Stéphane Kardos

Neon at Night

Ocean Liquor

BY STÉPHANE KARDOS

Art Director, Artist

California, USA

This talented artist will demonstrate why painting in the dark is a unique place for your iPhone or iPad to shine. Using the app “Brushes” and a glowing backlit display, he can build this cityscape at night as clear as day.

I start with a dark blue color and, using very large brush strokes, create the background for the piece. It’s the very last glow left in the sky before nightfall.

In the interest of speed, I break down the visual elements into abstract patterns. Right now, it’s only about shapes, colors, and composition. Notice that I establish the position of the lightest and darkest compositional elements early in the process.

Once I lay down the main shape of the sign, I block in the neon lights. By adding some highlights, I get the neon sign effect, and emphasize the contrast.

Next, by adding some additional highlights, I build up the neon sign effect, and each new light source pops against the night-time sky.

Then come the letters, which I do by hand but in an orderly fashion, plus the very important bit of green neon light at the bottom of the composition. It adds a nice reflection under the yellow sign, and another level of depth.

I add the writing inside the top round sign by zooming into the image and painting with the smallest brush size, then slightly darken the inside of the red “liquor” letters with a larger brush and a slightly darker red tone for a more realistic effect.

Finally, I use very large brush strokes to darken the top part of the sky, which makes the neon sign pop out of the composition. Then I add the red light reflection under the top round sign for more depth and volume. Finish up with a couple of stars in the sky on this chilly January night in LA. And voila! Fini!