Henry Has
Digital matte painting brings imaginary worlds to life. If you’ve gaped at cinematic scenes of galactical cities, medieval landscapes, or sweeping panoramas, that is often digital matte painting at work. 2D paintings are blended with 3D elements for present-day matte paintings in movies and virtual games. Image-editing and painting applications like Adobe Photoshop are used, with 3D rendering software like 3DMax, Autodesk Maya, and video editors like Adobe After Effects.
In the days before computer-generated imagery, matte painting masters applied extensive knowledge and research to every detail of a matte painting. They would paint anything a film director required. This involved exquisitely-detailed scenery on large plates of clear glass. These oil paintings on glass had transparent areas on which the real actors would be filmed. The camera would then be able to capture realistic scenes, whether floating across planets in a starlit sky, wrestling with monsters in a stormy sea, or marching triumphantly in ancient Rome.
Browse the tutorials below to explore Adobe Photoshop’s functions and commands for creating digital matte paintings. Even if you don’t have a background in art or CGI, you’ll learn the vast possibilities of reference photos and how to construct composites. You’ll learn to apply correct perspective, horizon line, vanishing point, light and shadow, color harmony, and more:
Basic Principles of Digital Matte Painting, by Daniel Johnson
Create an Earth Shattering Disaster Scene in Photoshop, by Ed Lopez
Matte Painting 101: Basic Destruction Techniques, by Ed Lopez
Learning Concept Art and Matte Painting, by Jonah West
Create a Fantasy City Using Architectural Photographs, by Jonas De Ro
Using Lighting, Atmospherics and Digital Illustration Techniques for Matte Painting, by Stas Lobachev
Painting Futuristic Cities, by Robh Ruppel
Getting Started With Digital Matte Painting, by Ed Lopez
Matte Painting Tutorial “The Lighthouse in the Glacier” by Antonio Neto
Making Of “Hidden Passage”, by Eva Kedves
Making of “Urban”, by Pierre Fabre
Matte Painting Tutorial “Across The Rooftops” by Jan Sarbort
Making of “Postapo City” by Banjavor Jakub Javora
Matte Painting Tutorial of “Pandora Afterdark”, by Stas Lobachev
Sci-fi Environment Concept by Björn Wirtz
Making Of “Archetype”, by Francesco Corvino
(panorama detail shown)
Making of “The Futuristic City”, by Sourav Dhar
Matte Painting Tutorial – “Cleopatra Queen of Egypt” by Frederic St-Arnaud
Making of “City’s Heart” by Fabio Barretta
The Making of “Barbarossa” by Daniele Scerra
Matte Painting Tutorial “Cities Around The World” by Szabolcs Menyhei
Matte Painting Tutorial “The Alien Civilization” by Eric Dima-ala
Simple Matte Painting Tutorial by ~KokoZhang
“Fable of the Night” – Matte Painting Tutorial, by Andrew Teng
Making of “By the Sea” by Adrian Baluta
Matte Painting Tutorial “Meteor Strike Scene” by Irene Navarro
Making of “The Votussoloum” Matte Painting, by Lincoln Renall
Create an Epic Storm at Sea Scene, by Vik Aadi
Use Photography to Create a Scenic Matte Painting From a Sketch in Photoshop, by Nat Monney
Create a Devastating Tidal Wave in Photoshop, by Ed Lopez
Matte Painting Tutorial by Der-Reiko
How to Create a Period Matte Painting
Making Of “Hot House” by Kenichiro Tomiyasu
