Often when artists discover digital painting, they learn a tremendous amount about how to draw and paint the human form. However, as you develop new and exciting project ideas, it will be necessary to understand how to replicate clothing realistically on your figures. In this tutorial, you will learn how to paint a shirt in Photoshop with an intuitive method.

1. Consider investing in a graphics tablet. It is much easier to paint with a pen than a mouse.

2. Don't break out the black paint. Shadows are rarely actually black. They are darker shades of the midtone color.

3. Try to have a good contrast between light and dark. An overly bright or dark picture isn't pleasing to the eye. Place your light source at interesting angles to the subject.

4. If you have trouble blocking out the fold shadow areas, squint at your reference picture. This will make more contrast and make them easier to see.

5. Create greyscale clothes from the beginning so that you can easily colorize them later.

6. Work at twice the size you need so that you get a sharper quality when you size back down to the final dimensions.

7. You can experiment with duplicating your final layer and blending it with the copy. Use Multiply to get a darker image or use Screen to lighten it.

You will need basic knowledge of the tool set in your preferred image editor to perform this how to article. Also, it helps to have a general understanding of light and shadow. Depending on your painting skill level, it can take any where from 15 minutes to an hour to paint a garment top. The technique used on this page can be used in most modern paint programs although Adobe Photoshop will be the specific one used.

You should search for a reference photo of the type of shirt that you want to reproduce. If you prefer to use the web, try searching the Creative Commons for a picture to use. Once you find one that is close in shape and material to what you need, bring it into Photoshop.

Creative Commons Search

• Photo Credit for Reference Used in This Tutorial:

Your first task will be to draw the shape of the shirt over your model. Usually, you won't be lucky enough to find a picture that perfectly matches your pose, but you should be able to get a general idea of how the shirt would mold around your subject.

1. Open the image of your figure.
2. If your path window is closed, open it. Go to the main menu and pick Window -> Paths.
3. With both windows open side by side, use the pen tool to draw the shape of the shirt around your form. This will give you a new path. Click P to access the pen tool.
4. Make separate outlines for large or long sleeves. Likewise, create paths for trims, buttons, frills and various extra elements.
5. Determine what direction the light is coming from on your model so that your shirt shadows and highlights will match.
6. Create a new transparent layer named midtone using the shortcut Shift+Ctrl+N.
7. Right click the shirt path and choose Make Selection. Set Feather to 0 and check New Selection. (Also, you can Ctrl click a path to make a quick active selection.)
8. Fill in the active selection with your base color to establish a midtone. Use Alt+backspace to fill with the foreground color or Ctrl+Backspace to fill with the background color.

Create the Shirt Shape with Paths

Fill in the Midtone

At this point, you will bring life to your drawing by adding depth to the form with shading. Don't forget to refer to your reference to get clues to how the fabric drapes and flows along the figure.

1. Duplicate the layer named midtone. Right click the layer and choose Duplicate Layer. Rename the copy shadows. (Alternatively, just drag the layer onto the layer icon to copy it.)
2. Zoom in close to the area you want to work on.
3. With the shadow layer active, lock it by clicking the lock icon on the layer window interface. This makes sure that all your brush strokes stay inside the shape for now.
4. Use the burn tool to start blocking in the shadows. Brush size will vary depending on the size of your picture. Keep exposure low at around 15%. Click O to access the burn tool.
5. Build up the darkness of your shadows slowly.
6. Make sure you are happy with the shadows before moving on. If they are too dark, use your base color and the regular brush tool on low opacity (10 to 15%) to make them lighter. Click B to access the brush tool.

Shadows Added With the Burn Tool

Once you include highlights, the shirt will start to flesh out and appear more realistic. Remember that highlights vary a great deal depending on material. Latex has sharp, bright white highlights while cotton has low highlights that are very soft and dispersed.

1. Duplicate the layer named shadows. Rename the copy shadows_highlights.
2. Pay close attention to light direction. Generally, the lighter tones should go along the same line as the shadows you just laid down.
3. With the shadows_highlights layer active, use the dodge tool to add the highlights. Keep exposure low at around 15%. Click O to access the dodge tool. (You may need to click the tool icon to see the drop down with the dodge icon.)
4. Use the smudge tool to blend highlights and shadows. Make the strength somewhere between 10% and 20%. Push R to access the smudge tool.
5. Be careful not to overdo it now. When using the smudge tool, make long smooth strokes in one direction.

Highlights Added With the Dodge Tool

Now, you should have something that almost looks complete. All that is needed is to add the overall form shadows to the shape. This is the large area of darkness opposite the light source. It is independent of the actual folds and wrinkles. If your figure has a body part casting a shadow onto the shirt, this would be the time to add the cast shadows. These shadows should be the darkest ones on the garment and should be sharper. However, the form shading should be softer.

1. Duplicate the layer named shadows_highlights. Rename the copy final.
2. Paint in the form shadows with very large soft burn tool brushes.
3. Take care to not make cast shadows a big dark mass. They should fade to make lighter, softer edges.
4. Clean up any stray areas. Use your original midtone color with the brush tool on 15 to 20% opacity to dull down bright highlights if needed.

After Form Shadows Have Been Added

Your shirt is technically complete now. But, you may want to add a pattern, image or grain to the finished product. Furthermore, the color of the shirt might not satisfy you now that it is complete. These issues are easy to handle with layers.

1. Create a new transparent layer named pattern using the shortcut Shift+Ctrl+N.
2. While the pattern layer is active, Ctrl click your final layer to make a selection of your shirt.
3. Fill the selection with your pattern by using the shortcut Shift+f5.
4. Change the layer mode to blend it with your final layer. The Overlay or Multiply modes are good starting points. (Blend modes are located on the layer window interface as a pull down menu.)
5. If you don't add a pattern, try adding a little noise to give it a slight texture. Go to the main menu and pick Filter -> Noise -> Add Noise.
6. To change the overall color, add a hue/saturation layer above the final layer. Use the main menu and choose Layer ->New Adjustment Layer ->Hue/Saturation. Check Colorize and experiment with the sliders.

Pattern Added

Pattern Blended With Final Layer

Color Altered with Hue/Saturation

Final Painting