There's a challenging threshold for beginners to cross as they learn to digital paint: dynamic brush strokes. It's a pretty linear process as you learn to make smooth, crisp, rendering with the basic three brushes. Taking the leap to active, dynamic, strokes can seem daunting. That's where the newest edition to the Ctrl+Paint store comes in: Dynamic Brushwork. Don't expect to flail about with stylus in hand - my goal was to provide a structured framework to achieve expressive results.

Case Studies

Since the technique is a bit abstract, I included three real-world examples to give the workflow context. Each one begins with a partially completed painting, and adds elements to the composition using the dynamic brushwork method. If you want to follow along, the PSD files are included!

Custom Brushes

The success of this method hinges on custom brushes. With that in mind, I included a pack of nine brushes (6 of which replicate natural media) for you to use. These are the exact same brushes I'll be using on-screen in the videos. Downloading another artist's brushes can be daunting, so I've included a 15 minute video explaining the intended use of each one. Ultimately, though, I encourage you to expand from this 'starter pack' of natural media brushes.

Available Now!

If you want to add a bit of dynamism and energy to your marks, but don't know where to begin, I encourage you to check out Dynamic Brushwork in the Ctrl+Paint store. As always, this premium series costs $10 - and the proceeds keep Ctrl+Paint alive and ad-free. Thanks for your support!