GOBLIN TRICKERY

Dreamy background

To give this piece a late summer/early autumnal feeling, I go in heavy with the warm yellows, making the grass a little more olive and the sky a warm sunset. This helps the piece feel a little more dreamlike.

Colour overlay

I select all the pieces of fruit and put them on a single layer, overlaying a reddish orange base colour. I then select certain pieces to be a more “peach” or golden in colour, and darkened some of the red berries. Making these quick, simple adjustments helps give the effect of a wide variation, without having to individually colour each piece.

Generate texture

I used a watercolour wash to achieve the texture in this piece, and use it heavily in certain areas. These include the grass, which needs a lot of texture to make it look less flat; the character’s gown to define the folds; and her hair, to give it a little bit of shine. In Photoshop, I push that reflected light slightly using Levels and the Dodge tool.

Story details

In the story, our main character is lured by goblins to eat their enchanted food, which eventually causes her quite a lot of trouble. I want her face to look a little dreamy, because she’s under their spell. I use a large Soft brush on 10 per cent Opacity to add a little flush to her cheeks and nose.

Convey movement

Even in a relatively still scene, it’s important to convey movement with the subjects. The goblins are the main source of movement because the figure is fairly still, just slightly turning. But I use poses for the goblins in the trees that mimic monkeys or squirrels, to make them feel a little more animated.

Layering the trees

The darker branches at the top of the piece are almost a framing device to grab and pull the viewer in. The paler trees fade out into the background, while the more clearly defined branches that are part of the main composition are in focus, drawing attention to the excited goblins hanging from them.