Top tips…. Using a digital brush on its own can be extremely limiting. Digital paint is inherently flat and lifeless. Textured brushes can help, but not much.

Top tips…. Using a digital brush on its own can be extremely limiting. Digital paint is inherently flat and lifeless. Textured brushes can help, but not much. I would recommend employing natural textures via blend modes. The best blend mode for passing textures from one image to another is overlay. In this way the texture of a photo of a rusty surface may be passed onto a painting of a rock. Essentially painting with textures... or photo-bashing. Here is a walk through I did for my students… https://rmit.instructure.com/courses/87565/pages/photoshop-painting-approach-compositing-painting?module_item_id=4073985 https://rmit.instructure.com/courses/87565/pages/photoshop-p... Happy to answer any questions.