Alright, so here’s another speed painting, but this time the painting is not done with Ketchup. This painting of Thom Yorke, quirky front man for the British group Radiohead, is done entirely in Photopshop. It packs 4 hours of painting into just over 7 minutes.

The think I like about this video (aside from the subject matter and killer music) is that, while the painting certainly occurs too quickly to function as a particularly effective tutorial, if you are at all familiar with the workings of Photoshop, you can at least guess at the various tools techniques that are being used. For instance, there are several instances where the artist will cut a piece of the painting and move it a bit, then blend it back in with the rest of the painting.

One thing I would be interested to know about is the artist’s use of layers, if there is any. I’ve watched several speed painting videos by this same artist, and in some of the other’s I’ve seen subtle “fixes” that suggest the use of layers. Didn’t notice anything like that in this video? Can you?

Now, for all you would be Photoshop painters out there, keep in mind that this painting was probably not done with a mouse (though if it was, my deepest respect goes out to the artist). Chances are it was done with a tablet, a touch sensitive screen-like device which allows the artist to “paint” on the computer in much the same way that you would draw on a piece of paper. I’ve never worked with one myself (though I would like to), but I can only imagine that it would make the whole exercise much simpler. A mouse just can’t match the precise control of a pencil or brush.