The Sky and Above: Learn to Paint Altocumulus Clouds!

These clouds generally appear around 8000 to 20000 feet above the atmosphere and signify the process of convection. In terms of weather patterns, these clouds are seen before a cold front.

On warm, humid summer mornings, you can be sure that thunderstorms will appear if you see these clouds in the atmosphere.

When painting these clouds in digital 2d format, just think of these clouds as an extension of the stratocumulus clouds you have practiced on.

1. Setting the background

Due to the small size of these clouds, it’s best to paint altocumulus clouds using a perspective guide.

Therefore, in addition to creating the proper background colors, you should also think about the different types of perspectives. For this demonstration, I will use a two point perspective grid.

You should know how to create a grid system in your 2d digital art program by now. If you haven’t, now is a good time to start by reviewing the perspective grids under the ‘techniques’ section of this site.

There are two possible gradients to these clouds: warm hues for a summer morning, or cool hues for the rest of the day. Either is possible.

2. Creating the clouds

In this session, you will use the guide lines to help you paint altocumulus clouds. Unlike the previous clouds that we have painted, you’re not just dealing with a couple of small instances.

Instead, you will be dealing with a sky full of clouds! This is why a perspective grid will come in handy. So pick a digital brush of the right type, size, opacity, and the correct dark hue, and begin to paint your clouds!

For the most part, you will be doing circular and jagged motions which follow the perspective grid. Alternate between horizontal and vertical patterns so you will get a nice natural pattern.

As well, consider perspective. What will happen to these patterns the closer the clouds reach the horizon? Answer: it will bunch up.

When that happens, the gaps between the clouds become closer and non-existence.

3. Creating light

For you to paint altocumulus clouds with the correct light, you will need to consider what amounts of light can penetrate through these clouds.

In essence, you have two levels to deal with: the sparse clouds that are closer to you and the bunched up clouds that are closer to the horizon due to the result of perspective.

Therefore, you would probably use the erase a bit and erase parts of the clouds away from the center horizon while adding more brush strokes near the horizon to create the different levels of perspective.

Make sure these brush strokes follow the perspective grid. That means thinner brush sizes are necessary the closer you arrive at the horizon.

4. Adding color

The last step in knowing how to paint altocumulus clouds is to look at the overall feel. Your painting should be done in black and white prior to this step so you could focus on the light and shadow aspects.

Since we have two different color hues in this exercise, this step brings in everything you know about your digital art program.

Namely, you will use the dodge and burn functions to highlight and darken random spots on the painting. On top of that, you will need to user the smudge tool to blend these colors together.

Moreover, don’t forget your trusted digital brush as there is a little trick you can use with the available blend modes.

When you set the brush on “color” mode, you can paint sections of the clouds in a specific color to get the overall tone. Use a larger brush to cover the most area. Doing so will make sure you retain the cloud shapes you’ve worked so hard to get instead of painting over it!

As always, the more time you spend on it, the better it will look. This is what it means by “practice makes perfect!”

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