Notice how the shadows and lighting hit the bumps on the watercolor paper. These two 'Textures' layers are locked, but if you're open to experimentation, you can unlock them and explore what variations in layer mode and opacity will do to your painting. The very top of the layers stack is where the final magic lives. If you want to add white, we left you a layer for that too, the opacity is turned down a bit on the 'White Here' layer for a more realistic effect. We think that 'Darken' is the best layer mode for working with colors on the stained papers, but you may also like 'Multiply' or 'Normal' for a more opaque, acrylic or gauche look.

You can change the layer mode and experiment with other layer modes by tapping the 'DA' or 'N' on the layer. With the exception of the 'White Here' layer, we recommend setting all layers of your actual artwork to the 'Darken' layer mode. Above that, you will see layers that are labeled with 'Sketch Here, Color Here, Lines Here, and White Here'. The paper layer on the bottom contains the image of the real watercolor paper that we hand stained with tea or coffee in the traditional way. Once you open the chosen paper file, you may toggle the visibility of any layers that you don't want. Click and drag the new file to move the copy out of the Stack and keep your clean paper files intact. This will make a copy of your paper so you don't ruin the original.

When you're ready to test out a paper file, swipe left and click 'Duplicate'. Now that you've got a Stack organized with all of your Spitshade Set papers, rename your Stack to something like 'The SpitShade Set'.

Shading tattoo tutorial