When Russian art itches the brush…

It’s no secret that Disco Elysium is one of the greatest games I’ve played in my recent memory. I still find myself playing it every other month, let alone quoting and thinking about how much it changed not only how I think of game development and storytelling, but even the way I paint. Hence why I decided to take on studying some of the techniques of Russian painting techniques and theory.

We still have a long way to go for improvement, but there’s definitely been a shift in my painting abilities as of recently. So much in fact, that we compiled an overview of our process below. Keep creating!

Process Overview

1. Scene Setup — establishing lighting and mood
2. Palette & Swatches — neutral and skin tone selection
3. Value Pass / Grisaille — black and white blocking
4. Warm/Cool Mapping — temperature adjustments
5. Glazes & Finish — unification and highlights
6. Troubleshooting — addressing common issues
7. Digital/Color Constructor — digital application of the techniques