First i take a stock image of a human skull, i have hundreds on file, I then put it in photoshop, greyscale and filter it where i want it.
Once i have the image printed out, I then ley it under some copic paper and do a rough trace
With the skull traced i decide to erase a few things and remove the lower jaw and teeth, I then take two lines and curl them from the upper sides of the skull as I intend to make horns. Now the lines are there I then add sides to them and form the horns and also the horn mounts on the skull.
Next i take my copic pens and choose a jet black fine tip, then I place the pencil image under another sheet so I can draw a plain black outline on another sheet.
Fill in the eyes and nasal sockets and bone marks.
With the end result I then scan it into photoshop, with the skull scanned into photoshop I apply it to a transparent background and remove the outside edges. now the skull is a floating layer with a white inner.
So i need a bone type effect to the image so i select a texture and paste into the inside of the skull once it is selected using the wand tool, while all is selected i chose the brush in airbrush mode with an opaque black and gently spray in shadows and toning.
With the bone texture in place i then apply a grunge brush with a while colour over it and it breaks up the texture making it grungy.
Composing the image:
Using a vector wing set I apply a grunge texture to them and they go all "bitty" and i then scale them upto the image size i want (A3)
Behind those i apply two grunge splatters and scale them differently.
Using several floral scroll brushes i layer and flip them to make an arrangement, next i place the skull on top and apply a filter to it this makes it turn a blue range.
A filter is also applied to the scrollwork which gives it a pink hue.
Next a vintage scrollwork is added to the lower part of the skull and lettering is added with a slight arc to follow the scrollwork. Once again the 2013 has a stroke and solid (normal) outer glow applied.
This is the finished result, it took just over 30 mins to finish from start. I will make most designs this way, i also print out various scrollwork and floral parts, re-draw them and rescan them in to get what i want.
I may apply the same filter over and over again with a slight tweak each time to get a wierd effect to an image also messing with tones and exposre etc.
I will charge the video camera shortly and do a complete start to finish tutorial on designing one of these composites.
Hope this offers a little insight into what i do personally with a design idea.
