If there’s something I’ve always been avoiding to draw, it’s nature landscapes and elements. I find foliage, trees, rocks, water, mountains, and even grass hard to paint realistic, because I’ve never invested any time practising drawing those. But since I want to be an overall better digital painter, (and let’s face it, those elements are nearly impossible to avoid), I figured it was about time to do something about it. I started painting loads of grass, trees and rocks. The first several paintings looked like a kid had drawn them. Seriously. I’d take a step back, look at the painting, and decide it was so bad that I never bothered to finish it. I kept trying, acquired a few good Photoshop brushes, learned how to use them, and gradually I learned a few tricks. Finally I had enough confidence to actually finish my first nature based painting.

The original: Screenshot from the game

Whenever I try to learn how to paint something new, I always look at references – images or photos – or use some kind of image as a starting point. Inspired from the recent repainted Monkey Island games, I figured I’d try the same. That way I have a basic image with room for taking some liberties. I found a screenshot from the adventure game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (1992), a game I played when I was much younger. The scene consists of several nature elements I find difficult to paint: grass, bushes, trees, mountains and skies – but also a parrot, a wooden stall and an old Mayan temple, all of which I’ve never tried to draw before.

The scene repainted

I’m far from fully satisfied with the finished painting, but it had so many intertwined layers that it would be easier to start over than to change something. So I decided that’d do for my first finished painting consisting mostly of nature elements, and rather continue practising on new paintings. I still have a long way to go, and I hope to finish something better next time.