Now it’s time to work on the foreground, the deck of a ship.

This time I begin with a rough sketch. This would be the time to gather reference. Or you can do what I do and just doodle in something that looks shipish.

Once I have the outline down I begin playing with colors. I tried a few different hues, and decided tan palette looked best against the background. And just as importantly the characters will look good when they’re on deck.

After I’ve established my color palette carefully paint the planes of the railing and deck. It’s already beginning to look like a three dimensional.

The planks that make up the deck come next. Just a rough line to show the sides that are facing us.

This seems like a good time to add some soft shading to the railing. I try to keep the shading consistent with the light source.

On the deck I begin loosely scribbling in the wood grain with a darker tan. There are not straight lines here.

After the scribbly grain has its shape I go back along the top edge and give it some depth. I do this with a light line.

I do the entire ship the same way. Dark scribbly lines followed by a light line for the edge.

The last thing I do is add a cast shadow of the railing onto the deck.

Did you find this tutorial helpful? Comments, questions, and suggestions are appreciated.