Portray a strong female pin-up

Takes a different approach to the pin-up genre, as she depicts a beautiful, confident woman in an engaging fantasy setting

or this workshop, I’m going to show my process in creating my Earth Guardian illustration in Photoshop. I’ll explain how to use colour, composition and posture to help convey a feeling of beauty, bounty and wholeness.

I love painting happy and beautiful women and girls, and when I think of pin-up art, I want to see someone who’s beautiful, but also looks like she has a life beyond simply posing for the viewer. I

Fwant her beauty and attractiveness to not rely solely on how much skin she’s showing. There’s nothing wrong with a little cheesecake, but as is the case here, I’ll often want to try something different.

As I brainstorm ideas, I know right off the bat that I want to paint something that feels warm, lush and full of life. I’ll use bright, warm colours, and work on a composition with lots of balanced energy and big, rounded framing elements. I’m keen to give the character a confident posture and full figure, and fill the composition with natural elements.

I’ll show how I set up the piece and explain my thought processes regarding the character’s design. I’ll detail my method of adding colour to a sketch in a way that enables you to add vibrant colour without sacrificing the detail of your sketch. I’ll also show you that it’s okay to rework an area that isn’t coming together, and why it’s helpful to keep a copy of your original sketch to refer back to.