Mastering the Mixer brush

Wangjie Li makes good use of Photoshop’s Mixer brush to develop a traditional look on the digital canvas, as he paints a female portrait

Develop a traditional look on the digital canvas. Wangjie Li is your guide.

Digital painting tools have come on in leaps and bounds in the past few years. Artists can use tablets to produce works of art at home or away, with all the convenience that brings. And it’s also become easier than ever to take traditional painting techniques and apply them to the digital canvas.

I’m a young artist who approaches his work with great enthusiasm. I’m keen to take the idea of expressive elements from the Old Masters and portray them in my work, because it’s important to pass on these ideas to a new generation of art fans.

I’ve learned the majority of my painting techniques by studying both the Old Masters and those digital artists whose art stands out from the crowd. My favourites are John Singer Sargent and Craig Mullins; you can learn much by studying their work.

Recently, I received a few questions on how to recreate the look of an oil painting in Photoshop. Although many people think the brush settings aren’t important, I still believe that configuring an appropriate tool can help the artist in many ways.

My secret is to use the Mixer Brush tool in Photoshop. Artists can quickly make brushstrokes in the style of a traditional artist. I’ll be using the Mixer brush a lot in this workshop. I’m happy that I can share my ideas about Mixer Brush tool and hope you guys like my workshop.