How to Paint Ice Cubes | Digital Art Tutorial

Want to learn how to paint ice? You've come to the right place~! 😊

I JUST learned how to digitally paint this wonderful material and I'm so excited to share this information so you can paint your own iced drinks!

To get started, block out some general ice shapes with just one color. Don't worry about the details. Focus on getting an overall silhouette down.

Next, clean up your ice shapes. 

Clean shapes now means much less cleanup later. I like to use the colors that are already on my canvas. Adding too many colors in the beginning can overcomplicate the process.

Now that we have our base, start adding shadows and highlights. Use your reference to determine where to place them. What helped me during this step was only going a little brighter or darker than my base colors. This made rendering much easier to control.

You're almost there! Keep pushing the contrasts.

Reinforce what you've already painted. Add darker shadows inside your existing shadows and brighter highlights inside your existing highlights.

The closer I got to finishing the painting, the less blending I did. Less blending results in sharper highlights and shadows. I also noticed that placing my darkest shadows right next to my brightest highlights made them stand out even more!

Note: If you want an extra glow, use 'add mode' for a luminous effect.

That's it! Ice can look intimidating at first, but it's really just about gradually building up contrast. Start simple, keep your shapes clean, and don't be afraid to push your highlights and shadows.

Good luck,

Majesticsock