2020.11.27

Let’s try drawing clouds (2) [Types and Features of Cloud Brushes]

When you want to paint clouds, but don’t know how to get that fluffy, chewy look, the brushes are your best friend.

Mediban Paints offers two types of cloud brushes designed to make it easier to paint clouds.
In addition to the cloud brush, there are other brushes that are easier to use for painting clouds.

Here I would like to introduce some brushes that will help you paint those clouds.
If you want to try cloud painting, please check them out.

Index

1. Types and Characteristics of Cloud Brushes

In this sky illustration, I used three different types of brushes for the clouds, plus an airbrush and other brushes.
I used three types of brushes in this illustration, plus airbrushes and other brushes.

As I have only introduced the brushes in this article, I will briefly describe how to draw the clouds.
If you want to learn more about how to paint clouds, you can also refer to this article.
▷”Let’s try drawing clouds (1) [How to draw basic clouds]”

(1) Draw the base cloud and put the shadow

The procedure for painting the clouds varies from person to person, but here I first painted the cloud shapes in white and then used an airbrush to draw the shadows.

I mainly used the Fluffy Watercolor 3 and Cloud 2 brushes for the cloud shapes.
In this case, I mainly used Fluffy Watercolor 3 and Cloud 2 for the distant clouds and slightly fuzzy, torn clouds.

【What kind of brush is “Fluffy Watercolor 3”?】

This brush has a watercolor touch.
The brush has a chewy edge, which makes it easy to create random, chewy cloud shapes, and the appropriate amount of transparency is also good for painting clouds.

By using various degrees of opacity, it becomes easier to draw fluffy edges of clouds, for example.

If you paint thin and fluffy clouds, you can draw fluffy clouds like the one on the right in the picture above.
This is useful when you want to add a little bit of fluffy thin clouds to the background.

【What kind of brush is “Cloud 2”?】

The “Cloud 2” brush has a firmer brush stroke and is just like a cloud.
When the brush is small, the color is dark and solid, but as it is enlarged, it becomes transparent and easier to paint fluffy clouds.

Lowering the opacity of the brush makes it possible to draw fuzzy clouds, as shown in the right-hand side of the image below.
I recommend this kind of hazy cloud painting because it makes the sky look more like the sky.
This hazy atmosphere can be used for fog, steam, and smoke, too.

If you draw the main cloud and the shaded area, it will look like this below.

Now that we have the cloud part, we will draw the background part.

(2) Draw the background part

Now that the main cloud has been painted, I am going to paint the thin cloud as a background.
I used Fluffy Watercolor 3, Cloud 2, and Fluffy Watercolor brushes to draw the thin clouds.

Fluffy Watercolor 3, as I mentioned earlier, can paint thin clouds simply by drawing quickly and reducing the opacity.
In this case, I used this brush to draw light clouds on both sides.

I used the Cloud 2 brush to draw thin clouds, like airplane clouds in the distance.

Fluffy Watercolor is a good brush to use when you want to paint large areas of distant, blurred clouds.
In this case, I applied a thin layer of color to the distant clouds in the lower part of the image and blurred them slightly with Gaussian blur.

【What kind of brush is “Fluffy Watercolor”?】

Fluffy Watercolor is a brush with a watercolor touch.
If you increase the brush size and spacing, it looks a little rattling, but if you narrow the spacing between brushes, you can create a dense and fluffy look.

This brush allows you to create fluffy clouds with a watercolor touch.

It’s also great for painting thin, foggy clouds, and by lowering the opacity, it blends in naturally with the sky.
It is less grainy than Cloud 2, so it is also suitable for painting distant clouds.

(3) Finished

After adjusting the areas of concern, it’s ready to go.

◆Other Cloud Brushes

I used three types of brushes, Cloud 2, Fluffy Watercolor, and Fluffy Watercolor 3 for this illustration, but Mediban Paints also has a brush called “Cloud”.

【What kind of brush is “Cloud”?】

Cloud” is a brush with the texture of pastels and colored pencils.
It is recommended when you want to draw a picture book-like pattern or a cloud with a clear silhouette in rough strokes.
By reducing the brush size and drawing a quick line, you can draw an airplane cloud.

You can also draw fluffy clouds by using Gaussian Blur to slightly blur the edges, as shown above.
If you want to draw a distant or slightly blurred background, you may use this brush as well.

There are four types of brushes introduced here: “Cloud,” “Cloud 2,” “Fluffy Watercolor,” and “Fluffy Watercolor 3”.
Each of these four types of brushes has its own characteristics and the resulting cloud impression is different.
Be sure to try them all out and choose the one that will paint your ideal clouds.

2. How to download the brushes

The four types of brushes that can be used for clouds are not included in the default brushes and must be downloaded (free).
It’s very easy to download and there are many other brushes available for use in addition to the Cloud Brush.
You can use various types of brushes other than the Cloud Brush.

【How to Download】

◆PC version

(1) Click on the cloud symbol in the lower left corner of the brush