the cables to give then more depth. I also use dodge to add some subtle red LED like “lights” in her legs, body and arms to help balance the red in her face. Then I push the contrast again of the silhouette.

3. Finally I paint in dots of light on the skin and refine the edges of the highlights. This gives her skin the illusion of being slightly cold, wet, transparent and plastic. Not a good look for normal female skin, but perfect for cyborg skin.

Step 15: Finishing touches

I brush in a combination of dodge and opaque color for the background. I use a more saturated greed and add touches of dodge around the head.Then, I brush in a greenish white using a textural brush to make a compositional cross of light. This marks the end of the rendering process.

Step 16: Final Image

This step was necessary because the piece was created using a Cintiq. From my experience Cintiq displays tend to have much greater contrast and saturation then a normal monitor so I wanted to adjust the image and present it the way I saw it on the Cintiq.

1. I take the finished piece and move to the second monitor.

2. I add adjustment layers and play with the curves and levels until the contrast matches what I saw on the Cintiq.

Details of the Final Image.

Generally if you working on normal tablet and monitor, this step may not be necessary. Adjustment layers are a quick and easy to apply, so it can be a fun way to make some subtle changes.