Longer than a help article: a whole task, start to finish.
Beginner · about 10 minutes
Your first portrait map
Open a well-lit portrait photograph. Avoid heavy shadow on the first attempt.
Choose 5 shades for the free study and leave the other settings alone.
When it finishes, open Layers and read the match figure. Lower values indicate a closer digital colour match, not a guaranteed painting result.
Switch to All layers · Outline and export it. That is your transfer drawing.
Go back to Layer + original, select shade 01, and note its recipe from the Shade panel.
Work down the strip, pre-mixing as you go. Paint each shade only where the map shows it.
Intermediate · about 5 minutes
Keeping saturated colours apart
Open a reference with several strong colour families — a robe, a flower, gold ornament.
Begin with five shades and look at the Layers panel, which groups shades by colour family.
If two families you can see are missing, Re-analyse and raise Separate by towards hue.
If they are still merged, the shade budget is the real constraint — try a simpler reference. Higher shade counts are planned for Artist (24) and Studio (120).
Check the match figure again. More shades can improve the match, but results also depend on smoothing and other settings. Compare the result before choosing.
Intermediate · about 5 minutes
Pre-mixing a value string
Select the shade that covers the largest area — usually a mid-tone.
In the Shade panel, look at the value ladder: five steps around that colour.
Tap a step to look up its mixture, then mix all five onto the palette in order.
Paint the large area with the middle step and use the neighbours for turning form, rather than mixing afresh each time.
Practical · about 5 minutes
Transferring the drawing to canvas
Set the view to All layers, style Outline, and Behind to white.
Raise Line if you intend to print small, so the lines survive.
Export the flat map or take the layer export, and print at your canvas proportions.
Transfer by whichever method you prefer — grid, tracing, or by eye.
Keep the outline export beside you while painting: it names which shape is which shade.
Choose your painting guide
Start with five broad shapes. These written guides adapt the map to your subject or medium. Mixing recipes model oil-paint pigments; they are not calibrated acrylic or watercolour formulas.
Oil: block in the large shapes
Choose a simple reference and generate five shades.
Use the outline and grid for placement, then identify the largest light and dark shapes.
Select your tubes and test a small suggested mixture on a swatch.
Block in broad areas before refining edges; use the reference to judge transitions rather than filling every boundary mechanically.
Acrylic: work in manageable areas
Begin with five shades and compare the whole map with the photo.
Mix small swatches using your actual paints; check them after drying.
Work in sections and keep each mixture noted so it can be mixed again.
Use the map to organise values, then adjust colour and edges by eye. Oil recipe ratios are only a starting reference.
Watercolour: plan the light first
Use the simplified map to locate the lightest shapes and preserve areas of white paper.
Study outlines and values rather than treating opaque oil mixtures as watercolour recipes.
Test wash dilution on the same paper and let the swatch dry.
Build from light washes toward darker accents, following the reference for soft edges and transitions.
Portrait: separate light from shadow
Choose a clearly lit portrait you have permission to use.
Use five shades to study the main value pattern before chasing small colour changes.
Check eye, nose and mouth placement against the reference with a grid.
Keep skin transitions flexible: map boundaries are analysis suggestions, not facial contours that must be painted as hard lines.
Landscape: simplify depth
Choose a reference with distinct sky, distance and foreground.
Make a five-shade map and compare the largest areas.
Preserve the horizon and major silhouettes; simplify small foliage or texture.
Use the original photo to judge atmosphere and edge softness rather than adding detail to every patch.
Still life: learn from one object
Photograph a simple object with a single clear light source.
Locate the lit face, turning form, object shadow, cast shadow and background.
Generate five shades and compare those visual groups with the layer masks.
Test your mixtures, paint the broad areas, and refine the contact edge and highlight last.
Watch the captioned studio walkthrough for a real demonstration. The written painting guides below are practical starting points; they are not video courses.